Hello Michael, thanks for your time.
That is what I meant; the FB instances are local and can't be accessed by the HMI like global variables.
As a workaround, I am using In/Out parameters with custom Structure Data Types. I don't have problems with the function blocks, other than their inaccessibility to the HMI. The custom datatypes work in the FB and HMI.
My issue is that I would prefer to use a single structure for parameters that need to be retained, and values that do not. As an example, I want a structure with PID Setpoint that does not change and is retained, and the Process Value that does not need to be retained.
If I have the process value in a retained structure, will it write to EEPROM/flash memory every time the process value change, and reduce the life of the memory? Or is the value only written on power-loss ?
I'm also waiting on an answer from Omron tech support, but I figured I would ask here.