The short answer
Unity Pro
Unity Pro is the name the Schneider Electric engineering software carried through version 13, before it became Control Expert at version 14, and it is the software that built most Modicon M340, Quantum, and Premium applications still running in water plants. A Unity Pro project is a Control Expert project in an older format: it opens in the newer software, converts, and continues. The practical questions on a site are which version built the running application, whether a licensed installation of that version or a newer one exists, and whether the archive was kept. Behind Unity Pro stand still older tools, Concept for Quantum and PL7 for Premium, whose applications were converted to Unity when those plants were upgraded, and whose original files are worth keeping for the day a conversion question arises.
Key points
- Unity Pro through version 13; Control Expert from version 14; one product line.
- Archives from Unity Pro open in Control Expert and are converted; keep the original.
- A plant with Unity Pro applications needs a working licensed installation of a version that can open them, kept on a virtual machine.
- Older Concept and PL7 applications were converted to Unity Pro; keep those originals too.
- The install and license process for old versions on new operating systems is the hard part; do it before it is urgent.
What is on the plant
A treatment plant built or upgraded between the mid-2000s and the late 2010s with Modicon controllers has Unity Pro applications: an M340 in a booster station, a Quantum in the main plant, a Premium on an older process line. The integrator built them with the version current at the time, and the version is written in the project archive and often on a label in the panel. If the archive exists, it can be opened in Control Expert; if only the controller exists, the recoverability depends on whether upload information was downloaded with the application.
| Generation | Controllers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Concept, ProWORX | Quantum, older Momentum | Pre-Unity; converted with a conversion tool; ladder in the 984 style |
| PL7 | Premium, Micro | Pre-Unity; converted with a conversion tool |
| Unity Pro | M340, Quantum, Premium, Momentum | Versions through 13; the same project model as Control Expert |
| Control Expert | M340, M580, Quantum, Premium, Momentum | Version 14 onward; the current name |
Moving to Control Expert
- 1
Get the archive
From the integrator, the site documentation, or an upload from the controller with upload information present.
- 2
Keep the original
A copy of the Unity Pro archive, untouched, in the engineering library.
- 3
Open and convert
In Control Expert, which converts the project on opening; review the conversion messages.
- 4
Rebuild and compare
A full rebuild, then a comparison against the running controller to confirm the converted project matches.
- 5
Decide on firmware
A controller may need a firmware update to accept a download from the newer software; plan it as a change with a backup and a rollback.
- 6
Archive again
The converted project as a Control Expert archive, dated, with the version recorded.
Keeping an old version alive
- A virtual machine per major version, with the operating system the version supported, the software installed, and the license activated.
- The installation media and license details in the engineering library, not on one laptop.
- A test download to a spare controller once a year to prove the chain still works.
- A migration plan for the day the old version cannot be activated: the archives converted to the current software while the old version still runs.
Concept and PL7 originals
Plants that were converted to Unity Pro from Concept or PL7 should keep the original application files and the conversion report. A behavior that changed at conversion, a timer that counts differently, a data type that was widened, is found by comparing with the original, and the original is the only record of what the plant did before. Keeping the old software running on a virtual machine is worthwhile where the plant still has an unconverted controller of that generation.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I still buy Unity Pro?
- The product is sold as Control Expert; a current license covers the current version, and older versions are available to licensed users through the manufacturer support channels within their support policy. Confirm the current policy with the manufacturer.
- Will an old M340 accept a download from Control Expert?
- Only if its firmware is one the software version supports; older firmware may need updating first, which the compatibility list for the software version states. Read the list before connecting.
- The archive opens but the hardware catalog shows unknown modules.
- The project references modules not present in the catalog of the version in use, often because a catalog update or hardware package was not installed. Install the matching catalog before converting.
- What is the risk of leaving a plant on Unity Pro?
- The version stops installing or activating on current computers, the people who know it retire, and the archive is lost with a laptop. None of it is urgent until the day it is. Convert and archive on a schedule.
Related topics
- Control ExpertField notes on Control Expert, the Schneider Electric engineering software for the Modicon M340 and M580: project structure, the five languages and derived function blocks, versions and files, online changes, upload information, and security settings.
- Modicon M340Field notes on the Schneider Electric Modicon M340, a rack-based mid-range controller common in water plants: rack and CPU layout, X80 I/O, memory card behavior, Ethernet and serial communications, programming in Control Expert, and what to check on site.
- Legacy SystemsKeeping older controllers running and planning a migration: the families still found in water plants, the risks that grow each year, software to keep alive, batteries and memory, tested spares, the security problem, and a migration the plant can survive.
- PLC Program BackupsWhat a complete controller backup contains, how often to take one, where to keep it, why the upload from the running controller is not the master, and the verification that turns a folder of files into a recovery plan.
- Offline CopiesThe backup copy that survives ransomware: why anything reachable over the network will be encrypted too, what offline and immutable mean, options from rotated drives to immutable storage, what goes in the offline set, and the restore test that uses it.
- Documenting Firmware VersionsWhy the firmware version of every controller, module, drive, switch, radio, and instrument belongs in the inventory with the date it was read: advisories are issued by version. Where to read each one, the several versions one controller has, and the cadence.
Direct contact
Have a controls question?
Reach Eric Sullivan directly about anything on this site, a controls or automation topic, or one of his personal projects.