EPLAN PLC Lists

The PLC lists are part of the EPLAN integration in the Pro+ and Enterprise plans. From an open EPLAN project you can export three lists of the PLC data:

• the PLC tag list as an Excel workbook or a CSV file, with every EPLAN licence;
• the PLC assignment list in a format of your EPLAN master data, for example to take the symbols over into your PLC programming software;
• the PLC address overview as a CSV file.

Open the project first (see EPLAN Integration). All three commands are in the PLC Lists menu (table icon) in the title bar of the EPLAN Project Explorer, and in the Command Palette.

Export the PLC Tag List

The PLC tag list contains one row per I/O point of the project, with these columns:

• Address: the PLC address of the I/O point, for example %IX9.0.
• Symbolic Name: the symbol of the I/O point.
• Data Type
• Function Text: in your display language, where the project has the text in that language.
• Device Tag: the device tag of the PLC terminal, for example =K1+B3.X1-KE1.
• Page: the page on which the PLC terminal is placed in the schematic.
• Channel: the terminal on the device, for example 1.1.
• Rack
• Slot
• Direction: I for an input, Q for an output.

The column headings are written in your display language. The rows are sorted by station and then by address.

I/O points that are only in the assignment list of the project and not placed on a PLC terminal are added at the end of the list with address, symbol, data type, function text and direction. Their device tag, page, channel, rack and slot stay empty, because the schematic does not show them yet.

1. Click PLC Lists > Export PLC Tag List….
2. Choose the file format: Excel Workbook (.xlsx) or CSV, Separated by Semicolons (.csv).
3. Choose the PLC. All PLCs is always the first entry and exports every I/O point of the project in one list, including the I/O points that belong to no station. Below it, each PLC is listed by the name of its CPU. A PLC that has no CPU in the project, for example a bus coupler station, is listed by its station name instead. Each entry also shows the configuration project, the station and the page of the PLC.
4. In the save dialog, choose the folder and the file name and click Export.

The Excel workbook has one sheet, named after the CPU or the station you chose, a bold header row that stays visible while you scroll, and a filter on every column. Device tags stay text in Excel, so Excel does not turn them into numbers or dates. The CSV file uses semicolons as separators and opens with the correct special characters in Excel.

The export needs no scheme in your EPLAN master data and no additional module of your EPLAN licence.

Why not EPLAN's own list? The PLC assignment list of EPLAN is written in text formats only (SDF, CSV, TXT and the iom format). When you need the PLC signals in Excel, use the PLC tag list. A label list from Generate Report can also be written as Excel, if your EPLAN master data contains a label scheme with an Excel output, see EPLAN Reports.

Export the PLC Assignment List

1. Click PLC Lists > Export PLC Assignment List….
2. Choose the PLC, by its CPU or, for a PLC without a CPU, by its station.
3. Choose the format scheme of the assignment list. The list shows the PLC assignment list schemes of your EPLAN master data; the scheme EPLAN used last is marked Last used.
4. Choose the language of the texts in the list.
5. In the save dialog, choose the file. The list can be saved as .sdf, .csv, .txt or .iom; choose the file type that matches the scheme.

If your EPLAN master data contains no PLC assignment list scheme, a message says so. Use the PLC tag list in that case; it needs no scheme.

The command needs the PLC Assignment Lists or the PLC Assignment List Export module of your EPLAN licence. Without one of them, the command is greyed out.

Export the PLC Address Overview

1. Click PLC Lists > Export PLC Address Overview….
2. Choose the PLC. The list offers only PLCs with a CPU, because EPLAN creates the address overview per CPU.
3. In the save dialog, choose the CSV file.

If the project contains no CPU, only stations, a message says so. Export the PLC assignment list or the PLC tag list of the station instead.

The command needs the PLC Assignment Lists module of your EPLAN licence. Without it, the command is greyed out.

When the File Is Written

A progress message shows while EPLAN writes the list. Click Cancel to stop the export; EPLAN finishes the step it is working on and then stops.

When the file is written, a message shows its path with two buttons:

• Open File opens the list in the program that is set up for the file type, for example Excel.
• Reveal in File Explorer opens the folder and selects the file.

To have the save dialog start in the same folder each time, set the folder under Settings > EPLAN > Default Export Directory.

In the AI Chat

In the chat, the EPLAN Engineer agent can list the PLCs of the project and write all three lists for you. Name the PLC by its CPU, or for the tag list and the assignment list also by its station; the address overview needs a PLC with a CPU. Before it writes a file, the chat asks for your confirmation and shows the target path. For the assignment list it takes the scheme from the list of schemes of your EPLAN master data, it never guesses a scheme name.

Notes

• For the assignment list and the address overview, a project without a PLC shows "The open EPLAN project contains no PLC." The tag list then exports every I/O point of the assignment list without asking for a PLC.
• A greyed-out command shows that your EPLAN licence does not include the module it needs. Hover over the EPLAN entry in the status bar to see the modules your licence does not include, see EPLAN Integration.
• To bring the PLC signals into the tag tables of a TIA Portal project, see EPLAN Signals to TIA Tag Tables.