Object 'Project Information'

Symbol: _cds_icon_project_information

Function: The object contains the properties, meta-information, and project information. With this, you can check the authorship and integrity of the project.

Call

Double-click the object in the device tree
Menu bar: “Project Project Information”

Requirement: CODESYS creates the object when you click “Project Project Information”, and the dialog opens.

CODESYS saves the project information directly in the project. For example, if you transfer a project to another system, then the “Project Information” object is also transferred. You do not need a project archive.

Tab 'File'

The tab displays the properties of the project file and their attributes. You cannot edit these attributes. They correspond to the file properties of Windows Explorer.

Tab 'Summary'

The tab contains general information and meta-information of the project file. CODESYS uses this information to create keys on the “Properties” tab. For example, if the name ‎Company_A‎ is specified in “Company”, then the ‎Company‎ key with the value ‎Company_A‎ is provided on the “Properties” tab.

NOTICE

If you save your project as a library project, then you should pay attention to the guidelines for library developers (Library Development Summary).

For a library project, a “Company”, a “Title”, and a “Version” must be specified to install the library.
“Company”	Name of the company (example: `‎Company_A‎`).
“Title”	Title of the project (example `‎Automation_A‎`).
“Version”	Version of the project (example: `‎0.0.0.1‎`).
“Released”	: Activates protection from modification. Result: If you edit the project now, then a dialog prompt opens to confirm whether you really want to change the project. If you reply to this prompt one time by clicking “Yes”, then no additional prompts appear for more editing actions.
“Categories”	Categories of the library project, according to which you can sort in the “Library Repository” dialog. If no category is specified, then the category “Other” is assigned to the library. The categories originate from one or more external description files in XML format. However, they can also originate from a library project that has already been created. Requirement: The project is a library project. : The “Library Categories” dialog opens where you can add library categories.
“Default namespace”	If you do not define a standard namespace here, then the name of the library file is applied automatically as the namespace.
“Author”	Author of the project (example: `‎Arnold Best‎`).
“Description”	Example: `‎For internal use only‎`

See also

Table 469: Dialog “Library Categories”
List of categories	List of the categories that are assigned to the library project. They can originate from several sources. After you specify all desired categories, click “OK” to confirm.
Button “Add”	The “From Description File” and “From Other Library” commands appear.
Button “Remove”	CODESYS removes the selected category.
Command “From Description File”	The “Select Description File” dialog opens for you select a description file (`‎*.libcat.xml‎`). The file contains command categories. When you click “Open”, CODESYS accepts the categories.
Command “From Other Library”	The “Select Library” dialog opens, where you select a library with command categories to be accepted. When you click “Open”, CODESYS accepts the categories.
Button “OK”	CODESYS provides the categories as project information and displays it in the “Library Categories” field.

See also

Tab 'Properties'

On this tab, you can define keys that you can control externally from user-specific programs.

NOTICE

If you have opened a library project, then note the description of the relevant keys in the guidelines for library developers (Library Development Summary).

If you have opened a symbol library as a project, then the key ‎VisuSymbolLibrary = TRUE‎ must be defined. It identifies the library as a symbol library.

“Key”	Name of the key. Specify any string of text for the new key, or select an existing key from the “Properties” table.
“Type”	Data type of the key. Possible types: “Text”, “Date”, “Number”, “Boolean”, “Version”.
“Value”	Value of the key in permitted format “Text”: Any character string “Date”: Example: `‎Friday, January 1, 2016 00:00:00‎`. Minimum entry for the date: `‎1.1‎` “Number”: Integer in Integer32 format with or without a sign (example: `‎-32500‎`). “Boolean”: `‎True‎` or `‎False‎`, capitalization irrelevant. “Version”: Examples: `‎1.1‎`, `‎1.0.1.0‎`, maximum four figures.
“Add”	Adds the new defined key to the “Properties” table.
“Modify”	Saves the change made for the key selected in the “Properties” table.
“Remove”	Removes the key selected in the “Properties” table.

“Properties”

List of the properties that are defined as keys. CODESYS creates keys automatically for the information in the “Summary” tab.

Click a key to edit it in the input fields above the list.

See also

Tab 'Statistics'

The dialog provides statistical information about the number of objects of the individual type or use in the project.

Tab 'Licensing'

The dialog is for the license protection of libraries.

CAUTION

You can protect only compiled libraries in this way.

Table 470: “Variables”
“Activate dongle licensing”	: The library requires a dongle with a license to use it.
“Firm code”	License information that must be supplied from the dongle for using the library later.
“Product code”
“Activation URL”
“Activation mail”

See also

⮫ “Guidelines for creating libraries”

Tab 'Signing'

This tab is displayed only for existing libraries whose signing has been created with this tab. This tab is no longer visible for newly generated libraries.

When a certificate-signed library is created (possible as of CODESYS V3 SP15) and library compatibility with CODESYS < V3 SP15 is not set, the settings on this tab are disabled. In this case, the signing is done by means of a certificate that has to be assigned to the user profile in the security screen.

One method, which is not recommended but may be necessary in some case for compatibility with versions < V3 SP15, is the less secure signing of a library by means of a vendor-specific, one-time key in this dialog. Requirement: This key is available as a private key file (‎*.libpk‎) with an associated token. The user of the library also has to obtain this key in order to be able to check whether the last signing was actually performed by the library vendor.

“Activate signing”	: CODESYS signs the library project with a single-use, manufacturer-specific key.
“Private key file”	Location of the private key file `‎*.libpk‎` (example: `‎D:\for lib developers only\mycomp_libkey.libpk‎`).
“Public key token”	Example: `‎427A5701DA3CF3CF‎` Requirement: A private key file is specified, and CODESYS has read and entered the token.
“Create Private Key File”	CODESYS creates a new private key file.

See also

⮫ “Command 'Security Screen'”

Options for creating blocks for accessing project information

“Automatically generate 'Project Information' POUs”

Note: The functions that are created with this option can be used only if the runtime supports the ‎WSTRING‎ data type. If this is not the case, then you can use the functions that were created automatically for the with the individual items of the project information, at least in the application for accessing properties. These functions are not registered in the runtime.

_cds_icon_option_activated : CODESYS creates POUs of the ‎FUNCTION‎ type in the “POUs” view, allowing programmatic access to the project properties in the application. The function blocks ‎GetCompany‎, ‎GetTitle‎ and ‎GetVersion‎ are created for the properties “Company”, “Title” and “Version”.

The following function blocks are available for user-defined properties:

‎GetBooleanProperty‎: BOOL (TRUE/FALSE)
‎GetNumberProperty‎: DINT (numeric value)
‎GetTextProperty‎: WSTRING (character string)
‎GetTextProperty2‎: POINTER TO WSTRING (unlimited length)
‎GetVersionProperty‎: VERSION (version number as character string)

Note: Do not activate this option for standard libraries, because this can cause problems on smaller systems due to the additional memory requirements.

Note: If a library also contains this project information POU, then you should use the operator ‎__POOL‎ to make sure that this POU is accessed.

“Automatically generate 'Library Information' POUs”

_cds_icon_option_activated : CODESYS creates POUs of the ‎FUNCTION‎ type in the “POUs” view, allowing programmatic access to the project properties in the application.

For the “Version” and “Released” properties, the following functions are created: ‎GetLibVersion‎ (version number as character string), ‎GetLibVersionNumber‎ (version number as numeric value), and ‎IsLibReleased‎ (TRUE/FALSE).

Note: These functions are not registered in the runtime. The option is available as an alternative solution is the runtime does not support the ‎WSTRING‎ data type, therefore not permitting you to use the functions created with the “Automatically generate 'Project Information' POUs” option.

See also