Release notes for version 3.25.0

If you have used a previous version of Neuron Power Engineer and you want to use the current version, see "Are my projects upwards and downwards compatible?" for important information. Recommended, if you are using projects that have been created in a previous version of Neuron Power Engineer: Clean the imported projects.

See "Is the IDE affected by the Log4j security vulnerability (December 2021, CVE-2021-44228, Log4Shell)".

See "Release notes for system libraries".

Depending on the configuration of your Neuron Power Engineer version, the FBD-editor and its elements might be displayed differently in your Neuron Power Engineer version than illustrated in the IDE documentation. This is the case, if Neuron  or the system integrator has activated the smart styling or one of them has changed the styles for the FBD-editor. Subsequently, the illustration in the IDE documentation are symbolic images and the representation in your Neuron Power Engineer version takes precedence for the valid representation. In case of doubts, please contact Neuron or your system integrator.

See "Color and style for FBD-elements determined by data type" for details.

The library PLCopen Safety provides the following new blocks:

• SF_EnableSwitch_2 block

• SF_ModeSelector block

• SF_MutingPar block

• SF_MutingPar_2Sensor block

• SF_MutingSeq block

These blocks are based on the technical specification "TC5 - Safety, Version 2.10 – Official Release, Part 1 - Concepts and Function blocks" (© PLCopen

TC5 - Safety, Version 2.01 – Official Release, Part 1 - Concepts and Function blocks" (© PLCopen) whereas the description in the IDE documentation is still based on the version 2.01 of the technical specification like all descriptions for the PLCopen blocks are still based on the version 2.01 of the technical specification. As soon as the descriptions are updated to version 2.10, the topic “PLCopen blocks” will state so.

Observe that the library PLCopen Safety is not provided in all variants of the IDE.

The safety parameter editor provides the default commands and shortcuts for saving. For instance, you are able to use the command Save in the menu File or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S.
In previous versions, you had to use the button Save group displayed at the end of the group. The current version does not provide this button anymore.

See “Saving safety parameter editor” for more details on the current saving methods.

The provided actions within the global-variables-editor have been revised as follows:

• It is possible to edit a global variable by double-clicking on the name of the variable or its data, e.g. the data type. All data of the variable is listed in columns within the tab Variables.

• In previous versions, editing was possible by single-clicking the name or its data.

• The same applies to a section for the global variables: Just double-click on the section name or its data. The section data is listed in the tab Sections.

• Here, single-clicking is still possible for the check boxes in column CONSTANT and RETAIN to change their state.

• The context menu does not provide the commands to edit the variables/sections any longer. As mentioned above: Double-click the data that you want to change.

• The context menu command New Variable always creates a new global variable of data type BOOL and no initial value.

• In previous versions, the data of the selected variable has been used for the new variable.

• The context menu provides the new commands Copy Variables and Paste Variables to copy and paste variables within the same global-variables-editor or even across different global-variables-editors. Of course, the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V are supported for these actions.

Neuron Power Engineer allows to differ between 2 types of global objects containing global variables:

1. the global objects that are created by the user within the IDE

2. the global objects that are automatically created by the device topology transformer (DTT)

These 2 types of global objects make it possible to provide 2 different configuration sets that influence the global-variables-editor as follows:

• It is possible to hide some components of the global-variables-editor.

  Example 1a: The global objects created by DTT do not show the tab Sections and some columns for the variables (e.g. Sections, Initial value).

  Example 1b: The global objects created by the user show all tabs and columns.

• It is also possible to make columns of the global-variables-editor read-only to prevent changed data.

  Example 2a: read-only columns Data type and HW address in the global objects created by DTT.

  Example 2b: read-only column HW address in the global objects created by the user; Here, the content for the column Data type can be changed.

Notes:

• The configuration of the global-variables-editor is done by the system integrator. Without any configuration, all components of the global-variables-editor are displayed and all column data can be changed.

• If you use the feature “artifact identity” as well, Neuron Power Engineer reports the external changes of the global objects, e.g. when a user changes hardware addresses in a text editor to bypass the read-only restriction.

When creating and saving the interface of the vendor blocks (provided in an ST-object), a header file (= H-file) and an optional C file with so-called implementation stubs are automatically generated. In previous versions, a 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. saving action did not update these implementation stubs. In this case, the recommended procedure was to rename the automatically generated files to a unique name, to save the ST-object again to make sure that the generated files contained the correct implementation stubs and to transfer your code to the newly generated C-/H-files and delete the renamed C-/H-files. These steps had to be done for each saving action.

To provide more user comfort, apply this procedure for your vendor blocks once in the new version:

1. Rename the automatically generated files to a unique name in the new version.

2. Save the ST-object containing your vendor block again.

   Result: The header file (= H-file) and the C file with so-called implementation stubs are automatically generated again. But in this version, the auto-generated implementation stubs are decorated with a preceding comment (DO NOT MODIFY THIS SECTION).

   Do not delete this preceding comment! Reason: When you change the interface of the vendor block and save the ST-object later again, the implementation stubs are automatically updated as long as the preceding comment is still included in the H-/C-file.

3. Transfer your code to the newly generated C-/H-files. Observe to not include any of your code in the auto-generated implementation stubs with the preceding comment (DO NOT MODIFY THIS SECTION). If you do so anything, your code will be overwritten as it has been placed in the auto-generated implementation stubs. There will be no prompt before saving the ST-object containing the vendor block

The parts outside the auto-generated implementation stubs will not be touched so that your code in the H-/C-file will not be overwritten when saving the ST-object containing your vendor block again.

Observe that the auto-generated implementation stubs for some types of vendor blocks are not decorated with the preceding comment (DO NOT MODIFY THIS SECTION). These vendor blocks are vendor blocks created during the Simulink import or the migration from the predecessor product. In this case, the update of the implementation stubs will not take place as described above.

You can call a help page for a parameter if the system integrator has provided such a help page: Just select the parameter in the safety parameter editor and press the F1-key.

See “Opening help for parameters from witin the safety parameter editor“.

The PACK block has been modified. Now this block reports an error when its return value is connected to a block input of a generic data type (e.g. the input of a TO_INT block). The reason for this behavior is the added statement anyOutputMustBeConcreteResolved.

In previous versions, the return value of PACK and the input of TO_INT have been typed with BOOL (BOOL is the lowest common data type of ANY_ALEMENTARY). However, this behavior was not sensible behavior for the PACK block. As mentioned, the PACK block is reporting an error for such connections. To fix this reported error, you can declare an auxiliary variable and assign the calls to this auxiliary variable.
See the topic “Typing of expressions” for generic information on the typing behavior and details on the possible workarounds when you want to connect the PACK block to an input of a generic data type.

As a consequence, the PACK block is identical to the predecessor product logi.CAD/32 in this aspect because logi.CAD/32 also reported an error for such connections of the PACK block.

The statement anyOutputMustBeConcreteResolved can be used for vendor blocks as well. It is sensible to use this statement for a vendor block with outputs or return values of generic data types when all block inputs are of an explicit data type. See “Properties for implementing vendor blocks” for information on the statements for vendor blocks.

The standard package of the IDE provides the new rule Only actual resource-global variables must be used in the VAR_CONFIG sections.

This model rule checks whether the VAR_CONFIG sections only contain resource-global variables without structure elements.

By default, this rule is not activated so you will not get any messages about violations of this rule when the application is validated. But as for other rules, you can change the configuration of the rule.

The existing system library Standard and its system blocks have been reorganized to provide some user information within the IDE whether the block is supported for creating a safety-relevant application or not. So now there are 2 system libraries:

1. The library Standard (safe) provides the system blocks supported for creating a safety-relevant application.

2. The library Standard (non-safe) provides the system blocks not supported for creating a safety-relevant application.

Observe:

• The library Standard (non-safe) is required for the test framework. If this library is not installed in your variant but you need to use the test framework, install the library as described under “Installing a library”.

• When inserting a system block by using the content assist, the user actions do not change at all.

• When inserting a system block by dragging it from a view (such as the project explorer) into the drawing field of an FBD-object, you must start to expand the appropriate system library Standard (safe) or Standard (non-safe) instead of expanding the previous system library Standard. The following user actions are the same: Expand the subfolder containing the system block, point to the system block, and drag it into the drawing field.

• The IDE documentation lists all system blocks of both libraries under one section and its corresponding subfolders respectively. For instance, the section on the Numeric functions lists the functions provided under Standard (non-safe) and Standard (safe).This structure in the IDE documentation has the advantage that one section still lists all system blocks for the same application field. If you are looking for an information where the system block is provided, just have a look at the block description itself. There the line “Category” states whether the system block is provided under Standard (non-safe) or Standard (safe).

The standard package of the IDE provides the new rule Multiple writing of hardware outputs within a resource is not permitted.

This model rule checks whether hardware outputs are written in more than one program instance of a resource. Global variables with an assigned IEC hardware address are regarded as hardware outputs. Writing such variables is only permitted in exactly one program instance of a resource.

By default, this rule is not activated so you will not get any messages about violations of this rule when the application is validated. But as for other rules, you can change the configuration of the rule.

The IDE provides a new possibility to hide features and GUI (Graphical User Interface) elements. This deactivation is done by activating a profile. As the profile is activated by a system integrator, contact your system integrator on the current possibilities.

Observe that the IDE documentation contains the descriptions for all officially provided features and GUI elements - no matter whether a profile has been activated or not. So, the scope of the IDE documentation is not updated to reflect the change in the IDE itself.

The IDE documentation differs from the implementation in a special case for replacing a block call.
Fix: The IDE documentation has been updated correspondingly.
Scenario for problem: The IDE documentation describes special cases when replacing a block call. Example 1 in the section "Behavior when replacing: Instance name is not used" shows that:

1. the access to a variable of the original block is not automatically updated to the name of the new block.
   The implementation and IDE documentation match here.

2. the access is highlighted as faulty.
   The implementation and IDE documentation do not match here: Actually, the access is not highlighted as faulty. The reason for this is that the variable of the original block is no longer deleted automatically, as this has been the case in previous versions.

Here is the illustration from the IDE documentation in which the value field with the access SR1.Q1 became faulty after a block SR has been replaced by a block TON:

However, this value field will not be highlighted as faulty.
Additional information: The English IDE documentation contains a 2nd image for the example 1 that does not illustrate the replacement from SR by TON, but it repeatedly displays the 1st image with the block SR. The German IDE documentation contains the correct image of the replacement.

The integration acceptance tests cannot be executed because of missing files.
Fix: The project LC3cSystemTest has been adapted so that the project is working without any errors.
Scenario for problem: The integration acceptance tests according to the integration manual cannot be executed as expected. The reason is that files for the project LC3cSystemTest are missing. This problem applies to versions that are used to develop safety-relevant applications.
Additional information: The integration manual specifies specific integration acceptance tests which a system integrator must execute when integrating the IDE.

PiL-tests for more than 240 test suites are failing because of an unexpected termination of the Gateway.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore.
Note on a changed behavior: Observe that the location and the name of internal test files have been changed. Instead of testbed_SiL and testbed_PiL the folder/file name of internal test files is now tb_SiL and tb_PiL. This change is relevant, if you are using Git to track versions of your test project. When you exclude the internal test file/folders, exclude the files and folders containing the name tb_SiL and tb_PiL in version 3.25.0. See the topic “The dos and don'ts when testing” for details on the files/folders to exclude.
Scenario for problem: It is not possible to execute PiL-tests for 240 test suites or more. Instead of this, the PiL-tests for the 241st test suite and later ones are failing. The technical reason is that the PiL-test establishes a connection to the built-in Gateway. When executing the PiL-tests for more than 240 test suites, the Gateway is terminated unexpectedly.

When building a safety-relevant application, an error about a wrong checksum for the source file RTConfigVals.h might be displayed.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore. Reason: The generic source file RTConfigVals.h with the expected checksum is now used when the application is built.
Scenario for problem: If you build a safety-relevant application, the build report might contain the following error message: The source file "RTConfigVals.h" could not be verified (its checksum "number1" does not match the expected checksum "number2").
The error message occurs when the file in a customer PTK (platform toolkit) is used. This file has a different checksum than expected. The expected checksum is one of the generic file located under LC3\plugins\com.logicals.ptk_3.23.2\API\uRTS3\RTSAPI

The build report might contain error messages about unverified data types.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore.
Scenario for problem: The build report contains error messages about unverified data types, if the data types are only used in a C-code. Hence, the problem also applies, if the data type has been used in the ST body only, e.g. in an IF statement, or if just a temporary variable (VAR_TEMP … END_VAR) has been declared based on that data type.
The build report contains this error message:

The source file "project_path/src-gen/h/lcdt___data_type_name.h" with checksum "checksum_value" could not be verified.

A message is displayed when entering “” at the beginning of a text file.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore.
Scenario for problem: When you enter the characters “**” (but without ““) at the beginning of a text file located in the folder src and you save this text file, the following message is displayed:
Unrecognized table header: ''
Additional information: The problem has been detected in a customer version

The application cannot be built when a function block instance is assigned/connected to the input of a SEL block.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore.
Scenario for problem: When you declare a function block instance as a variable (e.g. by the ST-code VAR sr1 : SR; END_VAR) and assign this instance to the input IN1 of a SEL block (e.g. by the ST-code SEL(IN1:=sr1)), the application cannot be built. In this case, the following messages are displayed:

The application for the PLC (resource "name1", platform toolkit "name2") cannot be created/loaded. Check the views "Error Log" and "Problems" for more information.

An error occurred during compiling or linking the code image (error code: 1).

After the attempt to build the application, messages are displayed in the Problems view. Here are the messages for the described scenario:

implicit declaration of function 'LC_INIT_DataType_SR'; did you mean 'LC_INIT_DataType_SAFEBOOL'? [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]

in expansion of macro 'LC_INIT_Function_SEL__DERIVED_SR'

in expansion of macro 'LC_INIT_IMPL__SEL__DERIVED'

Additional information 1: The same problem also applies to other blocks, e.g. MUX block or FORCMRK block.
Additional information 2: The same problem also applies to the FBD-editor after the problem for the ID “111403” (regarding a message about a safety conflict) has been fixed for the FBD-editor.

When using a different screen scaling that 100%, the FBD-editor might not behave as expected.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore.
Scenario for problem: If you use a different screen scaling than 100% and you open the context menu in the FBD-editor, the following issues have been observed:

1. The context menu editor contains all commands but some commands are disabled. However, it is expected that these commands are enabled.

   Example 1: When opening the context menu for a value field containing a variable, the command for creating the OLT-field is disabled. But it should be possible to create the OLT-field for this value field.

2. A different FBD-element gets selected instead of the FBD-element where the context menu has been opened.

   Example 2: When opening the context menu for a value field containing a variable, the call of a block gets selected instead of the value field. This call has been positioned to the right of the value field.

Additional information: The changed scaling seems to cause this problem. For both issues, the context text appears to be opened for a wrong FBD-element whereas the context menu is opened at the position of the current mouse cursor. Regarding example 1, the command to create the OLT-field appears to be disabled because the drawing field is incorrectly considered to be the valid context.

The IDE documentation on the OFFSET attribute contains unclear information and a wrong sample.
Fix for problem scenario 1: The description on OFFSET within the IDE documentation has been enhanced to make the impact of OFFSET clearer. The bold text in the following highlights the text that has been added in the IDE documentation.
This is the enhanced description:

Scenario for problem 1: The IDE documentation contains information on declaring a language element with a partial address in ST. There the optional attribute OFFSET is described as well. The documentation is as follows:

Use the optional attribute OFFSET to define a relative bit offset after the address. This attribute is only supported for structure elements. Observe that the structure element with the highest end position + 1 is used for the size of the structured data type. A specified offset is also considered.The below examples give you more insights into the impact of OFFSET on the size of the structured data type.

Due to this information, it is unclear whether the offset is applied to the structure element or the variable that is based on the structured data type.

Fix for problem scenario 2: The sample in the IDE documentation has been corrected so that the comment specifies the offset 61.

Scenario for problem 2: The IDE documentation also contains samples that illustrate the impact of OFFSET. The example for the structure data type{{ Motion_Out_DataSpeed_Type4}} contains a wrong comment. The current comment informs that the structure element S_ByteNext is placed at offset 25. But this structure element is placed at offset 61 - due to { OFFSET := 60} in the line above.

Confusing messages are displayed that source files cannot be verified when the safety-relevant application is built for the built-in PLC.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore if the system integrator has deactivated the verification of the source files regarding their checksums for non-safe platforms/PLCs. Contact the system integrator about the behavior applied to your platform/PLC when you develop safety-relevant applications.
Additional note regarding the fix: Observe that the system integrator decides whether to activate or deactivate the verification of the source files regarding their checksums for the non-safe PLCs (such as the built-in PLC). A new PTK property for the platform toolkit controls the behavior. See the release notes in the administrator’s manual (ID “112751), if you are interested in this PTK property.
Scenario for problem: When building a safety-relevant application for the built-in PLC, the error log and the build report contain many errors that source files with a specified checksum could not be verified. The output of these error messages is important when building a safety-relevant application for the actual safety PLC because such errors must be fixed before the safety-relevant application can be released for safe operation. But when building the safety-relevant application for the built-in PLC, the messages are of no actual consequence because it is not allowed to release a safety-relevant application for safe operation when the concerned PLC is the built-in PLC.

Additional information:

• This problem only occurs when you build safety-relevant applications for a non-safe PLC (such as the built-in PLC) and the features for the safety-relevant applications have been activated.

• This problem does not occur if you use a standard version where the features for the safety-relevant applications have not been activated

• If you are unsure whether the problem applies to your version, contact your system integrator.

When aborting the exit procedure for the IDE, features in the opened IDE are not working as expected.
Fix: The problem according to the following scenario does not occur anymore.
Scenario for problem: When you exit the IDE but there is unsaved content, a prompt enables you to save or not save the content. The same prompt provides the Cancel button to keep the editor with the unsaved content open. Subsequently, the IDE is not exited/closed but it remains open. So this means that the triggered exit procedure has been aborted. After this, some features are not working as expected and the appropriate feature usage is not guaranteed anymore. This applies to the following features:

• safety parameter editor

• access control

• artifact identity

• FBD editor

• validating the application by rules

• project indexing

• components that are used for building/loading the applications, such as “NINJA” and “TargetProxy”

The IDE documentation on the safety parameter editor (version 3.24.0) does not contain information on floating-point numbers.
Fix 1: The IDE documentation for version 3.25.0 has been updated to contain the information on the internal representation of floating-point numbers and their rounding by the safety parameter editor.
Scenario for problem 1: The IDE documentation on the safety parameter editor (version 3.24.2) is missing information on the internal representation of floating-point numbers and their rounding by the safety parameter editor. The same topic for version 3.23.2 did contain this information.
Workaround: See https://help.neuron-automation.eu/Documents/NPE/V3.23.2/EN/Viewing_or_changing_the_current_parameter_values.html for the information on floating-point numbers.
Fix 2: The IDE documentation for version 3.24.0 has been updated by the missing detail as well.
Scenario for problem 2: The information on the internal representation of floating-point numbers for version 3.23.2 is missing a detail:

If a double-precision floating-point number (also known as float64 value) has more than 15 digits in its fractional part, this value is rounded by the safety parameter editor to have a maximum of 15 digits in its fractional part.

The actual information should be (see the bold text that highlighted the missing detail):

If a double-precision floating-point number (also known as float64 value) has more than 15 digits in its fractional part, this value is rounded by the safety parameter editor to have a maximum of 15-17 digits in its fractional part.

When several function blocks have been created in the same ST object, the command "Delete" in the application navigator deletes all function blocks in this ST object without any previous information.
Scenario for problem: It is possible to create several language elements, such as function blocks, in the same ST-object. When in the application navigator, you are selecting the command Delete for one of these language elements, all language elements in the ST-object are deleted because the entire ST-object is deleted. There is no information before the delete action that other elements will be affected by the delete action.
Additional information: The same problem occurs in case of a moving action. This means: If one element is moved, the other elements within the ST-object are moved as well.
Workaround: Before you delete an element, you might want to check whether there are other elements in the same object. If yes, rather delete the element in the ST-object (i.e. in the ST-editor).

The command "Go Into" in the application navigator does not behave as expected.
Scenario for problem: The command Go into should refocus the view to the currently selected folder. However, if the command is selected in the application navigator (for example, for the folder Project blocks), the view does not display the contents of only this folder, but all projects that are currently open will be displayed in that folder as well. This behavior in the application navigator is not as expected.
Workaround: none available

The automatically generated H-/C-files for vendor blocks are not automatically locked. The editor for them is not opened in a read-only mode.
Scenario for problem: If you open an existing object from within the view Team Monitor, the IDE automatically locks this object. If the IDE cannot lock the object, the editor is opened in read-only mode. This is true for a vendor block itself but not for the H-/C-files that are automatically generated for the vendor block.
Workaround: Lock the H-/C-files yourself by opening the context menu for these files within the project explorer and selecting the command Lock selected files.

Syntax errors might be caused when using the content assist to suppress warnings for rule violations.
Scenario for problem: The IDE documentation contains information to use the content assist when trying to suppress the warning for a rule violation (based on a specified example in the documentation). But when doing this, an error about an unexpected character is caused for the following 2 rules:

• Namespaces of language elements must match the identifier of the parent namespace folder.

• Namespace folders need a unique identifier.

Workaround: none existing

The changed file association is ignored for opening a data type from a library configuration.
Scenario for problem: The user preferences allow to change file associations for data types. However, if you delete the Editor for data types association assigned to the data type .iecst, the graphical enum-editor continues to be opened when opening a data type from a library configuration.
Workaround: none available

No emphasis is displayed when reconnecting existing link elements within the LD-editor.
Scenario for problem: The possible logic elements (e.g. contacts and coils) should be emphasized when reconnecting existing link elements to indicate that you can reconnect the link element to one of these logic elements. However, this emphasis is not displayed within the LD-editor.
Workaround: none existing

The "Team Monitor" view does not determine the status changes on the team server at the expected interval.
Scenario for problem: The upper list under Changed on master of the Team Monitor view shows which changes of the project are available on the team server. If the local files differ from the status of the master, this view should be updated automatically every 30 seconds. However, the list is not updated but it remains empty.
Workaround: Refresh the list yourself by selecting Refresh in the context menu for the list or by pressing the F5-key.

It is possible to turn a folder into a namespace folder and vice versa without the appropriate access control rights to edit the application logic.
Scenario for problem: Without the access right Edit application logic, it is not possible to edit the application logic. However, it is possible to:

• turn a folder into a namespace folder by selecting Assign Namespace in the context menu for a folder within the application navigator.

• remove the namespace assignment and namespaces for objects by selecting Unassign Namespace in the context menu for a namespace folder within the application navigator.

Workaround: none existing

It is possible to assign a USING instruction for accessing a namespace folder and delete this instruction without the appropriate access control rights to edit the application logic.
Scenario for problem: Without the access right Edit application logic, it is not possible to edit the application logic. However, it is possible to:

• assign a USING instruction for accessing the objects of a different namespace folder existing in the application navigator.

• delete such a USING instruction in the application navigator.

Workaround: none existing

The artifact identity is not created/updated when turning a folder into a namespace folder or assigning a USING instruction for accessing a namespace folder.
Scenario 1 for problem: The file with the artifact identity is not created, if you turn a folder into a namespace folder by selecting Assign Namespace in the context menu for a folder within the application navigator.
Scenario 2 for problem: If there is a file with the artifact identity (see "Workaround") and you assign a USING instruction for accessing a different namespace folder, the file with the artifact identity is not updated.
Additional information: The problems only occur, if you are using the feature "artifact identity". The missing/outdated file with the artifact identity is not reported to the user. The problems become only obvious if the user tries to execute an actions with the namespace folder (e.g. moving the namespace folder is not possible).
Workaround after any action regarding a namespace folder: Locate the file .iecproperties in the namespace folder. Observe that this file is hidden in the project explorer and application navigator by default. Therefore, uncheck the filter for .* resource to display the file in the project explorer. Then open the file .iecproperties in a text editor of the IDE, make a minimal change (e.g. add a blank) and save the change in order to create/update the artifact identity.

Building an application might lead to linker warnings.
Scenario for problem: Depending on the used toolchain, linker warnings might occur when building an application. The warnings are caused by a discrepancy between extern declarations and the definition of symbols in the C-code. The problem has been observed when using external variables in the ST-code or in the FBD-logic.
Workaround: Ignore the warnings.

Objects in nested namespace folders do not have a nested namespace.
Scenario for problem: If you create a namespace folder as a subfolder in an existing namespace folder, the objects in the subfolder are only declared in the namespace of this subfolder. However, the expectation is that the objects are declared in a nested namespace, as nested namespaces for ST-objects and FBD-objects are possible according to the IDE documentation and the IDE-documentation for the namespace folders does not contain any information whether nested namespaces are possible for nested folders.
Example: The namespace folder NS1 contains the subfolder NS2 that is also a namespace folder. The objects in the namespace folder NS2 are declared in the namespace NS2. However, the expectation is that the objects are declared in the nested namespace NS1.NS2.
Workaround: none existing

The initialization of structure elements is not possible when creating a new structured variable via the content assist.
Scenario for problem: When creating a value field with a new variable via the content assist, it is not possible to enter an initial value for a variable that is declared based on a structured data type. For instance, if you enter Var1: myStruct := (Elem1 := true) (where myStruct is the structured data type and Elem1 one of its structure elements), the message Invalid expression is displayed.
Workaround: Create the variable without the intial value. For instance, enter Var1: myStruct in the content assist. Afterwards go the the list of the delared variables, double-click the created variable to open the dialog to modify its data. In the field Initial value, enter the initial value, e.g. (Elem1 := true) for the above example.

An exception might be caused when importing an existing access rights configuration.
Scenario for problem: If an existing access rights configuration is imported into a closed project, an exception is caused. In this case, the text java.util.NoSuchElementException: No value present is displayed in the error log.
Workaround: Import the access rights configuration into the opened project.

After a failed loading of the application, GUI elements in the “Instances“ view might not be in sync.
Scenario for problem: When using a microcontroller system without a separation between firmware and application (e.g. when using Controllinos as PLCs), it is possible that some of the GUI elements in the Instances view are not correctly synchronized. The problem has been observed after an application could not be loaded onto the PLC because the application used too much RAM. The following happened after the Gateway closed the connection:

• The button Connect to PLC was enabled but the line Connection state displayed Online.

• All other information about the PLC displayed Unknown”.

Workaround: Click the button Connect to PLC again to update the state. Subsequently, the line Connection state displays Online with the execution state Error.

• an item for a ZIP-file

• an item named folderName

Workaround: none existing

1. Have the “Values of Variables” view displayed.

2. Move the view to the right of the error logger.

3. Bring the error logger to the front.

4. Close and restart the IDE with the same workspace.
   
   Result: The “Values of Variables” view is still provided right of the error logger.

5. Switch to the “Instances” view, expand the tree until a variable is displayed, open the context menu for this variable and select “Add Variable to Values of Variables”.

Workaround: none existing

A temporary size for a value field makes it impossible to position the value field onto the grid. As a consequence, the connection line to a block input is not a straight line.
Scenario for problem: When using the smart styling, it might not be possible to connect a value field with block inputs by a straight line. This happens when the value field has been resized (to make it bigger) and then the value field has been resized back to its original size. After both resizing actions, any connection line to a block input is created with a “corner” because it is not possible to align the value field so that the connection nodes of the value field and of the block input are on the same grid. The connection line looks like this:

Workaround: none existing

A FORCEMRK block with a connected RS block causes errors when building the application.
Scenario for problem: When you connect the input of the FORCEMRK block to the RS block (see the following example for ST-code) and build the application, the following errors are reported:

from <project_path>\src-gen\localconfiguration\local.builtinplc\rismd\allmd.sys-gen.c:6:

<project_path>/target/localconfiguration/local.builtinplc/sys-gen/rismd/mdfu___forcemrk.rs.c:7:88: error: unknown type name 'LC_TD_FunctionBlock_FORCEMRK__RS'

FUNCTION_BLOCK TestSTErr

VAR

iFM1 : FORCEMRK;

iRS, iRS_O : RS;

END_VAR

iFM1(IN:=iRS, OUT=>iRS_O);

END_FUNCTION_BLOCK

As a consequence, it is not possible to build the application.
Workaround: none existing

The application navigator does not display the project name, when the project is closed/opened by using the gRPC interface.
Scenario for problem:When you close and open a project via the gRPC interface, the application navigator does not display the project name.
Additional information: By using the gRPC interface, it is possible to automate specific user actions in the IDE.
Workaround: none existing

Debugging is not possible. Reason: The call hierarchy in the Debug view is not automatically expanded and a hit breakpoint is not highlighted.
Scenario for problem:To set breakpoints for an application, at first you need to select the element for which the execution has been suspended. Usually, this element is visible at once because the call hierarchy in the Debug view is expanded. However, the call hierarchy is not expanded. Also, when the application is suspended because of a hit breakpoint, this breakpoint is not highlighted in the ST-/FBD-editor.
Workaround: none existing

It is not possible to use the gRPC interface for different instances of the IDE.
Scenario for problem:When you try to use the gRPC interface for different instances of the IDE, the following error is displayed for the gRPC interface:

Status(StatusCode="Unknown", Detail="", DebugException="Grpc.Core.Internal.CoreErrorDetailException:

{"created":"@1716819922.803000000","description":"Error received from peer ipv6:

[::1]:50055","file":"..\..\..\src\core\lib\surface\call.cc","file_line":953,"grpc_message":"","grpc_status":2}")

Also, the error log of the IDE displays errors that indicate exceptions. Here are some examples for these errors:

Exception in opening zip file: <path>\configuration\org.eclipse.osgi\780\0\bundleFile

Problems occurred when invoking code from plug-in: "org.eclipse.ui.workbench".

java.nio.file.NoSuchFileException: <path>\configuration\org.eclipse.osgi\780\0\bundleFile

Proxy could not create EMF Demo1 from provider org.eclipse.gemini.jpa.ProviderWrapper@70f6f135

Additional information: By using the gRPC interface, it is possible to automate specific user actions in the IDE.
Workaround: none existing

When using at least 2 monitors with different screen scaling, the context menu for the FBD-editor is displayed in the wrong position.
Scenario for problem: If you use at least 2 monitors with different screen scaling (e.g. 125% scaling on the primary monitor and 100% scaling on the secondary monitor) and you open the context menu in the FBD-editor, the context menu is opened in the wrong position.
Additional information: This wrong position of the context menu might cause unexpected behavior in the FBD-editor as listed in the release notes for the ID “112715“.
Workaround, if this is sensible: Use the same screen scaling for all monitors.

A specific library cannot be created by using “DEPLOY=:OBJECT” when “DEPLOY=:SOURCE” is working.
Scenario for problem:A customer library can be created with the value DEPLOY=:SOURCE. When the same library is created with DEPLOY=:OBJECT, the following error is reporting:

Cannot invoke "com.logicals.lc3.api.model.Resource.getConfiguration()" because the return value of "com.logicals.lc3.api.ptk.BuildContext.getResource()" is null

Additional information: The keyword DEPLOY defines the format for the element how to copy the statements of the element into the library. 3 values are supported: SOURCE, INTERFACE and OBJECT
At present, there are no details on the actual cause of the problem.
Workaround: none existing

When expanding a library, the application navigator might display the wrong content. Also, the expanding of the library takes longer than expected.
Scenario for problem:When a custom library is expanded in the application navigator, the content of the library is not displayed as expected. An example of the wrong display is that the same folders are displayed repeatedly. As a consequence, too many files are displayed and the expanding of the library takes up to 10 seconds. This expanding is longer than expected.
Workaround: none existing

It is not possible to copy and paste a value field containing an ARRAY variable as expected.
Scenario for problem:It is possible copy and paste a value field containing a variable from one POU to a different POU. But if the value field contains an ARRAY variable, the value field is pasted but it is highlighted as faulty. The reason for this error is that the ARRAY variable is not added in the list of the declared variables.
Workaround: Declare the ARRAY variable in the list of the declared variables.

An insufficient warning might be displayed when using the tool for the automated generation and deployment of a library.
Scenario for problem:The tool for the automated generation and deployment of a specific library that is invoked with -application com.logicals.library.lc3lib.application reports a warning but its cause and/or fix are not clear. This warning is:

Warning: In ConnEnd::assignPinVisibilityTo(): ConnEnd for connector <number> can't connect to shape <number> since it has no pins with class id of <number>.

Additional information: At present, there are no details on the actual cause of the problem.
Workaround: none existing

Parts of the German IDE documentation for the current version are still provided in English.
Scenario for problem: The German IDE documentation for the current version contains some German descriptions but also a lot of English descriptions.
Additional information: Neuron is working on providing the entire German user documentation. Neuron will periodically update the online version of the German documentation that will be provided here: https://help.neuron-automation.eu/Documents/NPE/latest/de
Workaround: Please check the online version of the German IDE documentation if this online version already contains the German descriptions you are looking for.

The IDE documentation for the PLCopen blocks contains wrong information about the values for the data type SAFEBOOL.
Scenario for problem:The descriptions of the PLCopen blocks contain the information that the values SAFETRUE and SAFEFALSE are possible for variables of data type SAFEBOOL. However, the actual implementation of the PLCopen blocks is using TRUE instead of SAFETRUE and FALSE instead of SAFEFALSE.
Workaround: none existing

A project folder that is renamed outside the IDE results in duplicated folders/files.
Scenario for problem:When you rename a project folder outside the IDE and you change an object inside this folder within the IDE, the project view displays the original project folder and the renamed project folder. The changed object is displayed under both folders.
Example: You rename the project folder src outside the IDE to src-new. Inside the IDE, you add a call into the opened FBD-object Counter that is located in the folder src and you save the change. Result: The project view displays the original project folder src and the renamed project folder src-new. The FBD-object Counter is displayed under src and src-new.
Workaround: Delete the duplicates.

The application cannot be built if an external variable is declared within a method and this method is declared within a class.
Scenario for problem:If you declare an external variable within a method and this method is declared within a class, it is not possible to build the application using this class.
Workaround: none existing

Missing VarCfg-objects in the project might cause an exception when the DTT has been used to generate these project elements.
Scenario for problem:When the device topology transformer (DTT) is used to generate project elements and some generated VarCfg-objects are deleted in the project, an exception might be caused. In this case, the error logger displays the following message:

Cannot invoke “org.eclipse.emf.ecore.resource.Resource.getURI()” because the return value of “com.logicals.lc3.api.model.st.configuration.VarCfg.Resource()” is null

Additional information:

1. Usually, the DTT is used by a system integrator to generate some project elements based on external data.

2. The missing VarCfg-objects are correctly reported by the error message Could not resolve reference to "VarCfg-object-name".

Workaround: Use the device topology transformer (DTT) again to generate the project elements including the missing VarCfg-objects.

An invalid artifact identity is caused when a program instance is disabled in the application navigator.
Scenario for problem:It is possible to disable a program instance in the application navigator. This disabling causes an invalid artifact identity because the PLC-object is automatically updated when the program instance is disabled but the artifact identity of the PLC-object is not updated accordingly. The invalid artifact identity becomes obvious, when you check the artifact identity and you build the application. In both cases, a dialog about the artifact identities reports the state “Invalid”. The additional description informs that the file of the PLC-object has been changed.
Workaround 1: In the dialog, click the button to approve the PLC-object. This updates the artifact identity of the PLC-object.
Workaround 2: Open the PLC-object, make a minimal change and save the changed PLC-object. This also updates the artifact identity of the PLC-object.

The version number of the system library is missing in the German message about updating this system library.
Scenario for problem: When a system library is updated, a message is displayed to inform you about this update. The message in German does not contain the new version number of the system library. Instead of the version number, the message displays: missing argument
Workaround: none existing

The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+S is not supported for the safety parameter editor.
Scenario for problem: When different editors contain unsaved changes, it is possible to save all changed as follows: In menu File, select Save All. But the appropriated keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+S is not supported, when the safety parameter editor is active.
Workaround: Use the command Save All.

An invalid artifact identity is caused when all variables are removed from the “Values of Variables” view.
Scenario for problem: When you remove all variables from the Values of Variables view, an invalid artifact identity is caused for the file testvariables.xml.
The invalid artifact identity becomes obvious, when you check the artifact identity and you build the application. In both cases, a dialog about the artifact identities reports the state “Removed”. The additional description informs that the file has been removed.
Workaround 1: In the dialog, click the button to approve the file. This updates the artifact identity of the file.
Workaround 2: Add an element into the Values of Variables view again. This also updates the artifact identity of the file.

Opening of the POU from the “Instances” view might take longer than expected. Scrolling in this POU also might take longer than expected.
Scenario for problem: When using the smart styling, opening a POU by double-clicking its instance in the Instances view takes up to 90 seconds.
Compare: When using the legacy styling, the opening takes up to 10 seconds.
Additional information: Scrolling in the same POU with smart styling also takes longer than scrolling in a POU with legacy styling.
Workaround: none existing

Removing an object with an invalid artifact identity might not refresh the project content as expected.
Scenario for problem 1: When the dialog about the artifact identities reports some objects, it is possible to delete this object by clicking the appropriate button in the dialog. However, after closing the dialog, the object is still displayed in the project explorer.
Workaround for problem 1: Press the F5-key to refresh the content in the project explorer.
Scenario for problem 2: When you check the artifact identity again after the workaround for problem 1, the dialog again reports the object although this object and its artifactory have been removed from the project.
Workaround for problem 2: none existing

An exception is caused when a global variable is dropped onto a program instance.
Scenario for problem: It is possible to drag and drop a global variable onto a POU. This global variable has been declared in a global-object and the drag-and-drop action is taking place in the application navigator. If the target of the drag-and-drop action is a program instance (displayed under the a resource folder), an exception is caused. In this case, the error log displays the message Unhandled event loop exception.
Workaround: none existing

An invalid artifact identity is caused when a namespace folder is renamed.
Scenario for problem: When you rename a namespace folder that contains POUs, an invalid artifact identity is reported.
The invalid artifact identity becomes obvious, when you check the artifact identity and you build the application. In both cases, a dialog about the artifact identities reports the state “Removed” for a file. This file is in context to the namespace folder. The additional description informs that the file has been removed.
Workaround: none existing

Double-click onto an OLT-field does not open the dialog to change the value.
Scenario for problem: You are not able to change the value of a variable within an OLT-field which is displayed in the LD-editor. The reason for this: Double-click onto the OLT-field does not open the dialog.
Workaround: none existing

After inserting several FBD-elements, an exception might be caused and the connection lines might not be displayed as expected.
Scenario for problem: If you copy several networks consisting of a few value fields, blocks, and line connections and you paste them onto a different page, an exception might be caused and some connection lines between the value fields might not be displayed as expected. In this case, some lines even seem to be missing and the error log displays this message:

org.adaptagrams.ColaException: ERROR: Critical assertion failed. expression: find(actionList.begin(), actionList.end(), ActionInfo(ShapeAdd, shape)) == actionList.end() at line 287 of router.cpp

Workaround: Save, close and reopen the FBD-editor.

Pasting resources might not lock the pasted resource.
Scenario for problem: When you use a team server, created resources are automatically locked. This applies to pasted resources as well but not when copying and pasting is done by the commands Copy and Paste.
Workaround: Copy and paste the resources by holding the Ctrl-key while dragging the resources from the original location to the new location. At the new location, you must release the Ctrl-key.

Inaccurate validations of the artifact identity might be caused when an ST-object is deleted outside of the IDE but its ST-editor has been opened inside the IDE.

Scenario for problem: There are some unexpected validations of the artifact identity when performing the following steps:

1. You open the ST-editor for an ST-object.

2. You close the IDE without closing the ST-editor.

3. Outside the IDE, you delete the file for this ST-object.

4. You start the IDE again.Result: A message reporting the failed validation of the artifact identity is displayed. However, this message contains the information that the file has been modified when it has been deleted.

Additional information: When you check the artifact identity or you build the application, a dialog about the artifact identities reports the state of H-/C-files to be “Removed”. The additional description informs that the files have been removed. However, these files have not been deleted outside the IDE.
Workaround: none existing