Technical data

Startup and Operation
5.5 User Interface and Operation
Programming with STEP 7
Manual, 05/2010, A5E02789666-01 137
Opening Objects
There are a number of ways to open an object in the detailed view:
• Double-click on the object icon
• Select the object and then the menu command Edit > Open Object. This only works for
objects that are not folders.
Once you have opened an object, you can create or change its contents.
When you open an object that does not contain other objects, its contents are represented by a
suitable software component in a new window for editing purposes. You cannot change objects
whose contents are already being used elsewhere.
Note
Exception:
Stations appear as folders for programmable modules (when you double-click them) and
for the station configuration. If you double-click the "Hardware" object, the application for configuring
hardware is started. Selecting the station and selecting the menu command Edit > Open Object has
the same effect.
Building an Object Hierarchy
Use the "New Project" wizard to create the object hierarchy. When you open a folder, the objects it
contains are displayed on the screen. You can now create more objects in the folder using the
Insert menu, for example, additional stations in a project. Only the commands for those objects
which can be inserted in the current folder are active in the Insert menu.
Setting Object Properties
Object properties are data belonging to the object which determine its behavior. The dialog box for
setting object properties appears automatically when you create a new object and properties have
to be set. The properties can also be changed at a later date.
Using the menu command Edit > Object Properties, a dialog box is opened in which you can
display or set the properties for the selected object.
Using the menu command Edit > Special Object Properties, you can open dialog boxes and
enter data required for operator control and monitoring functions and for configuring messages.
For example, in order to display the special object properties of a block for operator control and
monitoring, the block must be marked as being relevant for operator control and monitoring,
meaning that the system attribute "s7_m_c" must be set to the value "true" in the "Attributes" tab of
the block properties.