Save, Export and Share

Your work in Rungs Studio lives in your browser. To keep it, hand it to someone, or move it into a real controller, you take it out of Studio in one of three ways. Each one serves a different goal, so pick by what you want to do next.

All three buttons sit in the top toolbar. Save to... (.rungs) and Export as .L5X are also on the right-click menu of your draft AOI in the Draft folder of the left sidebar.

Save to .rungs

.rungs is Studio's own file format. It stores everything about the AOI: the routines, every tag with its data type and default value, and the YAML test suite. It is the only format Studio can open, so it is the format for backups and for resuming work.

1. Click Save to... (.rungs) in the toolbar.
2. Pick a folder and name. The suggested name is your AOI's name.
3. Later, click Open AOI (.rungs) to load it back.

Saving to .rungs also clears Studio's unsaved-changes warning. Exporting to .L5X does not, because the .L5X file does not hold everything you would need to get your work back.

Export as .L5X

.L5X is the XML format Logix Designer uses to import and export pieces of a project. Studio writes a file that holds one Add-On Instruction definition, ready for the Import Add-On Instruction command.

1. Click Export as .L5X in the toolbar.
2. Save the file. Logix Designer's import dialog filters on the uppercase .L5X extension, which is why the suggested name uses it.
3. In Logix Designer, right-click Add-On Instructions in the Controller Organizer and choose Import Add-On Instruction.
4. Pick the file and complete the import wizard.
5. Review the imported instruction before you use it. Compare the tags and read through the logic.

What the file contains

• The Logic routine, plus Prescan and EnableInFalse if your AOI has them
• Input and output tags as instruction parameters, with their descriptions and default values
• Local tags, with their descriptions and default values
• Rung comments, written from the comments in your Ladder Logic source

What the file does not contain

• Tests. The YAML test suite has no Logix equivalent. Keep a .rungs copy if you want the tests.
• Anything Studio cannot express. The export is a starting point, not a guarantee. Rungs is a learning tool modeled on Logix Designer, and edge cases can differ. Always review the imported instruction.

Instruction names on older versions

Logix Designer version 36 renamed several instructions to their IEC 61131-3 names. Studio teaches the new names. The exported file uses the older spelling so that it imports on version 33 and 35 as well. A version 36 or later project converts the old spelling back on import, so you lose nothing either way.

Importing into Studio

Studio cannot open .L5X files. The export is a one-way trip into Logix Designer. If you want to keep editing in Studio, save a .rungs file too.

Share

Share uploads a copy of your AOI and gives you a link. Anyone with the link can open that copy directly in Studio, run it, and edit their own version. It is the quickest way to ask for help or hand in an exercise.

1. Click Share in the toolbar.
2. Wait for the link to appear, then click the copy button next to it.
3. Paste the link wherever you like.

The link points to a snapshot. Changes you make in Studio after sharing are not reflected in it. Share again to get a link to the new version.