Converting Siemens OP5 COMTEXT Projects to ProTool Migration

Overview: OP5, COMTEXT, and the ProTool Migration Path

The Siemens OP5 is a 5-inch monochrome text/graphic operator panel from the late 1980s and early 1990s, originally configured using the COMTEXT DOS/Windows-based software. COMTEXT was the dedicated engineering tool for the OP3, OP5, OP15, OP25, OP35, and OP45 panel families and produced project files that are incompatible with later HMI configuration environments. The standard migration target is ProTool, the Windows-based successor that also covered the OP7/OP17, the Text Display (TD) families, and the early C7 compact controllers.

Siemens formally documented the COMTEXT → ProTool conversion in support entry ID 23212529 – How do you convert a COMTEXT project into a ProTool project?. The procedure requires three pieces of software to be installed on a single PC: the original COMTEXT configuration tool, the Konvert conversion utility shipped with ProTool, and a licensed copy of ProTool (or ProTool/Pro) that matches the target panel firmware generation.

Prerequisites

Before attempting any COMTEXT-to-ProTool conversion, verify the following are available.

Understanding the OP5 and COMTEXT Project Structure

A COMTEXT project is composed of several distinct objects that map 1:1 onto ProTool elements, but with different identifiers and tag namespaces. Understanding the mapping is essential to validating the converted file.

COMTEXT stores its configuration in a flat directory (one file per screen, plus a project master file). The ProTool project is a single container file (typically .pdb for the offline build, .fwd for the compiled runtime). The Konvert utility bridges these two structures.

The Konvert Conversion Procedure (Siemens Documented Path)

The officially documented path described in Siemens Support entry 23212529 is summarised below. Execute the steps in sequence; the Konvert utility does not perform error recovery on partial runs.

1. Install COMTEXT into a clean Windows 95/98 or XP directory. Verify the install by opening any sample project shipped with the tool.
2. Open the OP5 project in COMTEXT and use File > Export > COMTEXT Transfer File (or the equivalent menu path) to produce a .bdl/.exp exchange file. This step strips runtime-only state from the source.
3. Install ProTool (V5.2 SP2 or V6.x SP2/SP3) on the same PC. The installer drops the Konvert utility under <ProTool>\Tools\Konvert\Konvert.exe.
4. Launch Konvert as a standalone program. Point it at the COMTEXT export file and choose the target device family (OP5) and the ProTool template profile.
5. Generate the ProTool import file. Konvert writes a .imp file plus a conversion report (Konvert.log) listing every warning. Read this log before proceeding.
6. Open ProTool and create a new project. Select the same OP5 device type and the matching PLC driver (e.g., SIMATIC S5 AS511, SIMATIC S7 MPI/DP, or Allen-Bradley DF1 if the OP5 was networked to those PLCs).
7. Import the Konvert output via Project > Import > Konvert Import. ProTool merges screens, tags, messages, and recipes into the new project tree.
8. Compile the ProTool project with File > Compile > All. Resolve any tag-addressing warnings that the compiler raises; the legacy S5 absolute addresses in the COMTEXT export often need a re-mapping pass.
9. Transfer to the OP5 via the OP5's serial/parallel port using ProTool's Transfer > Transfer to Panel. Verify boot screens, F-key assignments, and alarm LEDs before commissioning.

Why a Fresh ProTool Project Is Usually the Better Choice

For most plants, the Konvert chain succeeds in producing a runnable project, but the result is rarely a maintainable one. The reasons are structural, not procedural.

1. Address Model Differences

COMTEXT addressed the SIMATIC S5 with raw DB/DW numbers and operand qualifiers. ProTool introduced symbolic tags and per-connection namespaces. A converted project keeps the absolute addresses but loses the documentation that made them readable. Six months later, a maintenance engineer cannot tell why DB 20 DW 12 is wired to a F-key.

2. Message and Alarm Semantics

COMTEXT discrete messages used a single combined acknowledge bit per message. ProTool splits acknowledgment into a read and a clear event with separate area pointers. The Konvert utility only maps the read side; the clear bit must be re-wired in ProTool. The conversion log flags this — never ignore it.

3. Loss of Field-Proven Layout

The OP5's 5-inch, 20×4 character screen forces a layout that the larger ProTool-era panels (OP7, OP17, OP27) can render in a 4× or 6× larger area. Operators trained on the original screen positions will scroll through empty whitespace on the converted panel, slowing their response time during fault conditions.

4. PLC Driver Coverage

ProTool dropped support for several legacy drivers that COMTEXT exposed (notably SIMATIC S5 3964R on the OP5's secondary port) once they passed end-of-life. A direct convert produces warnings that the OP5 panel cannot use these channels; a fresh project can re-target to a different PLC family cleanly.

Given these constraints, Siemens support guidance — and the consensus among retrofitters — is to use Konvert only when the OP5 hardware must be reused, and to author a new ProTool project otherwise. The original OP5 transfer file and the COMTEXT export are kept as reference, not as the runtime source.

Building a New ProTool Project from OP5 Reference Material

The recommended workflow when the goal is a maintainable, modern HMI is to use the COMTEXT file as documentation and rebuild the ProTool project from the functional spec, not from the byte stream.

1. Inventory screens, tags, alarms, and recipes from the COMTEXT file. Use COMTEXT's File > Print Project or the on-screen cross-reference to produce a paper specification.
2. Open ProTool and create a new project. Select the target panel — either an OP5 (if keeping the hardware) or a recommended replacement such as an OP 77B or KTP 400 Basic.
3. Define the PLC connection first: connection name, driver, station address, slot/port. ProTool validates the connection before tags are created.
4. Declare tags symbolically using the new connection's namespace. If the source PLC is S5, use the STEP 5 > Symbol Table export as the authoritative source; do not re-type from the COMTEXT file.
5. Recreate screens with the target panel's resolution in mind. Group functions onto F-keys the way operators expect, and re-use the COMTEXT screen titles to keep the operator's mental model intact.
6. Recreate messages as bit messages and analog alarms with separate read/clear events. Use the COMTEXT message text verbatim.
7. Recreate recipes in the ProTool Recipes editor. Set the storage location (panel internal flash or PC card) to match the OP5's historical behaviour.
8. Compile and transfer to the panel. Run the panel in Offline mode first to verify screen navigation without the PLC attached.

Modern Migration Beyond ProTool

ProTool reached end-of-life in 2010; its successor SIMATIC WinCC flexible (2004–2013) is also out of mainstream support. Current engineering for the panel families that replaced the OP5 is done in TIA Portal – WinCC. The migration chain is therefore:

ProTool projects can be imported directly into WinCC flexible via Project > Migrate ProTool Project. WinCC flexible projects are imported into TIA Portal WinCC via Portal view > Migrate project. TIA Portal preserves the original screen geometry and tag addresses during migration, so a project rebuilt in ProTool from a COMTEXT source can be carried forward without re-engineering.

Hardware Compatibility Matrix for the OP5 Family

Before commissioning a converted or rebuilt project, confirm the target panel and PLC are a supported pair in the ProTool device catalog.

Tag Address Mapping Reference

When converting a COMTEXT tag with an S5 absolute address, use the following mapping table as the starting point in the ProTool connection editor. Always verify the resulting address by reading it back from the live PLC.

Troubleshooting Conversion Problems

The Konvert utility reports warnings into Konvert.log. The most common issues and their resolutions are listed below.

Verification Procedure After Conversion

Run the following checks before declaring a converted or rebuilt project production-ready. Each step has a clear pass/fail criterion.

1. Compile clean. ProTool's compiler must return zero errors and zero warnings. Treat any warning as a defect — investigate and either fix or document an explicit reason for the exception.
2. Offline navigation. In Transfer > Offline mode, walk every screen, press every F-key, and open every recipe. Confirm that navigation matches the COMTEXT source.
3. Tag read/write test. Connect to a simulated PLC (S5 PLCSIM or a real S7-300 with equivalent data blocks). Read back every tag from the panel's tag diagnostics and confirm it matches the expected value.
4. Alarm round-trip. Force every bit message and drive every analog alarm to its trigger condition. Confirm that the panel displays the correct message text, that acknowledgment clears the message, and that the clear event reaches the PLC.
5. Recipe round-trip. Download a recipe to the panel, modify a record, and upload it back. Confirm the modified value round-trips without corruption.
6. Power-cycle test. Power the panel off, wait 30 seconds, and power it back on. Confirm the project boots, the recipe storage is intact, and the panel re-establishes communication with the PLC.

Field-Proven Caveats

• OP5 firmware revisions matter. The OP5 shipped with V1.x, V2.x, and V3.x firmware over its life. COMTEXT must match the firmware revision; a V3.x project opened in V2.x COMTEXT will silently truncate message tables. Verify the OP5 firmware version in Panel > System Info before exporting.
• Battery-backed memory. The OP5 stores recipes and the current screen in battery-backed RAM. If the battery is dead, the project will reload from flash on every power cycle and recipe data will be lost. Replace the OP5's lithium backup battery (type CR2032 with solder tabs, Siemens part 6ES5 980-0... series) before the first commissioning run.
• Parallel-port transfer on modern PCs. The OP5's parallel transfer protocol is not bit-bang compatible with the ECP/EPP modes used by post-2000 PC parallel ports. Use a legacy PC with an SPP-compatible port, or a USB-to-parallel adapter that supports the OP5's specific protocol (most do not).
• Windows XP licensing. For a dedicated migration workstation, a Windows XP Professional license is still available through OEM channels. The Konvert chain will not run on Windows 7 64-bit regardless of compatibility mode; do not waste time trying.
• Document the K-keys. The OP5's K1–K16 keys are mapped through area pointer 0 in the S5 driver. Konvert imports the F-key screen assignments but the area pointer is not always wired. Verify in Connection > Area pointer > Function key assignment before the first online test.

Frequently Asked Questions