Enabling Tree View in SIMATIC Manager LAD/FBD/STL Editor

Overview

The SIMATIC Manager is the central engineering tool for STEP 7 V5.x projects targeting SIMATIC S7-300, S7-400, and WinAC controllers. Inside the LAD/FBD/STL editor, blocks are organized as numbered networks (NW1, NW2, ...). Beginning with STEP 7 V5.5+SP3, the SIMATIC Manager supports an expandable tree-style header for networks so each title block can be collapsed or expanded individually instead of scrolling through a long linear list. This article documents the minimum Service Pack required for the tree view, the LAD/FBD/STL language-switching paths that ship with V5.5 SP4, and the editor constraints that prevent STL networks from being displayed as LAD or FBD.

Throughout this reference the term "tree view" refers specifically to the (+)/(-) icons next to each network title in the LAD/FBD/STL editor (also called the Program Editor). It does not refer to the project tree of the SIMATIC Manager itself, which has always been a tree structure.

Minimum STEP 7 Version Required

The expandable network tree view is not exposed as a configurable toggle in early STEP 7 V5.5 builds; it is delivered with a specific Service Pack update. The relevant version thresholds for the LAD/FBD/STL editor are summarized in the table below.

If the editor displays every network fully expanded and no (+)/(-) symbol appears at the network title, confirm the installed build with SIMATIC Manager > Help > About. The required update is the STEP 7 V5.5 SP3 (or later) installation package from the Siemens Industry Online Support (SIOS) portal. SP3 is applied over an existing V5.5 SP2 install without re-engineering the project — close all SIMATIC components first and run the setup with administrative privileges.

Enabling the Expand/Collapse Network View

Once the minimum Service Pack is in place, the tree-style header is shown by default inside the LAD/FBD/STL editor. There is no registry key, project option, or "Options > Customizing" checkbox that turns the feature on or off; the presence of the (+)/(-) icons is the verification. Use the procedure below to confirm it on your installed environment.

1. Open the SIMATIC Manager and load the S7 project from the project tree (offline or online).
2. Browse to S7 Program > Blocks and double-click an OB, FB, or FC whose editor window contains more than ten networks so the tree depth is visible.
3. Inspect the left margin of the network title bars. A small box with either (+) or (-) must appear at the vertical position of each title.
4. Click the (-) box on the second network. The corresponding network body collapses to a single title line; the icon flips to (+).
5. Click (+) on the same network. The body returns; the icon flips back to (-).
6. Right-click any title bar to confirm the context menu still offers Insert Network, Delete Network, Go To > Location, and Properties.
7. Repeat the test on two more blocks (an FB and an FC) to validate that tree view applies across all program-block types, not only OBs.

If any of these steps fails on a workstation that reports V5.5 SP3, the SIMATIC Manager executable has not been updated even though the framework reports a higher build. Re-run the SP3 setup with administrator privileges, restart the PC, and verify the file version of S7WUIEX.DLL against the version stamped on the DVD.

Switching Between LAD, FBD, and STL Editors

STEP 7 V5.5 SP4 introduced direct switching of the active block's editor between the three representations supported by SIMATIC. The two access paths are summarized below.

• View menu — Inside the LAD/FBD/STL editor, choose View > LAD, View > FBD, or View > STL.
• Keyboard shortcut — Press Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, or Ctrl+3 while the LAD/FBD/STL editor window has keyboard focus.

The Siemens support thread used for this article explicitly identifies that V5.5 SP4 added Ctrl+1/2/3 as the language-toggle shortcut, but the exact mapping (whether Ctrl+1 selects LAD, FBD, or STL) is not stated in the user-visible documentation that the question thread references. If a specific assignment is required for a controlled document or training material, validate it on the installed Help system under Hotkeys before publishing.

After switching, the SIMATIC Manager records the last representation per block in the project database; reopening the block shows the view that was active when the project was last saved. The view setting is per-block — block A may be in LAD while block B is in STL within the same station.

STL Display Constraints

A common source of confusion on mixed-discipline teams is that a single network written in STL cannot be displayed in LAD or FBD. This is enforced by the SIMATIC Manager and is not a user error. The rule set, derived from the Siemens FAQ entry Why can you not display an STL program in FBD or in LAD?, is summarized below.

• STL is the textual representation defined by IEC 61131-3 (Instruction List); LAD and FBD are graphical representations (LD / FBD). The STEP 7 compiler generates the active view from the source view.
• STL source cannot be reverse-engineered to the original LAD/FBD layout — the graphical source program no longer exists once the block has been saved in STL.
• If a block is saved in STL, the View > LAD and View > FBD commands are effectively no-ops for that block; the editor remains in STL.
• Mixed-mode display is impossible: two different representations cannot be shown simultaneously for the same set of networks. The active block has a single current view setting.
• Switching from LAD or FBD into STL is allowed at any time; switching back to LAD/FBD only works when STL was never used to edit the same block.

Saving the Window Arrangement

Engineers who toggle between language views and editor sizes frequently want the layout (split panes, docked toolbars, watch tables attached to the OB window) restored automatically across sessions. The arrangement behavior in the SIMATIC Manager, the LAD/FBD/STL editor, and HW Config is described in the Siemens KB article How can the window arrangement be saved in the SIMATIC Manager, the LAD/STL/FBD editor, and in the hardware configuration?. Use the table below as a quick reference.

Stored arrangements are user-specific on Windows 7 / 10 / 11 because the SIMATIC Manager stores them in the per-user profile. When project files are shared between engineers, expect docked windows, watch tables, and zoom levels to be re-applied per workstation.

Block Types and Network Organization

The tree view is implemented identically across OB, FB, FC, and DB types — only the editable content differs. A few structural points are worth keeping in mind when the block has a long network list.

Hotkey and Menu Reference

The shortcut set below is required during daily editing. Provide it to new team members as part of workstation onboarding.

TIA Portal Comparison

Engineers migrating projects from STEP 7 V5.x to TIA Portal will recognize the FBD programming language defined by IEC 61131-3. The TIA Portal documentation describes FBD as a graphical language whose representation is based on the graphical logic symbols used in Boolean algebra — the same underlying model used by the SIMATIC Manager. The TIA Portal program editor always renders the tree of networks in a collapsible form (each network has its own header on the Project navigation pane), so the V5.5 SP3 feature is the historical equivalent of the structure available in current TIA Portal versions. When migrating:

• Blocks authored in STL in V5.5 cannot be migrated to TIA Portal as LAD/FBD — the same STL constraint applies because TIA Portal uses the same source-view / display-view split as the V5.x editor.
• Network titles and comments are preserved during migration; the collapsed/expanded state of each network is not preserved.
• Hotfixes and Service Packs do not exist in TIA Portal in the same form — TIA Portal updates are version-based (V13 / V14 / V15 / V16 / V17 / V18 / V19) rather than SP-cumulative.

Troubleshooting Matrix

The matrix below maps the most common reported symptoms to root cause and corrective action.

Verification Procedure

After installing the Service Pack and re-opening the project, run the following end-to-end check before signing off the workstation.

1. Confirm the installed build: Help > About > Installed Products must list STEP 7 V5.5+SP3 (or higher) and the Service Pack must match the DVD label.
2. Open an OB with at least twenty networks and visually confirm the (+)/(-) icons.
3. Collapse five networks; close the OB; reopen it; the five networks must still be collapsed.
4. Press Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, and Ctrl+3 in an FC written in LAD; confirm three view changes occur.
5. Re-author a small FC in STL; confirm that Ctrl+1 and Ctrl+2 no longer change the view.
6. Close the project, reopen it, and verify the docked window positions match the previous session.
7. Document the hotfix list applied (HFx …) in the project change log so future audits can reproduce the build.

Field Commissioning Notes

• On a commissioning laptop traveling between sites, carry the SP3/SP4 DVD separately and verify Help > About on arrival. A fresh Windows image often drops back to the V5.5 base level.
• When the project uses both STL and LAD/FBD blocks (common in retrofit work), tag the STL blocks in the project documentation so QA knows not to request a LAD/FBD rendering.
• Re-author STL blocks in LAD during normal working hours when the customer is available — re-authoring unblocks regulatory reviews but requires source-redrafting of every network.
• For very long FBs (multi-hundred network) the tree-view collapse reduces scroll time but does not change the on-disk block size; the editor is the same memory footprint under SP3/SP4 as under earlier V5.5.
• Block naming — the tree view does not affect the block name or path; collapse/expand state is purely a UI cache.

Frequently Asked Questions