Multi-User Session

With Open Multi-User Session you work on a TIA Multi-User session entirely inside AnyAutomation Studio: you open the session, edit your project, and Commit your changes to the Multi-User server, without keeping TIA Portal open.

Multi-User engineering lets several people work on one project at the same time: the project lives on a Multi-User server, and each person works in their own local session that they check out, edit, and commit back. That whole loop is what you do here in Studio.

For ordinary projects that are not part of a Multi-User server, keep using Connect. The Multi-User features only appear when you open a session through Connect → Open Multi-User Session.

Before you start: a Multi-User server

Studio works with a TIA Project Server — a server that hosts the shared project for the whole team. Set one up once with Siemens' TIA Project Server tools, then host your project on it. When you choose the server's storage location, pick a folder outside your personal user folder (for example on another drive) so the server can manage its projects reliably.

You start working on a server project with Check Out from Server (below). After the first check‑out, the same local session can be reopened at any time from its file or from the existing‑sessions list.

A note on the "local" Multi-User server: when you open a session inside TIA Portal, TIA Portal can start a temporary server on its own. That one is only for working inside TIA Portal. For Studio, host your project on a TIA Project Server and check it out from there.

Uploading a project to the server

You can put a single-user project onto your Multi-User server straight from Studio, without keeping TIA Portal open. Once it is on the server, the project is available under Check Out from Server, ready for the team to start working on.

Run Upload Project to Multi-User Server, either from the Connect menu in the empty project view or from the command palette. Studio walks you through it step by step:

Pick the project file. Choose the project file (.ap15 to .ap21) on your machine. The version is read from the file.
Server name. Type a name for the server connection. If a connection with that name does not exist yet, Studio registers it for you.
Host. Type the host name or IP address of your Multi-User server.
Port. Type the port the server listens on.
Protocol. Choose HTTPS or HTTP.

Studio then uploads the project to the server and confirms the name it was stored under. From there it appears under Check Out from Server, where you or your colleagues can create a local session from it.

If you type a server name you have used before, Studio reuses the existing connection. Like the other Multi-User features, uploading is part of the Pro plan and above.

Managing your Multi-User servers

Run Manage Multi-User Servers from the Connect menu in the empty project view or from the command palette. After you pick the version, Studio lists the Multi-User servers it knows about, showing each one's address. Pick a server to choose what to do with it:

Edit Connection. Update the server's host, port, or protocol (HTTPS or HTTP). Studio shows the current values so you only change what you need; your edit takes effect right away.
Manage Local Sessions. Pick one of the server's projects to see the local sessions registered on it, then remove one you no longer need. Studio asks you to confirm, because removing a session from the server cannot be undone.
Remove Server. Remove the connection to a server you no longer use. Studio asks you to confirm first. This only removes the connection from your machine; it does not delete any projects on the server.

Like the other Multi-User features, server management is part of the Pro plan and above.

Opening a Multi-User session

In the empty project view, click Connect and choose Open Multi-User Session from the menu. You can also run the command from the command palette. Studio then asks how you want to open the session and offers three ways. For a project you have not worked on yet, start with Check out from the server; From a file and An existing local session then reopen a session you already checked out.

From a file

Pick the local session file on your machine. The version is read from the file automatically, so you do not have to choose it.

An existing local session

Studio looks for the local sessions already on this machine and lists them with name, last-modified date, and location. Pick one from the list. If none are found, you get a note saying so.

Check out from the server

First choose the version, then Studio shows the projects available on your Multi-User server. Pick a project, give your new local session a name, and choose a folder for it. Studio checks out a fresh session and opens it. If no project appears, make sure the Multi-User server is reachable.

If a project is currently locked on the server, the list shows a lock note next to it — and, when the server reports it, the name of the person who holds the lock — so you can see at a glance that someone else is working on it before you check it out.

In all three cases Studio opens the session and loads the project. From there you work as usual in the project view, and the Multi-User banner appears at the top.

When a Multi-User session is open, a banner appears at the top of the project view, above the project tree. It shows:

The session name, so you can see at a glance which local session you are working in.
A short changes summary, for example "5 changes" or, when a colleague changed the same objects, a conflict count.
A Review Changes button to see what you are about to check in.
A Commit... button.

There is no separate save step in a Multi-User session: you edit your project and send your changes to the Multi-User server with Commit.

The banner appears only for a session you opened through Open Multi-User Session. With an ordinary connection the project view stays free of the Multi-User banner.

Committing to the Multi-User server

Click Commit... (or Review Changes in the banner) to start a commit. Studio first opens a Review Changes view so you can see exactly what you are about to check in.

Review changes before committing

When you commit, Studio opens a Review Changes view that lists the objects you changed in this session. You can also open it any time with the Review Changes button in the banner.

Each entry shows the object's name and type. The banner and the status bar show a short summary, for example "5 changes" or, when there are conflicts, a conflict count.

Conflicts

A conflict means a colleague changed the same object in their own session. Conflicts are flagged in the list, and you cannot commit while any are present. Resolve them in TIA Portal first: pull the latest changes from the Multi-User server into your session so your work and your colleague's are merged, then come back to Studio and commit.

Picking what to check in

On newer TIA Portal versions, each change has a tick box, so you can choose exactly which changes to check in. Leave a box ticked to include that change and clear it to leave it out, then click Commit Selected.... Conflicts can never be ticked. On older TIA Portal versions you commit everything at once with Commit All....

When you commit:

Studio checks whether your local session is up to date with the server.
If it is up to date, you are asked for a commit comment describing your changes. The comment is required.
Studio commits your changes and confirms with the revision number it created.

You can click Reload at any time to refresh the list from your session.

When the session is out of date

If your local session is not up to date with the server, you cannot commit yet. The banner shows a warning, and so does a message if you try to commit:

Session is out of date. Pull the latest changes from the Multi-User server in TIA Portal before committing.

In that case, pull the latest changes from the Multi-User server into your local session first, and then commit again.

Status bar entry

While a Multi-User session is open, a status bar entry at the bottom of the window shows the session name together with an icon for its state:

A check icon means the session is up to date with the server.
A warning icon means the session is out of date and needs the latest changes pulled in before you can commit.
An error icon, with a count, means there are conflicts to resolve before you can commit.

Clicking the status bar entry starts a commit, just like the Commit... button; when there are conflicts it opens the Review Changes view so you can see them.

Availability

The Multi-User features are part of the Pro plan and above. With a Basic plan or no active plan, the Multi-User entries in the Connect menu, the banner, and the commit action are not available.

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