How to Use a Custom External-Mode Graphic in a PCS 7 V9.0 APL Icon

For a selected PCS 7 V9.0 APL block icon, place the replacement EMF in its own subfolder under the OS project's GraCS folder, retain the standard picture filename, and set that icon's Configurations > Directory for pictures property to the subfolder name. The V9.0 Operator Station Configuration Manual documents this per-icon method. The customized file's contents change, but its lookup name remains apl_bi_external.emf; a custom filename such as apl_bi_external2.emf is not the documented override mechanism.

How per-icon picture selection works

PCS 7 V9.0 can use custom pictures for APL block-icon symbols in process mode. Siemens documents two scopes: adapting all icons of a type, or adapting selected block icons. For selected icons, each icon can point to a subfolder under the OS project's GraCS folder through Configurations > Directory for pictures. The custom picture replaces a matching standard picture by filename. Keep the standard filename; change the EMF artwork itself. This allows separate icons to resolve the same standard state filename to different artwork by using different folders.

Prerequisites

Identify the exact PCS 7 / OS project version and the process picture containing the APL icon. Confirm the icon is an APL block icon and identify the standard EMF actually used for its External state (the example in the question is apl_bi_external.emf). Back up the OS project and the existing picture files before editing. Use a vector graphics program capable of creating EMF files; Siemens notes that the Graphics Designer export function is not suitable for changing these picture files and says to preserve the original picture dimensions.

Method: override the External picture for selected icons

In Windows Explorer, open the OS project's GraCS folder.
Create a separate subfolder for each desired icon appearance, for example Motor_ExternalBlue and Motor_ExternalAlternate. Use names that are unique within the project.
Copy the External-state source picture into each relevant subfolder. Edit the vector artwork in a graphics program, preserve the original dimensions, and save each replacement using the exact standard filename apl_bi_external.emf.
Leave other state pictures out of the custom subfolder when they should retain the project's standard appearance. Siemens documents fallback to the picture in the GraCS project folder when the configured custom folder lacks a file with the requested name.
In Graphics Designer, open the process picture and select the APL block icon to customize. Open its properties and select Configurations.
Enter the selected subfolder name in Directory for pictures and apply the change. Repeat for each icon that should use a different External graphic, assigning its corresponding folder.
Save the process picture and compile the OS using the project's established engineering workflow before evaluating the process-mode display.

Expected result and scope

Each configured icon uses the replacement artwork found under its own configured GraCS subfolder when the filename matches the icon's requested state picture. An icon assigned a different subfolder can therefore show a different External-state graphic. Other state images fall back to the GraCS project-folder picture when their matching file is absent from that custom folder. Siemens also notes that changes made to a template file apply to new instances of that block icon; the selected-icon procedure is for icons used in a process picture.

Verification

After compiling the OS, inspect each affected icon in process mode and confirm that its External state displays the expected artwork while its other state symbols remain correct. Check icons assigned to different folders independently, and also inspect an unaffected icon to confirm the customization did not spread beyond the intended scope. If an icon shows the default graphic, check the exact configured folder name, that the folder is beneath GraCS, and that the replacement filename exactly matches the standard EMF name.

Limitations and Operational Precautions

This procedure is documented for the PCS 7 V9.0 Operator Station Configuration Manual, 05/2017, A5E39219159-AA. Confirm the installed OS and APL versions and their project engineering requirements before applying it elsewhere. Siemens' manual describes the replacement by matching standard filenames; it does not document selecting a differently named apl_bi_external2.emf directly for this icon state. Preserve the original project and artwork so the change can be reverted. Siemens' software-update note identifies conditions for preserving custom APL block-icon pictures: icons configured with PCS 7 V8.1 or later and picture files stored in their configured GraCS subfolder.

Engineer FAQ

Can the icon directly select apl_bi_external2.emf for External mode? The documented V9.0 APL custom-picture procedure uses the standard requested filename in a configured folder. Use the alternate artwork under the expected apl_bi_external.emf name instead.

How can two icons show different External artwork? Put each replacement apl_bi_external.emf in a different subfolder under GraCS, then assign the appropriate folder to each icon's Directory for pictures property.

Do I need to copy the Internal-mode graphic into each folder? Not when the standard Internal graphic should remain in use and no override with that matching filename is present in the configured custom folder; the manual documents fallback to the picture in GraCS when the custom folder lacks the requested file.

Where is the folder property? In Graphics Designer, select the APL block icon, open its properties, choose Configurations, and enter the subfolder in Directory for pictures.

Will editing a template change existing and future icons? Siemens says a template-file change is applied to new instances. For selected icons already used in process pictures, follow the manual's selected-block-icon procedure and configure their properties individually.

Technical References

Siemens, SIMATIC PCS 7 Operator Station (V9.0) Configuration Manual, 05/2017, A5E39219159-AA, section 10.2.11 “How to configure block icons with custom pictures,” pp. 182–184; section 9.11.2.9 “Folder for custom pictures,” pp. 152–153: https://cache.industry.siemens.com/dl/files/516/109746516/att_923912/v1/ps7phosb_en-US.pdf

How to Use a Custom External-Mode Graphic in a PCS 7 V9.0 APL Icon