The ‘Clone’ command copies and pastes an object multiple times with one action. Cloned objects have a configuration identical to that of the original object. For example, if the original object uses a “Touch” function, then cloned objects will also have the same “Touch” function. If the object utilizes a real tag, then there is an option to differentiate the names of tags and addresses used by the cloned objects. The newly generated tags will be registered in the database automatically. See the notes at the end of this section for details.
First, select the object to be cloned, then go to [Edit] – [Clone]. The following dialog box will appear.
Hotkey: Ctrl + Shift + C
(1) Settings
Item | Description | |||
Area Setting | Configures the quantity and location of cloned objects. | |||
Shape Interval | Clones objects using the pattern defined in the ‘Clone’ dialog box. | |||
Mouse Drag | After pressing “OK”, a preview shows where the cloned objects will appear. Moving the mouse changes the arrangement of the cloned objects. Once a location is decided, click on the graphic page to create the clones.  | |||
X / Y Direction | Clones the object vertically and/or horizontally. | |||
Use | Whether or not to clone along the selected axis. | |||
Paste Number | The number of objects to be cloned along the selected axis. A number between 0 and 1024 can be chosen. By default, the maximum number of copies that can fit on the screen will be chosen. This is based on the original size and location of the object, as well as the size of the graphic page. | |||
Pixel Interval | The spacing (in pixels) between cloned objects. | |||
Clone Pattern | Decides the direction of object cloning. Objects closer to the arrow’s head are created after those which are closer to the arrow’s tail. | |||
Address Auto-Increment | Clones the specified tag addresses based on the user’s configuration. For example, if the original object uses a real tag called “TEST”, the first cloned object will use “TEST_1”, the second will use “TEST_2”, and so on. New tags are registered in the database with the same properties as the original, but with an incremented device address and tag name. | |||
Use Auto-Increment | Whether or not to use the auto-increment feature for the object. | |||
Use | Whether or not to use the auto-increment feature for the selected tag. | |||
Tag Name | Indicates the selected tag’s name. You cannot edit this section. | |||
Address | Indicates the address assigned to the selected tag. You cannot edit this section. | |||
Position | Indicates the context in which the original tag is used. | |||
Increase / | The user can decide whether to increase or decrease the target address for each subsequent cloned object. | |||
Value | Assign the number to increase or decrease the device address and tag name by. The default is 1. | |||
NOTES | - Only real tags and device addresses can use the auto-increment feature. Currently, if an object uses both real and virtual tags, then the auto-increment feature cannot be used with the object. - Device addresses cannot be auto-incremented when used in a Command Expression. However, real tags can be. - By default, word-type device addresses will increment the word register by 1, while bit-type addresses will increment the bit register by 1. For example, for a CIMON PLC, the word address Y00 would have cloned copies Y10, Y20, … , Y150, Y160, Y170, and so on, while the bit address Y00 would have cloned copies Y01, Y02, … , Y0E, Y0F, Y10, Y11, and so on. - Modbus and other device address types can also be auto-incremented. The behavior of auto-increment may be different for different device types, so always double-check your results when using this feature. See the table below to see supported devices. |
(2) Supported Devices
The table below lists devices which support the ‘Address Auto-Increment’ feature. Please check whether your device is compatible before attempting to use this feature. (TODO: Verify table)
Manufacturer | Driver Name | I/O Device Type |
CIMON | CIMON-PLC | Ethernet |
CIMON-PLC HMI | Serial | |
CIMON-PLC Loader | Serial | |
CIMON XPANEL | Ethernet | |
MITSUBISHI | MITSUBISHI MELSEC 3C (QCPU) | Serial |
MITSUBISHI MELSEC 3C (High Speed) | Serial | |
MITSUBISHI MELSEC 3E | Ethernet | |
MITSUBISHI MELSEC-Q Loader (Q00/01) | Serial | |
MITSUBISHI MELSEC-Q Loader (Q02/06/12/25) | Serial | |
LSIS | LSIS GLOFA PLC Cnet | Serial |
LSIS GLOFA PLC | Ethernet | |
LSIS XGI Series PLC Cnet | Serial | |
LSIS XGI FEnet | Ethernet | |
LSIS XGI Series PLC Loader | Serial | |
LSIS XGT/XGB Series PLC Cnet | Serial | |
LSIS XGT Series FEnet | Ethernet | |
LSIS XGT/XGB Series PLC Loader | Serial | |
Allen Bradley | Allen Bradley Control Logix EthernetIP | Ethernet |
Allen Bradley MicroLogix EthernetIP | Ethernet | |
Allen Bradley DF1 | Serial | |
Allen Bradley SLC500 Enet | Ethernet | |
MODICON | MODBUS ASCII Protocol | Serial |
MODBUS RTU Protocol | Serial | |
MODBUS TCP | Ethernet | |
OMRON | OMRON CS/CJ Series Enet | Ethernet |
OMRON PLC (HostLink) | Serial | |
OMRON RFID Reader Enet | Ethernet | |
OMRON RFID Reader | Serial |