CODESYS Compatibility Examples

This repository is designed to collect examples of CODESYS blocks and objects that cannot be exported or imported correctly using cds-text-sync (v2.0.1+, XML-First) or standard CODESYS mechanisms.

It serves as a companion to the main cds-text-sync tool — hosting test cases, edge cases, and problematic objects for debugging automation workflows and understanding the limitations of the CODESYS scripting API.

🎯 Purpose

The main goal is to build a database of "problematic" objects that fail round-trip verification. If an object cannot be:

• Exported to the editable view (project-view/),
• Deleted from the IDE,
• Imported back from disk files,
• and Compared (IDE vs original) with zero differences,

…it belongs here.

🔍 External Diffing

If you need to analyze changes in complex XML objects (Visualizations, Alarms, etc.) that are hard to read in the built-in diff viewer:

1. Press CTRL + Click "Diff" in the Project_compare_ui.py comparison dialog.
2. This saves both the IDE and Disk versions to the .diff/ folder.
3. Use an external tool (VS Code, WinMerge, etc.) for a more detailed comparison.

🚀 How to Contribute

We welcome any examples of blocks that refuse to be automated. To add your example:

1. Open an Issue: Use the full path and type in the title, e.g., Application/folder/Dynamic - failed to import/export or with errors.
2. Provide a Project Link: Include a public link to the .project file with the example in your Issue.

Please submit updates as public links to .project files when opening an issue.

I will update this project as much as possible, but I really appreciate everyone's contributions. The CODESYS environment has a vast set of tools, and it is physically impossible for me to know or use them all.

Current Environment: I am using CODESYS V3.5 SP22 Patch 1. Please provide projects adapted for this version if possible. In any case, we can find a way to exchange code via Discussions.

✅ Verification Procedure (cds-text-sync v2.0.1+)

To ensure an object is suitable for this collection, follow these steps using the XML-First workflow:

1. Create the object in CODESYS.
2. Run Project_export.py — captures the IDE snapshot to .dump/IDE.xml and builds the editable view in project-view/.
3. Create a Backup (Copy) of the reference project state (or use the .backup/ safety backup feature in Project_options.py).
4. Delete the object from the CODESYS project.
5. Run Project_import.py — the external engine compares disk files against the fresh snapshot and applies changes back into the IDE.
6. Compare the imported object against the original (reference backup):
   • Use Project_compare_ui.py for an interactive dialog with per-object diff viewing.
   • Use Project_compare.py for a machine-readable report (.dump/compare_report.json).
   • For deep analysis, use the External Diff feature (CTRL + Diff in compare_ui) to save files to .diff/ and compare them in an external editor.

If any of these steps fail or produce differences, the object is a candidate for this repository.

Note

This procedure assumes the default project-view/ layout and XML-First engine from cds-text-sync v2.0.1+. Older ST-oriented workflows are preserved under old_scripts/ in the main repository but are not the primary target for this reference project.