Ladder editor

	The new Ladder editor is available in a beta version from TC3.1 Build 4026.

The Ladder editor is a network-based editor for the IEC programming language Ladder Diagram (LD). In the implementation part, you program a "circuit diagram" in one or more network elements. To do this, you can insert the required elements from the toolbox or by means of menu commands, link them and provide them with input and output variables and modifiers.

Each network can be given with a title, a comment and/or a jump label. You can comment out networks.

Inserting and replacing elements is done by dragging an element with the mouse from the toolbox to one of the offered insertion positions.

The insertion positions are displayed with the following symbols while you drag the element over the implementation part:

Square with a gray background inside an existing element symbol
Rhombus on a connecting line
Triangle pointing up or down for insertion above or below

A possible position "lights up", the mouse pointer gets a plus sign Ladder editor 2: , and when the mouse button is released, the element is inserted.

Currently selected areas in the editor are highlighted in red and outlined.

Suitable commands for modifying (Edge Detection, Set/Reset, EN/ENO), deleting, refactoring, searching and so on are each located in the context menu.

In online mode, monitoring and troubleshooting are possible using breakpoints and writing and forcing values.

The representation in the editor is defined in the TwinCAT options, category Ladder editor. This concerns, for example, the display of comments, addresses or whether networks are provided with line breaks.

Programs created in the LD/FBD editor can be read into the Ladder editor and edited further.

See also:

Programming in the Ladder editor
User interface documentation: Ladder editor
User interface documentation: Dialog: Options – Ladder editor