These commands control the built-in simulator that runs and tests your Sequence programs directly inside AutomationView, without a physical PLC. It is a pure in-editor scan-cycle simulator (also called the emulator internally; the buttons and command titles say "Simulation").
There are exactly four commands - Start, Stop, Step, and Reset. Each has a keyboard shortcut and a button in the Sequence Explorer view title bar.
Shortcut: F5
Starts the simulator in continuous mode. It executes scan cycles repeatedly at the speed configured in Simulation settings. Active steps are highlighted in the visual editor, and variable values update in real time. A project must be loaded and the Sequence must have parsed successfully.
Make sure your Sequence has at least one initial step before starting. See Simulation Won't Start if nothing happens.
Shortcut: Shift+F5
Halts the simulator and returns to the stopped state. Stopping resets all step state and clears all variable values. To restart from the initial state while keeping the simulation running, use Reset instead.
Shortcut: F10
Executes exactly one scan cycle. This is useful for debugging step by step. Each press of F10 advances the Sequence by one cycle, so you can observe how transitions fire and which steps become active. If the simulation is not already running, the first Step starts it in a paused, single-cycle mode.
Typical workflow for debugging:
Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+F5 (mac Cmd+Shift+F5)
Resets the simulator to its initial state: all variable values are cleared and only initial steps are active. Reset keeps the simulation running (it re-activates initial steps and restarts the cycle timer), much like a power-on reset of a real PLC.
| Command | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Start Simulation | F5 | Begin continuous scan cycle |
| Stop Simulation | Shift+F5 | Halt and reset all step and variable state |
| Step Simulation | F10 | Execute one scan cycle |
| Reset Simulation | Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F5 | Reset to initial state, keep running |
Cycle time is set through the
automationview.emulation.cycleTimeMssetting, not by a command.