clicknick 0.12.0

Bolts nickname autocomplete onto CLICK Programming Software. Includes Address Editor & Navigation Dock.

ClickNick

Enhanced Productivity for CLICK PLC Programming

Bolts nickname autocomplete onto CLICK Programming Software. Additional tools include a standalone Address & Dataview Editors and Navigation Dock.

Features

✨ Nickname Autocomplete

• Skip the addresses – Select Valve5 instead of typing C123
• Flexible filters – Prefix, partial match/contains, or abbreviation (e.g., Motor Speed ↔ Mtr_Spd)
• Hover tooltips – View address comments at a glance
• Exclusion filters – Hide system or internal addresses (e.g., SC/SD, __private__)

🛠️ Modern Address Editor

• Multi-window – Edit different address sections simultaneously
• Bulk editing – Edit before saving, copy/paste multiple cells, live duplicate detection and validation
• Search & Replace (Ctrl+F / Ctrl+R) - With Find in Selection toggle
• Custom blocks – Drag to create color-coded groups for organization and quick navigation

[!NOTE]
Nicknames edited in the Address Editor appear immediately in autocomplete. Existing ladder logic refreshes after editing via the built-in Address Picker (Ctrl+T) or reopening the project.
See issue https://github.com/ssweber/clicknick/issues/36

[!IMPORTANT]
Replace works on all visible editable columns. Hidden columns (like Initial Value and Retentive) can be shown, but watch out for numerical replacements—changing 1→2 (e.g., Alm1→Alm2) would also change 101 to 202. Use 'Find in Selection' to limit changes and avoid surprises.

📑 Navigation Dock

• Navigate large projects – See all your nicknames in an organized tree view
• Spot patterns – Arrays and related items grouped automatically
  • Single underscores create hierarchy. SupplyTank_Pump_Status becomes

    SupplyTank
        └── Pump
            └── Status
    

  • Trailing numbers create arrays. Alm1_id, Alm1_value, Alm2_id, Alm2_value becomes:

    Alm[1-2]
    1
      ├── id
      └── value
    2
      ├── id
      └── value
    
    

• One-click access – Double-click to edit any address

📊 Dataview Editor

• Project integration – Loads all DataViews (.cdv files) from your CLICK project
• Tab interface – Edit multiple DataViews simultaneously
• Nickname lookup – Add addresses by typing nicknames instead of raw addresses
• Drag-and-drop reordering – Rearrange rows freely with cut/paste support
• Flexible row limit – No hard 100-row limit while organizing; overflow rows shown in grey (excluded from save)
• Navigator integration – Double-click nicknames or entire structures from the Outline/Blocks panel to insert

Connectivity

• 🔌 Live ODBC database connection
• 📄 CSV nickname import

Why ClickNick?

✔ Work faster – Less time on manual address lookup
✔ Fewer mistakes – Autocomplete reduces typos
✔ Stay organized – Better tag management for complex projects

[!IMPORTANT]

Beta Disclaimer

ClickNick is beta software. Use at your own risk. The developers aren't liable for data loss, corruption, or process interruptions. Always back up your .ckp files.

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Installation

[!NOTE]
Live database connectivity requires Microsoft Access ODBC drivers. See our installation guide if you encounter driver issues. CSV import works without additional drivers.

Option 1: uv (recommended)

Try it:

uvx clicknick@latest  

Install for offline use:

uv tool install clicknick  

Run: clicknick (command line or Start Menu)
Upgrade: uv tool upgrade clicknick
Uninstall: uv tool uninstall clicknick

New to uv? See installation instructions.

Option 2: pip

pip install clicknick  
python -m clicknick  

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• CLICK Programming Software (v2.60–v3.71)
• Microsoft Access ODBC drivers (for Address Editor)

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Supported Windows

Autocomplete works in:

Instructions	Dialogs & Tools
Contact (NO/NC)	Search & Replace
Edge Contact	Data Views
Out, Set, Reset	Address Picker Find
Compare (A with B)
Timer, Counter
Math
Shift Register
Copy
Search
Modbus Send/Receive

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Block Tag Specification

Syntax - Put in Comment Field

• <BlockName> - Opening tag for a range
• </BlockName> - Closing tag for a range
• <BlockName /> - Self-closing tag for a singular point
• <BlockName bg="#color"> - Adds background color (works in opening or self-closing tags)

Replace BlockName with your desired identifier (e.g., <Reserved>, <Alm Bits>).

Recognized Color Keywords

The following words can be used as color values (or any valid HEX code):

Red, Pink, Purple, Deep Purple, Indigo, Blue, Light Blue, Cyan, Teal, Green, Light Green, Lime, Yellow, Amber, Orange, Deep Orange, Brown, Blue Grey

(Each corresponds to a predefined HEX value.)

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Documentation

• Installation Guide – Python and uv setup
• Development – Contributing workflows
• Publishing – PyPI release instructions

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Motivation

CLICK PLCs were my first controller, and I've built numerous projects with them. But as projects grew, remembering memory addresses instead of nicknames added overhead. Productivity and Do-More autocompleted nicknames as I type, why can't CLICK? ClickNick was born.

The built-in Address Picker was equally frustrating: either edit one at a time or export to Excel and re-import. Project templates required me to remember where I could add custom tags versus reserved areas. The Address Editor solves this—plus adds Custom Blocks to define distinct memory regions visually. See high-level project structure with the Outline dock.

I hope ClickNick helps new programmers choosing CLICK for its simplicity, as well as those maintaining legacy equipment—and serves as an example of how CLICK software can be extended.

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This project was built from simple-modern-uv.