The Variables menu
The Variables menu is where every Variable on the Robot is created, inspected and maintained. Open it from the Variables button on the right-hand panel of the Flow Editor or the Subflow Editor.
Variables are global to the Robot, not to a Flow: the same list is visible from every Flow, Subflow and Dashboard.
Two views
The menu opens as a compact panel listing Variables with their values. Extend View opens the full inspector, which adds columns, filters and the import/export actions — this is the view to use when you are auditing a large Variable set rather than checking one value.
The inspector shows, per Variable:
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Type | Integer, Float, Boolean, String, Input, Output, Cart. Pose or Joint Pose |
| Initial Value | The configured starting value |
| Current Value | What the Variable holds right now, live |
| Tags | The labels attached to it |
Pose and String values are abbreviated in the table; hover a value to see it in full.
Finding a Variable
Use the search field for a name, and the filters to narrow a large set:
| Filter | Shows only Variables that… |
|---|---|
| Type | are of the selected type(s) |
| Tags | carry the selected tag(s) |
| Protocol | are mapped to Modbus or Profinet |
| Used in | are referenced by the selected Flows, Subflows or Dashboards |
| Read-only | cannot be written |
| Persistent | survive a Robot restart |
| Bound to Event | raise a good-count or bad-count event |
| Unused | are referenced nowhere at all |
| Problematic | RobFlow has flagged as broken |
Two of these earn their keep on any real installation:
- Unused finds Variables left behind by Flows that have since been rewritten. They are safe to delete once you have confirmed no Dashboard reads them — the filter covers Dashboards too.
- Problematic surfaces Variables whose configuration no longer holds: an I/O Variable pointing at a bank that is no longer attached, or a Modbus mapping whose connection was deleted. Fix these before running a Flow that depends on them.
Importing and exporting
Export Variables writes the selected Variables to a JSON file. You choose which Variables go into the export rather than exporting everything.
Import Variables reads such a file back. Where an incoming Variable collides with an existing one you decide what happens per Variable, so importing a shared Variable set onto a Robot that already has its own does not silently overwrite anything.
Export Profinet UDT file produces the PLC-side type definition for the Variables mapped to Profinet — see Mapping a Variable to a fieldbus.
An export carries a Variable's Modbus connection details with it. After importing on another Control Unit, verify those connections are reachable there.
Refreshing Modbus values
Refresh all Modbus Variable values forces an immediate read of every Modbus-mapped Variable. The action is disabled when no Modbus Variables exist.
Deleting Variables
Deleting asks for confirmation and tells you what depends on the Variable. Combined with the Used in and Unused filters, this is the safe way to clean up: filter to Unused, select, delete.
Deleting a Variable that a Flow or Dashboard still references leaves that reference broken. Check Used in before deleting, and re-open the affected Flows afterward to confirm they still validate.