Recovering a Project from the MER File

Answer ID
8913
Products
HMI (Visualization)
FactoryTalk View ME
RSView ME (Machine Edition)
Category
General
Date Created
02/07/2001 12:52 PM
Last Updated
02/18/2009 03:10 PM
Access Level
TechConnect
Prev. TN#
A8901

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Recovering A Project From The MER File

Question
Recovering a Project from the MER File
Answer
Series/Revision: 1.0; 1.5; 2.0; 2.10.00; 3.0; 3.1; 3.2; 4.0

Details
When the development project files have been lost, some of the project
information can be recovered from the MER (Machine Edition Runtime)
file itself. However, the following cannot be recovered:
Parameter files
Alarm Setup
Datalog files
Macro files
Under some circumstances, the Tag Database cannot be recovered
either (described below under Tag Database recovery).

Recovering RSViewME 3.x 4.0 application files

In order to recover the application files, it is assumed that you will be
using a Win2K or WinXP machine that is already configured as a
development station (ie. RSView Studio 3.x is installed).
1. Run the program RSView ME Station under Start
Menu>Programs>Rockwell Software>RSView Enterprise.
2. Load the application MER file that you wish to recover from, but
do not run the application, it may display an error but ignore it.
3. Start RSView Studio ME, and begin to create a new application.
Type in a new name and click the Import button.
4. Select the MED file type to be imported.
5. Now you need to locate the temporary files created for your
running application. They should be located in the C:\Documents
and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\~MER.00 directory.
NOTE: username will be the user that is currently logged into
the computer. Also, ~MER.00 may be named as ~MER.01, etc.
6. Once the ~MER.00 folder has been located, select the MED file
to be imported and follow the remaing prompts.
7. After the import has completed and the application is finished
loading into RSView Studio, close RSView Studio and RSView ME
Station.
At this point, the Parameter, Alarm Setup, Datalog, and Macro files are
not useable and will need to be removed (see Removing unrecoverable
files below).
NOTE: While attempting to import the project an error may
occur: "Failed to import project, unable to rename file".

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In order to work around this issue:

1. Create a new project with the same name as the .med file
of the ~mer.00 folder.
2. Right-click on the "Displays" in the Applications Explorer (of
this new project) and choose "Add component into
application...". Add all the gfx files from the "Gfx" folder in
the C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local
Settings\Temp\~MER.00 directory.
3. Copy the rest of the folders from this directory to the new
project directory: C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI
projects\ProjectName.

Removing unrecoverable files

While most of the application can be recovered from the MER file, the
following files cannot be recovered:
Parameter files
Alarm Setup
Datalog files
Macro files
Although the files will be listed within the application, they are not
recognizable by RSView Studio and must be removed.
1. Open Windows Explorer and locate the MachineAlarms.mal file
in the recovered project folder M_Alarms (Ex. C:\Documents
and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI
Projects\MED_ProjectName\M_Alarms\MachineAlarms.mal).
2. Delete the MachineAlarms.mal file.
3. Start RSView Studio and open the recovered application.
4. Locate and delete all of the following files from the Application
Explorer window:
1. All Parameter Files
2. All Datalog files
3. All Macro files

Recovering RSViewME 2.x and earlier project files

In order to recover the project files, it is assumed that you will be using
a Win2K or WinXP machine that is already configured as a development
station (ie. RSView Studio 2.x is installed). If the Tag Database is to be
recovered, the same computer that opened the original MED (Machine
Edition Development) file will be required (see below under Tag
Database recovery).
1. Locate the program MERuntime.exe in the Rockwell
Software\RSViewME directory (default is C:\Program
Files\Rockwell Software\RSViewME).
2. Run the MERuntime.exe program and open the project MER file
that you wish to recover from.

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3. Press the Run button. Once the project is running, leave it

running.
4. Now you need to locate the temporary files created for your
running project. They should be located in the C:\Documents and
Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\~MER.00 directory.
NOTE: username will be the user that is currently logged into
the computer. Also, ~MER.00 may be named as ~MER.01, etc.
5. Once the ~MER.00 folder has been located, open it and copy all
of the folders and files into a new directory (Ex. C:\Temp
\MED_ProjectName)
6. You should now have a directory (Ex. C:\Temp
\MED_ProjectName) that contains the:
MED file for your project
Project folders Accounts, ActivityLog,Startup, and
Tag.
8. Once the files have been copied over to the new directory, you
can now close the running project.
At this point, there is no current Tag Database for the newly recovered
project. Also, the Parameter, Alarm Setup, Datalog, and Macro files are
not useable and will need to be removed (see Removing unrecoverable
files in a section above).

Recovering the Tag Database for an RSViewME 2.x project

The recovered project files so far do not include a Tag Database with
them. It is necessary to add a Tag Database back into the project before
you can open the project in RSView Studio.
It is only possible to recover the original Tag Database if you are using
the same Windows2000 workstation that opened the original MED file.
The Tag Database cannot be recovered from the MER file itself.
However, an ODBC data source should exist on the machine that
previously opened the MED project. The Tag Database can be recovered
using this data source.
If you are not using the same Windows2000 workstation that opened the
original MED file, then skip part A and proceed to part B.
Part A
1. Open up Administrative Tools from Start Menu\Settings
\Control Panel.
2. Open up Data Sources (ODBC).
3. Under the User DSN tab, look at the list of names for the User
Data Sources. Verify that the name of your recovered MED file is
listed under the Name heading (Ex. MED_ProjectName).
1. If it is there, you should be able to recover the Tag
Database for your project. Proceed on to step 4.
2. If it is not there, the Tag Database cannot be recovered.
Proceed on to part B.
5. Open up the Database Import & Export Wizard for RSView

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6.
7.
8.
9.

10.

Studio. It should be located in the Programs directory of the Start

Menu under Rockwell Software\RSView Studio Tools\ Database
Import & Export Wizard.
Export the Tag database of the recovered MED to a CSV file.
Open the newly created CSV file in Microsoft Excel and verify that
the Tag Database is listed there correctly.
Go back to Data Sources (ODBC).
Under the User DSN tab, look at the list of names for the User
Data Sources. Locate and select the name of your recovered MED
file under the Name heading (Ex. MED_ProjectName). Press
the Properties button.
In the Data Source Name text box, append _bak to the name
(Ex. MED_ProjectName_bak). Press OK and then OK again.

Part B
10. Start up RSView Studio and create a blank project with the exact
same name as the MED file you are currently recovering. You will
need to do this in a separate directory than the recovered
project (Ex. C:\Projects\MED_ProjectName).
11. After the project has been created, close the project and
shutdown RSView Studio.
12. In Windows Explorer, locate the recovered project files folder
(Ex. C:\Temp\MED_ProjectName) and copy all of the files in it.
13. Paste the copied files into the project folder of step (10) (Ex.
C:\Projects\MED_ProjectName).
14. You will be asked if you wish to overwrite files. Click yes to all.
15. Start up RSView Studio and open the recovered MED file from
your new project folder. (Ex. C:\Projects\MED_ProjectName
\MED_ProjectName.med)
NOTE: If you performed Part A successfully, then proceed on to
step 17. If you did not perform Part A, then proceed to Removing
unrecoverable files.
16. Open up the Database Import & Export Wizard for RSView
Studio and import the CSV Tag Database from step (5) into your
recovered project (Ex. C:\Projects\MED_ProjectName\
MED_ProjectName-Tags.CSV)
17. Verify that the Tag Database is correct by looking at the Tag
Database Editor in RSView Studio.

Additional Information
If you had Macro, Parameter, or Datalog files added to your project, you
will encounter error messages when you run it. This is because there are
references to files that no longer exist. You will need to create these
files again and re-assign them (ex. Re-assign the startup macro for a
Display).
Also, objects with tag assignments may not work as they are right now.
You may need to open the display, delete the tag assignment and then
reassign the tag. Save the display. In most cases, you need only do this

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for one object per screen.

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