Harwa Limited · CANsignal Suite · Guides
What the file contains
The sheet describes the Object Dictionary the device claims to implement: index, sub-index, name, type, and default. A configuration tool uses it to label SDO reads and to offer PDO mapping entries. Without the file you can still talk to a node, but you are working from numbers.
The vendor of the device writes the EDS. CANsignal Suite reads it. Import from the Start page or from the Object Dictionary. Search and favourites then work on those names. Read All, while connected, fills live values next to the defaults.
How a DCF is different
A DCF is a device configuration file. It is the configured form of the same idea, and it is where a PDO map is stored. The suite imports DCF as well as EDS. After you change a map, PDO mapping can export a DCF.
Export EDS writes a sheet back out of the dictionary. That is a file you can keep with the project. It is not a test report.
Validation without editing
Professional can validate an EDS, compare two files, show a quality view, and open a compliance dashboard. Validation does not edit the file. Light imports, browses, and exports without those extra screens.
Network Explorer can match a scanned node to the loaded EDS. A match is an identity check. It is not a certificate, CiA does not publish this software. Keep the original sheet from the device vendor next to any file you export. The export is your working copy. The vendor sheet is the reference you compare against in Professional, or that you re-import if a project is recreated on another PC.
Questions engineers ask
Is an EDS the same as a DCF?
No. The EDS is the device data sheet. The DCF is a configuration, including PDO mapping. CANsignal Suite imports both.
Will validation change my file?
No. Validation reads the file. Export is a separate action that writes a new file.