06/11/2017 How to edit a PanelView Plus (ViewME) MER file

How to edit a PanelView Plus (ViewME) MER

Runtime le
By Shawn_Tierney - May 26, 2014

Recently a client asked how he would go about editing a PanelView

Plus .MER le his customer had sent him.

Unfortunately there' no simple answer to this question, so in today's

article we'll cover the basic steps you need to take to extract
ViewStudio projects from ME runtime les.

Need help converting or recovering your .MER les? You can hire me to do it for
you – to learn more, click here.

Converting a version 5.0 or greater .MER runtime le back into an editable project

If you’re using FactoryTalk ViewStudio 7.0 on Windows 7 64 bit, and your .MER is version
6.1 or 7.0, then you’re in luck. As long as the file was created to allow “conversion,” and
you either know the password or there isn't one, then it’s as easy as running Rockwell’s
Application Manager and choosing, “Restore runtime application.”

However, if the .MER runtime file is a version 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0, you’re going to need a 32 bit
Windows OS with ViewStudio installed in order to restore the runtime application.

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If you want to take that version 5.0-6.0 application and use it on Windows 7 64 bit, you'll
first need to download the “Legacy Tag DB Tool” and export the Tag DB (check back
Wednesday for a article on this subject.)

Recovering pre-version 5.0 .MER runtime le

If your MER file is older than version 5.0, well there is no easy answer. ME Runtime
files prior to 5.0 were not designed to be recovered back into a project, and the following
procedure won’t recover 100% of it's contents.

The first step in the process of recovering a pre-5 .MER file is to load it into ViewME Station
on a 32 bit Windows OS, the most common of which is Windows XP.

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NOTE: Most projects won’t “load” in the “free” demo version of ViewME Station runtime
that comes with View Studio. That version is limited to projects with 5 or less graphic
displays.

[artadrr-hmi-e] If you don't actually own a ViewME Station Runtime license, you'll either
need to be in the 7 day grace period (more on that HERE) or you'll need to obtain a 30 day
temporary license from your local Rockwell office or authorized distributor (more
information on this HERE.)

When you do load (do not run) the MER file into ViewME Station Runtime, the software
extracts the MER file's contents into a hidden temporary folder.

This hidden folder is typically found under “Documents and Settings\User Name\Local
Settings\Temp,” although the exact path changes slightly from OS to OS.

The name of the hidden folder the MER runtime get's extracted to is typically “~MER.00.”

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To recover this project, you should first copy the entire ~MER folder to a more accessible
and less temporary location. Then, open View Studio ME and choose “new,” then “import,”
and then select the .MED file inside the ~MER.00 folder.

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The above process will import the extracted .MER file contents into your new project. It will
contain the original graphic displays, tags, and many other parts of your MER runtime.
However, text heavy parts of the project like Alarms, Parameters, and Macros, as well as
the RSLinx Enterprise (or other) communications setting, will not be successfully recreated.

NOTE: You can find the RSLinx settings in the ViewME Station Runtime software under
Terminal Settings, Network and Communication Settings.

Additional Reading

For more information on this subject check out the following Rockwell Knowledgebase
documents:

44554 – FactoryTalk View ME: Convert MER file to Project file (publically accessable)
63228 – Restoring a Machine Edition Runtime (MER) file (locked – Tech Connect contract
holders only)
8913 – Recovering a Project from the MER File (locked – Tech Connect contract holders
only)

I hope you found the above article about editing MER files helpful. If you have any
comments, questions, or corrections please don’t hesitate to leave them by filling in the
“post a comment or question” link below.

Sincerely,

Shawn Tierney
Automation Blogger and Trainer
If you enjoyed my article, you may like my affordable courses at TheAutomationSchool.com

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The Automation Forums' comments 1 of 1 (of 1 total:)

Shawn Tierney
10-13-2016 06:17:02 PM (UTC)

If you are having problems converting your .MER files and would like to hire me to help
you can contact me using the below link to get an estimated cost (please provide as
much information as possible including versions, etc, and indicate how many files you
would like a quote on to convert)
http://insightsinautomation.com/consulting/

Click HERE to post a comment or question

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