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DeviceHub Guides

Use the Siemens S7 Browse Agent

12min

With the Siemens S7 Browse Agent, you can export tags and variables from a TIA Portal project and import them into Manufacturing Connect Edge using the DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation tool.

Before You Begin

  • Create a TIA Portal project that includes the tags you want to add the device you create in DeviceHub. See Tag Data Type Conversions to learn more.
    • The TIA portal files are located in the your program installation folders. If you have TIA Portal V15, they are located in Program Files > Siemens > Automation > Portal V15 > Public API > V15
    • If you have TIA Portal V15.1, they are located in Program Files > Siemens > Automation > Portal V15_1 > Public API > V15_1.
  • Download one or both of the following zip files based on which version of TIA Portal you have. If you have TIA Portal V15, download this file:
  • If you have TIA Portal V15.1, download this file:
  • If TIA Portal is open, close it.

Use the Siemens S7 Browse Agent

Using the Siemens S7 Browse Agent includes the following tasks:

  • Step 1: Add Siemens S7-Advanced Device to DeviceHub
  • Step 2: Extract DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool
  • Step 3: Copy and Paste .dll Files
  • Step 4: Retrieve Parameters for DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool
  • Step 5: Configure DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool
  • Step 6: Export Tags to CSV File
  • Step 7: Upload Tags to Manufacturing Connect Edge
  • Step 8: Repeat Steps for Other TIA Portal ZIP File

Step 1: Add Siemens S7-Advanced Device to DeviceHub

To add the Siemens S7-1500 device to DeviceHub:

  1. In Manufacturing Connect Edge, navigate to DeviceHub > Devices.

  2. Click Add New Device. The Connect Device dialog box appears.

    Add new device icon
    Add new device icon
    
  3. In the Device Type drop-down list, select Siemens.
  4. In the Driver Name drop-down list, select Siemens S7-Advanced (Gen1).
  5. Configure the parameters for the device. See Connect a Device and Siemens S7-Advanced (Gen1) to learn more.

Step 2: Extract DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool

To extract the DeviceHub Automatic Tag Generation tool:

  1. In Windows Explorer, extract the contents of one of the following zip files: TIA_Portal_Files_version_v15.zip or TIA_Portal_Files_version_v15_1.zip.
  2. Open the extracted folders until you view the the files DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation.exe and siemens.dll.

Step 3: Copy and Paste .dll Files

To copy and paste the .dll files:

  1. In your program installation folders, navigate to Program Files > Siemens > Automation > Portal V15 > Public API > V15 or Program Files > Siemens > Automation > Portal V15_1 > Public API > V15_1 (depending on the zip file extracted in "Step 2: Extract DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool".)
  2. Copy the following files: Siemens.Engineering.dll and Siemens.Engineering.HMI.dll.
  3. Paste the files into the DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation tool folder for V15 or V15.1.

Step 4: Retrieve Parameters for DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool

To retrieve parameters for the DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation tool:

  1. In Manufacturing Connect Edge, navigate to DeviceHub > Devices.
  2. For the Siemens S7-Advanced device tile, click the Copy Device ID icon and paste it somewhere for reference later.
  3. Navigate to System > Tokens.
  4. In the REST API Keys section, click the Add REST API Key icon.
  5. Enter a name for the token in the Key Name field, and then click Create API Key.
  6. In the Value column for the key, click the Copy icon and paste it somewhere for reference later.

Step 5: Configure DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool

To configure the DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool:

  1. From the V15 folder, double-click the DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation.exe file. The DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation dialog box appears.
  2. Click the Project Diff File Browse icon and navigate to Documents > Automation > v15_project. The v15_project is the name you gave your project in the TIA portal.
  3. Click All files to see the TIA project file.
  4. Select the file and click Open.
  5. Click the CSV File Browse icon, navigate to the folder you want to store the CSV file, enter v15 tags in the File Name field, and then click Save.
  6. Configure the following parameters:
    • Device ID: Paste the Device ID that you copied in "Step 4: Retrieve Parameters for DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool".
    • Device Name: Enter S7-1500.
    • Address: Enter the Manufacturing Connect Edge URL.
    • API Token: Paste the REST API Key copied in "Step 4: Retrieve Parameters for DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation Tool".

Step 6: Export Tags to CSV File

To export the tags to a CSV file:

  1. From the DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation dialog box, click Export.
  2. View the Logs pane to see the export process. This process may take some time. When you see Finished in the Logs pane, the tags are exported to a CSV file.
  3. Navigate to the folder on your hard drive that you designated for the CSV file and confirm it was successfully created.

Step 7: Upload Tags to Manufacturing Connect Edge

To upload the tags to Manufacturing Connect Edge:

  1. From the DeviceHub Automated Tag Generation dialog box, click Upload.
  2. In Manufacturing Connect Edge, navigate to DeviceHub > Tags.
  3. Confirm the tags from the CSV file are successfully uploaded.

Step 8: Repeat Steps for Other TIA Portal ZIP File

If you have both TIA Portal versions, repeat the above steps for the other zip file you downloaded.

Updated 02 May 2024
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