Service Packs, Demos, Utility Programs

Service Packs >> DirectSOFT v6 DirectSOFT v5 DSData Server LookoutDirect / DLPlus

Demo Programs >> DirectSOFT v5 DirectSOFT32 DSData Server LookoutDirect

Utility Programs >> CTRIO Workbench ERM Workbench DNLoader NetEdit3
  DBWin32 DSStart    


If you have DirectSOFT v6.0 or later you must use the Help-> Check For Updates utility to get the latest update.

You do not need to re-enter your product key during the installation of the update.

View the Release 6 Revision history

 


If you have DirectSOFT5 Release v5.0, v5.1 or v5.2, here's the latest service pack.

You do not need to re-enter your product key during the installation of the service pack.

DirectSOFT v5.3 Service Pack   ( ~25Mb )               View the Release 5 Revision history                View the DirectSOFT Release 5 Product Page

 


If you have DirectSOFT32 Release 4.0, here's the latest service pack.

The installation product key is : DSP-SERVICE-PACK

DirectSOFT32 v4.0 (Build 25) Service Pack   ( ~11.5Mb )                View the Release 4 Revision History                    View the DirectSOFT Release 4 Product Page


If you have DirectSOFT32 Release 3.0, here's the latest service pack

The product key is : DSP-SERVICE-PACK

DirectSOFT32 v3.0c (Build 80) Service Pack               View the Release 3 Revision History


DirectSOFT v2.4a Maintenance Release Jan '1999  (~3 Mb)

  • This will upgrade any DirectSOFT Programming Release 2.x to Release 2.4a. This maintenance release will NOT work for DirectSOFT Release 1.x. This is NOT a complete installation. You must have a previous 2.x release of our DirectSOFT Programming installed to use this maintenance release.
  • DirectSOFT v2.4a DL350 Bit Override Jan '1999 (58 kb ) This download will allow for proper operation of the new Bit Override feature in a Koyo DL350 CPU. It consists of one file: ProtoKSQ.Dll, which simply replaces the one currently in your '\Dirctsft\Bin' directory. This download is only applicable to DirectSOFT v2.4a.

 

 

If you have DSData Release Release 4.0, here's the latest service pack.

The installation product key is : DSDATA-SERVICE-PACK

DSData Server v4.0 (Build 25) Service Pack   ( ~4Mb )                View the Release 4.0 Revision history.

If you have DSData Release Release 3.0, here's the latest service pack

The product key is : DSDATA-SERVICE-PACK

DSData Server v3.0c (Build 80) Service Pack              View  the Release 3.0 Revision history.

We are no longer actively developing this product. It is still available for customers needing to upgrade.

If you have DDE Server Release 1.0, here's the latest service pack:

DDE Server 1.7a Service Pack Jan '1999 (~1.4mb )

 

 

Since LookoutDirect uses the same communication server and element server as our DirectSOFT PLC Programming software package, we have two different service packs that you can download. The one you choose depends on whether you intend to use it on a PC which also has DirectSOFT installed.

These downloads do not provide a true upgrade, they are full installation packages, so you will need to use the same product key that you used during your initial installation of LookoutDirect.


If your PC has DirectSOFT32 installed, you need this version:

LookoutDirect v4.51.19 with v4.0 Comm Server - Build 25 ( ~22 Mb )

View the LookoutDirect Revision History

After installing this service pack, your copy of LookoutDirect will still appear as Build 4.15.19 (look in Help-> About). Use the Version utility in DSLaunch to verify that the "DirectSOFT32 - Communications Server" components have been updated to 4.0.025.


If your PC has DirectSOFT5 installed, you need this version:

LookoutDirect v4.51.19 with v5.3 Comm Server - Build 105 ( 29.9 Mb )

View the LookoutDirect Revision History

After installing this service pack, your copy of LookoutDirect will still appear as Build 4.15.19 (look in Help-> About). Use the Version utility in DSLaunch to verify that the "DirectSOFT5 - Communications Server" components have been updated to 5.3.194.

If you have National Instrument's Lookout Release 4.x, here's the latest version of our DirectLOGIC Plus Driver for use with Lookout.

Since the DirectLOGIC Plus package uses the same communication server and element server as our DirectSOFT PLC Programming software package, we have two different service packs that you can download. The one you choose depends on whether you intend to use it on a PC which also has DirectSOFT installed.

These downloads do not provide a true upgrade, they are full installation packages, so you will need to use the same product key that you used during your initial installation of the DirectLOGIC Plus software.


If your PC has DirectSOFT32 installed, you need this version:

DirectLOGIC Plus for Lookout v4.51.19 with v4 Comm Server ( ~3Mb)

View the DirectLOGIC Plus Revision History


If your PC has DirectSOFT5 installed, you need this version:

DirectLOGIC Plus for Lookout v4.51.19 with v5.3 Comm Server ( ~7Mb)

View the DirectLOGIC Plus Revision History

 

Demo Programs


There is no "real" demo for DirectSOFT6, instead we now have DirectSOFT100 which gives you the same features as the full version of DirectSOFT6 but allows only 100 Words of ladder code to be downloaded to the PLC. DirectSOFT100 can program all of the  DL05/06/105/205/305/405 systems. A keycode is not required to install DirectSOFT100.

DirectSOFT100 can be downloaded for free at www.Automationdirect.com


Take a test drive of the DirectSOFT32 (v4.x) Programming for Windows! This is a limited use version. Refer to the restrictions below:

  • Can Save Online / Monitor Status on a 10 Ladder-word program (maximum) in the PLC.
  • Can Monitor Status on a maximum of 4 items in Data View.
  • Can have a maximum of 4 Data Views.
  • Can have only 1 Communication Link active at a time.
  • Can have only 1 Ladder (Stage, Mnemonic, XRef/Usage) View open at a time.
  • Cannot Save to Disk.
  • Displays a 'Nag Dialog' encouraging Customers to purchase the Full Version of DirectSOFT-Programming!

The installation Product Key is: DSP-DEMO

DirectSOFT32 v4.0 (Build 25) Demo   ( ~11.5 Mb )

 

 


You can now test drive our latest DDE / OPC server software, DSData Server v4.0. This fully functional demo program will operate for 30 minutes. If you have any questions about the functionality of an application using DSData or about the speed of an application using DSData, we heartily encourage you to download this demo and try it out before you buy it.

You can only have one installation of the DSData Server on a PC. If you install this DEMO on a PC that already has a version of DSData installed, that existing version will be uninstalled - probably not what you want to have happen!

The installation product key is : DSDATA-DEMO

DSData Server v4.0 (Build 25) Demo   ( ~4Mb )

 

Take a test drive of the latest release of LookoutDirect!

Since LookoutDirect uses the same communication server and element server as our DirectSOFT PLC Programming software package, we have two different versions of the demo that you can download. The one you choose depends on whether you intend to use it on a PC which also has DirectSOFT installed.


If your PC has DirectSOFT32 installed, you need this version:

LookoutDirect v4.51.19 Demo with v4 Comm Server ( 22Mb )

The installation Product Key for the demo is: LKD-DEMO


If your PC has DirectSOFT5 installed, you need this version:

LookoutDirect v4.51.19 Demo with v5.3 Comm Server ( 24.3Mb )

The installation Product Key for the demo is: LKD-DEMO

 

  

CTRIO Workbench v2.2
Last Update   : 17 April 2013
File Size         : 7.20Mb

SetupCTR.Zip

View the CTRIO Workbench Revision History

Note: CTRIO Workbench is NOT required to use the CTRIO or CTRIO2 modules with the Do-more PLCs.

NOTES:

  • If you are using the CTRIO modules with AutomationDirect PLCs, you must have DirectSOFT32 or DirectSOFT5 installed on the PC that will run CTRIO Workbench.
  • If you're using DirectSOFT32 V3.0, you also must have Build 71 or later installed, use this link to get the latest DirectSOFT32 Service Pack.
  • If you are using the CTRIO modules with either the T1K-MODBUS or T1K-DEVNETS interface modules, you too will need to have DirectSOFT32 or DirectSOFT5  installed. This is because the configuration ports on these interface modules use the KSequence protocol. The CTRIO Workbench uses the DirectSOFT's communications server as it's KSequence driver. If you don't already have one of the DirectSOFT versions installed on the PC, you can use download and install DirectSOFT100 (the free version of DirectSOFT5)
  • New H2-CTRIOs are preloaded with firmware version 2.0.1 (or later). This firmware version requires CTRIO Workbench version 2 for proper configuration. 

    Because of the addition of customer requested features, this new firmware has an expanded I/O map. There are an additional 32 Input bits and 32 Output bits (4 V memory words total). If you are using a DL240, DL250 or DL260 CPU, you may need to adjust V memory assignments in your PLC programming because of the additional usage by the version 2 firmware. For H2-PBC, an updated .GSD file is required. This file is available from the above website. For other DL205 controllers (WinPLC or EBC), your programming is not impacted by these new firmware features.

    For example, if your previous CTRIO I/O map used V2000->V2023 for Inputs from CTRIO to PLC and V2024->V2053 for Outputs, you’ll need to adjust the Output V memory start address by 32 bits to make room for the additional Inputs. The version 2 CTRIO in this case maps V2000->V2025 for Inputs and V2026->V2057 for Outputs.
Example PLC I/O Mapping H2-CTRIO Inputs (to PLC) Outputs (from PLC)
Version 1.0.1 V2000->V2023 V2024->V2053
Version 2.x.x V2000->V2025 V2026->V2057

 


We'll continue to make Version 1.1-Beta of CTRIO Workbench and the H2-CTRIO Version 1.1 User Manual for those who want to continue using Version 1.0.1 firmware for the H2-CTRIO.

If you prefer to continue using v1.0.1 firmware and its associated CTRIO Workbench v1.1, then you will need to use the CTRIO Workbench “Update Firmware” function to load the previous version 1.0.1 firmware to the CTRIO before attempting to configure the module.

CTRIO Workbench Version 1.1 Beta
Last Update    : March 2002
File Size          : 1.01Mb
Version           : v1.1

H2-CTRIO Version 1.1 User Manual

 

  
This utility is used to setup your Ethernet Remote I/O network.

ERM Workbench V2.4 and later are installed as part of NetEdit3 v3.17j (and later).

NetEdit3 / ERM Workbench (WinZIP)
Last Update    : 10 Nov 2022
File Size         : 9.5Mb
Version           : v2.4 (Build4)
view the ERM Workbench Revision History

 

  

DirectNET Program Loader (DNLoader) - is a free utility that allows you to upload and download PLC programs and memory without the use of DirectSOFT. Use DNLoader to read the ladder program  (and optionally include system memory, user memory, and/or retentive memory) from a DirectLOGIC PLC and save all of this data in a file. You can then use DNLoader to write the contents of this file to another DirectLOGIC PLC of the same type.

Follow this link to a pdf file that contains a flowchart that fully describes how DNLoader operates.

DNLoader can use either a serial connection or an Ethernet connection (via an ECOM or ECOM100) to communicate with the DirectLOGIC PLCs. As of version 1.4 DNLoader can use either DirectNET (or CCM) or KSequence protocol to connect to the PLC to the following DirectLOGIC PLCs:

  • DL05 / DL06
  • D2-240 (port 2 only) D2-250 / D2-250-1 / D2-260 / D2-262
  • D3-350
  • D4-430 / D4-440 / D4-450 / D4-454 / TI-425 / TI-435

    Note: Previous versions of DNLoader only support DirectNET (CCM) protocol.

DNLoader correctly handle PLCs with password protection enabled by requiring the password be entered in able to read the data is read from the source PLC. The password is then encrypted as part of the data that is saved to disk. The password will be written to the destination PLC along with the program and any other data, and then the PLC will be locked just as the source PLC was locked.

DNLoader runs properly on the following Windows Operating Systems:

  • Windows XP (32 & 64 bit)
  • Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit)
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 10

DNLoader.Zip
Last Update    : 20 Dec 2018
File Size         : 740Kb
Version           : v1.5.0.1
view the DirectNET Program Loader Revision History

 

  
NetEdit v3 is the the free utility that is used to manage many aspects of our Ethernet-enabled devices. This includes the configuration of the network settings, updating the firmware in the devices, and setting up any runtime configuration options that are available. The use of an Excel-style grid allows the list of devices to be sorted by any column. The built-in Export feature will save the current device list information to a CSV file. The 'Restore Factory Settings' function will reset Name, Module ID, IP Address and Description of a device to their default values.

NetEdit is automatically installed as part of both Do-more Designer and DirectSOFT PLC programming packages. The version of NetEdit installed is the version that was available when the respective installations were built. The link below is to the lastest version of NetEdit that is currently available.

The installation of NetEdit v3.17j and later will also install ERM Workbench which is used to configure ERMs and ERM100s

Live Update

NetEdit v3 also has an integrated firmware update facility for all of the EBCs & EBC100s, ECOMs, ECOM-Fs, ECOM100s & BX-ECOMLTs, BX-MBIOs, BX-DMIOs, GS-EDRVs & GS-EDRV100s, ERMs & ERM100s, PBCs, the H0-PSCM, and the MB-Gateway. The 'Live Update' facility will retrieve the latest firmware files from the Host Engineering web site, then indicators in the 'F', 'B' and 'C' columns will show which devices have out of date firmware, out of date boot loaders, and/or address configuration conflicts. Note: You may have to disable Window's built-in firewall to successfully update the firmware or boot loader in the Ethernet device. You can turn always it back on after the firmware update has completed.

IPConfigTool

Is a utility program that is installed in the same folder as NetEdit. It used to write the IP configuration in any of our Ethernet devices by finding the device on the network using its hardware (MAC) address. This is typically used to recover one of our Ethernet-equiped devices that was given an IP Address that is not accessible on the network where NetEdit is running.

(ECOM & ECOM100) PEERLINK Setup, Test CPU Access, Test EMail Setup

Setup the internal Peer-to-Peer configuration table in ECOMs and ECOM100s so that networking instructions (RX / WX and NETRX / NETWX) will not be forced to use TCP/IP broadcasts. The Peer-to-Peer configuration table in ECOM100s can also be configured to allow the ECOM100 to operate as a Modbus TCP/IP client (master) utilizing the DirectLOGIC PLC's networking instructions (RX / WX and NETRX / NETWX).

NetEdit3 also has the 'Test CPU Access' function to verify the backplane communication through the ECOM and ECOM100 to the PLC's CPU. The 'Test Email' function allows you to test the Email configuration parameters that are stored in the ECOM100 and you can setup Email Authentication via a User ID and Password if required.

(EBC / EBC100 / BX-DMIO / BX-MBIO) Show Base Contents

When used to configure Remote Base Controllers, the 'Show Base Contents' function will display a list of the I/O modules that are in the base, and if applicable, will display their Modbus TCP/IP addresses.

NetEdit version 3.16 or later is required to setup any analog input or output modules in an BX-MBIO or BX-EBC100 system. This analog module setup must be done via the Ethernet port even if using Modbus/RTU (serial) as the controlling protocol for the connected I/O.


Latest Version of NetEdit and ERM Workbench

Last Update    : 10 November 2022
NetEdit3       : v3.17j
ERM Workbench  : v2.4

Setup NetEdit ErmWB (WinZIP)

NetEdit v3 Revision History
Version Date Description of Problems / Additions / Changes
3.17j 10-Nov-2022

Fixed a problem of mis-reporting IP Address collision in the Conflict column.

Added installation of ERM Workbench.

Fixed some UI problems in the BX-P-ECOMLT Advanced dialog.

3.17h 10-Aug-2022

Added an option for Do-more BRX CPUs to utilize DHCP (instead of only supporting hard coded IP Address option.

Added support for BX-ECOMEX.

Properly handle H0-ECOM100 hardware rev differences.

If no Ethernet devices found, prompt the user to select a different Network Adapter via the menu.

Added web links to NetEdit FAQs to the Help menu.

3.17e 31-Mar-2020

Added Support for Rev 8A hardware versions of the BX-DMIO, BX-MBIO, BX-EBC100. This version of NetEdit is required to either:

  • update a BX-DMIO, BX-MBIO or BX-EBC100 that is H/W Rev 8A or later.

  • update a BX-DMIO, BX-MBIO or BX-EBC100 that is H/W Rev 5A using v4.2.16 boot loader & v4.2.100 firmware files.

Note: using an older revison of NetEdit to either update Rev 8 Hardware, or to use Rev 8 boot loader and firmware files will leave the BX-DMIO, BX-MBIO, or BX-EBC100 stuck in the boot loader (ERR LED blinking). To remedy this in either case, use NetEdit v3.17e (or later) to reload the boot loader and firmware files.

3.17d 25-Oct-2019

Fixed a problem that prevented 10Base-T versions of our Ethernet devices from showing up properly. These devices would show up in the list with Ethernet (MAC) Addresses of 00:00:00:00:00:00 and a Device Type of UNKNOWN.

Now installs IPConfig103.exe (a utility that uses a directed broadcast to manually set the IP address information of a device that can't be seen in NetEdit).

3.17c 12-Jun-2019

Added firmware folders for new hardware revisions of H2-EBC100, H2-ERM100, MB-GATEWAY, and GS-EDRV100.

3.17b 27-Mar-2019

Fixed a problem that prevented Live Update from seeing updates because of the browser cache settings.

Correctly read new IP Settings after an update.

Fixed a problem where the Flags in the Advanced ECOM Settings were not properly set.

Fixed a problem where the IP Settings were not properly being read if the device's current IP is 255.255.255.255.

3.17a 15-Feb-2019

Added support for H0-ECOM100 Rev 9 hardware. Added the H0-ECOM100n2 folder for the boot loader and firmware files for the Rev 9 H0-ECOM100.

Fixed a probem that caused NetEdit3 to continue to use directed broadcasts after selecting a device to set up.

3.17 20-Dec-2018

Added support for D2-262CPU.

3.16 23-May-2018

Added support for BX-DMIO (Do-more I/O), BX-EBC100 and BX-MBIO (Modbus I/O).

For Devices that support Modbus/TCP, added ability to disable using port 502 and specify a range of alternate port numbers to use.

3.14c 10-May-2017

Added support for BX-ECOMLT.

Note: any time the boot loader in the BX-ECOMLT is updated you must also reload the operating system (firmware).

3.14a 16-Oct-2015

Fixes a crash that would occur on some computers when a NIC was selected from the list of available Adapters.

Adds the ability to connect to a single device by manually specifying the MAC address or IP address; removes need to do a network broadcast.

3.13 14-Apr-2015

Installs IPConfigTool which can set the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Gateway Address of out Ethernet devices using a directed broadcast to the MAC address of the device. This provides a way to reconfigure the IP addressing of a device whose current IP addressing makes it unreachable on the current TCP/IP network and IPX protocol is not available on the Operating System being used.

3.12 24-Mar-2014

Live Update now uses a different process to detect and then download updated firmware files from the Host Engineering website.

Note: As of this update, earlier versions of NetEdit3 will no longer be able to detect and download updated firmware files. It is highly recommended that you upgrade to the latest version of NetEdit3.

3.10 11-Sept-2012

Added the Network-> Adapter menu option. On computers that have multiple NICs (Network Interface Card), this option allows the user to specify which NIC that NetEdit should use.

3.9a 26-Mar-2012

Added the following three configuration options to the ECOM/ECOM100 Advanced dialog:

  • Enable PEERLINK (ECOM100) - reserved for use with the Do-more CPU.

  • Enable DIP Switch 5 Lockout - allows the use of DIP Switch #5 to write protect the configuration of ECOM and ECOM100, and removing the ability to update the firmware and boot loader. Refer to the revision history for the ECOM100 modules for more information on this new feature.

  • Enable Web Server (ECOM100) - enables and disables the ability to use a web browser to configure the ECOM100. Refer to the revision history for the ECOM100 modules for more information on this new feature.
 

3.8b 10-Feb-2012

Fixed a problem that would sometimes leave the 100Base-T devices stuck in the boot loader after a failed firmware update.

3.8a 6-Jul-2011

Fixed a problem with the firmware update progress bar.

3.8 8-Jun-2011

Added support for the MB-Gateway and GS-EDRV100.

3.7c 22-Jan-2009

Added a new group of options to the Advanced tab for the ECOM100 which allows the user to Force the ECOM100 into 10Mb mode (instead of 10/100Mb mode), and allows the user to make the HTML configuration pages read-only, thereby preventing updates to the ECOM100 configuration via a web browser.

Lengthened timeouts when updating firmware for T1H-PBC and H2-PBC.

Added ability to include username/password for e-mail authentication.

3.7b 12-May-2008

Fixed a bug that was introduced in 3.7a that would cause the firmware update process to fail.

3.7a 6-May-2008

Display more informative messages for errors during Live Update.

No longer include firmware files for Ethernet devices, use Live Update to get the latest firmware files, or download All_Firmware_Binary_Files.Zip (on Support->Firmware page) if you can't use Live Update.

3.7 21-Feb-2007

Added 'Test Email' option for Hx-ECOM100s.

Excluded the following addresses from being used in the IP Address field for all ECOM100s and EBC100s:
224.x.x.x through 255.x.x.x (Multi-cast range)
x.x.x.255
127.0.0.0 & 127.0.0.1

3.6d 30-Jan-2007

Added a field to adjust the Modbus Slave Timeout value under the Advanced dialog. When the ECOM100 is operating as a Modbus TCP/IP slave, this timeout value is used to delete Modbus connections that haven't been accessed within the defined time period.

This feature requires matching firmware in the ECOM100 modules.

3.6c 25-Oct-2006

Changed the "Test CPU Access!" function so that it works like the CPU detection function in our DirectSOFT PLC Programming Software.

No longer display a "Conflict" (an asterisk in the 'C' column of the selected device) if DHCP addressing is enabled and the "underneath" IP address is 0.0.0.0.

3.6b 25-May-2005

Fixed problem that caused "Error 209 from DownloadBinFile".

Fixed problem that caused "Error 0" after upgrading firmware in H4-EBC, H4-ECOM or H2-ECOM.

Added more descriptive messages for Winsock errors.

3.6 12-Apr-2005

Added ability to adjust the timeout value for Modbus/TCP requests in the H2-ECOM100. If the ECOM100 is begin used as a Modbus/TCP master, this is the timeout value used by the ECOM100 when it processes the RX / WX instructions which are used to do the master / slave communication.

3.5a 1-Feb-2005

Fixed a problem that prevented NetEdit v3 from being able to upgrade a device that had a release 2.xx.yy boot loader.

3.5 14-Dec-2004

Added configuration support for the new H2-EBC100 and H2-ECOM100. This new version of NetEdit v3 is required to configure the new options available in the H2-EBC100 and the H2-ECOM100.

Fixed a problem with the firmware and booter loader upgrade process where an error during the upgrade wasn't detected, so it looked like the upgrade process worked when in fact it didn't.

3.4 12-Aug-2004

Added configuration support for the new T1H-EBC100. This new version of NetEdit is required to configure the new options available in the T1H-EBC100.

Added reporting of MODBUS/TCP I/O addressing in the Show Base Contents dialog.

Added ability to display the hardware version information.

3.2a 20-Feb-2004

Created installation file (SetupNE3.Exe) for NetEdit v3.

Increased the maximum number of devices that can be displayed from 100 to 500.

Fixed a bug where if the PLC containing an ERM was in the RUN mode, NetEdit would appear to make a change to ERM parameters, but they would not actually occur.

3.2 11-Feb-2004

Improved error reporting on failed attempts to write configuration data.

Added File -> Export.

3.1 19-Jan-2004

Initial Release of NetEdit3.

 
DBWin32

This program displays debugging messages from DirectSOFT32 and the DSData Server.

 

DSStart

This utility allows you to sequence the startup of several applications with a single icon, usually in your startup group . You specify the application along with a delay time. This is useful when you want to start the DDE Server and allow it time to get through it's initialization before an application tries to access any data.

This utility program is a 16-bit application that does not understand long file names, you must use the hashed names for pathname elements longer than 8 characters, e.g. "C:\Program Files\.." would be entered as "C:\Progra~1\..".