This article presents a menu command that reads a text file from disk and creates a corresponding global variable list object below the selected application.

There is not much to say about how to create a global variable list. The basic technique is already described in the article Basics: Creating a POU.

Running the sample

1. Download the attached sources.
2. If not already done, set the environment variable %APCOMMON% to the Common directory of your CoDeSys installation. (This is the directory where CoDeSys.exe, IPMCLI.exe, and IPM.exe are installed.)
3. Start Visual Studio and open the solution GVLImport.sln.
4. Depending on your installation, you must correct some references to interface components, so that they point into the Interface Binaries folder in your Automation Platform SDK installation.
5. Build the sample. The plug-in will be automatically installed.
6. Use IPM.exe in order to add the plug-in Sample: GVL Import to one of your version profiles.
7. Start CoDeSys and ignore the message about the missing plug-in key.
8. Select Tools :: Customize... from the menu and add the Import GVL from file... command (to be found in the Objects category) to an appropriate location.

The command is enabled if an application or a folder below an application is selected in the navigator. It displayed a file selection dialog where you can select a text file. After confirming the selection with OK, a global variable list object will be added below the selected application, containing the contents of the text file.