The workbench provides various methods for sharing UDFBs, sub-programs and data types (structures) among projects:
- use the "Export" and "Import" commands of the "Tools" menu for exchanging items:
Program, sub-programs, UDFBs and structures can be exported as single files, suffixed with ".XK5". This enables you to manage in a shared folder a collection of export files to be imported in later projects. Doing that, you also can create several .XK5 files for various versions of the same item
- use in a project items from another project (external objects)
The wokbench enables you to use in a projects some objects defined in other projects, such as UDFBs. This feature is available from the "Project / Settings" dialog box. This provides an easy way to manage libraries of IEC written function blocks that can be re-used in various projects. In addition to this feature, the workbench provides an easy way to safely handle externally defined objects in the local project. External objects are copied locally in the project so that the project remains consistent if the library folder disappears or changes.
- work with true libraries
Alternatively you can create pure "libraries" to be referenced in projects. The link with libraries is automatically performed each time the project is open or re-built. This ensures you that your project always use the latest version of library objects, but it imposes that the library folder is found at build time.