Conversion with the Conversion Wizard

Introduction

The conversion wizard is an integrated part of Control Expert.

You can use it to:

convert applications exported from legacy applications (PL7 and Concept) to Control Expert
convert legacy applications partially or as a whole
remap I/O objects (channels, variables, etc.) during conversion using the wizard
adapt the hardware configuration of the new application concurrently in Control Expert
modify the amount of used memory in the CPU

The conversion wizard is available if you have chosen to install a converter (e.g., PL7 Application Converter) during the setup of Control Expert.

Application Conversion as a Whole

To convert an application as a whole, while keeping the same PLC family and selection of application parts or remapping of I/O objects is not needed, you have to use the PL7 Application Converter directly via the Control Expert menu File → Open.

NOTE: But use the Conversion Wizard to convert PL7 Micro applications to Control Expert M340 applications (see next paragraph).

Partial Application Conversion

To convert an application partially and/or the PLC family must be changed or remapping of I/O objects is needed, use the conversion wizard via the Control Expert menu Tools → Convert Partially.

For detailed information, please refer to the Introduction to the Conversion Wizard.

General Procedure

General procedure to convert a legacy application to Control Expert

Step	Action
1	Export your application out of your legacy programming system (e.g. as an FEF file out of PL7).
2	Create a new application in Control Expert selecting a CPU with enough memory and the I/O access capabilities needed (e.g. Modicon M340). Optionally you can configure the I/O modules expected to be needed but you can modify the hardware configuration even later (see step 6).
3	Launch the conversion wizard in Control Expert via Tools → Convert Partially. Result: The conversion wizard asks you to select the exported legacy source file.
4	Select the exported legacy source file. Result: The converter analyzes the source file and displays the result in the 3 tabs of the conversion wizard.
5	Select the parts of the application (or the complete application) to be converted in the Structure tab.
6	Remap the I/O objects for getting them compliant with the new hardware configuration. Concurrently you can modify the hardware configuration of the new application in Control Expert. Note: To save a backup file of your intermediate I/O mapping you can use the Save button. With Load you can reload your latest saved intermediate I/O mapping.
7	After finishing all your selections and manual modifications click OK. Result: The converter applies the defined remapping to the selected parts of the source file and imports the results into the opened Control Expert Application (e.g. an application with a Modicon M340 PLC).
8	Continue working on the opened application, save it or export as an XEF file.

Conversion Wizard Documentation

For detailed information on the conversion wizard, please refer to chapter Conversion Wizard.