Offline mode uses TIA Openness to read PLCs, DBs, symbols, comments, data types, addresses, and access metadata from the project. It is the best mode for formal DB point-list preparation and DB export decisions. It must run on a machine or VM with the matching TIA Portal version installed.
Offline mode uses TIA Openness to read PLCs, DBs, symbols, comments, data types, addresses, and access metadata from the project. It is the best mode for formal DB point-list preparation and DB export decisions. It must run on a machine or VM with the matching TIA Portal version installed.
Online mode accepts inputs such as 192.168.0.1 or opc.tcp://192.168.0.1:4840. Exportable points must come from DB nodes exposed by the PLC OPC UA Server. If OPC UA is disabled, DB access is not allowed, or certificates/accounts fail, symbols, comments, and types are not available from the online source.
Online and offline modes prepare DB point results around symbolic address, data type, and reviewable address metadata. If input, output, or memory-area variables must be delivered, map them explicitly in the engineering project or handle them in a separate list.
S7 TCP 102 only proves that the PLC link is reachable. Without a TIA project or OPC UA nodes, optimized DB symbols, comments, data types, and offsets cannot be enumerated reliably. HQ Scan uses engineering metadata or PLC-exposed nodes as the point source.
Enable the PLC OPC UA Server, expose the required DBs or variables, confirm security policy, certificates, accounts, and firewall rules, then use the HQ Scan online entry to confirm port 4840 is reachable. Online export is meaningful only after the nodes are browseable.
Online scan browses OPC UA nodes and reads node attributes to obtain symbolic addresses, data types, and access flags. It does not write to the PLC, issue controls, subscribe to live values, or run continuous collection. For production lines, confirm the scope during a maintenance window or on a designated PLC because all network access passes through the site network, firewall, and PLC OPC UA Server.
Offline scan reads TIA project metadata and can see content that is not exposed through OPC UA. Online scan only sees nodes currently exposed by the PLC OPC UA Server. PLC exposure settings, DB permissions, project-tree scope, rules, and supported data types all affect the final count, so the two totals can differ. Count differences are not automatically errors; the key check is that no recognizable exportable DB scalar point is missing inside the intended scope.
