Command: Start Task (90)

Supported Axes:

All

See the Commands Overview topic for basic command information and how to issue commands from PLCs, HMIs, etc.

Command Parameters

#	Parameter Description	Range
1	Task Number - Specifies which task to run the User Program on.	any valid task number
2	Program Number -Specifies the User Program to start at. This must be the number of the User Program.	any valid User Program number

Description

This command starts running the specified User Program on the specified Task. If the specified Task is currently running a User Program, the Task will first be stopped, then it will start immediately at the specified User Program.

The RMC must be in Run Mode in order to run tasks.

Note:
To stop a Task, see the Stop Task (91) command.

Tip:
After starting a User Program on a task, use theTask Monitortomonitor the status of the task. It shows which step on which User Program is running on each task.

Task Numbers

The tasks are numbered beginning with 0. The RMC75 has a maximum of 4 tasks, the RMC150 has a maximum of 10 tasks, and the RMC200 has a maximum of 32 tasks.

The number of actual tasks is specified on the General page of the Programming Properties dialog. The Task Number parameter must be within the number of tasks allocated on the Programming Properties dialog.

Details

The following items are important when issuing a Start Task command:

Selecting which Task to run

When you issue the Start Task command, you must specify which task to start. What happens depends on what the task is doing when you issue the Start Task command:

- If the task is stopped when you issue the Start Task command:
  The task will simply start running the User Program you specified.
- The task is already running when you issue the Start Task command:
  The task will stop the User Program it is already running and immediately start at the User Program you specified.

Selecting the User Program

The second command parameter, Program Number, specifies which User Program the Task will start running.

Which axis to issue the Start Task command to

In the User Program that you will start, if you have specified for each step which axis the command will be issued to, then it does not matter which axis you issue the Start Task command to. If you have not specified which axis the command in that step will be issued to, then the command will be issued to the axis which the Start Task command was issued to.

Issuing Start Task from a PLC

When issuing the Start Task command from a PLC, the second Command Parameter, Program, requires the Program number. The number for each User Program is listed in the Project Pane in the User Programs node.

What is a Task?

Tasks are for running User Programs. Each task is an execution engine that can run one User Program at a time. The RMC75 has up to four tasks. Therefore, the RMC75 can run up to four User Programs simultaneously. The RMC150 has up to ten tasks and can run up to ten User Programs simultaneously. The RMC200 CPU20L has 32 tasks and can run up to 32 User Programs simultaneously whereas the CPU40 has 64 tasks and can run up to 64 User Programs. See the Tasks topic for more details.

Valid Task Numbers

You can choose a task number up to the number of task that have been made available. The default number of tasks is smaller than the maximum number of tasks available. To increase the number of tasks, use the Programming Properties dialog.