Files, saving and export

Everything happens on your computer: there is no account and nothing is uploaded.

Autosave and recovery

Every change is kept in your browser half a second after you make it. You can reload or close the tab at any time without being asked: the next time you open GrafcetMaker, your project is back as you left it, unsaved changes included. A dot ● next to the project name means there are changes not yet saved to a file.

File › Local history lists snapshots kept in the browser: taken when you save, every few minutes while you edit and before a project is closed. Restoring one opens it as unsaved changes.

Important: browser storage belongs to this browser on this computer, and clearing site data erases it. Save to a file for anything you want to keep.

Offline and installation

After the first visit GrafcetMaker works without a network. Use the install button of your browser's address bar to get it as an app with its own window. When a new version is ready, a card in the corner offers to reload: your work is kept.

Save and open

Save (Ctrl+S) writes the project to a .grafcet.json file. In Chrome and Edge it writes back to the same file each time; in other browsers it downloads the file.
Save as (Ctrl+Shift+S) picks a new file. File › Download a copy downloads one without changing where Save writes.
Open (Ctrl+O), File › Open recent, or drop a .grafcet.json file anywhere on the window. If the open project has unsaved changes you are asked first, and an invalid file is rejected with an explanation without touching your project. Files from grafcet.io (.grafcetio) open the same way and become a new project.

.grafcet.json files are readable text, well suited to version control (Git) and code review.

grafcet.io files (.grafcetio) open the same way: they are converted into a new project, with one partial grafcet per chart (or per frame), the variables created from what the charts use and a tidy layout. A message lists anything the conversion changed. Save to keep it as a GrafcetMaker project; the original file is not modified.

File › Copy share link copies a web address that contains the whole project, compressed. Paste it into a chat, an email or a ticket: whoever opens it gets their own copy of the project, with all its grafcets and variables, and can change it without affecting yours.

The project travels inside the link (after the #), which browsers never send to the web server: nothing is uploaded, and links also work offline and on in-house installations.
Anyone who has the link can read the project, so share it like the file itself.
A link is a snapshot: later changes need a new link.
Small charts give links of one or two thousand characters. If GrafcetMaker warns that a link is long, some chat and email apps may cut it; send the .grafcet.json file instead.
Opening a link works like opening a file: if your project has unsaved changes you are asked first, and a damaged link is rejected with an explanation without touching your project.

Edit together live

File › Live collaboration… (or the people button at the top right) lets several people edit the same project at the same time, each on their own computer.

Type your name and choose Start live session. Send the link that appears to the others.
They open the link, type their name and choose Join.
Everyone sees the others' pointers and selections with their names, and every change appears for everyone within a moment.

Changes merge field by field: moving a step while someone renames it keeps both.
Undo takes back only your own changes.
While you simulate, the others' changes wait so the diagram keeps matching your simulation: Restart with changes in the simulation controls takes them in.
Without a connection you can keep working; changes are exchanged when it is back.
Leave session keeps the project on your device as your own copy.
The project is end-to-end encrypted with a key that is only in the link: anyone who has the link can see and change the project, so share it like the file itself.

Export

File › Export… (Ctrl+E, or the Export button at the top right) opens one dialog for every format, with a live preview. Its settings are remembered per project. File › Export as opens it on a given format directly.

Format	Use it for
PDF	printing and documentation: vector, A4 or A3, fitted to the page or tiled over several sheets, with a title block
SVG	documents and the web: vector, sharp at any size
PNG	slides, chats and tickets: 1×, 2× or 4× resolution, optionally transparent
WebP	the same as PNG with smaller files
Variables (Excel)	the variable table as an `.xlsx` workbook
Variables (CSV)	the variable table for other tools
Structured Text	PLC code running every grafcet: IEC 61131-3, Siemens TIA Portal (SCL), Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 or Allen-Bradley Logix
PLCopen XML	importing the grafcets into a PLC tool as SFC programs

Exports are black on white by default; choose Current theme to keep the screen colors. Export the current grafcet, the selection, or all grafcets.

File › Copy diagram as PNG / SVG puts the selection (or the whole grafcet) on the clipboard, ready to paste into a report.

PLC code

Structured Text and PLCopen XML turn your grafcets into PLC code. Pick the PLC under PLC:

IEC 61131-3: a function block (.st) for CODESYS and most other tools.
Siemens TIA Portal (SCL): an SCL source (.scl) for S7-1200/1500. In TIA Portal, add it under External source files and choose Generate blocks from source.
Beckhoff TwinCAT 3: a POU file (.TcPOU). Right-click a folder of the PLC project › Add › Existing Item.
Allen-Bradley Studio 5000: a Structured Text routine. Create the tags listed in its header (program scope), then paste the code into an ST routine. Timers use TONR/TOFR, edges OSRI/OSFI, and the first scan (S:FS) sets the initial values.

Structured Text comes in two styles:

CASE per sequence (default): one INT variable per sequence holds the number of its active step, and a CASE lists the transitions of each step (IF receptivity THEN step_G1 := 2;). Outputs follow as one line each, e.g. Motor := step_G1 >= 2 AND step_G1 <= 4;. Sequences with parallel branches keep one BOOL per step.
One BOOL per step: every transition, then every step, then the timers, edges and actions once per PLC scan; tick Search for stability in each scan to cross chains of true transitions within one scan, as GRAFCET does.

A stored action such as Q1 := 1 on activation runs once, and Q1 keeps its value after the step is left. Tick Hold stored actions with a constant value to assign it in every scan while its step is active instead.

The PLCopen file contains one SFC program per grafcet for import into engineering tools. The preview lists anything the format cannot express. Always review generated code before it runs on a machine.

Settings

Settings (Ctrl+,, or the gear at the top right) holds the theme, notation, welcome screen, grid, hints and simulation preferences, and shows how much browser storage is used. You can clear the local history and the recent files list there.