---
title: "DCS module"
---

# DCS module

The Editor's DCS module for Emerson DeltaV configuration exports (FHX), what it does, where it appears, and what has and has not been run against DeltaV.

The DCS module is for control systems engineers in process plants who configure distributed control systems. It reads, checks, compares and edits a plant's configuration from the vendor's text export, so that reviewing and bulk-editing a configuration does not need the vendor's engineering environment open. Emerson DeltaV, through its FHX exports, is the first vendor. For a short summary of every domain module, see [Domain modules](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/build/domain-modules/).

## Verification state: read this first

The module is pre-release and in an early stage.

- **No DeltaV system, other vendor tool or real plant export of a customer has been used.** One real DeltaV 14.5.1 export, of a 25 MB production database found in a public repository, has been read by the module's code as evidence; other DeltaV versions and databases have not.
- **DeltaV has not imported anything the module wrote.** Whether DeltaV accepts an edited export is open.
- **The DeltaV export command has not been run against DeltaV** on any version. A verification kit for a DeltaV engineering station is written and waiting for its report.
- **Nothing has run on Windows**, which is where DeltaV runs. Tests ran on Linux.
- **Nothing has been seen in the running Editor** by a DeltaV engineer; the views are tested with rendering tests.
- Most vendor facts the plan rests on come from search summaries, because the vendors' sites could not be reached during research.

| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Modelled | Built and tested against material we generated or the one public export, not against the vendor tool |
| Kit shipped | As modelled, and a verification kit exists that runs it on the real vendor tool; waiting for its report |
| Verified | Run against the real vendor tool, with version and operating system recorded |
| Verified by a customer | Run by a customer's engineer on their own system |

## What is built

| Capability | State | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Read and index an FHX export (plant areas, module classes, modules and instances, function blocks, parameters, controllers, module paths) | Modelled, read on a real export | [The DeltaV Plant view](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/plant-view/) |
| Batch equipment hierarchy (no recipes) | Modelled, read on a real export | [The DeltaV Plant view](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/plant-view/#batch-equipment) |
| Controllers and I/O references | Modelled, read on a real export | [The DeltaV Plant view](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/plant-view/#controllers-and-io) |
| Language features for `.fhx`: colouring, go to definition, references, hover, outline, completion | Modelled | [Read and navigate FHX](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/fhx-editor/) |
| Checks in Problems, with the site's naming rules | Modelled, read on a real export | [Checks in Problems](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/checks/) |
| Sequential function chart and function block diagram views (read only) | Modelled, read on a real export | [Sequences and function block diagrams](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/diagrams/) |
| Alarms table with edits | Modelled, read on a real export | [Alarms](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/alarms/) |
| Bulk edit of a module class's instances | Modelled, read on a real export | [Edit instances of a module class](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/bulk-edit/) |
| Library items and the impact of a change | Modelled, read on a real export | [Library items and impact](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/library-impact/) |
| Semantic compare of two exports | Modelled, read on a real export | [Compare two exports](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/compare/) |
| Value edits that keep every other byte, and the save guard | Modelled, read on a real export | [Save an edited export and import it](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/save-and-import/) |
| Configuration report | Modelled, read on a real export | [Configuration report](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/configuration-report/) |
| Run DeltaV's database export | Kit shipped | [Export a DeltaV database](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/deltav-export/) |
| Agent tools (9 read-only, 2 that change an export) | Modelled | [Agents, approvals and the log](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/agents/) |

What is not built yet, including import into DeltaV, download, simulation, live values and the other vendors, is on [What's next](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/whats-next/). Nothing in the module writes to a running plant, downloads to a controller or imports into DeltaV.

## Where things appear

| Surface | What |
|---|---|
| Explorer, **DeltaV Plant** view | Exports, areas, modules, classes and instances; Batch equipment; Controllers and I/O |
| Text editor | `.fhx` files as DeltaV FHX, with colouring, outline, navigation and completion |
| Editor tabs | DeltaV Alarms, DeltaV Instances, DeltaV Sequence, DeltaV Function Block Diagram, DeltaV Impact, the export compare |
| Problems | Findings with source "our check" |
| Output, channel **DCS** | Edits, save guard decisions, DeltaV export runs, invalid naming rules |
| Chat and agents | The `neuralInverse_dcs_*` tools |

Commands are under **Neural Inverse DCS** in the Command Palette.

## Pages in this section

- [Set up](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/set-up/): turning the environment on, requirements, working on copies.
- [The DeltaV Plant view](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/plant-view/), [Read and navigate FHX](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/fhx-editor/), [Checks in Problems](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/checks/), [Sequences and function block diagrams](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/diagrams/).
- [Alarms](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/alarms/), [Edit instances of a module class](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/bulk-edit/), [Library items and impact](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/library-impact/).
- [Compare two exports](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/compare/), [Save an edited export and import it](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/save-and-import/), [Configuration report](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/configuration-report/).
- [Export a DeltaV database](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/deltav-export/), [Agents, approvals and the log](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/agents/).
- [Reference and troubleshooting](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/reference/) and [What's next](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/whats-next/).