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DESIGN
Reference Manual
Part 1: General Commands
Version 11.3
pdms1131/man30/doc1
Issue181200
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1 Introduction ...................................................................................................1-1
1.1 About the DESIGN Reference Manual............................................................... 1-1
1.2 Organisation of the DESIGN Reference Manual ............................................... 1-1
1.3 Organisation of this Manual............................................................................... 1-2
2 How to Use the Syntax Graphs ....................................................................2-1
2.1 Commands........................................................................................................... 2-2
2.2 Command Arguments ......................................................................................... 2-2
2.3 Standard Syntax Graphs .................................................................................... 2-4
2.3.1 Universal Expression <expr>........................................................................ 2-5
2.3.2 Date/Time <date>.......................................................................................... 2-6
2.3.3 Physical Dimension <uval>........................................................................... 2-7
2.3.4 Design Element Type <snoun> or <noun> ................................................... 2-8
2.3.5 Design Element Identity <gid>................................................................... 2-10
2.3.6 3D Design Points <marke> ......................................................................... 2-13
2.3.7 Axial Position <pos> <axes> ...................................................................... 2-14
2.3.8 3D Position <bpos>..................................................................................... 2-16
2.3.9 3D Axis Direction <dir> ............................................................................. 2-17
2.3.103D Direction <bdir>.................................................................................... 2-19
2.3.11Selection <selatt> ........................................................................................ 2-20
2.4 Command Input Modes..................................................................................... 2-22
3 General PDMS Commands...........................................................................3-1
3.1 Entering DESIGN ............................................................................................... 3-1
3.2 Saving.................................................................................................................. 3-1
3.2.1 Saving DESIGN Work................................................................................... 3-1
3.2.2 Saving and Restoring the Display ................................................................ 3-1
3.3 The Alpha Display .............................................................................................. 3-2
3.3.1 Saving the Alpha Log .................................................................................... 3-2
3.3.2 Clearing the Alpha Views ............................................................................. 3-3
3.4 Leaving DESIGN ................................................................................................ 3-4
3.4.1 Changing Modules......................................................................................... 3-4
3.4.2 Exit from DESIGN without Saving Changes ............................................... 3-4
3.5 Setting Working Units and Tolerances .............................................................. 3-5
3.5.1 Setting Working Units .................................................................................. 3-5
3.5.2 Setting Output Precision of Distance Units ................................................. 3-6
3.5.3 Switching between Actual and Nominal Bores ............................................ 3-8
3.6 Audible Error Trace ............................................................................................ 3-8
3.7 Switching Text Output Off ................................................................................. 3-9
3.8 Giving Operating System Commands from PDMS............................................ 3-9
3.9 General Querying Facilities.............................................................................. 3-10
3.9.1 Querying Your Current Module.................................................................. 3-10
3.9.2 Querying Your System ................................................................................ 3-10
PDMS DESIGN Reference Manual Contents-i
Part 1: General Commands
Version 11.3
Contents
Index
The PDMS DESIGN Reference Manual describes all the DESIGN commands
in detail. It also describes how the Design database is structured, the Design
database elements and their attributes.
DESIGN is normally used interactively. The Graphical User Interface (GUI)
provides discipline-based applications which help you to create, check and
report on the model. How to use the applications is described in user guides
and on-line help.
This manual is written for experienced users of PDMS DESIGN who need to
use commands; for example, to write batch macros or to customise the GUI. If
you are going to customise the GUI, you will also need to refer to the Cadcentre
Software Customisation Guide and Cadcentre Software Customisation
Reference Manual for information about PML, the Cadcentre programming
language.
The commands described in this chapter are presented in the form of syntax
graphs.
• Syntax graphs are read from top left to bottom right. The start point is
shown by >, and you can follow any path through the graph until the exit
point, shown by >, is reached.
• Points marked with a plus sign (+) are option junctions which allow
you to input any one of the commands to the right of the junction. For
example:
.-----<-------.
/ |
>---*--- option1 ---|
| |
|--- option2 ---|
| |
`--- option3 ---+--->
means that you can enter any combination of option1 and/or option2
and/or option3, where the options can be commands, other syntax
diagrams, or command arguments.
The simplified format:
.----<------.
/ |
>---*--- name ----+--->
means that you may type in a list of PDMS names, separated by at least
one space.
2.1 Commands
If a syntax graph refers to a second syntax graph, the name of the second
graph is shown in angle brackets. This convention is usually used for standard
syntax graphs which are widely used.
These syntax graphs are summarised below, and then shown in detail.
<expr> Mathematical, textual or logical expressions
<uval> Physical dimension specification
<snoun> or <noun> Design element type
<gid> Design element identity
<marke> 3D Design points
(P-points, pins or P-lines)
<pos> or <axes> Axial position
<bpos> 3D position
<dir> Axial direction
<bdir> 3D direction
<selatt> Selection
Examples
5 5 in current working units
EX3 5500 in current working units
5.3/4 5.75 in current working units
5’ 5 feet (only use when working units are FINCH)
5’6 5 feet 6 inches (only use when working units are FINCH)
5’6.3/4 5 feet 6.75 inches (only use when working units are FINCH)
5 INCHES 5 inches (regardless of current working units)
5 M 5 metres (regardless of current working units)
5’6.3/4 IN 5 feet 6.75 inches (regardless of current working units)
(5 + 2) IN 7 inches (regardless of current working units)
NOTE: Values are always held within DESIGN as metric units. When output,
values are rounded as follows:
HVAC:
HVAC
BRAnches
The following are soft-types for use with the HVAC Designer application:
AHU Air handling unit
BATT Battery: heater, cooler
BRCO Branch connector: boot, square, fish, angled, tapered, mitred etc.
COWL Roof cowl
DAMP Damper
FLEX Flexible tube, flexible bend, material connection
GASK Gasket
GRIL Grille
HACC Access panel
HFAN Centrifugal fan
HSAD Saddle
IDAM Internal damper
MESH Mesh end
OFST Offset: cranked, mitred, radiused
PLAT Spigot plate
PLEN Spigot box, plenum
SILE Silencer
SKIR Skirt
SPLI Splitter: flow splitter, deflectrol, air turning vanes
STIF Stiffening flange
STRT Straight
TAPE Taper
THRE Threeway: radiused, twin bend, breeches etc.
TP Test point, test holes
TRNS Transformation: square to round, square to flat oval, oval A to
oval B etc.
Datums and Constraints:
BOUNdary DRAWIngs DATums
POInts IPOints TANpoints
GRDmodels TEXts
.-------------------------------.
| |
<gid> >----+-- <nexid> ------------+-------|
| | |
|-- <snoun> -+----------| |
| | | |
| |- <next> -+- OF --’
| | |
| | ‘---------.
| | |
| ‘-- <id> ------------|
| |
|-- <othid> ----------------------|
| |
|-- <id> -------------------------|
| |
`-- <clos> -----------------------+----->
.----<----.
/ |
<clos> >- CLOSest -*- <snoun> -+- WITH <expr> -.
| |
`---------------+- UP ----.
|- DOWN --|
|- EAST --|
|- WEST --|
|- NORTH -|
`- SOUTH -+-.
.----------------------------<--------------------’
`-+- EXTENT <expr> -.
| |
`-----------------+- AFTER <expr> -.
| |
`----------------+- FROM <bpos> -.
| |
`---------------+->
WITH specifies rule restricting choice of element (default is no restriction);
EXTENT specifies how far to search before giving up (default is 10 metres);
AFTER specifies that search is to start after given distance in given
direction (default is zero);
FROM specifies reference position from which search is initiated (default is
CE).
Examples
/EQUIP10 Named design Element
SAME Previous Element accessed
OWN Owner of Current Element
GOTO SPRE Specification of Current (piping) Element
Pin:
P-point:
Cursor:
Examples
P3 P-point 3 of Current Element
PL OF PREV Leave P-point of previous element
PH Branch Head P-point
HT OF /HANG5 Hanger Tail P-point of named Hanger
IDP @ Cursor pick
Examples
E1000 East 1000
Z10 Up 10
E30 D10 S20 East 30 Down 10 South 20
E0 IN SITE East 0 in Site
Examples
E300 N1000 U2500 Coordinate position
PIN6 Pin position
/VESSEL10 Origin of /VESSEL10
@ Working grid position closest to the crosshair
position and through the Current Element
Origin plane
NOTE: Cursor positioning (e.g. AXES AT @) can only be carried out in
orthogonal views.
>-+-<nsy>-+-<exp_val>-+-<ewx>-+-<exp_val>-+-<udz>-+-<exp_val>--.
| | | | | | |
| | | | | ‘-------------|
| | | | ‘----------------------|
| | | ‘--------------------------------|
| | | |
| | |-<udz>-+-<exp_val>-+-<ewx>-+-<exp_val>---|
| | | | | | |
| | | | | ‘-------------|
| | | | ‘---------------------|
| | | ‘---------------------------------|
| | ‘-----------------------------------------|
| ‘---------------------------------------------------|
|-<udz>-+-<exp_val>-+-<nsy>-+-<exp_val>-+-<ewx>-+-<exp_val>--|
| | | | | | |
| | | | | ‘-------------|
| | | | ‘----------------------|
| | | ‘--------------------------------|
| | | |
| | |-<ewx>-+-<exp_val>-+-<nsy>-+-<exp_val>---|
| | | | | | |
| | | | | ‘-------------|
| | | | ‘---------------------|
| | | ‘---------------------------------|
| | ‘-----------------------------------------|
| ‘---------------------------------------------------|
| |
‘-<ewx>-+-<exp_val>-+-<nsy>-+-<exp_val>-+-<udz>-+-<exp_val>--|
| | | | | |
| | | | ‘--------------|
| | | ‘-----------------------|
| | ‘---------------------------------|
| | |
| |-<udz>-+-<exp_val>-+-<nsy>-+-<exp_val>----|
| | | | | |
| | | | ‘--------------|
| | | ‘----------------------|
| | ‘----------------------------------|
| ‘------------------------------------------|
‘----------------------------------------------------+-->
where:
Examples
E East
E45N East 45 North
W-33D West 33 Up
Y North
N45E33D North 45 East 33 Down
N10E10 North 45 East
3D position direction:
>--+-- FRom <bpos> TOwards <bpos> -->
|
‘-- TOwards <bpos> -->
(see above for <bpos>)
Examples
N45E Axis direction
PL Design point direction
TOW E0 WRT SITE From Current Element Origin to SITE origin
FROM PIN6 TO PIN7 From Pin 6 to Pin 7
Examples
ALL Selects all elements
ALL FRMW
Selects all framework elements
ALL BRANCH MEMBERS
Selects all piping components
ITEMS OF EQUI /VESS1
Selects all primitives below /VESS1
(/PIPE1 /PIPE2)
Selects just /PIPE1 and /PIPE2
ALL WITH (XLEN GT 1000)
Selects all elements where XLEN is greater
than 1000mm
ALL WITHIN W8000N17000U1000 TO W1400N13500U1200
Selects all elements within the defined volume
Generally, in DESIGN you are able to access the full range of DESIGN
command syntax. However there are two modes where the syntax is restricted
to commands only relevant to that mode. The modes are:
• MDB mode allows you to change or query databases during a DESIGN
session. Described in Chapter 4.
• DESCLASH mode allows you to check the design for clashes. Described
in the Design Reference Manual Part 4: Utilities.
To return to normal DESIGN mode, enter the command EXIT.
Keyword: DESIGN
3.2 Saving
Description: These commands let you save and restore the graphical view(s) and
the forms as displayed before you exit from DESIGN.
NOTE: Forms resized or moved using the cursor will be INSTALLed to their
original size.
Examples:
RECREATE /DS1 Saves the display definition in file /DS1.
RECREATE /DS1 OVER
Saves the display status in file /DS1. Any
existing file /DS1 is overwritten.
RECRE DISPLAY /DS1
Saves modal settings, e.g. working grid, units,
representation etc. Read back in using $M/name
INSTALL SETUP /DS1
Restores the display definition stored in file
/DS1
Command Syntax:
Description: Lets you save the alpha display information to a text file. Two types of
output are available, depending on the command used.
The ALPHA LOG and ALPHA FILE commands may be used to save data
such as the results of a data consistency check, or be used as a general
output facility.
NOTE: After an ALPHA file has been opened, subsequent output will be
directed to both the file and the screen until the file is closed, or until
you change to another PDMS module.
Examples:
ALP LOG /LF1 COMMANDS
Log information displayed in the COMMANDS
region in file /LF1
ALP LOG /LF1 OVER COMM
Log information displayed in the COMMANDS
region in file /LF1. Any existing file /LF1 will be
overwritten.
ALP LOG /LF2 Log information displayed in both alpha regions
in file /LF2
ALP FILE /LF2 Log information displayed in REQUESTS region
only
ALP LOG END Finish logging data
ALP FILE END
Command Syntax:
Description: Each alpha region may be cleared by using a variation of the ALPHA
command.
Examples:
ALPHA COMMANDS CLEAR
Clears the text from the COMMANDS region
only.
Command Syntax:
Description: QUIT exits from DESIGN without saving any changes or the display
setup. QUIT has the effect of deleting any changes made since the last
SAVEWORK, module change or MDB change.
FINISH also exits from DESIGN without saving any changes, but in
this case you are taken directly to the operating system of your
computer.
Examples:
QUIT Exit from DESIGN (and enter MONITOR)
QUIT ISODRAFT Exit from DESIGN and enter ISODRAFT
FINISH Exit from DESIGN to the operating system
Command Syntax:
These functions let you set the dimensioning units and precision for design
placement and element searching operations. The designer can choose at any
time to work with metric or imperial units and can differentiate between the
units used for nominal pipe bores and for general linear dimensions. Tolerance
settings are available for general 3D positioning, plus special tolerance
controls for pipe and structural steelwork layouts. A search radius (the ‘hit
radius’) can be specified for cursor picking operations.
Description: You can choose to work with units for nominal bores and dimensions
other than those specified in the Catalogue. The PDMS default is to
work in millimetres for nominal bores and distances. However, the
Catalogue can contain company-specific instructions that alter the
defaults; say, feet and inches. After the units setting is changed, all
input and output will take place in the new units unless specifically
stated.
Examples:
MM BORE
All bores will be input and output in mm
FINCH DIS
All distances and coordinates will be input and output in feet and inches
UNITS /PERCHES
All distances and coordinates will be input and output in the units defined
in the units definition element /PERCHES in the Properties Database
UNITS DEF
Uses the default Catalogue database units
UNITS ‘Standard’ PDMS units
NOTE: 3 feet 6 inches must be input as 3’6 when using FINCH units.
Command Syntax:
Keywords: PRECISION
Description:
Output dimensions, in the current units, are normally rounded to the following
degrees of precision:
Millimetres To the nearest mm (e.g. 316)
Inches To the nearest 0.1 inch (e.g. 38.8)
Feet and inches To the nearest 1/32 inch (e.g. 3’7.15/32)
Output for setting variables defaults to the following, higher, precisions:
Millimetres To two decimal places (e.g. 316.25)
Inches To two decimal places (e.g. 38.75)
Feet and inches To the nearest 1/64 inch (e.g. 3’7.31/64)
You may control the output precision of distances in some modules by using
the PRECISION command. This allows you to specify the number of decimal
places for MM or INCH output, or the largest fraction denominator for FINCH
output. Precision levels for general output and for the setting of variables are
specified separately.
Examples:
PREC OUT DI DEF Set default precision for output
PREC VAR DEF Set default precision for variables
PREC DI DEF Set default precision for output and variables
PREC DI 1 DP Set output to 1 decimal place (MM or INCH
units)
PREC OUT DI 4 DEC
Set output to 4 decimal places (MM or INCH
units)
PREC VAR DI 3 DP Set variables to 3 decimal places (MM or INCH
units)
PREC DI 64THS Set output to 1/64 inch precision (FINCH units)
Keywords: ALARM
Examples:
ALARM ON Sets the audible tone to be on.
ALARM OFF Suppresses the audible tone until it is turned on
again.
Command Syntax:
Keywords: TRACE
Description: This command, applicable in TTY mode only, controls the automatic
output of the Current Element name and attributes. When macros are
being run, TRACE is always set to OFF automatically.
Examples:
TRACE OFF Stops the automatic output of Current Element
name.
TRACE ON Restarts automatic output of Current Element
name.
Note: ON is the default setting.
Command Syntax:
Keywords: SYSCOMmand
Description: PDMS normally assumes that any command input in response to its
prompt character (*) is an instruction to the current module, and will
check its validity on that assumption. You can issue an operating
system (OS) command to the host computer from within PDMS by
enetring the SYSCOM command. followed immediately (without
pressing Return) by the OS command enclosed between apostrophes (’)
or vertical bars (|). The effect applies only to the single command line;
as soon as the OS command has been executed, control is returned to
PDMS.
NOTE: Do not try to issue OS commands which might disrupt PDMS
operations; for example, commands which would close or amend files
currently in use by PDMS.
Examples:
SYSCOM 'dir' Lists directory from which you entered PDMS.
You will often find, when working in PDMS, that you need to check existing
information about some aspect of the program’s operations; for example:
• Current usage in terms of users, modules and DBs.
• The currently selected output device.
• The unique code which identifies the process you are running and the
station you are running it from (useful for generating unique workfile
names).
• The current setting, perhaps the default setting, of a command option.
• The contents of part of a particular DB; for example, the current setting
of an attribute or the list of member elements owned by a specific
element.
• The elements which match specific selection criteria entered by you.
To ask for such information from within DESIGN, type
Query (almost always abbreviated to Q)
followed by the relevant querying option as described in the following sections.
(You also will find more specific querying syntax throughout this set of
manuals.)
To check the current settings for your graphics device, enter any of the
following (the list is not comprehensive):
Q SETPens Gives all logical pen settings
Q SETPens number Gives setting for logical pen number
Q LINESTyle Gives line type (dotted, dashed etc.)
Q COLours or
Q COLORs Gives colours of all logical colour numbers
Q COLours number Gives colour of logical colour number
Q COLours BACKground
Gives colour set for display background
Q COLours ALPHa Gives colour set for alphabetic characters
and so on.
To check the settings of specific attributes only, query them by name, thus:
Q XLEngth
Q BORe
Q POSition
Q ORIentation
Q :TESTED (where :TESTED is a UDA)
and so on.
You may query several specified attributes in a single command line. For
example,
Q POS ORI XLEN YLEN ZLEN :TESTED
To query the contents of part of an array, enter
Q arrayname[index]
For example:
Q DESP[10]
To query the PDMS version from which the current DB was created, enter
Q CRINFO
Description: The MDB command puts you into MDB Mode, where you can use a
limited number of MONITOR commands. This lets you change the
current multiple database during a DESIGN session without having to
leave DESIGN and enter MONITOR.
When you enter MDB mode, you can either update the current MDB to
save your design changes, or ignore any changes made since your last
SAVEWORK command, by specifying UPDATE or NOUPDATE.
When you are in MDB mode, you can give the following commands,
which are the same as the corresponding MONITOR commands. For
more information, see the PDMS MONITOR Reference Manual.
Examples:
MDB UPDATE Save design changes and enter MDB Mode.
MDB NOUPDATE Enter MDB Mode without saving design
changes.
EXCHANGE Alter the databases in the current list of the
DEFER current MDB
CURRENT
PROTECT Temporarily alters your access rights to
specified databases.
USER username Changes the current user
PROJECT code Changes the current project
LIST Allows you to query:
Users, including the number of active users,
Teams including the set (current) Team,
Databases, including copied Databases,
MDBs, Macros and Variables
Command Syntax:
Keywords: STATUS
Description: Gives you information about your current status as a user and about
the DBs to which you have access.
Example:
A typical response to the STATUS command could be:
Project: XYZ
User: CSI (758)
Teams: B
MDB: /DESIGN
Current DBS:
1 PIPING/SITE RW
2 MASTER/CATLOG R
Deferred DBS:
3 STRUCT/STEEL
This indicates that the designer has identified himself as being PDMS user
CSI, that he is logged in to the computer as user 758, that he is a member of
team B, that he is accessing Project XYZ, and that he has selected an MDB
called /DESIGN.
Command Syntax:
Keyword: SYSTAT
Description: The SYstem STATus command gives you information about the
current active status of the project in which you are working. It lists
all users who are currently accessing the project, the modules and
databases which they are using, and whether they are examining
(Read-only status) or modifying (Read/Write status) the database. It
also gives the workstation identifier for each user.
Example:
A typical response to the SYSTAT command could be:
PROJECT XYZ
==============
DB MODE
MASTER/AREA-A R
MASTER/AREA-B R
STRUC/AREA-C RW
This shows that two users are currently logged in and are using PDMS for
work on Project XYZ. The Project Coordinator is using ADMIN but is not
accessing any databases. User 752 is using DESIGN. He is accessing the MDB
named /STEEL, whose constituent DBs are as listed. He has Read-only status
for the DBs owned by the MASTER (System) team and Read/Write access to
the DB STRUC/AREA-C.
Command Syntax:
Keywords: LIST
Description: Lets you list most of the project information held in the System
Database, with the exception of confidential details such as other
users’ passwords, which can only be listed by the System
Administrator in PDMS ADMIN.
Examples:
A typical response to the LIST MDB command could be:
List of MDBS for project XXX
==============================
MDB: /DESIGN
Current DBS:
1 PIPING/AREA-A DESI Exclusive
2 PIPING/AREA-C DESI Update
3 MASTER/AREA-D DESI Exclusive
Deferred DBS:
4 PIPING/AREA-B DESI Exclusive
5 MASTER/AREA-E DESI Update
MDB:/STEEL
Current DBS:
1 MASTER/AREA-A DESI Exclusive
2 MASTER/AREA-B DESI Exclusive
3 STRUCT/AREA-C DESI Exclusive
Deferred DBS:
**NONE**
MDB: /ANSI
Current DBS:
1 CATAL/AREA-E CATA Update
Deferred DBS:
**NONE**
A typical response to the LIST USERS command could be:
List of USERS for project ZZZ
===============================
SYSTEM (FREE)
TEAMS :MASTER STAB
Z (FREE)
TEAMS :***NONE**
GEN (GENERAL)
TEAMS :TEST
Command Syntax:
.----<----.
/ |
>-- LIst --*-- USers --|
| |
|-- MDBs ---|
| |
|-- DBs ----|
| |
|-- TEams --’
|
‘-------------->
4.5 Sessions
Each time you enter DESIGN or save your design changes, a new session is
created for each database changed. You can then query when specific items of
design data were modified by reference to the corresponding session
number(s). Sessions can be used by the System Administrator to backtrack
changes to a given date or session if necessary.
Description: Lets you associate comment text with the current design session. You
can query this text later to help you identify a particular session in
which modifications were made to elements and/or attribute settings.
You should enter the session comment before you issue a SAVEWORK
command.
Note: Sessions 1 and 2 are created in ADMIN (when the DESIGN DB and its
World element, respectively, are created), so the first true DESIGN
session will be Session 3.
Examples:
SESSION COMMENT ’Addition of upper platform’
Command Syntax:
Querying:
Q SESSComment integer
where integer is the session number.
Keywords: QUERY
Description: Lets you query details of the current MDB. This is a supplementary
querying facility to the LIST command (Section 4.4). It allows specific
information about features of the project configuration to be
interrogated.
Command Syntax:
Keywords: QUERY
Description: Lets you query details of the current DB for a given element.
Examples:
Q DBNAME Gives name of current DB; e.g. TEST/DESI
Q DBTYPE Gives type of current DB; e.g. DESI
Q DBFNUMBER Gives file number for current DB; e.g. 6
Q DBFILE Gives pathname for current DB file; e.g.
\usr\pdms\projects\SAM\sam006 (NT)
/net/pdms/projects/SAM/sam006 (Unix)
Command Syntax:
You can query the following aspects of the history of modifications to the
current database:
• When and by whom an element or attribute was last modified.
• A complete history of the sessions in which an element or attribute has
been modified.
• Details of a given session.
• The session number for a given date.
Description: Lets you query details of the most recent change to a given element or
attribute.
Examples:
Q LASTMOD
Gives date for last modification to current element.
Q SESSMOD
Gives session number for last modification to current element.
Q USERMOD
Gives name of user who last modified current element.
Q LASTMOD HIER
Gives dates for last modifications to current element and its members.
Q LASTMOD XLEN
Gives date for last modification to XLEN attribute of current element..
Command Syntax:
Description: Lets you query modification history for a given attribute; i.e. session
numbers during which the attribute was modified.
Examples:
Q HISTORY DIAM
Gives all sessions in which DIAM attribute was modified.
Note: HISTORY is an array type pseudo-attribute, so that qualifying
positions may be appended to query specific occurrences in the
modification history. For example:
Q HISTORY[2] DIAM
gives second most recent session in which DIAM attribute was
modified.
History records are restricted to a maximum of 120 sessions.
Command Syntax:
Q HISTORY attribute_name
Description: Lets you query details of any specific session. This is particularly
useful to get details of sessions listed by a HISTORY command.
Examples:
Q SESSCOMM 58 Gives comment text associated with session 58
Q SESSUSER 58 Gives name of user responsible for session 58.
Q SESSDATE 58 Gives date and time at which session 58 was created.
Note: All session queries are for the current DB.
Command Syntax:
Q --+-- SESSComment --.
| |
|-- SESSUser -----|
| |
‘-- SESSDate -----+-- integer -->
Description: Lets you query which session was current at a given time. (This is the
inverse of the Q SESSDATE option described in Section 4.7.3.)
Examples:
Q SESSION ON 12:00 22 August 1995
Q SESSION ON 9 / 9 /96
Time defaults to 23:59, so returns last session number on given date.
Command Syntax:
Q SESSION ON <date>
where <date> is a standard syntax graph, see Chapter 2. Remember that
<date> actually specifies a time (to the nearest minute), so take care if you use
any defaults here.
You can claim a specified element only, or a specified element plus all
of the significant elements below it in the hierarchy. If the claimed
element is not a significant element, the significant element above it
in the hierarchy will be claimed.
Examples:
CLAIM /ZoneA /EQUIP100 /PIPE-100-A
Claims named elements
CLAIM /ZoneA HIERARCHY
Claims named element and all of its owned hierarchy
CLAIM /ELBOW-33
Claims Branch which owns named component, since ELBO is not a
significant element
UNCLAIM /PIPE-100 /PIPE-200
Unclaims named elements
UNCLAIM ALL
Unclaims all elements currently claimed
Command Syntax:
.---------------.
/ |
>-- CLAIM ----*-- elementname --+-- HIERARCHY ---.
| |
‘----------------+-->
.---------------.
/ |
>-- UNCLAIM ---*-- elementname --+-- HIERARCHY ---.
| | |
`-- ALL ----------+----------------+-->
another extract.
Examples:
EXTRACT CLAIM /STRU1 /STRU2 /STRU3
Claims named elements to the extract
EXTRACT CLAIM /STRU1 /STRU2 /ZONE-A HIERARCHY
Claims the named elements, and all the elements in the hierarchy to
the extract
The HIERARCHY keyword must be the last on the command line. It will
attempt to claim to the extract all members of the elements listed in
the command which are not already claimed to the extract.
EXTRACT FLUSH DB PIPE/PIPE
Writes all changes to the database back to the owing extract. The
Extract claim is maintained.
EXTRACT FLUSH /STRU1 /STRU2 /STRU3
Writes the changes to the named elements back to the owing extract.
The Extract claim is maintained.
Command Syntax:
Keywords: Q CLAIMLIST
Description: Before you start work on an extract, you should do a GETWORK and
an EXTRACT REFRESH, which will ensure that you have an up-to-
date view of the database.
DB PIPE/PIPE
USERA
DB PIPE/PIPEX1 DB PIPE/PIPE-X2
USERX1 USERX2
USERA creates a Pipe and flushes the database back to the owning
database, PIPE/PIPE. The results of various Q CLAIMLIST commands by
the three Users, together with the extract control commands which
they have to give to make the new data available, are shown in the
Figure 3-1.
Note:
Q CLAIMLIST EXTRACT
tells you what you can flush
Q CLAIMLIST OTHERS
tells you want you can't claim
USERA:
EXTRACT REFRESH DB PIPE/PIPE
Q CLAIMLIST:
none
Q CLAIMLIST OTHER:
/PIPE-100 Extract PIPE/PIPE_EX7001
Q CLAIMLIST EXTRACT:
/PIPE-100
When you create an element, PDMS only sees it as a user claim, not
an extract claim, until the element is flushed. It will then be reported
as an extract claim (as well as a user claim, if it has not been
unclaimed).
We recommend that:
Command Syntax:
Description: Lets you report all changes to one or more specified database elements
since an earlier version of that database. The output is in the form of a
report listing all elements and attributes which have changed, with
their old and new values. The report can be sent to a file by using the
ALPHA FILE or ALPHA LOG commands.
Note: The database states are compared between SAVEWORK operations.
For example, if you last saved your design changes at 9:30 and ask for
a comparison since 10:00, the current settings will be compared with
those at 9:30.
Examples:
DIFFERENCE ALL BRANCH FOR /ATEST SINCE 21 JANUARY
DIFF CE SINCE 10:00
Assumes current day.
DIFF /ZONE1 Compares current settings with those at your
last SAVEWORK command.
Description: Lets you output all changes to one or more specified database
elements since an earlier version of that database. The output is in the
form of a macro which can recreate the changes when run on, say, a
copy of the original DB. The macro is sent to a file by using the
standard ALPHA FILE or ALPHA LOG commands.
Examples:
OUTPUT /ZONE-A
Outputs all elements, whether or not they have ever been changed.
OUTPUT ALL PIPE FOR /ZONE CHANGES SINCE 21 JANUARY
Outputs all changes to named element and its members since the
given date.
Access to a DB is usually controlled in such a way that only one user can
modify the content of that DB at any one time; that is, only one user can have
Write access to the DB. Other users may have simultaneous Read access,
depending how access rights have been set up in the ADMIN module. (See also
Section 4.9, which describes a new multiwrite DB facility.)
In a multi-disciplinary PDMS project, in which different teams of users work
on different aspects of the design, an individual user will usually have
Read/Write access to the DBs controlled by their own team and Read-only
access to DBs controlled by other teams. This works well until a user needs to
connect an item in their team’s DB to an item in another team’s DB; for
example, a member of the Piping team may wish to connect a Branch in a
Piping DB to a Nozzle in an Equipment DB (to which they have Read-only
access). In such a case, the design changes needed in the Equipment DB are
stored in a ‘buffer’ file known as an inter-DB connection macro. Only when
this macro is run by a member of the Equipment team, with Write access to
the Equipment DB, are the changes implemented.
The sequence of events which would occur is illustrated in the following
example.
Assume that Project ABC has separate Piping and Equipment design teams.
Assume that User P has Read/Write access to a Piping DB and Read-only
access to an Equipment DB, while User E has Read/Write access to the
Equipment DB and Read-only access to the Piping DB.
User P wishes to connect a Branch Tail in their Piping DB to a Nozzle in User
E’s Equipment DB; that is, they wish to set the Branch’s TREF in their Piping
DB to point to the CREF of the Nozzle (which they can do) and to set the CREF
of the Nozzle to point to the TREF of their Branch (which they can not do),
thus:
Only User E
can set this
Nozzle in
Branch in Piping DB Equipment DB
owned by User P's TREF CREF
owned by User
team E's team
Only User P
can set this
• User P sets the TREF of their Branch to point to the CREF of the Nozzle
in the Equipment DB.
• When User P tries to set the Nozzle’s CREF, they receive a message
telling them that they are trying to connect to a read-only DB and that
an inter-DB connection macro is being created automatically. This macro,
which stores the commands needed to set the CREF, is given a name
with the format abc001.mac (where the macro number, 001 here, is
allocated sequentially), and is held in the directory ABCMAC (or as
defined by the project’s environmental variables).
• When User E next enters MONITOR (usually when entering or leaving
PDMS), they receive a message asking them to run the inter-DB
connection macro abc001.mac and to delete it when they have done so.
• User E enters DESIGN and runs the inter-DB connection macro by
giving the command
$M /%ABCMAC%/abc001.mac
This sets the CREF for the Nozzle to point to the TREF of the Branch
and completes the link between the two DBs.
• User E enters MONITOR (or ADMIN if they have sufficient access
rights) and deletes the redundant macro by giving the command
DELETE MACRO 1
where 1 is the macro number.
Note: If User P checks their DB for data consistency errors between Stages 2
and 4, when the macro has been created but not yet run, they will get
an ‘incompatible connection reference’ message. They cannot finalise
their design until User E has run the macro. Thus, the successful use
of inter-DB connection macros relies on good co-operation between the
teams involved.
Inter-DB connection macros are also created in multiwrite DBs if an
attachment is claimed by another user.
The commands described in this chapter control how the items are displayed in
a 3D (Volume) View. For information about creating View windows, see the
Cadcentre Software Customisation Guide and the Cadcentre Software
Customisation Reference Manual.
Description: Allows selected Design items to be added to the Draw List, which
defines which elements are to be displayed. If an element is to be
displayed in a colour which is different from the default colour, this
can be specified as part of the command line.
Items added to the display are added to all volume views with the
scale and view direction appropriate to that view.
Examples:
ADD /P100A /P100A is added to the Draw List
ADD CE The current element will be added to the Draw
List
ADD /ZONE1 /ZONE2 COLOUR 5
/ZONE1 and /ZONE2 will be added in colour 5.
If you wish to add items in other colours, you
must use separate commands.
Command Syntax:
.----<-------.
/ |
>-- ADD --*-- <selatt> --+-- COLour <colno> -->
|
‘-->
where:
Querying:
Q DRAW Queries the contents of the Draw List
Q DRAW COUNT Queries the number of items in the Draw List
Q DRAW FULL Queries the contents of the Draw List and the
colour with which each Draw List member was
added
Keywords: AUTOCOLOUR
Description: Lets you define a set of rules for automating the selection of colours for
items added to graphical views. Each rule consists of a set of selection
criteria for particular types of element, together with an associated
colour (which may be an explicit colour number or an expression).
Examples:
AUTOCOLOUR ALL EQUI COLOUR 4
All Equipment items to be added in colour 4
AUTOCOLOUR ALL EQUI COLOUR 4 TRANSLUCENCY 25 EDGES ON
All Equipment items to be added in colour 4
with 25% translucency and edges drawn.
AUTOCOLOUR ALL BRAN WITH (HBORE GT 100) COLOUR 10
All Branches with head bores greater than 100
to be added in colour 10.
AUTOCOLOUR ALL SCTN COLOUR (:COLOUR OF SPRE)
All Sections to be added as defined by the UDA
:COLOUR derived via their SpecRefs.
AUTOCOLOUR ALL COLOUR (:COLOUR)
Uses the UDA :COLOUR to denote the colour
for all displayed elements. If you enter this as
the final rule, it will provide a default colour if
all other rules prove false.
AUTOCOLOUR ON Colours will be chosen according to autocolour
rules. If Off (the default), colour specified in the
ADD command will be used.
AUTOCOLOUR DYNAMIC ON
Updates autocolour each time an attribute
changes. (Use with care!)
AUTOCOLOUR RESET
Clears all current autocolour rules.
AUTOCOLOUR REMOVE 2
Removes the second rule from the current list.
AUTOCOLOUR REORDER 2 TO 4
Moves rule number 2 to position 4 in the list.
Command Syntax:
NOTE: The expression for Translucency must be in the range 0–99: the actual
translucency will be set to the nearest of 12, 25, 37, 50, 62, 75 or 87
(0 = transparent; 99 = opaque).
AUTOCOLOUR ON must be in force to see the effect of AUTOCOLOUR
DYNAMIC ON.
Querying:
Q AUTOCOLOUR NUMber
Gives number of colour rules.
Q AUTOCOLOUR MODE
Queries autocolour mode; i.e. On or Off.
Q AUTOCOLOUR integer
Gives selection criteria for rule integer.
Q AUTOCOLOUR DYNAMIC
Checks whether dynamic updating is on or off.
Q AUTOCOLOUR FOR id COLOUR
Queries colour that would be selected for
identified element (this is of most use for batch
testing).
Q AUTOCOLOUR FOR id TRANSLUCENCY
Queries translucency setting for identified
element.
Q AUTOCOLOUR FOR id EDGES
Queries whether or not edges are to be drawn
for identified element (only relevant if
translucency is being applied).
Keywords: REMOVE
Description: These commands remove elements from the Draw List and the
display.
Examples:
REMOVE /BRANCH1 /BRANCH1 will be removed from the Draw List
and the display
REM SITE /PIPING The site /PIPING will be removed
REM ALL All items in the Draw List, and on the screen,
will be removed
Note: If an element below a significant element (i.e. a primitive) is
removed, then the whole significant element will be removed as well.
This is because the Draw List may only contain significant elements.
Significant elements are EQUI, SUBE, DATU, GRDM, PTRA, BOUN,
BRAN, HANG, PVOL*, RPLA*, STRU, SUBS, SCTN, PNOD, PALJ,
PANE. (* only if directly below a Site or Zone.)
Command Syntax:
Definitions:
• The Active element is the significant element (and its components)
being worked on.
Examples:
COL 5 DARKGREEN
Colour 5 will be changed to dark green
COL 3 MIX RED 50 GRE 50 BLU 5
Colour 3 will change to the specified mix of red, green and blue
COL ACTIVE BRIGHTRED
Sets the colour for displaying active elements to bright red
Note: When colours are mixed in their Red, Green and Blue constituents, the
command line must contain values for all three constituents in the
correct order. The numbers entered for the relative proportions of the
basic colours must each be in the range 0-100, but they are not
percentages of the overall colour and so do not need to add up to 100.
Command Syntax:
where colour_name is the name of any of the predefined colour mixes listed
above.
Querying:
There are a number of options which determine how items in the graphical
display are to be shown on the screen. These are controlled by the
REPRESENTATION command.
Examples:
REPR TUBE ON CL OFF
Sets tubing representation as solid tube.
REPR CL ON TUBE OFF
Sets tubing representation as centreline.
REPR TUBE ON CL ON
Sets both types of representation on (but centreline will not be visible in
colour-shaded mode, as it will be hidden by solid tube).
Command Syntax:
.---------------------<-----------------.
/ |
>-- REPResentation --*-- CL -------------------------. |
| | |
|-- CENTreline -----------------| |
| | |
‘-- TUbe -----------------------+-- ON ---|
| |
‘-- OFF --+-->
Querying:
Q REPR TUBE
Q REPR CL
Q REPR PROF
Q REPR Queries all Representation options.
Examples:
REPR PROF ON CL OFF
Sets profile representation as solid profile.
REPR PROF CL ON TUBE OFF
Sets profile representation as centreline.
REPR PROF ON CL ON
Sets both types of representation on.
Command Syntax:
.---------------------<-----------------.
/ |
>-- REPResentation --*-- PROFile --+-- CL -----------. |
| | |
|-- CENTreline ---| |
| | |
|-- OBSTruction --| |
| | |
‘-- INSUlation ---+-- ON ---|
| |
‘-- OFF --+-->
Querying:
Q REPR PROF TUBE
Q REPR PROF CL
Q REPR Queries all Representation options.
Description: This command enables individual drawing levels to be specified for the
display of piping, nozzles, structural elements and other design
database elements.
Examples:
REPR LEVEL PIPE 5
Sets piping level to 5. All pipes which are added after this command will be
drawn at level 5. Those already in the view will remain unchanged.
REPR LEVEL NOZZ 1
Sets Nozzle level to 1
REPR LEVEL 2
Set level for all other Component types to 2
Command Syntax:
.-------------------<-------------------.
/ |
>- REPResentation --*-- LEVel --+-- PIPE -------. |
| | |
|-- NOZZle -----| |
| | |
|-- STRUcture --| |
| | |
‘---------------+-- integer --+->
Querying:
Q REPR Lists all REPRE options
Q REPR LEVEL Lists levels at which other Components are drawn
Q REPR LEV PIPE Gives the level at which pipes are drawn
Q REPR LEV NOZZ Gives the level at which Nozzles are drawn
Q DISPLAY Gives units and tolerance settings, as well as
representation levels
Examples:
REPR OBST ON INSU OFF
REPR INSU ON
REPR INSU ON TRANSLUCENCY 25
Command Syntax:
.------------------------------<---------------.
/ |
>- REPResentation -*- OBSTruction -. |
| | |
‘- INSUlation --+- ON --+------------------------|
| | |
| '- TRANSLucency - value -|
| |
‘- OFF --------------------------+->
NOTE: value must be in the range 0–99: the actual translucency will be set to
the nearest of 25, 50, 75 or 87 (0 = transparent; 99 = opaque).
Querying:
Q REPR Lists all Representation settings
Q REPR INSU Queries if insulation is ON or OFF
Q REPR OBST Queries if OBST is ON or OFF
Q REPR INSU TRANSL
Queries translucency setting for insulation
When p-points are on, they are drawn as small arrows with a cross at
the p-point position and with the arrow indicating the p-point
direction. The size of the arrow is controlled by the LENGTH option. P-
point numbers may also be displayed, as controlled by the NUMBERS
option.
As with changes to other representation settings, the graphics display
is not updated instantly. Items must be removed and re-added to the
Draw List before changes to the display of p-points becomes visible.
Examples:
REPR PPOINTS ON
Sets the p-point representation to ON
REPR PPOINTS LENGTH 5
Sets size of p-point arrows
REPR PPOINTS NUMB ON
Shows p-point numbers
Command Syntax:
.----------<----------.
/ |
>-- REPResentation --*-- PPoints --+-- ON ---|
| |
|-- OFF --+-->
|
|-- LENgth -- value -->
|
‘-- NUMbers --+-- ON ---.
| |
‘-- OFF --+-->
Querying:
Q REPR PPOINTS
Examples:
REPR PNOD ON
Only Primary Nodes will be shown in the display.
Command Syntax:
.------------<----------------------.
/ |
>-- REPResentation --*-- PNODes --. .-------------------. |
| |/ | |
‘-- SNODes --*-- ON ---------------| |
| | |
|-- OFF --------------| |
| | |
|-- SIZe <uval> ------| |
| | |
‘-- COLour <colour> --+--+-->
Querying:
Q REPR PNOD
Q REPR PNOD SIZE
Q REPR PNOD COL
Q REPR SNOD
Q REPR SNOD SIZE
Q REPR SNOD COL
When p-lines are on, the size of the arrow showing their direction is
controlled by the LENGTH option. P-line identifiers, in the form of the
settings of their PKEY attributes (TOS, BOS, NA, etc.) may also be
displayed, as controlled by the PKEY option.
As with changes to other representation settings, the graphics display
Examples:
REPR PLINES ON
Sets the p-line representation to ON
REPR PLINES LENGTH 6
Sets size of p-line arrows
REPR PLINES PKEY ON
Shows p-line identifiers (settings of PKEY attributes)
Command Syntax:
.---------<----------.
/ |
>-- REPResentation --*-- PLINes --+-- ON ---|
| |
|-- OFF --+-->
|
|-- LENgth -- value -->
|
‘-- PKEY --+-- ON ---.
| |
‘-- OFF --+-->
Querying:
Q REPR PLINES
Examples:
REPR HOLES ON
Sets the holes representation to ON
Command Syntax:
.---------<----------.
/ |
>-- REPResentation --*-- HOLes ---+-- ON ---|
| |
‘-- OFF --+-->
Querying:
Q REPR HOLES
Description: Controls the arc tolerance used when representing certain curves as
polygon segments or facetting planes. The smaller the arc tolerance,
the smoother the curve drawn, but the slower the graphical
performance.
The tolerances used for most curve drawing in DESIGN are controlled
automatically by the graphical system. The REPRE DARC command
controls the following aspects only:
• Items which include holes (but only when REPRE HOLES is set to
On; see Section 5.2.8).
Example:
REPR DARC 5
Sets the arc tolerance to 5 mm.
REP DARC DEF
Resets arc tolerance to 10 mm.
Command Syntax:
Querying:
Q REPR DARC
Description: Lets you refresh the graphical display, after modifying any of the
representation settings, without having to remove and add back all
items in the drawlist.
Examples:
REPR UPDATE
Command Syntax:
Keywords: AXES
Description: Lets you specify and position a set of axes on the display. The axes
represent the compass directions of the World co-ordinate system and
may be positioned anywhere on the display.
Axes remain visible until they are switched off or deleted. Switching
axes off renders them invisible, whilst deletion removes them
altogether. Switched-off axes can be made visible again by switching
them back on.
Examples:
AXES AT @
Positions a set of axes at the graphics cursor
AXES HEIGHT 300 AT @
Positions a new set of axes at the graphics cursor, with a height of 300mm
(default size is 1000mm)
AXES OFF
Removes axes from the screen (although they still exist)
AXES ON
Redisplays axes as previously shown.
AXES DELETE
Deletes axes (i.e. AXES ON will have no effect)
Command Syntax:
.---------<---------------------------.
/ |
>-- AXEs --*-- HEIght value -----------------------|
| |
|-- AT <bpos> --------------------------|
| |
|-- AT POLar <bdir> DISTance <uval> ---'
|
|-- AT @ ----.
| |
|-- ON ------|
| |
|-- OFF -----|
| |
|-- DELete --|
| |
‘------------+----------------------------->
Labels are shown in all permitted regions where the item’s origin is
within the current sub-view. The label always points to the origin or,
in the case of a Branch or Hanger, to its Head or Tail (where the name
will be suffixed with + or – respectively).
You can specify selection criteria for marking, and specify any textual
expression for the marker.
Examples:
MARK /DATUM5
Element /DATUM5 will be labelled with its name.
UNMARK /DATUM5
The specified element will cease to be labelled.
MARK WITH ’Outer Boundary’ ID @
Labels the picked element with the given text.
MARK WITH NAME ALL BRAN
Labels all Branches with their PDMS names.
MARK WITH NAME OF SPREF ALL VALVE WHERE PBORE GT 100
Labels all valves larger than the specified bore with their specification
references in the catalogue.
UNMARK ALL
Removes all marking from the screen.
Command Syntax:
Description: This facility lets you incorporate lines, arrows, arcs, spheres, boxes or
cylinders in a view to help you with the design construction. Design
aids can be grouped together (using the NUMBER option) and given a
number for identification.
Aid lines are drawn between two defined 3D positions. The linestyle
can be solid, dashed, dotted or dash-dot, and you can label them with
text markers at defined positions.
Aid arrows are used to complement lines for showing dimensions etc.
You can control both the overall height of an arrow and the proportion
of its height occupied by the conical arrow-head, thus changing its
emphasis.
Aid arcs are defined in terms of two points at their extremities and
either a third 'through' point or a tangent point through which a
second-order Bezier curve is constructed.
Aid spheres are defined by the position of the centre and the radius.
Command Syntax:
Querying:
Description: This facility lets you highlight components visually in the design. For
example, all sections of implied tube and rod could be highlighted, all
piping components and so on.
Command Syntax:
.--------------.
| |
>-- UNENHANCE ---+-- <selatt> --+-- <selatt> --’
| |
+- <HLID> -----+-------------------+--->
Spatial maps of the model are based on the obstruction limit boxes
surrounding each Design element, rather than using fully detailed geometric
representations. The spatial maps allow faster data access, and they are used
for tasks such as clash detection where fast data access is required and where
the simplified representation is adequate.
Spatial maps are maintained automatically as the design model is updated,
but may need to be rebuilt explicitly if the Catalogue data, from which the map
geometry is derived, is changed.
Description: You can check one or more of the spatial maps to ensure that they
accurately reflect the current state of the design. To avoid spurious
results, it is advisable to do this before carrying out a clash check. This
is particularly important if the geometry of any geometry elements has
been modified.
Examples:
MAP CHECK MDB
Checks the spatial maps for all Design DBs within the current MDB against
the current design and catalogue data. If there are any discrepancies,
appropriate messages are output; you should then rebuild the map (see
Section 5.7.2)
MAP CHECK PIPES/AREA1
Checks the up-to-date status of the spatial map for the named Design DB
only.
Command Syntax:
Description: Lets you update existing spatial maps to take into account all design
and catalogue changes which have taken place. This is only necessary
if the MAP CHECK command (Section 5.7.1) shows that the map is out
of date.
Examples:
MAP BUILD MDB
Updates the spatial maps for all Design DBs within the current MDB.
MAP BUILD STEEL/AREA2
Updates the spatial map for the DB STEEL/AREA2.
Command Syntax:
Rather than being set explicitly, the values of some types of attribute can be
specified in terms of rules; that is, expressions from which the attribute values
can be evaluated. Rules can be set only for attributes of the following types
(including user-defined attributes): text, scalar (integer, real or logical),
position, orientation, direction; they cannot be set for reference attributes. A
static rule will change the attribute setting only when verified or executed
explicitly, whereas a dynamic rule will update the attribute setting whenever
any part of the expression changes (the default type is static).
Description: Lets you set a rule for the value of a single named attribute. The rule
may contain any valid expression of the type applicable to the
attribute setting.
Examples:
RULE SET ZLEN (XLEN + YLEN)
Sets rule that ZLEN of the current element is the sum of its XLEN and
YLEN values. The ZLEN will be updated to reflect changes to XLEN or
YLEN only when the rule is verified or executed (i.e. it is a static rule).
RULE SET XLEN DYNAM (YLEN + 2)
XLEN will be updated automatically whenever YLEN is changed.
RULE SET POS (N300 E400 U500) ON ALL BOX FOR /PUMP1
Sets rule for position attribute for all boxes in /PUMP1
RULE SET POS DYNAM (N100 FROM /BOX2 )
If /BOX2 moves, the element with this attribute rule will move with it
automatically. (Note space between last character of element name and
closing parenthesis.)
Command Syntax:
Querying:
Q ATT Displays all attribute values and all rules for
the current element.
Q RULES Displays all rules for current element.
Q RUL OF XLEN Displays rule for XLEN attribute of current
element.
Description: When a rule is verified, the expression held in the rule is evaluated
and both the result of the evaluation and the current value of the
attribute are displayed.
Examples:
RULE VERIFY ALL
Verifies all rules for the current element.
RULE VER HEIG ON CYLI 1 FOR /PUMP1
Verifies rule for height attribute on first cylinder of /PUMP1.
Command Syntax:
Description: When a rule is executed, the expression held in the rule is evaluated
and the value of the attribute is replaced by the result of the
evaluation.
Examples:
RULE EXECUTE :TEMP1
Executes rule for uda :TEMP1 for the current element.
RULE EXE ALL ON ALL BOX FOR /PUMP1
Executes all rules for all boxes owned by /PUMP1.
Command Syntax:
Description: Lets you delete one or more rules for the current element or for
specified elements.
Examples:
RULE DELETE ALL
Deletes all rules for the current element.
RULE DEL ALL ON ALL FOR /PUMP1
Deletes all rules for all primitives owned by /PUMP1.
Command Syntax:
Note: The commands described in this chapter should not be used very often.
Most of the functionality they provided has been superseded by Event-
driven Graphics, and they are included here for compatibility with
earlier versions of PDMS.
A displayed element from the visible model can be accessed directly by moving
the cursor over it and clicking the left-hand mouse button. The following
sections describe the different ways of selecting database elements from the
display by using the cursor. These commands let you use the visible design in
order to move to elements in the Design hierarchy and points in 3D space.
In each case, an appropriate prompt is displayed.
Command Syntax:
Description: Variable length Tube (and Rod) from the visible design can be accessed
by picking with the cursor. As Tube is not an element in the Design
hierarchy, it cannot be accessed. Instead, the component on the
upstream side of the Tube (downstream if routing backwards) will be
accessed. This means that the next component to be created will be
inserted in the picked Tube. Any visible Tube can be picked regardless
of whether it is shown in single or double line representation.
Examples:
ID T @ The name of the component on the upstream
side of the Tube under the cursor is displayed on
the command line.
Command Syntax:
Description: The cursor can be used to pick any p-point in the visible design or any
mapping pin. This form of picking will not change the current
element.
Note: IDPPOINT cannot be used in isolation. It must be used with another
command.
Only those p-points which are defined in the Catalogue as being
visible in DESIGN will be available for picking in this way.
Examples:
Q IDP @ Press and hold down left-hand mouse button when
cursor is over element. Element will be highlighted
with p-points visible and cursor will change to a
square shape. With left-hand mouse button still held
down, move cursor over required p-point. When over a
p-point, cursor will change to a square shape with
crosshairs. Release the button to select the p-point.
Command Syntax:
.-----<-----.
/ |
>-- Query <marke> --+--*-- <ppatt> --+-->
|
|-- <axes> -->
|
‘-->
Description: This facility lets you define a plane which is normal to the view
direction. You can then use the cursor to pick a point in an orthogonal
view such that the third coordinate of the required point is derived
automatically from this plane.
7.2 3D Pins
The DESIGN pins are a set of ten temporary marker points which have a 3D
position and direction. They can be moved around using positioning and
orientation commands similar to those available for permanent Design
elements.
Once positioned, a pin may either be used as a static reference point or as a
temporary p-point.
The commands described here only show how to make pins visible and position
and orientate them. Once this has been done they can be used for positioning
and orientating Design elements in any command that uses point as an
argument.
Description: The position and direction of a pin can be set explicitly in the same
way as an ordinary design element. Unless stated otherwise, the
positional parameters described below are in the coordinate system of
the current element.
Examples:
PIN 5 AT E1000 Pin 5 will be moved to the coordinate position
East 1000 from the Site origin.
PIN5 DIR W WRT SITE
Pin 5 will be orientated in a direction West with
respect to the current SITE.
Command Syntax:
Querying:
Description: This command allows a particular pin to be switched in and out of the
Display.
Description: These commands allow a pin to be moved from its current position in
any axis direction or along its own direction. If moved along its own
direction, a specified distance can be given or, alternatively, an
intersection. (Moving in this manner is very similar to the pipe-
routing options.)
Examples:
PIN 6 BY E3000 N2000
Pin 6 is moved by the given directions and
distances
PIN 6 DIST 600 Pin 6 is moved along its own direction by the
given amount
PIN 6 THR /NOZZ5 Pin 6 is moved along its own direction until it
intersects a plane through /NOZZ5
Command Syntax:
Description: Pins may be moved in exactly the same manner as piping components,
using the same command options. The movement direction is always
in the pin direction, so it is important to ensure that this is
appropriate before a move is attempted. As these commands are quite
extensive, they are not repeated here; see the pipe routing commands
in Chapter 8.
Examples:
PIN 6 DISTANCE 600 INFRONT ID @
Pin 6 is moved along its direction until it is 600
distance units in front of the item picked with
the cursor.
Command Syntax:
7.3 Constructs
The constructed quantities are written out into the REQUESTS region
of your display. These quantities can be written into variables for later
use. The commands used to define constructed quantities make use of
p-points, p-lines, pins, directions, positions and orientations.
• CONStruct Position
NEArest position ON line
NEArest position ON plane
INTersect plane1 plane2 plane3
INTersect line plane
INTersect line1 line2 (gives result on line1 if lines are skew or
parallel) plane line
• CONStruct DIRection
NORmal plane
ORTHogonal direction1 AND direction2
ORTHogonal direction AND line
ORTHogonal line1 AND line2
ORTHogonal line AND direction
position1 TO position2
plane
line
• CONStruct LINe
JOIn position1 TO position2
direction THRough position
PARallel line THRough position
NORmal line THRough position
NORmal plane THRough position
PROJection line ON plane
INTersect plane1 plane2
• CONStruct Plane
THRough position1 AND position2 AND position3
direction THRough position
direction THRough a p-point, pin or digitised point (optionally offset
a given DISTance or relative to existing geometry: INFront or
BEHind an element, p-point or position: FROm or TO a position)
Note: In all of the above, position, direction, line or plane is defined in
normal PDMS format, or by reference to a p-point, pin or marker, or
picked from an appropriate view.
Examples:
CONS POS P2 OF FLAN 4 OF BRAN /PIPE1-1 TO PLANE PIN 7
The intersection between the specified point and the plane perpendicular to
pin 7 is shown.
VAR 5 CONS POS PL TO LINE PA OF NEXT
The closest point on the line from PLEAVE to the intersection of the two
lines is placed in Variable 5.
This chapter describes the commands to create, copy and name database
elements, and also the commands to navigate around the database hierarchy
once you have created some elements.
These commands can be used throughout DESIGN. For information about
creating the elements which build up the model, and setting their attributes,
see Part 2 and Part 3 of the Design Reference Manual. For a comprehensive
list of all valid PDMS attributes, see the Cadcentre Software Customisation
Reference Manual.
8.1 Elements
Description: This command creates a new element in the Design hierarchy. The
attributes of that element can then be specified or further elements
may be created as members.
For Branch and Hanger elements, the location of the new Component
in their member list defines the route logic. It is therefore necessary to
navigate to the Component adjacent to the insertion point in the
member list (upstream if routing forwards, downstream if routing
backwards). If the new Component is required at the end of the
member list then accessing the Branch or Hanger Head or Tail will
insert the Component in the correct position.
Examples:
NEW ZONE /Z1
The Zone element is created as a member of the current Site. The Zone is
now the current element. Its NAME attribute is /Z1.
NEW TEE
If the current element is the fourth member in a Branch member list, the
Tee element is inserted as the fifth member. The Tee is now the current
element.
NEW EQUIP /1301
If the current element is a Box owned by another EQUIP which is Member 2
of Zone /Z1, the new Equipment element is inserted as member 3 of the
Zone and named /1301. The new Equipment is now the current element.
NEW GASKET
If this command is given when the current element is the Branch Head, the
Gasket is inserted as the first member of the Branch and is now the current
element.
Command Syntax:
Description: You can place elements in any location in a legal member list by
specifying the existing element adjacent to where the new element is
required. The new element may be inserted either before or after the
specified element.
Examples:
NEW VALVE BEF (At a Branch Component)
The Valve will be inserted before the current element in the current list.
NEW ZONE BEF 2 (At Site level)
The Zone will be inserted before member 2 of the Site.
NEW BOX (At a CYLI which is a member of a STRU)
A new BOX will be inserted as the next member of the STRU (after the
CYLI in member list order).
NEW BOX (At a SUBS which is a member of a STRU)
A new BOX will be inserted as a member of the SUBS (at the top of the
member list).
Command Syntax:
Description: The basic delete operation can only be performed on the current
element. Its effect, however, is to delete this element and all its
offspring (i.e. members and their members, etc.) from the model. The
MEMBERS option only deletes the offspring, leaving the current
element intact. When an element is deleted, its owner becomes the
new current element.
Examples:
DELETE NOZZ
Deletes the current element - a Nozzle. The EQUI owning the Nozzle
becomes the current element.
DELETE ZONE
Deletes the current element - a Zone and all its offspring. The Site owning
the Zone becomes the current element.
DELETE SITE MEM
Deletes all the members of the current element (SITE) and their offspring.
Command Syntax:
>-- DELETE <snoun> --+-- MEMbers --+-- integer --+-- TO integer -->
| | |
| | ‘-->
| ‘-->
‘-->
Command Syntax:
8.1.5 Copying
This subsection describes how to copy elements, together with their offspring.
When elements are copied, all attributes are duplicated except:
• NAME, which must be unique.
• LOCK, which will always be unlocked in the new element.
Keywords: COPY
Description: The COPY command provides an extremely powerful facility. Not only
is it possible to copy all the attributes of a specified element into the
current element, it is also possible to duplicate any offspring that
element may have. This means that anything from a single primitive
shape to a whole equipment item (or even a Site) can be copied.
Examples:
COPY PREV
For example, if both the current and previous elements are Boxes, the
attributes of the previous element will be copied to the current element.
COPY /EQUIP10
For example, if the current element is an Equipment, the attributes and
offspring of /EQUIP10 are copied to the current element. (The NAME and
LOCK attributes of the current element do not change.)
Command Syntax:
Description: This command allows automatic renaming of the current element and
any new offspring that possess a standard name part. You can also
choose to copy only the members (and their offspring) of an element,
leaving the attributes of the current element unchanged.
Examples:
COPY MEM OF /EQUIP10 (At another EQUIP element.)
If the current element is an Equipment, all the offspring of /EQUIP10 are
copied into the current element. The attributes of the current element do not
change.
COPY /P1/PIPE RENAME /P1 /P2
The attributes and offspring of /P1/PIPE are copied into the current element.
Where /P1 is found as the name or part of the name, it is renamed as /P2 in
the current element and its offspring.
COPY MEM 4 TO 10 OF PREV BRAN
The attributes and offspring of the fourth element in the current element’s
member list are copied into the tenth element in the member list of the
previous BRAN element in the current member list.
Command Syntax:
Description: All elements except the WORLD can be named. Although Design
elements are often given suitable names while being created, later
name changes can be made by giving a new name or by removing the
old name. The name of any element must be unique; that is, not
already used for another currently accessible element.
Examples:
NAME /ZONE5D
The current element is given the specified name provided it has not been
used elsewhere.
UNN The current element loses its name (it is still identifiable by its
automatically allocated reference number).
Command Syntax:
Description: The name of the current element and offspring can be modified where
a standard name part occurs.
Examples:
REN ALL /Z1 /Z2
All occurrences of /Z1 in the names of the current element and its offspring
will be changed to /Z2.
Command Syntax:
Description: Virtually every element in the Design hierarchy has its own coordinate
system which consists of a set of axes giving an origin position and
orientation. The POSITION and ORIENTATION of an element are the
position of its origin and the orientation of its axes relative to its
owner. On creation, an element starts with the position E0 N0 U0
(i.e. at the origin of its owner) and is orientated with its axes aligned
with those of its owner. The commands which alter position and
orientation are all the element placement, connection and routing
facilities described elsewhere in this manual.
Querying:
8.3 Navigation
You can navigate around the Design database in the following ways:
• Going to a Design element whose identity or position in the hierarchy is
known
• Going to a Design element whose position in the hierarchy relative to the
current position is known
• Going to a Design element by picking it a graphical display.
Note that you can navigate to any element in the Design database, and not just
the items currently shown in the graphical display.
As well as the commands described in this Section, you can go to an element
by:
• Picking it in the Graphical View.
• Picking it in the Members List
• Typing in its name or reference number.
Keywords: SAME CE
Description: SAME takes you to the element you were at before you accessed the
current element. Repeating the SAME command has the effect of
moving repeatedly between two items - it does not move back along
the list of items accessed. (If the previously accessed element has been
deleted, the next available element in the list will be accessed.)
CE takes you to the current element itself. (This facility may seem
rather pointless in this situation; however the CE keyword is used in
many commands as a means of identifying an element to be the object
of that command.)
Examples:
CHECK CE
Check the current element for data inconsistencies.
ADD CE
Add the current element to the display.
Command Syntax:
>-- CE -->
Description: You can navigate to implied tube or rod within a branch or hanger
(although if the derived length is less than 1mm, the system does not
consider it to exist).
To make an implied rod or tube the current element, you must also
indicate whether the head, tail, arrive or leave tube or rod is intended.
Example:
IARRIVE TUBE OF /PIPE1
Go to arrive of implied tube of /PIPE1.
Command Syntax:
You can move up the hierarchy by more than one level by inputting
the type of element you want to access. For example, navigation from
an Elbow to its parent Zone would involve three successive END
commands. However the command ZONE would scan up the hierarchy
to find the Zone which owns the current element list, thus saving two
END commands.
Description: Navigate to the specified position in the members list. Most can be
used with the OF keyword to go to members of other elements.
Examples:
FIRST BRANCH OF ZONE /Z25A
LAST NOZZLE OF PREVIOUS 3 EQUIPMENTS
FIRST ZONE OF /SITE 5
PIPE 2 OF /Z100A
ELBOW 1 OF NEXT BRANCH
Keywords SETSTAR
Description To save repeatedly typing an element's name, you can define the
asterisk or star symbol (*) to represent any specified element. By
default, if no element identifier is given, the current element is
assumed. After setting, the * symbol may be entered in any command
to represent the full name of the element.
Examples:
SETSTAR * will now represent current element
SETSTAR /element_name
* will now represent the specified element
Command Syntax:
This chapter lists error messages specific to DESIGN. These messages have a
message number beginning with 61. Any other messages that may be output
are not described here as they are not specific to DESIGN.
Note that in the following element_identifier denotes an element name or (for
unnamed elements) an element reference number. The latter is a ‘system’
number which is assigned automatically whenever an element is created.
(61:1) Unable to calculate the orientation
(61:2) element_identifier is not a piping or a hanger component or has not been
positioned oriented or selected.
(61:3) element_identifier is not a branch or piping component
(61:4) element_identifier is not a hanger or hanger component
(61:5) Unable to position element_identifier
(61:6) element_identifier does not have a position
(61:7) Unable to orientate element_identifier
(61:8) element_identifier does not have an orientation
(61:9) Unable to set the head position of element_identifier
(61:10) Unable to set the tail position of element_identifier
(61:11) Unable to set the head direction of element_identifier
(61:12) Unable to set the tail direction of element_identifier
(61:13) Trying to connect element_identifier to itself
(61:14) Unable to set the head reference of element_identifier
(61:15) Unable to set the tail reference of element_identifier
(61:16) Current element does not have a head or a tail attribute
(61:17) Default orientation only available for piping and hanger components.
(61:18) Default orientation cannot be found. Previous element either not
positioned and oriented or not selected.
(61:19) Direction undefined for towards origin of current element
(61:20) Current element type unsuitable for DIRECTION command
(61:21) SPREF can only be selected for a piping or hanger component
(61:22) LSTUBE can only be selected for a piping component
(61:23) HSTUBE can only be selected for a BRANCH
(61:24) LSROD can only be selected for a hanger component
(61:25) HSROD can only be selected for a HANGER
(61:26) TUBE can only be selected for a BRANCH or a piping component
(61:27) ROD can only be selected for a HANGER or a hanger component
(61:28) Only BRANCHs, HANGERs, and piping and hanger components can be
selected
(61:29) element_identifier is not a SPEC
(61:30) element_identifier is not a SPCOM
(61:31) Cannot find SPCOM name