Modifying Siemens OP7 Programs: ProTool Edit and ProSave Restore

Modifying Siemens OP7 Programs: ProTool Edit and ProSave Restore

The SIMATIC OP7 is a small, text-oriented operator panel from Siemens used widely on older machines (S7-200, S7-300, LOGO!, and third-party PLCs over MPI/PPI). When a screen object such as an hours counter overflows its configured field width, or when a label, value range, or screen layout must be corrected, the project source file must be edited in ProTool and reloaded to the panel. If the editing site does not have a physical OP7 on the bench, the workflow requires transferring the edited project back to a known-good OP7 once, then exporting a ProSave backup file that the customer can restore at the machine using only a serial cable.

This reference consolidates the complete workflow: opening the legacy *.pdb / *.ldf project, modifying the hours-counter field width from 4 to 8 digits, reconciling MPI/PPI communication parameters, generating a ProSave *.ps7 backup, building the DB15↔DB9 serial cable, executing the restore on the customer side, and verifying that the corrected display matches the controller tag.

1. Workflow Overview

There are two viable paths for delivering a modified OP7 program to a customer:

Path B is the lowest-friction option when the customer is non-technical. It requires that the integrator owns or borrows one compatible OP7 panel long enough to receive the edited ProTool project, then create the backup. The resulting *.ps7 (or older *.brf) backup file is then shipped to the customer on any medium (USB stick, email if file size permits, CD). Restore on the customer side takes 2–5 minutes including serial-cable hookup.

2. Prerequisites

2.1 Software stack

2.2 Hardware requirements

• One OP7 panel at the editing site (DP/PN variant acceptable, must match the customer's panel type byte-for-byte in the project).
• Original ProTool project archive (*.pdb standalone, or *.zip containing the integrated *.pdb + *.ldf + bitmap/font resources).
• Siemens MPI/PC adapter (USB or RS-232) — order number 6ES7 972-0CB35-0XA0 (USB, CP 5711-compatible legacy driver) or 6ES7 972-0CA23-0XA0 (RS-232 PC-Adapter).
• Serial cable OP7 (DB-15 male) ↔ PC (DB-9 female) — pinout detailed in Section 7.
• Customer-side cable (identical to above) for the ProSave restore.

3. OP7 Hardware and Communication Interface

The OP7 exposes a single 15-pin Sub-D female connector on the rear, carrying RS-232 (PtP), PPI, and MPI signals. Pin assignment follows the Siemens HMI convention used across the OP3/OP5/OP7/OP15/OP17 families:

The DB-9 connector on the PC follows the EIA/TIA-574 standard: pin 2 = RxD (PC), pin 3 = TxD (PC), pin 5 = GND, pin 7 = RTS, pin 8 = CTS. The DB15↔DB9 cable is a 1:1 cross for data lines with the substitutions shown in Section 7.

4. Editing the Project in ProTool

4.1 Open the archived project

1. Launch ProTool/Pro → Project → Open and select the original *.pdb file. If the project was delivered as a *.zip, extract to a path without spaces (e.g. C:\PT_Projects\OP7_MachineA\) before opening.
2. Verify the project header matches the customer's hardware: Target system must show OP7, and the Image version must be ≤ the firmware on the panel. Use File → Properties → OP7 to confirm.
3. Confirm the Integrator tab shows the original integrators' MPI/PPI/Profibus address of the panel — this is the byte that ProSave will check on restore.

4.2 Change the hours-counter field width from 4 to 8 characters

1. In the project tree, expand Screens → [target screen] containing the hours counter.
2. Click the counter field to select it; the Properties dialog opens.
3. Switch to the Representation tab. Locate Number of characters (German UI: Stellenanzahl).
4. Change the value from 4 to 8. The visible field width auto-resizes; verify on the layout grid that no neighbouring object is overlapped.
5. Open the Variable tab and confirm the field is bound to the correct PLC tag (typically a DWORD counter at a known DB address; e.g. DB10.DBD0 for an S7-300). Verify the tag's data type accepts values up to 99 999 999 (DWORD = 4 294 967 295 max).
6. If the bound tag is currently a WORD (16-bit, max 65 535) or INT (max 32 767), changing the display width alone will display overflow characters (####) above those values. Adjust the controller tag's data type as well; document this change for the customer.

4.3 Save and compile

1. File → Save — ProTool writes *.pdb and refreshes the integrated runtime files.
2. File → Compile → Incremental then Compile → All (Rebuild). Inspect the Output window for warnings such as W300 — character width too small for max value. Resolve all warnings before transferring.
3. File → Download → OP7 — this writes the project into the panel connected on the active channel.

5. Matching Communication Parameters Exactly

The customer's restore will fail with error 1700 — checksum mismatch or 1710 — image version mismatch if any of the following parameters differ between the edit site's OP7 and the customer's OP7. Document every parameter before transferring:

If the customer cannot navigate the OP7 system menu, ask them to read the four-digit identifier shown on power-up (e.g. OP7 V1.4.2 ADDR=1 BAUD=187.5). These four data points are sufficient for parameter reconciliation.

6. Building the Restore Backup with ProSave

1. Connect the edit-site OP7 to the PC running ProSave via the MPI/PC adapter. Power up the panel.
2. Launch ProSave. In the Device type dropdown select OP7.
3. In the Connection tab choose the PC adapter and the COM port (e.g. COM3 for the USB CP 5711 legacy driver).
4. Click Connect. ProSave establishes an MPI/PPI session and reads the panel's identification block.
5. Switch to the Backup tab. Set the destination path (e.g. D:\Backups\OP7_MachineA_v1_4_2.ps7).
6. Click Start Backup. The transfer takes 30–90 seconds at 187.5 kbps. Progress bar must reach 100 % without retry counters incrementing.
7. Close ProSave and copy the *.ps7 file to portable media.

7. OP7-to-PG Serial Cable Construction (DB15/DB9)

The OP7 uses a DB-15 female connector for both PPI/MPI and PtP RS-232 operation. The customer's PC uses a DB-9 male for RS-232 (COM port) or, more commonly today, a USB↔RS-232 adapter (e.g. FTDI FT232-based). The minimum cable for ProSave restore over MPI is:

For the more common MPI/PC-Adapter configuration, the customer simply needs the standard Siemens cable 6ES7 901-0BF00-0AA0 (DB-15 ↔ sub-D for the PC-Adapter). For a PtP-only restore path, the cable above plus a USB↔RS-232 adapter is sufficient.

8. Customer-Side Restore Procedure

1. Customer installs ProSave on a Windows PC (XP/7/10). Driver for the USB↔RS-232 adapter must be installed first; verify in Device Manager that the COM port appears.
2. Power down the machine's OP7, plug the DB-15 cable into the panel, plug DB-9 into the PC.
3. Launch ProSave → Device type = OP7 → select the correct COM port → baud 187.5 kbps for MPI or 9.6 kbps for PPI.
4. Click Connect. The status line should read Connection established — OP7 V1.x.x ADDR=n.
5. Switch to the Restore tab, browse to the shipped *.ps7 file, click Start Restore.
6. ProSave displays Transferring image — please wait. Do not disconnect during transfer. Duration: 45–120 seconds depending on backup size.
7. When Restore completed successfully appears, click Disconnect, power-cycle the OP7, and verify the boot screen shows the corrected project.

9. Verification and Acceptance Test

After the customer confirms the panel is back online, run the following checks before signing off the change:

1. Field width visual: Navigate to the hours counter screen. The field must display 8 character positions and the existing value must appear right-aligned without truncation.
2. Increment test: Force the underlying PLC tag to increment by 1 every second from the STEP 7 watch table for 30 seconds; observe the OP7 display update in real time (refresh ~250 ms).
3. Over-10 000-hour test: Preset the tag to 12345; confirm display reads 00012345 with leading zeros as configured (or 12345 if leading-zero suppression is set in the field properties).
4. Communication health: From the OP7 system menu select Diagnostics → Connection status; the controller must show OK and the configured MPI/PPI partner must match the actual PLC rack address.
5. Other screens regression: Step through every screen in the original project — ProTool rebuild may have shifted a screen-by-screen object if the field width change cascaded.

10. Troubleshooting Matrix

11. Field-Proven Caveats and Best Practices

• Always clone the project archive before editing. ProTool overwrites the *.pdb on save; an undo chain does not span sessions.
• Document every parameter change. A field-width change can mask a deeper tag-width bug — write the change into the machine's Functional Safety / Change Log and update the SIMATIC HMI documentation portal references.
• Validate on a bench OP7 first. Restore the new backup to the integrator's own OP7, run it against a simulated PLC (PLCSIM or a real S7-200/300 with test firmware), then ship.
• Keep two backups per panel: one before the change (the customer's last-known-good image) and one after. This gives a 60-second rollback path if the customer reports a regression.
• If the customer has no PC at all: ship a pre-configured laptop with ProSave installed, the .ps7 file, and the cable. Label every connector with a printed wiring diagram taped to the laptop lid.
• Avoid migrating from OP7 to a newer COM panel (e.g. KTP700) in the same change window. A type swap requires re-authoring every tag, alarm, and screen; combining it with a counter fix multiplies the regression risk.

12. FAQ