Resolving WinCC V15.1 VBScript Archive File Copy Failures

Problem Overview

Engineers deploying WinCC V15.1 (part of the TIA Portal V15.1 release line) on Comfort Panels and PC-based Runtime Advanced frequently need to relocate segmented hmiDataLog archive files into a structured date-stamped folder hierarchy for long-term retention, regulatory traceability, or downstream MES ingestion. The expected behavior is straightforward: each minute the runtime flushes a 100-record archive CSV, and a VBScript routine should sweep every newly closed archive into a folder named after the current date (for example, 2020-07-11).

The actual behavior observed in the field breaks in three consistent ways:

1. The script returns a runtime error (most commonly Object required or Bad file name or number) and aborts before any copy takes place.
2. The script runs to completion but copies nothing because the log file is still open and locked by the Logging subsystem.
3. The script runs but only the last file in the loop is copied, because the asynchronous nature of the internal archive dispatcher has not been accounted for.

All three symptoms trace back to the same set of constraints: archive files must be closed before they can be moved, the destination folder must exist, the path string must be properly concatenated (VBScript does not expand variables inside literal strings), and the copy loop must allow asynchronous system functions time to complete on PC Runtime.

Root Cause Analysis

The failure pattern shown in the source script (strDirectory = "C:\ & strDate &\") contains three independent defects that together prevent the copy from ever executing:

Beneath these syntactic issues lies a deeper architectural constraint: WinCC Runtime holds an exclusive write handle on every active archive segment until CloseAllLogs (or the panel-specific equivalent) is called. Attempting fso.CopyFile against an open log produces error 70 (Permission denied) on PC Runtime and silently no-ops on Comfort Panels because the panel's file system API returns success but writes zero bytes.

WinCC V15.1 Archive System Functions Reference

The WinCC scripting runtime exposes the following log-management system functions in TIA Portal V15.1. They are documented in the WinCC V15.1 Scripting Reference and are usable both from VBScript procedures and C scripts:

Platform Differences: Comfort Panel vs PC Runtime

WinCC V15.1 behaves measurably differently across the two deployment targets that the source question is most likely to involve. Engineers must select their copy strategy accordingly:

Solution Path 1: Corrected Wildcard Copy (PC Runtime Advanced)

This is the shortest working solution when the runtime is a PC and archives are closed. Use it inside a scheduled task or a tag-triggered event:

'------------------------------------------------------------
' WinCC V15.1 - PC Runtime Advanced
' Sweep closed hmiDataLog archives into a date-named folder
' Trigger: Scheduler event, once per minute, on the minute
'------------------------------------------------------------
Option Explicit

Dim fso, ArchivePath, strDate, strDirectory
Dim d, m, y

d = Day(Now)
m = Month(Now)
y = Year(Now)
If Len(CStr(m)) = 1 Then m = "0" & m
If Len(CStr(d)) = 1 Then d = "0" & d
strDate = y & "-" & m & "-" & d

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

ArchivePath   = "C:\Storage_Data\"
strDirectory  = "C:\Storage_Data\" & strDate & "\"

' 1) Guarantee destination folder exists
If Not fso.FolderExists(strDirectory) Then
    fso.CreateFolder(strDirectory)
End If

' 2) Close every active log so the files are not locked
CloseAllLogs
HMIRuntime.Trace "ArchiveSweep: logs closed"

' 3) Allow the logging dispatcher to settle
Wait 1.0

' 4) Wildcard copy of all archive files (CSV / RDB)
fso.CopyFile ArchivePath & "*.*", strDirectory, True

HMIRuntime.Trace "ArchiveSweep: copy executed to " & strDirectory

' 5) Re-open logging
OpenAllLogs

Set fso = Nothing
End Sub

Key corrections versus the original script:

• Path strings concatenate variables outside the literal quotes.
• Single-digit months and days are zero-padded so folder names sort lexicographically.
• Wait 1.0 bridges the async gap of CloseAllLogs on PC Runtime.
• The third argument True to fso.CopyFile permits overwrite so a re-run never trips error 58.

Solution Path 2: ArchiveLogFile Loop (Recommended for Both Platforms)

The Siemens-blessed path is to call ArchiveLogFile rather than touching the file system directly. This delegates ownership to the logging subsystem, which guarantees a closed segment and consistent naming:

'------------------------------------------------------------
' WinCC V15.1 - Comfort Panel or PC Runtime
' Archive every active hmiDataLog into a date folder
'------------------------------------------------------------
Option Explicit

Dim strDate, strDirectory
Dim d, m, y, oLog, i

d = Day(Now)
m = Month(Now)
y = Year(Now)
If Len(CStr(m)) = 1 Then m = "0" & m
If Len(CStr(d)) = 1 Then d = "0" & d
strDate = y & "-" & m & "-" & d

' Panel: /media/simatic/SIMATIC HMI/DataLog
' PC:    C:\Storage_Data
strDirectory = SmartTags("ArchiveBasePath") & strDate

CloseAllLogs
Wait 1.0

' Enumerate every log and archive it individually
For i = 1 To 10
    On Error Resume Next
    ArchiveLogFile "Logging", "Archive_0" & i, strDirectory, 1
    If Err.Number <> 0 Then
        HMIRuntime.Trace "ArchiveLogFile failed for Archive_0" & i & ": " & Err.Description
        Err.Clear
    End If
    On Error Goto 0
    Wait 0.3
Next

OpenAllLogs
End Sub

The ArchiveLogFile signature is ArchiveLogFile LogType, LogName, Directory, Mode:

Comfort Panel Enumeration Variant (No Wildcard Available)

On a Comfort Panel the VBScript runtime does not expose wildcard copy. Iterate the folder explicitly:

'------------------------------------------------------------
' Comfort Panel - manual file enumeration sweep
'------------------------------------------------------------
Option Explicit

Dim fso, fldr, file, strDate, strSrc, strDst
Dim d, m, y

d = Day(Now): m = Month(Now): y = Year(Now)
If Len(CStr(m)) = 1 Then m = "0" & m
If Len(CStr(d)) = 1 Then d = "0" & d
strDate = y & "-" & m & "-" & d

strSrc = "/media/simatic/SIMATIC HMI/DataLogs/"
strDst = "/media/simatic/Archives/" & strDate & "/"

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
If Not fso.FolderExists(strDst) Then fso.CreateFolder(strDst)

CloseAllLogs

Set fldr = fso.GetFolder(strSrc)
For Each file In fldr.Files
    If LCase(fso.GetExtensionName(file.Name)) = "csv" Then
        file.Copy strDst & file.Name, True
    End If
Next

OpenAllLogs
Set fldr = Nothing
Set fso = Nothing
End Sub

Deployment Procedure

1. Open the TIA Portal V15.1 project containing the HMI device.
2. In the project tree, navigate to HMI device → Scripts → VBScripts and create a new procedure (e.g. ArchiveSweep).
3. Paste the appropriate solution above. Bind ArchiveBasePath to an internal tag if you need it runtime-configurable.
4. Create a Scheduler event: HMI device → Schedulers. Configure a 1-minute periodic trigger aligned to the archive boundary. WinCC V15.1 only schedules on whole-minute boundaries; if your archive cycle is 60 s, set the trigger on every minute.
5. Assign the procedure to the scheduler event with the On timer action.
6. Compile and download to the target (panel or RT PC).
7. Open the WinCC Runtime trace viewer (Start → SIMATIC → WinCC → Tools → Trace Viewer) to monitor HMIRuntime.Trace output.

Verification

After deployment, validate the sweep end-to-end with the following checks:

1. Folder created: Confirm C:\Storage_Data\YYYY-MM-DD\ (or panel equivalent) exists within 60 s of first trigger.
2. File count: After 10 minutes, the folder must contain at least 10 CSV files of identical structure to the live archive.
3. File size: Each file should be ~3–10 kB given 100 records; zero-byte files indicate the copy ran while the log was still open.
4. Logging continuity: The current archive in C:\Storage_Data\ must keep growing; the sweep must not have stopped acquisition.
5. Trace lines: ArchiveSweep: logs closed and ArchiveSweep: copy executed to ... must appear once per minute with no error codes.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Best Practices and Field Notes

• Always use Option Explicit. TIA Portal V15.1 silently coerces undeclared VBScript variables; the compiler will not catch typos such as ArchivPath.
• Pad months and days with leading zeros so directory listing sorts chronologically.
• Use HMIRuntime.Trace at every state transition. Trace lines are visible in the runtime diagnostic view and are invaluable for proving the script actually ran.
• Mind the wait budget. Total script time = CloseAllLogs + copy + OpenAllLogs. With a 1-minute archive cycle, allow no more than 30 s of script execution to avoid overlapping the next boundary.
• Do not archive to internal flash on Comfort Panels; redirect to SD card path /media/simatic/... via the project's Storage locations configuration.
• If using WinCC Professional rather than Comfort/Advanced, the equivalent system functions live in the WinCC Professional runtime API and the C / VBS interfaces differ; consult the WinCC V15.1 Professional system documentation before porting code.
• For SD card redundancy on a Comfort Panel, configure two storage locations and alternate; see the Siemens Knowledge Base article Archiving on SIMATIC HMI Panels linked from the WinCC V15.1 manual's "Archiving" chapter.