No Response in PLCnext Engineer Debug Window Despite Physical Input Activation

Hello everyone,
I’m getting started with PLCnext Engineer and a PLCnext 2152 controller (starter kit). I followed the setup steps as per this video (PLCnext Lesson 4 - Programming the Controller’s External Digital IOs - YouTube), but I’m facing an issue where my program is not responding as expected.
Setup Details:

  1. Hardware & Configuration:
  • Connected PLCnext 2152 with necessary I/O modules.
  • Assigned variables to I/O ports in the module configuration.
  1. Program Implementation:
  • Created a simple Function Block Diagram (FBD) logic with two input buttons connected to an OR gate and an output.
  • Mapped inputs and outputs to the corresponding I/O ports.
  • Uploaded and started the program.
  1. Observations:
  • Pressing the input buttons physically causes the corresponding PLC input LEDs to light up (indicating hardware input recognition).
  • However, in PLCnext Engineer 's debug window, there is no change in the input state or the output state when pressing the buttons.
  • The output LED on the PLC does not activate even though the logic should turn it on when either input is pressed.

Questions:

  1. Is there a missing configuration step in PLCnext Engineer to visualize input/output states in the debug window?
  2. Do I need to manually trigger the program execution (e.g., run mode, task settings)?
  3. Is there a specific setting required to ensure the PLC processes I/O updates correctly?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi,
I think the easiest way to determine what’s missing is to take a look at the project.
Can you upload it here?

BR
DivisionByZero

plcnext_error.pngThe above is from an online video
shared image.pngHere is how I get it on PLC Engineer, the variable (PLC) and process data item look different on mine. Why is it so?

[https://forum.plcnext-community.net/uploads/B3BH8JZOXXDW/plcnext-error.png</a></p>The above is from an online video</p>[https://forum.plcnext-community.net/uploads/Q3SFMDDTBADX/shared-image.png</a></p>Here is how I get it on PLC Engineer, the variable (PLC) and process data item look different on mine. Why is it so?</p>

I believe that the answer to this question is in the Change Notes for PLCnext Engineer:
image.pngThe Realpars video was made a good few years ago, so there are probably more changes to PLCnext Engineer since then.

Because it’s an old video

I’ll try to address this in a few screenshots:
image.pngimage.png

  • your program is instantiated in a cyclic task (yellow marking)
  • you are in debug mode (red marking)
  • you expanded the column Variable(PLC) to see online values in the table
  • you have the instance of your code open and not the type (orange marking)
  • the variables in your POU have the usage External (purple marking)

BR
DivisionByzero