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Hardware

Hardware in your TIA Portal project is available on three levels: the Project Explorer tree shows the devices, the Hardware editor lets you edit network settings and card start addresses and write them back into the project, and AML (AutomationML) export/import exchanges the complete hardware configuration.

Devices in the Project Explorer

Open the TIA Portal container from the Activity Bar (the icon strip on the far left) and connect to a project. The Project Explorer in the Side Bar shows a Hardware node that lists the devices in the project:

Hardware
└── PLCs (1)
    └── PLC_1 (PLC) [192.168.0.5]
        └── … modules, interface, ports

Devices are grouped by category — one folder per type such as PLCs, HMIs or Distributed I/O, each with its count in parentheses. Each device appears as its name, followed by the device type in parentheses and the IP address in square brackets (for example PLC_1 (PLC) [192.168.0.5]), and expands to its modules, PROFINET interface, and ports. To change PROFINET names, IP addresses, or card start addresses, use the Hardware editor (below); to add, change, move, copy, or delete the modules themselves, right-click them in the tree (see Editing modules in the tree); for the full configuration, round-trip through AML.

The Hardware Editor

While connected to a TIA project, open the editor in any of three ways:

  • run Openness Manager: Open Hardware from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P),
  • click the circuit-board icon in the Project Explorer title bar, or
  • right-click the project in the tree and choose Open Hardware.

The editor opens as a TIA Hardware tab. It requires the Pro plan or higher — on a smaller plan an upgrade dialog appears instead.

Stations

The upper table lists one row per station with the columns Device, Type, PROFINET Name, Article Number, Firmware, IP Address 1–4, Input (I) and Output (Q). The PROFINET Name and the four IP Address cells are editable — click into a cell and type. All other columns are read-only.

Cards

Click a station to show the Cards table below it: Slot, Card, Article No., Input Start / End / Length and Output Start / End / Length. Only the start bytes are editable; End and Length update automatically as you type. Cards without an input or an output show -1 in the respective columns.

Validation

Invalid entries — a malformed IP address, an invalid PROFINET name, or a start byte outside 0–32767 — are flagged with a red marker; hover over the cell for a tooltip with the reason. Saving stays blocked until every flagged cell is fixed.

Saving

Click Save Changes (or press Ctrl+S) to write your edits into the open TIA project. While changes are unsaved, the tab shows a dot. After saving, the card addresses reload automatically — TIA Portal may renumber neighbouring addresses when a start byte moves.

If some writes fail, a message lists the affected devices and the failed rows stay marked, so you can correct the values and save again.

Note: Clearing an IP address field is not written to the project. Restore the value or use Discard.

Discard, Refresh and CSV Export

  • Discard reverts all unsaved edits at once.
  • Refresh reloads the tables from the project; with unsaved changes it asks first, because refreshing discards them.
  • Export to CSV saves the station list as a semicolon-separated CSV file via a file dialog — the file opens directly in Excel.

Unsaved Changes

  • Disconnecting from the project with unsaved changes asks whether to Save, Discard, or Cancel.
  • If the TIA Portal connection is lost, or you switch to another TIA Portal instance, unsaved changes are discarded with a notice and the view reloads.
  • Closing the editor tab with unsaved changes prompts you to save.
  • Closing or reloading the application window with unsaved changes also asks whether to Save, Discard, or Cancel.

Editing modules in the tree

You can build up and rearrange a device directly in the Project Explorer, one module at a time, without leaving the workbench. This requires the Pro plan or higher: on a smaller plan the actions show an upgrade notice instead. A TIA project must be connected, and the change is written straight into the open project.

Add a module

  1. Right-click a rack node (a device or a station that can hold modules) and choose Add Module.
  2. Enter a name for the new module when prompted (a name is required).
  3. A catalog browser opens. Type in the search box to filter by name or article number, and pick the module you want.
  4. Pick a free slot from the slot list, then confirm.

The new module appears in the tree at the chosen slot.

Change the type of a module

Right-click a module and choose Change Type. The same catalog browser opens, already focused on compatible replacements. Pick the new module and confirm, and the module is swapped in place.

Move a module

Right-click a module and choose Move…. Pick the target slot from the slot list and confirm. The module moves to the new slot.

Copy a module

Right-click a module and choose Copy…. Pick a free target slot and confirm. A copy of the module is placed in that slot.

Delete a module

Right-click a module and choose Delete Module. A confirmation prompt names the module first; confirm it to remove the module from the device, or cancel to leave it in place.

After any of these actions the tree refreshes so you see the updated device layout. Invalid choices — for example a slot that is already taken or a module the slot cannot hold — are reported in a short message, and nothing is changed.

Letting the AI assistant edit modules

The built-in AI assistant can perform the same edits on request — for example "add a digital input module to PLC_1 in the next free slot" or "delete the analog output card in slot 4". Before it applies a change to the device, the assistant asks you to confirm: an Approve / Deny prompt appears inline in the chat, and the edit is written only after you approve, unless you allowed the action in advance. As with the menu actions, this requires a Pro license or higher and a connected project.

Export and Import AML

Hardware configuration is exchanged as AML (AutomationML) files. Two commands handle this:

Export AML (Hardware)… Writes the hardware configuration of the connected project to an AML file for documentation, version control, or transfer to another project.

Import AML (Hardware)… Reads an AML file back into TIA Portal to apply a hardware configuration.

You can run both from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) as Openness Manager: Export AML (Hardware)… and Openness Manager: Import AML (Hardware)…, and from the Hardware selection in the Import / Export view: pick the Hardware chip and use Export AML → or ← Import AML…. The actions are available only while a project is connected. Progress and the result are shown as a notification, and the running operation can be cancelled.

Supported Device Types

  • S7-1200/1500 PLCs
  • WinCC Unified HMI Panels
  • WinCC Comfort Panels
  • SINAMICS Drives
  • SCALANCE Switches
  • ET 200 distributed I/O
  • Other PROFINET devices

Notes

  • The Hardware node and the Hardware editor reflect the project as TIA Portal reports it; use Refresh (or reload the tree) to see changes made elsewhere in TIA Portal.
  • AML export/import covers the full hardware configuration, including PROFINET names and IP addresses.
  • WinCC Unified devices are fully supported.
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