Import Considerations when Replacing Components

When the name of a component being imported matches the name of an existing component of the same type and scope in the project, the components are said to collide and a connection is made. If there is no collision, the component is identified as needing to be created. If the component it connects to is incompatible (such as a tag of a different data type), then the connection is made, but a red flag indicates that there is a potential problem, and you must decide whether you wish to continue with the import or make additional configuration changes.

Generally, collisions can be managed by changing the Final Name or Operation setting for the content being imported.

Some of the collision decisions include:

Configuration	Description
Import Name	The Import Name is read only and displays the name of the component as read from the import file.
Operation	The Operation determines how to resolve a collision. Not all operations are applicable to a given component in all situations, and sometimes there is only one possible operation permitted in a particular situation. Use Existing specifies that the existing component in the project should be used and that the component in the import file will not be imported. Overwrite specifies that the component in the import file should overwrite the component in the project file. If you select Overwrite for a tag reference, the data that is different is written to the offline project only, even if you are online with the controller. Create indicates that a component with this name and scope does not already exist in the project and specifies that a new component will be created in the project based on the import file. Discard ignores this component in the import file. Undefined creates this component on import, however, no information (other than its name) was found in the import file. The imported logic will not verify as long as there are undefined component references. Delete removes this component from the project on import.
Final Name	The Final Name determines the name of the component as it will appear in the project after the import (except in the case of deletes). Changing the Final Name changes the name in all places where this component is referenced in the import content. If you change the Final Name of the import content so that it newly collides with an existing component, all referenced components maintain any import configuration changes you might have already made. You can create or avoid collisions by changing the Final Name. If you change the final name to be different than the name in the import content, all logic references in the import content are updated to the new Final Name. In the Final Name and Alias For fields, some words auto-complete. These fields also distinguish between upper and lower case characters.
Description	The Description of the component depends on the operation. When Operation is Use Existing, the Description field is read-only and displays a description of the component in the project. When Operation is Overwrite, the Description field is editable and displays the components description as read from the import file. When Operation is Create, the Description field is editable and displays a description read from the import file. When Operation is Discard, the Description field is read-only and displays the description of the component as read from the import file. When Operation is Undefined, the Description field is read-only and displays nothing. Descriptions are displayed for the component and for any members of a tag that have member or bit-level descriptions.

Collision Handling

When there is a collision, the components colliding in the import file and in the project may be identically the same or they may be different. If they are the same, the Import Configuration dialog box defaults to Use Existing. If they are different, you must decide which definition you want to use. Icons on the Import Configuration dialog box show whether colliding components are identical or different. Reference component collisions default to Use Existing.

Situation	Icon
The component only exist in the import file (creates).	The icon contains just the sheet of paper image.
The component only exist in the project (deletes).	The icon contains just the cylinder image.
The component collides with a different definition.	The icon contains both images with a collision symbol between the two images.
The component collides with an identical definition.	The icon is blank (no difference).
The component collides with an existing component and there are differences.	The icon contains both images, but no collision symbol. Note that this icon is always superseded by a red flag or red flag with a yellow triangle, if the attention flag applies to a particular item.
This icon may appear in front of a folder in the Configuration Organizer tree if that folder contains a component where at least one of the following conditions exist: New items, created, or discarded Existing items being deleted Items colliding with existing items (differences between the items)	The icon contains both images, but no collision symbol, and displays to the left of the import component’s folder. Note that this icon is always superseded by a red flag or red flag with a yellow triangle, if the attention flag applies to a particular item.

To see differences, press the Collision Details button on the imported component’s properties dialog box or the [...] button in the Collision Details column in the grid. Use this information on the differences to determine whether to overwrite or use the existing component.

For components that do not collide, press the Properties Details button for more information on the component.

Import and export

Provide Feedback

Have questions or feedback about this documentation? Please submit your feedback here.