Whenever an EcoStruxure Machine Expert project file has been modified locally on a PC and the user attempts to log into the controller where this project is already running, EcoStruxure Machine Expert detects the modifications since the last download and requests to perform an online change. In this case, users can verify whether they are editing the most recent version of the project file by using the and information. These pieces of information uniquely identify the application.
The and information of the project saved in the controller can be displayed in the Diagnostics tool or via the programming code in the HMI.
The and information of .project and .projectarchive files is accessible via the Windows file properties of the files as explained in the chapter Code ID / Data ID in Windows File Properties.
Compare the values of these IDs to determine the most recent file.
Whenever different users from different PCs are intended to work on the same EcoStruxure Machine Expert project, they are required to work with .projectarchive files. In contrast to project files, where download information is stored in a different .compileinfo file separately on the PC, this information is incorporated in project archive files. Thus, they allow logging into the controllers even from another PC without rebuilding the project.
These .projectarchive files are stored on a shared folder and access is granted to different users from different PCs. For this multi-user scenario, each user needs to work with the most recent project file at any time. EcoStruxure Machine Expert provides two measures to help with this:
Users can verify whether they are working with the most recent project file that complies to the version stored on the controller using the and information of .projectarchive files. This information is accessible via the Windows file properties of the .projectarchive files as explained in the chapter Code ID / Data ID in Windows File Properties.
Triggers can be programmed in the that, for example, automatically create a project archive whenever the project is being edited or that display a message requesting you to create a new .projectarchive file and update it on the shared folder. For further information, refer to the chapter Creating Project Archives Automatically.