BrPyZip packages a B&R Automation Studio project and its installed updates into ZIP archives. Use the version history and checks below to resolve missing-file failures, empty upgrade archives, and incomplete runtime or mappService content.
Match the symptom to the corrected release
| Release | Relevant change | Engineering decision |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Accepts the project path as a start parameter, opens the directory containing the ZIP, and supports an Explorer context-menu entry. | Use this or later when launching from Windows Explorer. |
| 1.2 | Accounts for a reported missing external-hardware file. | Update if an empty ExternalHardware folder causes a file-open failure. |
| 1.3 | Accounts for missing hardware files and corrects the message shown when no technology packages are used. | Use this or later for projects with incomplete or intentionally empty hardware content. |
| 1.4 | Fixes mappService omission. | Use this or later when mappService must appear in Updates.zip. |
| 1.5 | Adds headless operation without the UI. | Select this or later for scripted execution. |
| 1.6 | Accepts a project directory instead of requiring an APJ file, adds more wildcard PLCs, corrects the configuration-file directory, and fixes runtime not always being included. | Use this release when launching against a directory or when runtime content is missing. |
Resolve the ExternalHardwareDevices.xml failure
An older project can contain an empty PLC1\ExternalHardware directory while its package.pkg contains only <Objects />. Automation Studio accepts that structure, but an early BrPyZip release treated the directory's existence as proof that ExternalHardwareDevices.xml also existed. It then failed with [Errno 2] No such file or directory.
- Confirm whether the reported path ends in
ExternalHardware/ExternalHardwareDevices.xml. - Inspect the associated
ExternalHardwaredirectory. If it exists but the XML file does not, classify the fault as the documented missing-file case rather than a project-selection error. - Run version 1.2 or later; version 1.3 also explicitly accounts for missing hardware files.
- Generate the archives again and verify that the project ZIP completes without the file-open error.
Diagnose an empty or incomplete Updates.zip
BrPyZip can only package upgrade files that remain installed on the workstation. In the reported empty-archive case, uninstalling Automation Studio 4.12.5.95 SP deleted the mapp upgrade files before Automation Studio 4.12.7.113 SP was installed. Confirm that the required upgrades exist before treating an empty Updates.zip as a packaging defect.
- Check whether the required mapp and hardware upgrade files exist on the machine.
- For hardware and DTM content, inspect the applicable installation tree; the reported example was
C:\Program Files\BRAutomation4\AS412\AS\Hardware\Modules. - If mappService alone is absent, use version 1.4 or later.
- If runtime content is absent intermittently, use version 1.6 or later.
- Regenerate the archives and inspect both the project ZIP and Updates.zip for the required content.
Configure directory right-click launching
Version 1.6 can receive the project directory directly. Update the executable path in the registry data to match the actual BrPyZip installation, then pass %1 as the selected directory.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\directory\shell\BrPyZip]
@="BrPyZip"
"Icon"="\"C:\\Users\\YourUserName\\Documents\\BrPyZip\\BrPyZip.exe\",0"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\directory\shell\BrPyZip\command]
@="\"C:\\Users\\YourUserName\\Documents\\BrPyZip\\BrPyZip.exe\" \"%1\""After applying the registry settings, right-click a project directory, start BrPyZip, and verify that it receives the selected directory and produces the expected archives. Version 1.5 or later also supports headless operation when no UI is required.
FAQ
Why does BrPyZip fail on ExternalHardwareDevices.xml?
An early release assumed that an existing ExternalHardware directory contained ExternalHardwareDevices.xml. Empty legacy directories violate that assumption; use version 1.2 or later, with version 1.3 explicitly accounting for missing hardware files.
Why is BrPyZip Updates.zip empty?
Confirm that the required upgrade files still exist locally. In the documented case, uninstalling Automation Studio 4.12.5.95 SP removed mapp upgrade files before Automation Studio 4.12.7.113 SP was installed.
Which BrPyZip version includes mappService and runtime fixes?
Version 1.4 fixes omitted mappService content. Version 1.6 fixes runtime not always being included and also accepts a project directory instead of requiring an APJ file.
