Open an old HMI project in new software: convert it safely

The saved version decides, not the editor

Every programming package of this kind states the project version it opens. Find that statement in the software's manual or support FAQ before you touch the file. In the documented case, one panel vendor's support FAQ reads the pair in plain numbers: its programming software, version 2.78 and earlier, opens files created with editor version 3.1A, the last editor version. A project saved at that version opens. A project saved earlier opens only after conversion.

Read the version the project was actually saved in, in the editor that still opens the file. Editing in a later editor leaves the saved version where it was, because an editor can open and save a project at an older version it still supports. The saved version decides which branch you follow. If no editor you have will open the file to show a version, stop before converting and ask the vendor to identify it from the file itself; a blind conversion risks the only copy.

Write both numbers down before you convert: the saved project version and the version of the new software that will open the result. Match the pair the way you would match the installed build before an HMI software upgrade. The two checks are the same habit: no conversion and no upgrade starts until the version pair is known.

What you need

• The editor that still opens the project, on a PC you can work at. If the only copy lives on the panel, read the project from the panel before editing and work from that copy.
• The vendor's project updater for versions before the supported one. In the documented case the vendor publishes an update for projects saved prior to the supported version and installs it over the editor.
• The manual or FAQ line that names the supported version, with its number.
• Two clearly named files: the untouched original and the working copy.
• The new programming software on a bench PC, so the first open happens away from the machine.

The conversion, step by step

1. Read the saved version. Open the project in the editor that accepts it and write the version down.
2. Confirm the supported version. In the documented pair it is the last editor version, 3.1A. If your pair reads differently, use your numbers; every later step is identical.
3. Copy the project and keep the original untouched. Name the original so no one mistakes it for the working copy. If the copy came off optical media and opens marked read-only, clear the read-only flag before you edit; the article on a project backup that opens read-only shows the fix.
4. Install the updater. Run the vendor's update for versions prior to the supported version, exactly as its instructions present it.
5. Save the working copy at the supported version. Open the old project in the updated editor and save it there.
6. Review the update result before you move on. Errors can appear during a project update, so read the conversion messages and walk the project contents for flagged or missing items. Correct what the updater flags in the editor and save again.
7. Open the converted copy in the new software.

Recommendation: Read the saved project version before you touch anything. If it already reads the supported version named in the new software's documentation, open the file directly. If it reads anything earlier, convert only a working copy, keep the original as the recovery point, save the copy at the supported version, and clear every conversion message before the project is opened in the new software or loaded to a panel.

Example: a project saved below the supported version

Inputs.

• Saved project version: earlier than the supported one. This is the case the vendor's updater exists for; the vendor publishes an update for projects saved prior to it.
• Supported project version: 3.1A, the last editor version, from the vendor's support FAQ.
• New software version: 2.78 and earlier, per the same FAQ line.
• Files on the bench: 1 untouched original plus 1 working copy, 2 files.

Rule in words. The new software opens a project when the saved project version equals the version it documents as supported. Below that version, the vendor's updater raises a working copy to the supported version.

Arithmetic. One comparison and one sum. The saved version sits earlier than the supported one, so it is below the threshold, and the updater for versions prior to it applies to the working copy. One conversion pass and a save at the supported version give a working copy that equals the threshold, so the new software opens it. Files after the job: 1 original + 1 converted copy = 2 files, and the original still sits at its old version as the recovery point.

Result. A working copy at the supported version that the new software accepts, with the original unchanged.

Decision. If the saved version reads the supported version, skip the updater and open the file directly. If it reads anything earlier, convert the copy first, clear the conversion messages, then open it.

How to check the conversion worked

Budget about 15 minutes per screen for the walk-through on a project with alarms and recipes; a 10-screen project is a half-day of checking, not a 5-minute glance. Then:

• The new software opens the copy with no version error.
• Walk the converted copy against the original screen by screen: text, PLC addresses, alarms, recipes.
• Run the new software's project check and clear everything it flags.
• Load the project to a bench screen or a stopped machine and exercise the screens you changed. Do not put the converted project on the running machine until it has passed those checks.

An error-free open confirms the file version converted; it does not confirm that every element survived, and that gap is the reason for the screen-by-screen walk. The converted file is also only half the job: a transfer to the panel needs the panel's firmware revision to match the project, so check the firmware revision before a project transfer.

When the conversion still fails

If the updater reports errors you cannot clear, or the converted copy still fails in the new software, stop converting and keep both files. Take the vendor's support path with the numbers you recorded earlier. Repeating the conversion on your bench adds nothing; the vendor can place the file against its own conversion history and name the next step.

Questions