A method for enabling a user to create, edit, monitor or optimize an overall machine process of a programmable machine or system using a graphics editor, wherein the machine or system comprises a plurality of separately activated machine units for control purposes, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) respectively assigning a plurality of predefined partial machine processes to the plurality of machine units;
- (b) setting parameters for at least one partial machine process of the plurality of predefined partial machine processes;
- (c) using a respective graphic process symbol of the graphics editor to refer to each partial machine process of the plurality of predefined partial machine processes;
- (d) defining at least one respective synchronization instant for each partial machine process of the plurality of predefined partial machine processes;
- (e) setting up the overall machine process by selecting a partial quantity from all the predefined partial machine processes and linking the at least one synchronization instant for each partial machine process;
- (f) deriving at least some control signals for operating the programmable machine or system from a process diagram displayed to the user by the graphics editor to enable the user to run configuration set-up and monitoring tasks, wherein the process diagram comprises a two-dimensional diagram area with an imaginary or visualized machine system axis corresponding to a machine component dimension and with an imaginary or visualized process time axis corresponding to a time dimension, wherein all of the partial machine processes involved in the overall machine process are plotted by a fully automated or partially automated positioning of each process symbol, wherein process symbols of partial machine processes that are not needed have been removed again, and wherein every process symbol comprises at least one linking point corresponding to at least one synchronization instant of the partial machine processes displayed in the diagram area and at least one other linking point for defining other synchronization instants of the partial machine processes displayed in the diagram area, wherein the at least one linking point and the at least one other linking point are linked via a synchronization line parallel with the machine system axis to a linking point of a partial machine process of at least one of the same machine unit and another machine unit;
- (g) positioning or repositioning each process symbol on the diagram area by the graphics editor so that each process symbol is arranged in the machine component dimension corresponding to the respective machine unit and in the time dimension based on a synchronization of the respective partial machine process with other partial machine processes of the same machine unit or with partial machine processes of other machine units;
- (h) displaying a two-value process option for at least one partial machine process by a process symbol with a triangular shape, the triangular shape having peaks, edges, or triangle apexes, wherein one of the peaks, edges, or triangle apexes shows into the direction of the process time axis or against the direction of the process time axis, wherein a machine movement of a machine unit or an opposing movement to the machine movement is selected by orienting the process symbol associated with the machine unit in each of two opposing directions parallel with the process time axis;
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- (i) creating a pair of process symbols by generating a respective mirror-image process symbol from a mirror image of the process symbol on an axis in mirror image parallel with the machine system axis.