Rungview

Studio 5000 project viewer · .ACD and .L5X · runs on your machine

Open any Studio 5000 project, no licence, no version match.

The line is down and the machine builder's .ACD was saved in v33 while your laptop runs v30. Rungview opens it anyway: every rung drawn, every tag searchable, and a side-by-side diff of what the last update changed.

.ACD and .L5X in · L5X and PDF out · read-only, never touches the PLC · files never leave your computer

The Rungview window: a project tree on the left with programs, routines and add-on instructions, rung 4 of the R02_Conveyor ladder routine drawn with Start_PB, Stop_PB and Guard_Closed contacts driving a Motor_Run coil with a seal-in branch, rung 5 with a TON timer, and a cross-reference panel showing Motor_Run written once and read in three rungs.

The file is right there. Studio 5000 won't open it.

  • An .ACD only opens in Logix Designer at the same major version or newer. A project from a v33 machine won't open on a v30 laptop, and upgrading means another licence and a firmware conversation.
  • A Logix Designer seat costs thousands of dollars a year, so the people who most often need to read the code, maintenance techs, contractors and reviewers, often don't have one.
  • Studio 5000 runs on Windows only. The other options are an online viewer at $300 a month per file, which wants your customer's code on its servers, or free tools that read .L5X but not .ACD.
  • When an OEM sends an updated program, nothing tells you what changed. You scroll two copies side by side and hope you spot the edited rung.

How it works

Drop in the project. Read it like the engineer who wrote it.

1

Open the .ACD or .L5X

Drag the file into Rungview. It reads the project on your computer, whatever Studio 5000 version saved it, and lays out the controller, tasks, programs, routines, add-on instructions and tags.

2

Follow the logic

Each ladder routine is drawn rung by rung with contacts, coils, branches and instruction boxes, rung comments and tag descriptions. Click any tag to list every rung and statement that reads or writes it.

3

Compare, print, hand over

Load a second version to see changed, added and removed rungs side by side, plus tags that were added, removed or retyped. Print routines to PDF, or export the .ACD as .L5X for an older Studio 5000 to import.

Ladder drawn properly

XIC, XIO, OTE, latches, nested branches, timers, counters, math and compare boxes, and AOI calls labelled with their parameter names.

Where is this tag set?

A cross-reference for every tag: each use, marked read or write, one click from the rung.

What did the OEM change?

Rung-by-rung diff of two projects, with the old and new ladder drawn one above the other.

ACD to L5X

Export the project as .L5X, which Studio 5000 imports at older versions too.

Structured Text

ST routines from .L5X show as written. From .ACD, Rungview recovers each compiled statement as readable pseudo-code, with tags clickable.

Read-only by design

Rungview never edits a project and never connects to a controller. Nothing you do in it can change a running machine.

Who it's for

For everyone who has to read the code but doesn't own the seat

Different jobs, the same file: a Studio 5000 project you need to understand now, on a laptop that can't open it. Every project stays on your computer.

Line down

Maintenance technicians

Find which interlock is holding the machine off at 2am, from the OEM's .ACD, whatever version it was saved in.

See the workflow
Projects

System integrators and OEM builders

Read a customer's existing code before you quote, and hand over a PDF and a clear change list with every update.

See the workflow
Review

Controls engineers reviewing OEM code

See exactly which rungs and tags the machine builder changed before the new program goes on your line.

See the workflow

Files

The files Rungview opens

Studio 5000 Logix Designer projects for ControlLogix, CompactLogix and GuardLogix controllers.

Supported

.ACD project

The native Logix Designer project file, opened directly without Studio 5000 and regardless of the version that saved it.

Supported

.L5X export

The XML export of a full project. Opens free in Rungview, including Structured Text routines as written.

Supported

Ladder and Structured Text routines

Ladder is drawn rung by rung. Structured Text is shown as source from .L5X, and as recovered statements from .ACD.

Listed

Function Block and SFC routines

Listed in the project tree with their tags indexed. They are not drawn as diagrams yet.

Listed

Source-protected add-on instructions

Shown as protected with their parameters. Rungview does not remove or bypass source protection.

Rungview vs. the tools you have

Every other way to read the file costs a seat, a subscription, or your privacy

ToolLimitationPrice
Studio 5000 Logix DesignerWindows only, needs the matching version or newerThousands per seat, per year
Online ACD viewer servicesUpload the project to a third-party serverAbout $300 a month per file
Free L5X viewersRead .L5X only, someone with Studio 5000 must export it firstFree
Rungview.ACD and .L5X, any version, local, compare and PDFFree · $9/mo or $59/yr

Rockwell Automation, Studio 5000, Logix Designer, ControlLogix and CompactLogix are trademarks of their owners and are named here to describe file compatibility only. Rungview is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Rockwell Automation.

Pricing

Free to read. Pro costs less than an hour of downtime.

View any .L5X project free, with no limit. Pro opens .ACD files directly and adds compare, PDF and L5X export.

Free

$0

For reading exports and learning the code.

  • Open unlimited .L5X projects
  • Ladder drawn rung by rung
  • Structured Text from .L5X
  • Tag table and cross-reference

Pro

$9/ month

For techs and integrators who get .ACD files.

  • Open .ACD files directly, any version
  • Compare two versions rung by rung
  • Print routines to PDF
  • Export .ACD to .L5X
  • Structured Text recovered from .ACD
Best value

Pro yearly

$59/ year

Everything in Pro for about $4.90 a month.

  • Everything in Pro
  • Billed once a year
  • Use it on your work laptop and your home PC

Prices in USD. Rungview is a viewer. It does not edit projects, go online, or download to a controller; use Studio 5000 for that.

Your customer's code stays on your laptop

Machine programs are often under NDA, and plant IT rarely allows uploading them to a website. Rungview reads every project on your own computer: no upload, no account needed to open a file, and it works in a plant with no Wi-Fi. Exports are written to your disk and go only where you send them.

Studio 5000 and ladder logic guides

Open an ACD file without Studio 5000

An .ACD is a Logix Designer project. Ways to read one without a Studio 5000 licence or the matching version, and what each option can and can't show you.

ACD vs L5X, explained

What .ACD, .L5X and .L5K files are, what each one contains, when to use which, and why an L5X travels between Studio 5000 versions better than an ACD.

"Created with a newer version" error

Why Studio 5000 refuses an .ACD saved by a newer major revision, your options to open it anyway, and how to just read the logic without upgrading.

Convert ACD to L5X

Export a Logix Designer .ACD as .L5X in Studio 5000, or convert it on your own computer without Studio 5000, and what to check before importing the result.

View an L5X file

An .L5X is Studio 5000 project XML. How to read it as drawn ladder logic, with tags and cross-reference, instead of scrolling raw XML.

Compare two Studio 5000 projects

Find exactly which rungs and tags changed between two versions of a Logix Designer project, with or without Studio 5000's Compare Tool.

Print ladder logic to PDF

Print or export Logix Designer ladder routines to PDF for documentation, audits and handover, in Studio 5000 or without it.

Find where a tag is used

Trace every rung that reads or writes a tag: Studio 5000's cross-reference, and how to do the same without Studio 5000 when you only have the file.

How to read ladder logic

A practical introduction to reading Allen-Bradley ladder logic: rails and rungs, XIC and XIO contacts, OTE, latches, branches, seal-ins and timers.

For maintenance technicians

Open the OEM's .ACD on your laptop whatever version it was saved in, find the false permissive, and get the line running, without a Studio 5000 seat.

For system integrators

Review a customer's existing Logix code before quoting, document handovers with PDFs and change lists, and convert ACD to L5X, without another Studio 5000 seat.

For reviewing OEM code

Compare the machine builder's new program with the running one rung by rung, check interlocks and presets, and keep a PDF record of the change.

Questions controls people ask

Can I open an .ACD file without Studio 5000?

Yes. Rungview reads the .ACD project directly on your computer and draws its ladder logic, tags and project structure. You don't need a Logix Designer licence or any Rockwell software installed.

Does the Studio 5000 version matter?

No. Logix Designer refuses projects saved by a newer major version, but Rungview reads the file itself, so a v33 project opens just as well as a v30 one.

Can I edit the program or download it to the PLC?

No, and that is deliberate. Rungview is read-only. It never changes a project and never connects to a controller. Edits and downloads belong in Studio 5000, where firmware and safety checks apply.

Can Rungview convert ACD to L5X?

Yes, on Pro. It exports the project as .L5X, which Studio 5000 can import even at an older version than the one that saved the .ACD, as long as the controller and instructions are supported there.

Does it show Structured Text?

From an .L5X, Structured Text appears exactly as written. An .ACD stores ST in compiled form, so Rungview rebuilds each statement as readable pseudo-code with clickable tags. Original comments and formatting are not recovered from .ACD yet.

What about Function Block and SFC routines?

They are listed in the project tree but not drawn yet, and tags used only inside them do not appear in the cross-reference. Ladder and Structured Text are fully shown.

Can it open source-protected add-on instructions?

No. Protected AOIs are shown as protected, with their parameters and every place they are called. Rungview does not remove or bypass source protection.

Are my files uploaded anywhere?

No. Every project is read and processed on your own computer. Nothing is sent to a server.

Does it open RSLogix 500 or other PLC brands?

Not today. Rungview is built for Studio 5000 / Logix Designer projects (.ACD and .L5X) for ControlLogix, CompactLogix and GuardLogix.