Issue
How Do You Make Live Program Changes in EcoStruxure Machine Expert Logic Builder for a Modicon M241/M251/M262 PLC?
Product Line
EcoStruxure Machine Expert (formerly SoMachine)
Modicon M241 PLC
Modicon M251 PLC
Modicon M262 PLC
Environment
Software for PLC Configuration in Windows 10/11
Resolution
Here are the steps on how to make online edits while the PLC is in RUN mode without stopping the controller:
1) Login to the PLC
-> the PLC can be in RUN mode for the following steps
2) Go to the Applications Tree tab
3) Right-click on the POU you wish to make changes to
4) Choose "Edit Object (Offline)"
5) This will open up a second instance of the POU window:
6) Click and Drag the Tab and dock it to make a side-by side view:
7) On the Right pane, you can just make direct code changes. For example, here I added the a new Symbol and added a line of code:
If your syntax is validated as OK by the compiler, it will automatically apply it to the running PLC (see green arrow):
The indication that the program was modified will be shown at the bottom status bar:
You can see that the status is "Program modified (Online Change)"
So this means that the program in the PLC's RAM has been edited with an "Online Change".
8) To commit the changes, go to Online > Online Change
This will commit the changes to the RAM (and not the Boot Application):
The result will be that the Status bar will show "Program unchanged" which signifies that your Logic Editor pane matches the program running in the RAM:
Note that you will also see that the Messages list, when you select "Boot Application" from the dropdown list, it will tell you the status of whether or not the Boot Application matches the Application that you just put into the RAM .
It will show you that "The boot application is different than RAM application. Need to update".
The behavioural significance of this is that if you power cycle the PLC, it will boot up the old version of your project that is stored in Flash Memory without the edits you made in Step 7.
9) In order to save the change to the Boot Application in the Flash Memory so that it matches your RAM application, select Online > Create Boot Application
The result will be that the Messages Box (when the dropdown is set to "Boot Application" will show no longer show the previous Warning.
The Messages box will now be empty:
And if you were to power cycle the PLC at this point, it will boot and run newly edited application code.
NOTES:
1) You will not be able to add new nodes (e.g. POU, GVL, WebVisu, Recipe, Symbol Configuration, etc) when logged in. Only changes to existing nodes can be performed while the PLC is in RUN.
2) When you are editing Global Variable List (GVL) nodes, use "Edit Object":
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Frequently Asked Questions - Schneider Electric (se.com)
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