WinCC OA Project Admin

Project management and control for WinCC OA in Visual Studio Code

Features • Known Issues

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⚠️ Early Access Notice
This extension is in active development. While core features are stable, you may encounter:

• Performance issues on Windows (especially with many projects) - We're actively optimizing!
• Edge cases not yet fully covered

🐛 Found a bug? Please report it on our GitHub Issues!
Your feedback helps us make this extension better for everyone. 🙏

Quick Fix: If something doesn't work, try Ctrl+Shift+P → Reload Window

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🎬 See It In Action

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✨ Features

🔍 Automatic Project Detection

• List all runnable Projects
• Detects WinCC OA version from installation
• Finds subprojects automatically

🎯 Project Management

• Status Bar UI: Click to switch between projects
• Quick Pick Menu: Browse all available WinCC OA projects in workspace
• Auto-Selection: Automatically selects first project on startup
• Context Menu Actions: Set active project, add to workspace, open in explorer

⚙️ Manager Control (PMON)

• Start/stop WinCC OA projects via PMON
• Automatic manager detection and control
• Proper startup/shutdown sequence (PMON → Managers)
• Real-time status updates

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⚙️ Configuration

Logging (for debugging)

Setting	Default	Description
winccoa.core.logLevel	INFO	Log verbosity: ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE

💡 Tip: Set log level to DEBUG when reporting bugs for detailed diagnostics.

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🐛 Known Issues

Current Limitations

1. Project Switching:

   • May require VS Code reload in some cases
   • Especially when switching between projects with different WinCC OA versions

2. Multi-root Workspaces:

   • Limited support for multiple WinCC OA projects simultaneously
   • Recommended: Use single project per workspace

3. PMON Control:

   • Requires WinCC OA to be properly installed and configured
   • PATH environment variable must include WinCC OA binaries
   • Some manager types may not be detected automatically

4. Add New Manager:

   • did not work correctly.

Reporting Bugs

Found an issue? Please report it with:

• WinCC OA version
• Extension version (1.0.0)
• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Enable DEBUG logging and attach log output

Report Issue on GitHub

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📝 Commands

Access via Ctrl+Shift+P:

Command	Description
WinCC OA: Select Project	Choose active project from list
WinCC OA: Refresh Projects	Re-scan workspace for projects
WinCC OA: Start Project (PMON)	Start WinCC OA project
WinCC OA: Stop Project (PMON)	Stop WinCC OA project

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🐛 Known Issues

Performance

Windows Performance:
The extension may run slower on Windows with longer loading times. Linux performs significantly better.

Large Projects:
Very large projects (many subprojects, managers) may experience slower detection and startup times.

Custom Projects Not Appearing

Symptom: Some users see basic WinCC OA projects but not custom projects they've added.

Root Cause: Projects are loaded from pvssInst.conf (Windows: C:\ProgramData\Siemens\WinCC_OA\pvssInst.conf). Each project has a notRunnable field that controls visibility:

• notRunnable=0 → Project appears in list (runnable)
• notRunnable=1 → Project is filtered out (not runnable)

Troubleshooting:

1. Enable Debug Logging:

   • Open VS Code Output Panel (Ctrl+Shift+U)
   • Select "WinCC OA Project Admin" from dropdown
   • Look for [PROJECT DISCOVERY] and [PVSS REGISTRY] log messages
   • Check which projects are being filtered out and why

2. Check pvssInst.conf:

   • Open C:\ProgramData\Siemens\WinCC_OA\pvssInst.conf (Windows) or equivalent on Linux
   • Find your custom project section: [Software\<Company>\<Product>\Configs\<ProjectID>]
   • Verify notRunnable=0 (not notRunnable=1)

3. Example Debug Output:

   [PVSS REGISTRY] Parsed pvssInst.conf:
   [PVSS REGISTRY]   Total projects: 5
   [PVSS REGISTRY]   Project: MyProject - notRunnable=true (FILTERED OUT)  ← Problem!
   [PVSS REGISTRY]   Project: DevEnv - notRunnable=false (WILL SHOW)
   

4. Fix:

   • Edit pvssInst.conf and change notRunnable=1 to notRunnable=0 for your project
   • Reload VS Code or wait 15 seconds for auto-refresh

Note: The notRunnable field is set when projects are registered in WinCC OA. If your project is marked as a sub-project or template, it may be automatically set to notRunnable=1.

General

Extension Not Responding:
If the extension doesn't work as expected (project not detected, PMON commands fail), reload VS Code:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
2. Type and select Reload Window
3. This refreshes the extension

Current Limitations

• Add Manager: Feature currently disabled (not yet implemented)
• Version Detection: Legacy projects without version in registry may show warnings

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🛠️ Requirements

• VS Code: 1.107.1 or higher
• WinCC OA: 3.19+ installed on your system

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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🔗 Related Extensions

This core library is used by:

• WinCC OA Script Actions - Execute CTRL scripts
• WinCC OA Test Explorer - Run unit tests
• WinCC OA CTRL Language - Language support
• WinCC OA LogViewer - View log files

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⚠️ Disclaimer

WinCC OA and Siemens are trademarks of Siemens AG. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Siemens AG. This is a community-driven open source project created to enhance the development experience for WinCC OA developers.

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Made with ❤️ for and by the WinCC OA community

GitHub • Issues • WinCC OA Docs