'Upcoming installation' means the install is queued behind open projects. Close every project in the Development System, install through Tools > Package Manager > Install, and confirm the example project appears in your user profile. The CODESYS Installer's Install from file is the fallback when that path fails.
"Upcoming installation" in the CODESYS Development System is a queue marker, not progress. The install waits until no project is open, and with a project on screen it waits indefinitely. Close every project, install through Tools > Package Manager > Install, and the package lands with its example project in your user profile. If that path fails, the CODESYS Installer's Install from file does the same job with the IDE closed. This page gives both paths, the checks that prove the install finished, and the order to try them.
What the message means
The Store hands the install request to the Development System, which queues it. The message says queued, nothing more. Clicking Install again adds the same request to the same queue. Waiting changes nothing while a project is open: the queue runs only after the last project closes, and that behavior is the whole problem.
Know what you are installing, too. Device Reader is a package plus an example project, so nothing new appears in the Start menu and there is no standalone application to launch. Success looks like a folder of project files in your user profile, and the checks below tell you where.
Download the package from the CODESYS Store, which also carries the current V3.5 releases of the Development System. A package file from any other source has no integrity check behind it, and that is the one rule worth stopping for.
Symptoms and what each points to
| Symptom | What it points to | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Upcoming installation" and nothing starts | A project is still open in the Development System | Close every project, then install via Tools > Package Manager |
| Package Manager install fails or will not open | The install path inside the IDE is blocked | Use CODESYS Installer, Change, Install from file |
| Install reports success but there is no example folder | Wrong user profile, or the install stopped partway | Check the examples folder under the account that runs the IDE, then reinstall |
| Project opens but the visualization is empty | The application is not running on the target | Download to the device, start it, then open the visualization |
The fix: Package Manager with every project closed
- Save your work, then close every project. Use File > Close Project repeatedly until the welcome view shows and no project tabs remain.
- Open Tools > Package Manager.
- Click Install and select the package you downloaded from the Store.
- Step through the dialogs and wait for the success message. Once the queue starts, the install takes about a minute.
- Restart the Development System if the installer asks.
Do not open a project mid-install. That puts the request straight back in the queue.
Fallback: the CODESYS Installer
Use this path when the Package Manager route fails or the IDE will not open.
- Close the Development System completely.
- Open the Windows Start menu, go to the CODESYS folder, and start CODESYS Installer.
- Choose Change, then Install from file, and point the dialog at the downloaded package.
This path runs with no IDE holding the package registry, so the open-project condition is out of the picture. Try it second. Package Manager is the shorter route and it is the one that clears this exact symptom.
Scenario: Device Reader queued with two projects open
Inputs:
- Package: Device Reader, downloaded from the CODESYS Store.
- Workstation: Development System V3.5 with two projects open, one ladder project and one visualization project.
- Symptom: "upcoming installation" shown since the Store click, no progress after several minutes.
Rule: the queue starts when the last project closes, a started install takes about a minute, and the install counts as finished only when the example project exists.
Arithmetic: closing two projects at about 10 seconds each is 20 s. The install itself runs about 60 s. One restart of the IDE, if prompted, adds about 60 s. Total: 20 + 60 + 60 = 140 s, so the whole job is two and a half minutes.
Result and decision: after the last close, the success dialog appears within the minute and the example project exists in your user profile. The install is done; open the project and run it. If the queue is still silent two minutes after the last project closed, which is twice its normal start time, stop waiting: close the IDE and use the CODESYS Installer path. Waiting longer has never been the fix for this symptom.
Prove the install finished
Look for the folder C:\Users\yourname\CODESYS Examples\Device Reader, where yourname is the Windows account that runs the IDE. Another account on the same machine has its own examples folder. If the folder is missing, the install did not complete: repeat the Package Manager steps with no projects open.
Then open the project, download it to the controller you are evaluating, start it, and open the visualization. It lists the functions that device supports. It reports the target it ran on, so a run against a different controller describes that controller; download again to the hardware you care about before you trust the list.
That list is the fact base for the next steps in the project. Fixing a PLC runtime device mismatch starts with knowing what the runtime actually supports. When one project must run on several targets, reusable HMI screens for multiple devices covers what can be shared once each target's functions are known. For turning those functions into screens an operator reads, how PLC-driven HMI graphics represent equipment states covers the drawing side. If the same machine area also needs a plain notice board for shift messages, one that plays from a card, not from the runtime, shop-floor screens fit that job; they are signage units, not HMIs.
Recommendation: close every project and install through Tools > Package Manager > Install first; it is the short path and the one that clears the queued state. Move to the CODESYS Installer's Install from file only when the Package Manager route fails, the IDE will not open, or the queue never starts.
Questions
Do minimized projects keep the install queued?
Yes. Minimize is not close: the project stays open and the queue stays waiting, and a project parked on a second monitor counts the same. Watch the save prompt when a project has unsaved changes, because Cancel aborts the close and leaves the queue stuck; choose Save or Discard instead. A quick check that the close took effect is the window title bar, which drops the project name when the last project closes.
Can the Store page stay open in the browser while I install?
Yes. The browser page has no part in the install. The Development System queues its own install request, and only projects open inside the IDE hold that queue. Closing the browser tab changes nothing.
What do I do when both install paths fail?
Stop retrying and gather facts: the exact message text from each path, the Development System version number, and the package file name with its size. Then raise it with CODESYS support through the store account you downloaded with. A failure on both paths points at the package file or the installation itself, and the vendor can see both.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.