Hi B&R community,
Let’s welcome the new year, 2025, with an overview of interesting technical guides, improvements, and ideas shared within our B&R Community during Q4 of last year.
I hope you find it a great way to start after the christmas time. So, as usual, grab your 
and I wish you happy reading! 
1. News in community/in B&R/Innovation
- In Q4, our community celebrated its first anniversary.
I’m happy that we’ve built an amazing and cooperative community of people. - To simplify creating new topics, we’ve introduced the AI Helper. Powered by AI
, it can save you a lot of time, so please make use of it! - Another plugin introduced last quarter is Who’s Online
, which lets you see who is available for discussion at any time. More is coming this year, so stay tuned.
At SPS in Nuremberg, many innovations were introduced. I believe there will be a lot of technical buzz around Automation Studio Code and all other tools from this family this year, but it is not only about this.
- You can find an overview of these innovations
here from Alexander. Cool is that is based on his own experiences and feelings. - Our community is designed not only for experienced users to discuss but also as a knowledge hub for B&R “rookies.” To help them simplify their start, a new Hello world
series has been started. Feel free to contribute! Topics like visualization, motion, communication, vision, and more can be introduced in a similar way.
2. Samples/Wrappers
This quarter was rich in sample and wrapper sharing. Huge thanks to the people who developed these and shared them publicly. It’s both inspiring and incredibly helpful.
- For file management, FileIO libary can be used. Some may find it this quite complex for using, in this case, you can use FileIO wrapper shared by Michael W.
- Have you ever heard about DMSR protocol for smart meters? me not, but also for this field can be used B&R, so thanks Marc Pinhart!
- If you’re looking for a task that keeps your flash card clean by deleting old files, you can use mappCleanUp from Stephan Stricker
- In collaboration with Corne and Stephan, an example was shared that use OPC UA to pull the data from the T-Panels into the PLC and from there into the HMI was shared, check mappPanel for more details.
- We are still waiting for graphical editor for compound widget, as a workaround you can use compound widget toolking developed in python by Markus Mustonen
- The MappView Messaging system - Popups and flyout panels developed by Joonas Puurtinenpuurtinen is also worth trying!
3. Automation Studio
If you are facing online search issue under Win11 with your Automation Studio, this topic provides some useful tips on what to check. However, from time to time, you may encounter additional problems that might seem related to the limitation of AS evaluation license. In most cases, though, this is not the actual cause of the issue
4. Communication
From time to time, you may face challenges in deciding which communication protocol to use with B&R. An excellent overview of Communication Protocol Devices by Blake Eby can be incredibly helpful.
GSD, EDS, and DTM files are configuration or description files used in industrial automation to integrate devices into control systems. Each serves a specific purpose depending on the communication protocol or device configuration requirements.
A common topic is the integration of external devices into Automation Studio or the integration of B&R into third-party development tools. Below is a selection of some interesting discussions:
- How to integrate B&R as a profibus slave to master (siemens) DeltaV
- How to connect Schneider’s servo LXM28A to B&R using CANopen.
- Issues with DTM loading in the new Automation Studio 6.
These topics highlight frequent challenges and solutions for device and protocol integration.
5. mappServices
With mapp Services 6, a new parameter called Cyclic Task Class was introduced. It is part of the general configuration for mapp components such as mapp AlarmX, mapp Database, mapp Recipe, mapp Audit, and others.
A detailed functionality description, along with a Q&A section, can be found here.
6. Motion/mappMotion
Running a servo motor from a different brand with ACOPOS 1016 can be challenging. A discussion in the community on how to start Lenze motor with ACOPOS provides some helpful tips you can use.
7. Automation Runtime/Hypervisor
Do you need information about whether the PLC was restarted after a transfer for your application? If so, you may find this discussion helpful.
For application configuration or managing other user data, you would need a user partition. Check out this discussion to learn how to resolve issues if the user partition is not created.
Lastly, here’s a tip on how to access network interface in PLC simulation.
8. mappView/VC4
If you need to convert your project with visualization from AS 4.12 to A6, it might be helpful to explore the performance of mappView visualization dropdowns in AS.
Rens B wanted to implement an Open Dialog box in a compound widget. While it’s not as straightforward as it might seem, you can find some useful tips in this discussion.
Another interesting topic in this section is how to auto scale mappView keyboard for different size of mappView clients
9. HW - APC/PLC
The actual operating temperature CPU x20cp0484 refers to the typical temperature range for this specific model during operation. You can find more details about it in this topic. Additionally, it may be useful to learn how to read the current status of the PLC by interpreting its LEDs status indicators.
Resetting the BIOS password on an APC910 using a BIOS update is a method that can be applied not only to the APC9x family but to other APC families as well.
Do you have an interesting topic that caught your attention the most in Q4 2024? Feel free to reply here and share it! 
Thank you all for your contributions. I’m looking forward to Q1-2025! . 
Jaroslav