Skip to content

Chapter 1 · Getting Started

Meet LOXONE Config

  • Lesson
  • 10 min

Everything you build in a LOXONE project happens in one piece of software: LOXONE Config. Before you can program a light or an audio zone, you need to know your way around it, the same way you learn the controls of a vehicle before you drive it.

This lesson is a tour. You will not program anything yet. You will learn where everything is, so that when a later lesson says drag a block onto the programming page, you know exactly what that means.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

  • Name the five areas of the LOXONE Config screen and say what each does
  • Find the tools you will use most on the ribbon
  • Read the info icon and know whether your work is saved and running

The situation

You have just installed LOXONE Config and opened it for the first time. A colleague on the phone tells you to drag a block from the list of peripherals onto the programming page, then check the info icon.

You are looking at a screen full of panels and icons, and you have no idea which one is which. By the end of this lesson, that instruction will make complete sense.

What is LOXONE Config?

LOXONE Config is the software for planning, programming and diagnosing a LOXONE system. It is free to download from the website, and it is the single tool you will use to build every project.

Config can plan a project and its components, it programs the logic that makes the building work, and it diagnoses the system when something needs checking. You will try all three across this course.

The main areas of the screen

When a project is open, the Config window is divided into areas. Learn these names and every lesson later becomes easy to follow.

The ribbon:

At the top, holds the tools. It changes to show tools relevant to whatever you have selected.

The properties window :

Here is where you set the parameters of anything you select: its name, its room, its category, and its behaviour.

The list of peripherals:

Lists every part of the project, both the hardware and the software parts. This is where you find devices and drag them into your program.

The programming page:

This is the work area in the middle, where you place blocks, connect inputs to outputs, and build the logic.

The tools you will use most

The ribbon holds many tools, but a few of them do most of the work. Learn to recognize these now, because you will use them all the time.

  1. Connect to Miniserver

    Connects LOXONE Config to a Miniserver, by searching the network or entering an address.

  2. Save in Miniserver

    Saves your program to the Miniserver. Load from Miniserver does the opposite.

  3. Search

    Finds anything in the project, and inserts function blocks. You can also use F5.

  4. Function Blocks

    Inserts a function block into your program.

  5. Simulation

    Tests your program on your PC, without a Miniserver.

  6. LiveView

    Shows the program running on the Miniserver, with live values.

  7. Auto Configuration

    Creates the basic program for a whole project from your planned devices.
Tip

If the ribbon looks empty or its icons are missing, it has been minimised. Click on the '+' to maximise it.

The list of peripherals has four views

The list of peripherals can be shown four ways, and knowing which to use saves a lot of confusion.

  • Periphery shows components in their default order. You will use this for about ninety percent of your work.
  • Configuration sorts them by programming page.
  • Rooms sorts them by room and category.
  • Devices sorts devices by the room they are assigned to.
Information

If you open Config and cannot see the Miniserver or your components, the list is probably switched to another tab. Check that you are on the Periphery tab.

Takeaway

LOXONE Config is the one tool for planning, programming and diagnosing. Its screen has five areas: the ribbon of tools, the properties window, the list of peripherals, the programming page in the middle, and the info bar at the bottom. Know these, and every later lesson is easy to follow.

Apply What You've Learned

Quick self-check — ungraded. Just to be sure everything sticks.
Task

Open LOXONE Config, with a project or the demo.

  1. Point to each of the five areas of the screen and name it: ribbon, properties, list of peripherals, programming page, info bar.
  2. On the ribbon, find Connect, Save in Miniserver, Search.
  3. In the list of peripherals, switch to the Rooms tab, then back to Periphery.
  4. Explore the info icon and say what it is telling you.

Module outlineNext lesson