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Drawing Production Using

VANTAGE PDMS
Version 11.6SP1

pdms1161/Drawing Production
issue 260605

PLEASE NOTE:
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Revision History
Date

Version

Notes

October 2003

11.5

The structure of document has been updated in line with


other documents in the series. The technical content is
unchanged. Much of the text has been reworded and
additional illustrations of forms and screen elements
have been included.

Sept 2004

11.6

Updated to include new features of this version of


PDMS.

March 2005

11.6.SP1

Updated and corrected for this release.

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Revision History-i

Revision History

Revision History-ii
Version 11.6SP1

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Contents
1.

Read This First.............................................................................. 1-1

1.1. The scope of this guide..............................................................................1-1


1.1.1.
1.1.2.
1.1.3.
1.1.4.

Intended audience.................................................................................. 1-1


Preconditions and assumptions ............................................................. 1-1
Tutorial exercise..................................................................................... 1-2
Further reading....................................................................................... 1-2

1.2.
1.3.
1.4.
1.5.

Text conventions........................................................................................1-2
Terminology ...............................................................................................1-3
How this guide is Organised ......................................................................1-3
Further training in the use of PDMS ..........................................................1-4

2.

Introducing VANTAGE PDMS and the Draft Module.................. 2-1

2.1. The strengths and structure of PDMS .......................................................2-1


2.2. The structure and functions of Draft ..........................................................2-2
2.2.1.
2.2.2.
2.2.3.
2.2.4.
2.2.5.
2.2.6.
2.2.7.

3.

General functions ................................................................................... 2-2


Labelling................................................................................................. 2-3
Dimensioning ......................................................................................... 2-3
2D drafting.............................................................................................. 2-3
Automatic drawing production application ............................................. 2-4
AutoDRAFT application ......................................................................... 2-4
Administration ........................................................................................ 2-4

Getting Started.............................................................................. 3-1

3.1. Basic information .......................................................................................3-1


3.1.1.
3.1.2.
3.1.3.
3.1.4.
3.1.5.
3.1.6.
3.1.7.
3.1.8.
3.1.9.
3.1.10.

3.2.
3.3.
3.4.
3.5.

Using the mouse .................................................................................... 3-1


Using menus .......................................................................................... 3-2
Using forms ............................................................................................ 3-2
Using text boxes..................................................................................... 3-3
Using drop-down lists............................................................................. 3-3
Using option buttons .............................................................................. 3-4
Using check boxes ................................................................................. 3-4
Using scrollable lists............................................................................... 3-4
Using action buttons............................................................................... 3-4
Responding to alert forms...................................................................... 3-5

Logging in ..................................................................................................3-5
The Draft startup display............................................................................3-8
Using on-line help ....................................................................................3-11
Loading an existing drawing sheet ..........................................................3-12
3.5.1.
3.5.2.
3.5.3.

The Draft database hierarchy .............................................................. 3-12


The Draft Explorer................................................................................ 3-13
Displaying the sheet............................................................................. 3-14

3.6. Using the mouse and keyboard to manipulate the view of the sheet ......3-15
3.6.1.
3.6.2.

Mouse buttons...................................................................................... 3-15


Zooming and panning .......................................................................... 3-18

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4.

Setting up the Hierarchy to Create a Drawing Sheet ................. 4-1

4.1. Creating a Department ..............................................................................4-1


4.2. Creating a Registry ....................................................................................4-3
4.3. Creating Drawings and Sheets ..................................................................4-5

5.

Views.............................................................................................. 5-1

5.1. Modifying an existing View to make it user-defined...................................5-2


5.1.1.
5.1.2.
5.1.3.
5.1.4.

Defining the Drawlist contents ............................................................... 5-3


Setting the scale..................................................................................... 5-5
Other options.......................................................................................... 5-5
Displaying the contents of the View ....................................................... 5-6

5.2. Creating a Sheet and a limits-defined View.............................................5-12


5.2.1.

6.

Setting the contents of the View .......................................................... 5-14

Using the 3D View......................................................................... 6-1

6.1. Manipulating the 3D View ..........................................................................6-3


6.1.1.

Positioning the 3D View ......................................................................... 6-3

6.2. Selecting 3D Content.................................................................................6-6

7.

Labelling ........................................................................................ 7-1

7.1. Creating a General Label...........................................................................7-1


7.2. Modify Mode ..............................................................................................7-5
7.2.1.
7.2.2.
7.2.3.

Entering and Exiting Modify Mode ......................................................... 7-5


Item Selection and Display Details ........................................................ 7-5
Positioning.............................................................................................. 7-7

7.3.
7.4.
7.5.
7.6.

Modifying Labels Graphically.....................................................................7-8


2D Positioning Menu Options ..................................................................7-13
Gaps in Labels.........................................................................................7-14
Label Leader Attributes............................................................................7-18

8.

Dimensioning ................................................................................ 8-1

8.1. Creating Linear Dimensions ......................................................................8-3


8.1.1.
8.1.2.

Deleting dimension points...................................................................... 8-8


Modifying linear dimensions graphically ................................................ 8-8

8.2. Angular dimensions .................................................................................8-10


8.2.1.

Modifying angular dimensions graphically ........................................... 8-12

8.3. Radial dimensions ...................................................................................8-14


8.3.1.

9.

Modifying radial dimensions graphically .............................................. 8-15

Automatic Drawing Production ................................................... 9-1

9.1. General ADP..............................................................................................9-1


9.1.1.

ADP application menu ........................................................................... 9-2

10. 2D Drafting .................................................................................. 10-1


10.1. The 2D Drafting hierarchy........................................................................10-1
10.2. Exercises in 2D Drafting ..........................................................................10-2
10.2.1.
10.2.2.
10.2.3.

Contents-ii

Creating sheet note and view note elements....................................... 10-2


Creating primitives ............................................................................... 10-3
Editing 2D primitives graphically .......................................................... 10-5

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11. Section Planes ............................................................................ 11-1


11.1. Creating a Section Plane .........................................................................11-2
11.2. Editing a Section Plane............................................................................11-4
11.3. Editing Stepped Planes ...........................................................................11-6

12. More you can do ......................................................................... 12-1


12.1. User utilities .............................................................................................12-1
12.1.1.
12.1.2.

Defining a menu to execute a command ............................................. 12-2


Defining a menu to display a form ....................................................... 12-2

Appendix A: The Draft Database......................................................... A-1


Appendix B: Other Documentation..................................................... B-1
Index.................................................................................................Index i

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Contents-iv

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1.

Read This First

1.1.

The scope of this guide


This guide introduces some of the facilities provided by Draft, which is the
module of AVEVAs VANTAGE Plant Design Management System (PDMS)
used for the generation of fully annotated engineering drawings directly from
design data. The guide explains the main concepts underlying Draft and its
supporting applications, and shows how you can apply these to your own
projects.
The chapters of this guide take the form of a hands-on tutorial exercise
combined with frequent explanation of the underlying concepts. As you work
progressively through the exercise, you will gain practical experience of the
ways in which you can use Draft, while learning about the powerful facilities it
provides.
The guide does not give step-by-step instructions on how to carry out specific
drawing functions. You can access such information as you work, by using the
On-line Help. You are told how to do this at an early stage of the tutorial.

1.1.1.

Intended audience
This guide has been written for engineers who are familiar with drafting
practices but who may or may not have prior knowledge of computer-aided
design systems.

1.1.2.

Preconditions and assumptions


For you to use this guide, the sample PDMS project, Project SAM, must be
correctly installed on your system, and you must have read/write access to the
project databases.
It is assumed that you know:

where to find PDMS on your computer system


how to use the Windows operating system installed at your site.

Contact your systems administrator if you need help in either of these areas.

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1.1.3.

Tutorial exercise
The tutorial exercise runs through the guide, preceded by and interspersed
with sections and paragraphs giving general information. The steps of the
exercise are numbered sequentially throughout the guide. The areas of general
information are separated from the tutorial as follows:
The start of the exercise is indicated like this:

Exercise begins:
Each interval in the exercise for inclusion of general information is preceded
by a line across the page, like this:

Continuation of the exercise after each interval is shown like this:

Exercise continues:

1.1.4.

Further reading
You can find a list of relevant AVEVA documentation in the appendices of this
guide.

1.2.

Text conventions
This guide uses the following text conventions:

1-2

Serif

for the majority of the text.

Bold

to highlight important information, and to introduce


special terminology.

Serif italic

to denote internal cross references and citations.

Sans-serif

to denote keys on your keyboard.

Sans-serif bold

for menu names and options, and for the names of forms.

Typewriter

for text within a form, including text that you enter


yourself using the keyboard.

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1.3.

Terminology
The following terms are used throughout this guide to describe what action to
carry out:

1.4.

Enter

Type text into the specified dialogue box, then press the Enter
(or Return) key to confirm the entry.

Click

Place the mouse pointer over a specified point, then quickly


press and release the designated mouse button. If no button is
specified, use the left-hand mouse button.

Pick

Click on the required item to select it.

Drag

Place the mouse pointer over a specified point, then press and
hold down the required (normally left) mouse button while
moving the pointer to a second specified point. Release the
button over the second point.

Double-click

Place the mouse pointer over a specified point, then click the
left-hand mouse button twice in quick succession.

How this guide is Organised


This guide is divided into chapters and appendices, as follows:
Chapter 1

introduces this guide and summaries its scope.

Chapter 2

gives a general overview of the structure and strengths of


PDMS and of the Draft module.

Chapter 3

describes essential elements of the graphical user interface


and how to start up PDMS Draft. (If you are already familiar
with Motif forms and menus interfaces, you should be able to
read through this part of the chapter rapidly.) The chapter
describes how to display an existing drawing sheet and
includes an explanation of the relevant part of the Draft
database hierarchy. The method of accessing on-line help is
included.

Chapter 4

describes how to create the elements of the Draft hierarchy, as


necessary to create a new drawing sheet.

Chapter 5

describes how to set up Views, which define the parts of the


model that are drawn on a drawing sheet

Chapter 6

describes how to populate drawing Sheets using the 3D View


functionality.

Chapter 7

describes how to add Labels to items that appear in Views. It


also describes how to change the appearance of the labels.

Chapter 8

describes how to add dimensions to the engineering items that


appear in Views.

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Chapter 9

describes how to produce a dimensioned and labelled drawing


automatically.

Chapter 10

describes how to add text and basic graphical shapes to


existing sheets and views.

Chapter 11

describes how to create and manipulate section planes.

Chapter 12

describes a useful utility.

Appendix A

illustrates the Draft database hierarchy.

Appendix B

identifies other sources of information that supplement and


expand upon the brief details given in this guide.

The guide concludes with an index, allowing you to refer back to any specific
topics about whose details you need to be reminded.

1.5.

Further training in the use of PDMS


This guide teaches you to about the key features of using PDMS for drawing
production.
If you wish to learn more about the wide-ranging facilities of PDMS, AVEVA
provides a wide range of training courses, covering all levels of expertise and
all design disciplines. For details of courses, and to arrange course attendance,
contact your nearest AVEVA support office (see the copyright page at the front
of this guide for our web address).

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2.

Introducing VANTAGE PDMS and the


Draft Module

2.1.

The strengths and structure of PDMS


PDMS is a powerful suite of facilities, for the design of Process Plant, the
emphasis being on maximising both design consistency and design
productivity:

The design modelling functions incorporate a degree of apparent


intelligence that enables them to make sensible decisions about the
consequential effects of many of your design choices. This allows you to
implement a sequence of related decisions with a minimum of effort.
You can incorporate modifications into your design at any stage without
fear of invalidating any of your prior work, because data-consistency
checking is an integral part of the product. PDMS automatically
manages drawing production, material take-off reports, and so on, by
reading all design data directly from a common set of databases, to
prevent errors from being introduced by transcribing information
between different disciplines.
The applications let you check all aspects of your design as work
progresses. This includes on-line interdisciplinary clash detection, so the
chances of errors and inconsistencies reaching the final documented
design are reduced to an exceptionally low level.
The applications are controlled from a graphical user interface. This
means that all design, drawing and reporting operations are initiated by
selecting choices from menus, and by entering data into on-screen forms.
For ease of use, pictorial icons also represent many common actions.
On-screen help is available to assist you whenever you need help.

PDMS is subdivided into modules, which are used to carry out specific types
of operation. This guide covers the Draft module, which is used for generating
annotated and dimensioned drawings of 3D models, produced in the Design
module.

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Introducing VANTAGE PDMS and the Draft Module

2.2.

The structure and functions of Draft


Draft is the drawing production module of PDMS. It allows you to generate
fully annotated engineering drawings directly from data in the PDMS Design
model. Drawings can be easily updated to reflect changes in the design model.
Within Draft there are applications that are used for specific functions
associated with the production of drawings. These applications are called:

General
Auto Drawing Production
AutoDRAFT.

The functions of the applications, together with some notes on administration,


are discussed in the following sub-sections.

2.2.1.

General functions
The Draft Graphical User Interface has been designed to allow you to generate
and retrieve industry-standard engineering drawings quickly and efficiently.
You can then add dimensioning and other annotations. You do not need to
make any calculations or input any data, as all annotation information comes
directly from the design model.
Drawing Creation
You select the particular part of the design model and the direction and scale
to use.
The design model can be viewed from any angle at any scale, including
isometric views, with perspective if required. The appearance of the 3D
graphics is controlled from representation rules that are pre-defined by the
project administrator. This allows different types of design items to have
different line styles applied to them. You can select the required
representation during view creation.
Various levels of wireline and hidden-line removal can be used. Sectional
views can be generated by the creation of flat or stepped section planes, and
there are no restrictions on the number of planes created or the selection of
items that can be sectioned. The scale of the 3D graphics can be selected from
a set of Metric, Architectural and Engineering values, with the option of an
automatic scale selection to use the largest scale possible for the given design
data and drawing sheet size.
Hierarchy
Facilities are available for specifying details of the hierarchy within the Draft
database for the location of the drawings and their sheets.

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2.2.2.

Labelling
Labels can be attached to any design element and used to display any
attribute of the element. You can control the format, content and appearance
of the labels, with suitable project defaults defined by the administrator.
Direct reference to the design data, combined with a simple update annotation
operation, means that the annotation always reflects the current state of the
design model. The position and orientation of the labels can be modified
graphically, to ensure a clear drawing layout.
Automatic labelling (Autotagging)
Labels can be automatically generated for a set of design items that match a
tagging rule.
The rule sets determine the type of label and which design items the labels
will be applied to. For example, you could label all nozzles that have a bore of
>100mm and <300mm with a pressure rating of #150. After the labels have
been created, they can be automatically updated to reflect any changes to the
design model.
When the labels have been created, you can adjust their positions graphically.

2.2.3.

Dimensioning
There are three generic dimension types available in Draft, namely, Linear,
Angular and Radial. These allow intelligent dimensions to be created to
dimensioning standards.
Dimensions are calculated directly from the design model. You can control the
format, content and appearance of the dimensions. The administrator can
define suitable project defaults.
As with labelling, direct reference to the design data means that the
annotation always reflects the current state of the design model, with a simple
update annotation operation.
The position and orientation of dimensions can be adjusted graphically.

2.2.4.

2D drafting
Draft's intelligent 2D drafting allows you to generate additional 2D annotation
on the drawing sheet. Operations such as grouping, multiple copying, rubber
banding, nested symbols, symbol libraries, and full element editing functions
are available.
Like other Draft data, all 2D annotation can be linked to the design data and
so can easily be updated to follow the changes that occur in the design model.

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2.2.5.

Automatic drawing production application


The Automatic Drawing Production application enables you to produce
annotated drawings automatically. You can set rules that determine how the
annotation is produced. The drawings can then be edited, if necessary, using
the normal drawing editing options in Draft.
The application contains three separate utilities, which are used for different
disciplines. The utilities are:

2.2.6.

General ADP
Steelwork Detailing
Hangers & Supports ADP.

AutoDRAFT application
This application is the Draft two-way interface to AutoCAD. (It is not included
in the tutorial exercise in this manual.)
It is possible to transfer a Draft drawing directly across to AutoCAD, where
some users prefer to perform final annotation before drawing issue. The
transferred drawing maintains the exact style and representation as set from
Draft.
The user can develop symbol libraries and drawing frames in AutoCAD and
import these directly for use in Draft prior to returning the drawing from
AutoCAD into Draft.

2.2.7.

Administration
This Guide only deals with the Draft User Applications. If you have
administration rights within Draft, you will be able to use the Administration
applications. For more information see the VANTAGE PDMS Draft
Administrator Application User Guide. A brief summary of the Administration
facilities follows.
The Draft administrator uses the administration application to customise
Draft, by setting default attributes and creating libraries of drawing frames,
symbols and labels. The Administrator can set default representation rules,
labelling rules, naming conventions, line styles and hatching patterns.
Template drawings, which contain predefined drawing data, can be set up,
thus reducing drawing creation time.
Symbology
The Draft administrator can generate suites of symbols to be used in both 2D
annotation and as part of a symbolic label definition. The symbols are built up
from standard 2D annotation elements and can be created by grouping the
existing 2D annotations. The library approach to symbol definition maximises
drawing consistency, whilst minimising the required storage space for the
symbol itself.

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3.

Getting Started
This chapter describes:

3.1.

how to use the mouse and elements of the windows, menus and forms
from the PDMS graphical user interface.
how to log in to PDMS.
how to use on-line help.
how to display an existing drawing.

Basic information
This section is intended for readers who are unfamiliar with computer
practices. It provides information on the use of the mouse and describes the
elements that regularly appear in the windows of the graphical user interface.

3.1.1.

Using the mouse


You use the mouse to steer the graphics pointer around the screen. The
appearance of the pointer changes according to the type of display item that is
underneath it.
There are three buttons on the mouse. These perform different tasks
depending on the type of window, and the position occupied by the pointer
within the window.

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The left-hand mouse button has these functions:

On a graphical view, clicking the left-hand button with the pointer over
a Design element in a Drawing results in that element being selected in
the Design Explorer see section 3.6.1. Clicking on a Draft element (for
example a Dimension or a Label) results in that element being selected
in the Draft Explorer see section 3.5.2. In a sequence of menus,
dragging with the left-hand button activates the command represented
by the highlighted menu option when the button is released.
On a form, the effect varies according to the selected item.

The middle mouse button or wheel is used primarily to manipulate the


graphical view contents.

3.1.2.

The right-hand button is used to access pop-up menu options specific to


the graphical view window.

Using menus
Menu options in pull-down or shortcut menus (the menu revealed by pressing
and holding down the right-hand mouse button) can be in any of three
formats:
Standalone options initiate an action immediately.
Options followed by three dots display a form requiring
further input from the user in order to complete the
action.
Options followed by a pointer, display a subsidiary menu
that offers a further range of options.
Throughout this guide, related selections from menus are abbreviated using
the > symbol as a separator. For example:
Select Utilities>Reports>Create means:
a) Select Utilities from the bar men.
b) Select Reports from the resulting pull-down menu
c) Move the pointer to the right and select Create from the resultant
submenu.

3.1.3.

Using forms
Forms are used both to display information and to let you enter new data.
Forms typically comprise an arrangement of buttons of various types, textboxes, and scrollable lists. Input to a form is usually by use of the mouse and
keyboard.

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While you have access to a form, you can change a setting, return to the initial
values, accept and act on the current data, or cancel the form without applying
any changes, according to the nature of the form.
Forms can include any of the following elements, the uses of which are
described in the following sections:

3.1.4.

text boxes
drop-down lists
option buttons
check boxes
scrollable lists
action buttons.

Using text boxes


Text boxes are the areas where you type in alphanumeric data such as names
or dimensions. A text box will usually have a label to tell you what to enter.
A text-box often contains a default entry (such as unset) when first displayed.
Some text boxes accept only text or only numeric data, and entries with the
wrong type of data are not accepted.
To enter data into a text box:

Click in the box to insert the text-editing pointer (a vertical bar).


Type in the required data, editing any existing entry as necessary. (You
may need to delete the existing entry first.)

You can edit the contents of the text box by moving the pointer using the
arrow keys or by moving the pointer with the mouse and clicking the left
mouse button. You can delete text by using the Backspace key to delete
characters to the left-hand of the pointer or the Delete key for those to the
right-hand.
When you have finished, confirm the entry by pressing the Enter (or Return)
key. A yellow background highlights any text box with an unconfirmed setting.

3.1.5.

Using drop-down lists


Drop-down lists let you choose one option from a multiple selection. The list
will usually have a label to tell you what you are setting and will show the
current selection.
They typically have the following appearance:

To change the setting, click on the down arrow or button face to reveal the full
list of available options. Then pick the required option.
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When the arrow has a bar under it, clicking on the button leads to another
form, at which the required option can be selected from a scrollable list.

3.1.6.

Using option buttons


Option buttons (radio buttons) are used to select one, and only one, from a
group of options. The selection is mutually exclusive, so that selecting one
option deselects others in that group automatically.
They typically have the following appearance:
Option selected
Option not selected
To change the selected option button in a group, click the required button.

3.1.7.

Using check boxes


Check boxes are used to switch an option between two states, typically set and
unset. Unlike option buttons, they do not interact, so that you can set any
combination of check boxes at the same time.
They typically have the following appearance:
Set
Unset

3.1.8.

Using scrollable lists


A scrollable list is displayed as a vertical list of options within the form, with
vertical and horizontal scroll bars along its sides. To select an option, click on
the line you want. The selected line is highlighted.
Some scrollable lists let you make only a single selection, so that selecting any
option deselects all others automatically. Other lists let you make multiple
selections, with all selected options highlighted simultaneously. You can
deselect a highlighted option in a multiple-choice list by clicking on it again
(repeated clicks toggle a selection).

3.1.9.

Using action buttons


Most forms include one or more action buttons. You use these to tell PDMS
what to do with the details you have entered in the form.
The common action buttons are:
Tells PDMS to accept the current form settings, and closes the
form.

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Tells PDMS to accept the current form settings, and closes the
form.
Cancels any changes you have made to the form, and closes the
form.
Tells PDMS to accept the current form settings, and leaves the
form displayed for further use.
Cancels any changes you have made to the form, and leaves the
form displayed for further use.
Closes the form, keeping the current settings.
Some forms contain more specific types of control button, which carry out
particular command options. The action is indicated by the name of the button
(such as Add or Remove).

3.1.10.

Responding to alert forms


Alert forms are used to display information such as error messages, prompts
and requests for confirmation of changes. You should respond by carrying out
the prompted task, or by clicking on the control buttons on the form (usually
an OK or Cancel button).

3.2.

Logging in
This is the first step of the tutorial exercise. If you do not know where the
PDMS program is stored on your system, you will have to contact your system
administrator at this point.

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Getting Started

Exercise begins:
1.

Start PDMS by double-clicking on the PDMS icon.


The following VANTAGE PDMS Login form appears, at which you
specify a number of details at the start of your session.

2.

Click on the VANTAGE PDMS Login form to make it active.


Note:

3-6

The following entries made at this form are specifically for


the tutorial. Those required for your own project will be
different.

3.

Enter, or select using the dropdown list button, the name of the
Project in which you want to work. For this tutorial, the project is
SAM (in upper case).

4.

Enter, or select using the dropdown list button, your Username. For
this tutorial, it is SAMPLE (in upper case).

5.

Enter your allocated Password, which is SAMPLE (in upper case). The
textbox displays an asterisk for each entered letter.

6.

Enter, or select using the dropdown list button, the part of the project
Multiple Database (MDB) you want to work in. For this tutorial it is
SAMPLE.

7.

Using the dropdown list, select the name of the module you wish to use.
This is Draft.

8.

Make sure that you leave the Read Only box unchecked, so that you
can modify the database as you work.

9.

You must specify which files (Load from) to load at startup. The
options are the application default settings (Macro Files) or a
customised setup saved during an earlier session (Load from Binary
Files). For this tutorial select Macro Files.

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When you have entered all the necessary details, the form looks like
this:

10.

Click on the

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3.3.

The Draft startup display


When Draft has loaded, the Draft Main Display occupies the screen. The Main
Display contains a number of sub-windows (more properly forms). The main
display would typically appear as:
Title bar
Main menu bar

Toolbars

Drawing Window toolbar

Draft Explorer

Design Explorer

My Data

Drawing Window

Status Line

You can reposition or minimise these forms at any time by using the standard
Windows management controls.
Note that all the forms in the Draft Main Display (except the Drawing
Window) can be set to the standard Windows Dockable, Hide, Floating or Auto
Hide display modes by selecting from the shortcut menu in the title bar of the
form. See the PDMS online help for more details.
The features of the main window, as illustrated above, are summarised here.
The tutorial exercise explains when relevant elements are selected to achieve
particular objectives. For a detailed description of all elements, reference
should be made to the online help.
Title Bar
This shows that the current PDMS module is Draft, and the application name,
which in this case is General. The Main Display is maximised and therefore
[Main Display] appears in the title bar.

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Main Menu Bar


This displays the names of the available drop-down menus. The menu bar can
be repositioned and resized as described for toolbars (see below). For reference,
the online help provides details of all menu options.
The Toolbars
The toolbars provide shortcuts to various Draft functions. The toolbars will be
introduced and described as the tutorial in this manual progresses. Each
toolbar is also described in the Draft online help. A menu showing the
available toolbars can be displayed by positioning the pointer over a toolbar
and clicking the mouse right-hand button. The menu enables you to display or
hide a selected toolbar.

You can reposition and resize the toolbars as required using standard
Windows manipulation methods, and detailed toolbar manipulation
information can be found in the online help for any Microsoft Office product. In
summary:
To move a toolbar, rest the pointer over the vertical dotted line at the lefthand edge of the toolbar, press and hold down the left-hand mouse button and
move the toolbar as desired:

(If you only move the


symbol horizontally, you are able to move the toolbar
within the main toolbar.)
If you resize the main Draft window to make it smaller, you will find that the
toolbars will also reduce in size and a Toolbar Options symbol will appear at
the right-hand end of the toolbar:

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Left-clicking anywhere on the Toolbar Options symbol will bring up a graphical


menu enabling you to select the missing icons from the toolbar. For example:

In this case the Default toolbar normally appears as:

The Main Display forms


The forms within the Main Display window will be introduced and described as
the tutorial in this manual progresses. Each form is also described in the Draft
online help.
Status Line
This displays prompts and other information about Draft's current operation.
You should look at it frequently, especially if the system appears to be waiting
for you to do something. It will always prompt you for any input or action,
which is required to carry out the next step of your current activity.
If the prompt lets you repeat a task an unspecified number of times, such as
picking a selection of items using the pointer, you must press the Escape key
when you have finished to indicate that you are ready to move to the next
operation.
Drawing Window
The above illustration shows the Main Display window in restored size.
Drawings produced by Draft are displayed in this window. It has a pop-up
menu, activated by the mouse right-hand button.
Drawing Window toolbar
This contains buttons that are used when modifying and creating drawings.
From top to bottom, they are Reset Limits, Modify Mode, Snap to Grid,
Display Grid and Restore View 1, 2, 3, and 4.

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3.4.

Using on-line help


Most bar menus end with a Help option. Where available, on-line help gives
detailed instructions on the use of the forms and menus in each application.
You are advised to make full use of the on-line help facilities whenever you
want clarification of any operations, during the later steps of the exercise.
The Help option gives you the following choices from its submenu:
Help>Contents
This displays the Help tri-pane window with the Contents tab at the front so
that you can find the required topic from the hierarchical contents list.
Help>Index
This displays the Help tri-pane window with the Index tab at the front so that
you can find all topics relevant to a selected keyword.
Help>Search
This displays the Help tri-pane window with the Search tab at the front so
that you can enter a word or words to search for.
Help>About
This displays information about the version of PDMS that you are using.
More Info... lists the version numbers of the libraries being used by the
displayed version of PDMS.
Pressing the F1 key at any time will display the help topic for the currently
active window.

Exercise continues:
11.

Experiment with each of the Help options until you understand the
search and navigation facilities for finding specific items of information.
Use the F1 button to read the help texts for any forms, which you can
currently see on your screen.

12.

When you are ready to continue, close any forms that you have been
experimenting with as follows:

If a form has a Dismiss button, click this button.

If a form has its own menu bar, select Control>Close from that
menu.

Close any Help windows, which are displayed by double clicking


in the control box in the top left-hand corner of each window.

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Do not close the Main Display window, because you will use it in the
next part of the exercise.

3.5.

Loading an existing drawing sheet


We need to load an existing drawing sheet from the Sample project, so that the
exercise can continue with practising the use of the mouse.
Before we load the sheet, the following short explanation of how elements are
stored in the Draft database hierarchy, will be helpful.

3.5.1.

The Draft database hierarchy

WORLD

DEPT

REGI

REGI

DRWG

SHEE

DEPT

DRWG

SHEE

The Draft database is a tree structure, which for reference purposes is


illustrated in Appendix A. The above hierarchy shows the part of the tree that
is relevant to displaying drawings and sheets.
The World is the top element. The next level down in the structure is a
Department. The World can own several Departments, which are known as its
Members, and the World is known as the Owner of the Departments.

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Departments can own Registries, which can own Drawings, which can own
Sheets.
Later we will discuss the members of Sheets, but knowledge the above
hierarchy is sufficient for the purpose of displaying a sheet.
You can view the elements of the hierarchy in the Draft Explorer, but you
cannot display them graphically. For more details of these elements, see the
VANTAGE PDMS Draft User Guide, Part 1.

Exercise continues:

3.5.2.

The Draft Explorer


13.

At the top-left of the Main Display you will see the Draft Explorer form.
Click the + sign to the left of the World icon:

Clicking the + sign shows the elements under the World which, in the
Sample project, as supplied, looks like this:

14.

When you look at the Draft Explorer you will see that the first (top)
element is the WORL (world) element. The World is shown in the Draft
Explorer as * and cannot be either created or deleted. The World
signifies owns all members displayed below it.
Note the Filter tool. This enables the list of items to be filtered
according to whether the user is a General User or an Administrator.
The Administrator will be able to see more than a general user, but
display of the DEPT (Department) and REGI (Registry) administrative
elements will be skipped, only the contents of (Drawings or Libraries) of
these elements will be displayed.

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15.

Select the Filter check box, then select General User or Administrator
from the adjacent list to see the effects of using this tool.

16.

The Department named Stabilizer_Drawings contains drawings of


the Stabilizer model supplied as part of the sample project. We will use
these shortly.
There are three other Departments supplied with the product:

ADP-DEPT for Automatic Drawing Production sheets

Project_Libraries contains sample sheets.

Master_Libraries containing standard backing sheets, symbol


libraries etc.

PDMS has a serialisation feature, which means it will remember the


state of the Main Display when you leave Draft and re-enter it, so you
dont have to remember how the display looked and recreate it.

3.5.3.

Displaying the sheet


17.

In the Draft Explorer, select the DEPT Stabilizer_Drawings by


clicking on the + sign next to it with the left-hand mouse button. The
hierarchy, shown in the Explorer, will then be expanded to show the
REGIs owned by the DEPT. Continue to work down the tree by
selecting the following elements:
REGI Stabilizer_EquipDetails,
DRWG STAB50001,
SHEE STAB50001/S1.
Note that the element selected in the Explorer is known as the
Current Element, that is, the element on which you want to carry out
the next operation.

3-14

18.

At this point close the My Data form (if present; we will have no use for
it in this exercise) by clicking the button at top right. The Drawing
Window on the right will grow larger accordingly.

19.

Display the Working Sheet toolbar, if it is not already displayed, and


then display the STAB50001/S1 Drawing Sheet in the Drawing Display
window by clicking on the
button on the toolbar:

20.

The Name of the sheet will be displayed in the Working Sheet toolbar
list next to the button (you may need to resize the toolbar to see this)

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and the currently selected Layer will appear in the Layers toolbar. The
sheet will be displayed in the Drawing Display.
A large selection of Layers (selectable from the Layers toolbar list or
the Draft Explorer) exist below the Sheet (below View level), ready for
when you come to create Dimensions, Labels or 2D primitive
annotation. (See later in this tutorial.)
This Sheet shows Equipment D1201, and the display is like this:

3.6.

Using the mouse and keyboard to manipulate the


view of the sheet

3.6.1.

Mouse buttons
Left-hand button
As previously mentioned, clicking the left-hand button with the pointer over
an element makes the element the Current Element.

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The element may be a Design element (part of the engineering item displayed)
or a Draft element (for example, the outline of the drawing sheet, a label, or a
dimension).
If a Draft element is clicked, the Draft Explorer changes appropriately, for
example:

(The highlighted element shows that a radial dimension has been selected.)

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Similarly, if a Design element is clicked, the Design Explorer display will


change:

(showing that a Cylinder primitive within Equipment /D1201 has been


selected.)

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Middle button
The middle button allows you to increase and decrease the scale of the
displayed view, as follows:

Windowing in. Position the pointer at one corner of the imaginary


rectangle enclosing the part of the sheet that you want to fill the
Drawing display. Hold down the middle button and move the pointer to
the diagonally opposite corner of the rectangle. A 'rubber band'
rectangle, enclosing the area, will be displayed. When you release the
mouse button, the chosen area will fill the display area.
Zooming in. Position the pointer at the point you want to become the
centre of the view. Hold down the
(shift) key and repeatedly click the
middle button, as required. After each click, the display zooms in by a
factor of 1.5, centred on the current pointer position.
Zooming out. Position the pointer at the point you want to become the
centre of view. Repeatedly click the middle button, as required. After
each click, the display zooms out by a factor of 1.5, centred on the
current pointer position.
If your mouse has a wheel, then rotating the wheel away from you will
zoom in, towards you will zoom out.

Right-hand button

3.6.2.

Clicking the right-hand button, when the pointer is in the main display,
activates a shortcut menu. At this stage, the only option that you should
use is Reset Limits. The effect of this is to zoom out until the full extent
of the Sheet is displayed.

Zooming and panning


Zooming
We have just discussed Windowing in, Zooming in and Zooming out using the
mouse middle button or wheel. Here are some additional features:

The Pg Up key can be used for zooming in.


The Pg Dn key can be used for zooming out.
Holding down the Ctrl key while zooming in or zooming out using the
middle mouse button, doubles the zoom factor.
The numeric keypad odd-numbered keys can be used for zooming (see
the diagram below).

Panning
Panning (moving the displayed area across the overall drawing) can be
achieved by the following methods, once you have zoomed in.

3-18

Use the mouse pointer to drag the Drawing display slider controls.
Use the up/down, left/right arrow keyboard (see diagram below). As
required, hold down the Ctrl key to increase the step size by a factor of
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10. Or, as required, hold down the


(shift) key to decrease the step
size by a factor of 10.
Use the numeric keypad even-numbered keys, as shown below:
7

Arrow keys pan in


directions shown

1
Out

3
Out

In

In

Numeric Keypad keys 2, 4, 6, 8 pan in


directions shown by half view width.
Keys 7 and 9 zoom in
Keys 1 and 3 zoom out

Method Applicable to Windows 2000: After you have zoomed in on the


display, the first click on the mouse middle button causes a panning symbol to
appear in the position occupied by the pointer. If you then move the mouse to
draw the pointer away from the panning symbol, the displayed area moves
across the drawing in the direction of the pointer and at a speed proportional
to the distance of the pointer from the panning symbol.

Panning Symbol

Pointer

Exercise continues:

Now you can familiarise yourself with some of Drafts viewing controls.
21.

Experiment by using the mouse, as described above.

22.

Switch on the Display Grid, by clicking on the Display Grid


button.
This is on the toolbar at the side of the Drawing display window.
Note:

Elements of a drawing can be positioned at grid points, by


). This feature will
clicking on the SNAP to grid button (
be discussed later in the course.

23.

When you are ready to continue, close any forms that you have been
experimenting with.

24.

Close any Help windows that are displayed, by clicking in the control
box in the top left-hand corner of each window.

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25.

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Do not close the Main Display window, because you will use it in the
next parts of the exercise.

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4.

Setting up the Hierarchy to Create a


Drawing Sheet
This Chapter describes how to create a drawing sheet belonging to a new
branch of the Draft hierarchy. We discussed this hierarchy in Chapter 3 and it
is illustrated in Figure 3-1.
There is also a method of creating a Drawing Sheet from a standard template
with a single click. That is described at the end of this Chapter, but first we
will describe the long way of creating a Drawing so as to familiarise you with
part of the Draft database hierarchy and some Draft concepts.
An administrative element can be created only at one level lower than an
existing element, which will then own it. Consequently, as we are going to
create a drawing in a new branch of the hierarchy, we must create the upper
elements of that branch, firstly a Department and then a Registry, before we
create the Drawing and its Sheet.

Exercise continues:

4.1.

Creating a Department
Departments can be created only under the World level.
26.

From the bar menu at the top of the screen, select Create>Department
(It doesnt matter where you are in the database hierarchy, Draft will
automatically create the Department at the correct level.) The Create
DEPT form is displayed, which you can use to name your DEPT. A
default name, DEPT1, is shown in the Name text box.

27.

You would normally change the name of the Department to something


meaningful, but in the following form examples it is left at its default. If
you want to change the name, move the pointer into the text box and

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click the left mouse button. Type the name, making sure that you do
not use spaces.
28.

When you have finished, click OK. Note that the Cancel button closes
the form without any action being carried out.
When you click OK on the Create DEPT form, the Department
Information form is displayed.

4-2

29.

The Department Information form shows the name of the DEPT and
gives you the opportunity to automatically create a Registry and/or to
set up attributes of the Department.

30.

To view the range of available attributes, click on the Attributes


button. The Department Attributes form is then displayed.

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The attributes set at this form are default properties of the Sheets that
will eventually be created in the branch below the Department. The
attributes are cascaded down through the Registries and Drawings,
but they can be changed at any level.
For this exercise, we will use the default attributes, and so just click on
the Dismiss button to close the form.
31.

4.2.

Ensure that the Create Registry checkbox on the Department


Information form is selected, as it is when the form is first displayed,
then click OK. The Create REGI form will then be displayed.

Creating a Registry
32.

The Create REGI form should be displayed at the end of the previous
step. However, if the Create Registry checkbox on the Department
Information form was off, the Create REGI form does not automatically
appear. In these circumstances, it can be displayed by use of the
Create>Registry option on the bar menu.

As for the equivalent form for a Department, this form allows you to
change the default name. For this exercise, leave the default name as
REGI1. Click OK. The Registry Information form will be displayed.

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33.

The Registry Information form shows the name of the Registry and
DEPT and gives you the opportunity to automatically create a drawing
and/or to set up attributes of the Registry.
The Create Drawing checkbox enables you to select whether or not a
drawing is automatically created. If the checkbox is selected, then the
method of drawing creation will depend on whether you select the
Explicitly or From Template option button. The difference is
explained in the next section.
The Attributes button displays the Registry Attributes form. This
form is not illustrated here, as the attributes are as shown on the
Department Attributes form. For this exercise, we will use the default
attributes, so you do not need to access the Registry Attributes form.

4-4

34.

Make sure that the Create Drawing checkbox is selected, and that the
From Template option button is selected. Click OK. The Create DRWG
form is then displayed.

35.

Leave the drawing Name as the default DR1, and click OK. The Drawing
and Sheet Templates form is displayed:

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4.3.

Creating Drawings and Sheets


There are two methods of creating Drawings, Explicitly or From Template.
Both methods are available, regardless of whether you create the drawing by
selecting Create Drawing button on the Registry Information form, or by
selecting Create>Drawing at the Draft General bar menu.
From Template
If you create a drawing from a template, several other elements will be
created automatically. The Drawing will own a Sheet, which will own at least
one View. The View will own several Layers, which are discussed later in the
exercise.
There may be other elements, such as Sheet Notes, which are used to store
text and primitives for the 2D Drafting.
The Drawing will also own a Library. Draft makes extensive use of libraries,
most of which are set up by the System Administrator. Users can only extract
information from libraries; not change them.
Libraries are used to store things like symbols and Drawlists (which you will
use later to define the contents of a View). Libraries are accessed by the
Application automatically and, therefore, you will not need to access them
directly. You should not try to rename or delete Libraries or their members.
The quick method of creating a Drawing, described below, uses a built-in
template.
Explicitly
If you create a drawing explicitly, you will have to use the Create options on
the main bar menu to create all of its member elements, such as Sheets and
their Views.
Exercise continues:

36.

The Drawing and Sheet Templates form enables you to select the
source of the template, the drawing size and the Sheet number of that
drawing.
Note:

At the top of the form, the Mode is set to Drawing


Creation. If the form is used for creating a Sheet, the Mode
is set to Sheet Creation, but otherwise the form is
unchanged.

The Options drop-down list shows the drawing disciplines that contain
the drawing template libraries, as set up by the System Administrator.
For this exercise, we are going to use the drawing Sheet to show details
of Equipment, so select the equipment template, which is
/DRA/PRJ/TMP/EQUI.

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Select the A0 option (/DRA/PRJ/TMP/EQUI/A0) from the Drawings


list (this one is already selected by default).
There will be a single sheet (/DRA/PRJ/TMP/EQUI/A0/S1) displayed
and selected in the Sheets list.
Click on OK. A Sheet having all the attributes of the template will be
created, and displayed in the Drawing Window, as shown below.

We have now created the administrative elements that define the


Drawing Sheet. In the next part of the exercise, we will specify which
engineering items are to appear on the Sheet. To do this, we modify the
View created by the template.
37.

Before we continue, we will demonstrate the use of the quick way to


create a Drawing Sheet. Simply click on the Create New From Default
Template button on the toolbar of the same name:

A Drawing Sheet (looking just like the one we have just created) will
appear in the Drawing View. Note that there has been no need to name
the Sheet; it is named automatically (as /DR1/S1 if it is the first such
Sheet to be created) and the hierarchy above and below it is created
automatically. (You can select drawing templates other than the
default; see the Draft online help for details.)

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5.

Views
Note

PDMS 11.6 introduces a new method of populating drawing sheets


using the 3D View of the design model within Draft. An example is
given in Chapter 6.
This chapter continues by describing the traditional method of
defining and populating a View. This method is still valid, and the
tutorial steps that follow are useful in introducing the fundamental
concepts of View creation and population. You are advised to become
familiar with these concepts before reading Chapter 6.

A View determines which Design Model items are shown on the Sheet that
owns the View. Each View element defines:

the viewing parameters (looking direction, scale, etc),


the size, position and orientation of the View on the Sheet,
the contents of the View (the Drawlist).

If you have created a Sheet from a template, the Sheet will normally contain
at least one View, depending on how the template has been set up by the
System Administrator. You can modify an existing View using the
Modify>View options on the main Draft General menu, or create more Views
on a Sheet by using the Create>View options. You must be at Sheet level or
below before you can create a View.
For the purpose of the exercise we will discuss two versions of a View, namely,
Limits-Defined and User-Defined.
Limits-Defined View
Limits-Defined Views are used to draw the contents of a specified volume of
the model. The limits are defined in project co-ordinates, and are represented
by the size of the View frame at the selected scale. The View frame can include
matchlines with text showing the coordinates of the View limits.
User-Defined View
User-Defined Views are used to draw individual items or groups of items in
the design model, when the volume or limits of the items are not known. The
size of the frame is independent of its contents. The scale can be automatically
set to fit the design elements into the available view frame area.

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Views

5.1.

Modifying an existing View to make it user-defined


We will now modify the attributes of the View that was automatically created
as part of the template. We will define it as a User-defined View, and set up a
drawlist for it.
Exercise continues:

38.

For this exercise we will continue to use the Sheet previously displayed
(the one we created from scratch, not the Sheet created using the
quick method). It has one View, which must be selected before it can be
modified.
Note:

39.

If you fail to select a View before attempting to modify one,


the system will prompt you to select an item within a View.
If you have a Sheet displayed with an empty View but
whose frame is displayed, then you can identify this to
continue. Otherwise to exit the request, press the Escape
key to return the system to normal operation.

Check that the hierarchy displayed in the Draft Explorer is as shown


below:

If the Sheet is not already displayed, select DR1/S1 and display the
Sheet by clicking on the
button. (Alternatively, select Open Sheet
from the shortcut menu on the Sheet.)
Ensure that the View DR1/S1/V1 is selected before continuing.

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40.

5.1.1.

Select Modify>View>User-defined from Draft General bar menu. The UserDefined View form will appear:

Defining the Drawlist contents


41.

The next task is to define which elements are drawn in the View. To do
this we set up the Drawlist.

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Views

Select Graphics>Drawlist, from the User-Defined View forms menu


bar. The Drawlist Management form is then displayed.

The principles of using the form are as follows:


The Drawlist Library named DR1/DRAWLIST and the highlighted
Drawlist named DR1/DRAWLIST/DRWG are the defaults created
automatically when the Drawing that owns the View was created.
Initially, the Drawlist will be empty, as shown by the empty Drawlist
Members list, on the right-hand side of the form.
The Reference List Members list on the left-hand side of the form
shows the elements in the Design database.
You set up the Drawlist by selecting the required members in the
Reference List Members list and then, using the Add and Remove
buttons at the bottom-left of the form, include them in the Drawlist
Members list.
You can remove an element from the Drawlist Members list by
highlighting it in the list and clicking on the Delete Entry button.
Delete All is used when you wish to empty the Drawlist completely.
The Remove button is used when you want to add all the members of an
administrative element to the view, for example a Zone, and then
remove selected members of the Zone. The elements name will be
added to the Drawlist Members list with the word Remove after it.
The actual Drawlist is the combination of the 'added' and 'removed'
elements in the list.
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42.

In the Reference List Members list, select SITE STABILIZER. This


list will change to display the members of the Site. Select the ZONE
EQUIP. The list will change to show the equipment elements in the
Zone.

43.
44.

45.

5.1.2.

Now add three items of equipment (D1201, E1301 and C1101) to the
Drawlist, as follows:

Select D1201 and click on Add. The Equipment name will


appear in the Drawlist Members list, with the word Add after
its name.

Reselect ZONE EQUIP and select and add E1301.

Reselect ZONE EQUIP and select and add C1101.

Click Dismiss.

Setting the scale


The next step is to set the scale of the View.
46.

5.1.3.

Click on the drop-down list in the scale section of the User-Defined


View form, and select a scale of 1/25.

Other options
47.

Leave the other settings on the form at their defaults. For information
on their functions, refer to the online help.

48.

Click Apply.

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5.1.4.

Displaying the contents of the View


49.

Select Update Design in the Update Design on Apply? panel at the


base of the form and click Apply. When the process is complete (it
shouldnt take very long), the View should be as illustrated below.

Note:

Whenever any settings on the User-Defined View form are


changed, you must select Update Design in the Update
Design on Apply? panel at the base of the form and click
Apply (or select Graphics>Update>Design from the main
menu bar) before any change will be seen.
If you dont want a black background to your drawing you
can change it by selecting Colour Settings>Background
Colour from the shortcut menu within the Drawing View.

50.

5-6

Dismiss the User-Defined View form.

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51.

Select Display>3D View from the main menu. You should get another
view up in the application. It should look something like this:

52.

Open the Design Explorer using Display>Design Explorer from the main
menu. Navigate to the item marked D1201 in the ZONE EQUIP
branch:

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53.

Add this equipment item to the View by:

Left-clicking on it with the mouse in the Design Explorer and,


with the button still depressed, drag it to the 3D View. Release
the mouse button anywhere on the 3D View.

Right-clicking on the item in the Design Explorer and choosing


the 3D View>Add option from the popup-menu.

Selecting it in the Design Explorer and clicking the Add to View


icon on the 3D View Window toolbar:

Note:

You can similarly delete an item from the 3D View by


selecting it and clicking the Remove from View icon, also on
the 3D View Window toolbar:

Draft will add the equipment to the 3D View:

54.

5-8

You can reflect this change in the View back into the 2D view. There
are several ways of doing this.

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The controls shown below determine how the Views are synchronised:

If you have On Demand selected in the drop-down list, then the Views
will not synchronise until you tell them to. To do this use the following
icons:
Update the 3D View to reflect changes youve made to the 2d
View
Update the 2D View to reflect changes youve made to the 3D
View.
Pick 2D View to associate to the 3D View: This allows the
current 3D View contents to be associated with a different 2D
View. When using this tool you are asked to identify a 2D
View to associate with the current 3D View contents. This
functionality is particularly useful whenever you require
different views of similar content.
You can set the Views so they automatically synchronise. To do this,
select Auto-Update from the drop down list:

Selecting Background will do much the same thing, with the difference
being Auto-Update happens immediately and Background happens
during idle-time.
Note:

Choosing Auto-Update or Background can slow your system


down enormously if you are working with large drawings.
Use them with care.

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55.

Whichever method you use, when the two Views are synchronised, you
will see something like this:

56.

Using the same process detailed in Steps 52 to 53 , add the Equipment


Items E1301 and C1101 to the 3D model. If necessary, update your 2D
View.
Note:

5-10

If you add or delete items from the 2D View the change is


not automatically reflected back into the 3D View. You
must use the Update 3D View from 2D View icon.

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57.

Your two Views should now look like this:

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5.2.

Creating a Sheet and a limits-defined View


We will now create another Sheet, with a Limits-defined View.
Note

You must be at Drawing level or below in the hierarchy.

58.

Select Create>Sheet>Explicitly from the main menu.

59.

The Create SHEE form is displayed.

Click OK. The Sheet Definition form will be displayed. This form will
define a Sheet that does not contain any Views. We will create a View
later.

60.

A Sheet has now been created that is size A0 by default. To change this
select a backing sheet /DRA/MAS/BACKS/MET/A2 from the Reference
drop-down options list. When asked whether you wish to change the
Sheet size, click Yes. Click Dismiss. The Sheet is displayed, but
temporarily at a reduced size.

Exercise continues:

61.

5-12

Select DR1/S2 in the Draft Explorer and click


displayed, filling the Drawing Window.

. The new Sheet is

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62.

Select Create>View >Limits-defined from the Main Menu. The Create


VIEW form appears.

63.

Click OK. The Limits-Defined View form will be displayed.

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64.

5.2.1.

5-14

The Limits-Defined View form is similar to the User-Defined View form.


The main differences are related to setting the limits, namely, the
Limits option on the forms menu, and the Matchlines check box,
which switches matchlines on and off. Also, the Scale options are
slightly different.

Setting the contents of the View


65.

Select Graphics>Drawlist from the menu at the top of the LimitsDefined View form. The Drawlist Management form will be displayed
(see Section 5.1.1)

66.

To create a new Drawlist, click Create on the Drawlist Management


form. The Create Drawlist form is displayed. Change the name of the
drawlist to DR1/DRAWLIST/LIMITS and click on OK.

67.

On the Drawlist Management form, select the new Drawlist


DR1/DRAWLIST/LIMITS from the Drawlists list. Add the Zone
EQUIP, that is SITE STABILIZER/ZONE EQUIPMENT, to the
Drawlist Members list. Dismiss the form.

68.

By default, all new Sheets and Views reference the Drawlist cascaded
from the Drawing. Therefore, we now need to make the Limits-defined
View refer to the new drawlist containing the EQUIP Zone.

69.

On the Limits-Defined View form, select Graphics>Drawlist Ref at the


menu at the top of the form.

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70.

The Drawlist Reference form is displayed.

71.

On the displayed Drawlist Reference form, select the Drawlist


/DR1/DRAWLIST/LIMITS you have just created. Click on Apply and
then on Dismiss.

72.

On the Limits-Defined View form, set the Limits, which will define the
area of the model drawn in the View, as follows:
From

To

South

2000

North

15000

West

2000

East

12000

Up

1500

Up

25000

73.

At the Scale right-hand drop-down list, select 1/50.

74.

Select the Matchlines checkbox.

75.

Select Update Design and then click Apply, and the contents of the
view will be displayed (see illustration below). If the Matchlines overlap
the Sheet frame, select Frame>Position>Cursor>Top Right from the

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menu at the top of the Limits-Defined View form, and click on the Sheet
where you want to reposition the top right corner of the view to fit in
the available space.
76.

5-16

Dismiss the Limits-Defined View form. Your drawing should look like
this:

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Using the 3D View


We saw in Steps 51 to 57 that the 3D View Window in Draft allows you to
assemble and manipulate Design elements to populate drawing Sheets.
This allows you to examine the content of the drawings in 3D view, before
establishing the view content as a 2D drawing.
However, the 3D View window offers many more extremely powerful facilities
to enable you to manipulate your 2D drawings.

Exercise continues:

77.

In the Draft Explorer select the User Defined sheet you populated in
Steps Steps 51 to 57. If youve been following the tutorial steps
faithfully this will be here:

78.

Select Open Sheet from the shortcut menu on the sheet selection to
display the sheet in the 2D view, then select Display>3D View from the
main menu (or select 3D View from the shortcut menu in the 2D View).
The 3D View window appears, displaying the item you selected. For
example:

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The Display controls allow you to display the list content, add selected
components to the 2D View Content list (see below), and remove all
items from the list.
79.

Click on the Show View Content icon,


. The View Content form will
appear, showing you what is in the 2D draw list. You can right click on
an entry and remove it from the list:

The View Content list shows the elements which have been added to
the 2D and 3D Views in Draft.
If you delete an element, you can add it back again using the Design
Explorer or any of the methods previously discussed.
Note:

The View Content list will not be updated even if you have
Auto-Update set if you have the Update 2D Viewlist button,
, unset.

6-2

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80.

Click the Scale icon,

. You will be presented with the Scale form:

This option allows you to scale the Frame to the drawing. The Scale
form allows you to:

Choose whether the scale is shown as a numeric ratio (Metric),


or in Architectural or Engineering styles.

Instruct Draft to calculate a scale so that the elements in the


drawlist will just fit within the View, using the Auto Scale
button. The actual scale will be displayed in the Scale text box.

Alternatively, you can type a value directly into the text box on the
toolbar:
Type value here

Any changes to scale are reflected immediately on the 2D display.

6.1.

Manipulating the 3D View


You can manipulate the 3D View using the functionality contained in the
window itself and then reflect those changes back into the 2D View.
The Viewfinder (the magenta box) can be interactively resized, repositioned
and rotated. Resize and Rotate changes made to the Viewfinder give
equivalent changes in the 2D View. The Viewfinder is detailed in the Draft
online help and an example of its use is given at section Error! Reference
source not found..

6.1.1.

Positioning the 3D View


You can rotate and move the view using the view manipulation buttons to the
left of the display window.

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Exercise continues:

81.

Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to rotate the 3D View until it looks
something like this:

Viewfinder

The Viewfinder represents the view that will be projected into the 2D
View; that is, you can imagine it as a window through which you can
take a 2D snapshot of the 3D design.

6-4

82.

Right-click on the Viewfinder and select Orientation>Free rotate from the


pop-up menu.

83.

Left click on the Viewfinder again and use the rotate button ( ) to
rotate the View until you have it exactly how you want it. If you update
the 2D View, or it updates automatically, youll see how the 2D View
changes to reflect the new perspective you have on the design.

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84.

Right click again on the Viewfinder and select Align with 3D View. The
Viewfinder will reorientate itself so it is orthogonal to you, the observer:

There are many options and functions associated with the Viewfinder.
See the Online help for a comprehensive guide to what it can do and
how to use it.

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6.2.

Selecting 3D Content
You can select elements in the 3D view in the normal way, by picking
elements individually with the mouse pointer. However, the 3D View also has
some extremely powerful tools for selecting both single elements as well as
multiple elements.

Exercise continues:

In the next few steps well cover some simple selection techniques for select
multiple elements in the 3D View.
85.

6-6

Hold down the Ctrl key and selecting individual elements with the lefthand mouse button. Each of the elements you have clicked on will be
selected

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86.

Alternatively, hold down the right-hand mouse button and dragging a


selection rectangle over the elements you need to select. This activates
a selection box. For example:

87.

This option allows you to select multiple elements within, or partially


within, the volume you define using the drag functionality. You can resize the selection box using the handles displayed in the View.

88.

When you have selected the required volume using this drag
functionality, you can select from the following options:

Wholly Within: This selects only those elements that are


completely contained within your defined volume.

Wholly And Partially Within: This selects any element that is


completely contained within the defined volume, or has any
part of its structure contained within the defined volume.

Cancel: This cancels the selection.

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89.

6-8

Once you have sized the selection box to the desired size, you can accept
the selection by right-clicking with the mouse and choosing the Accept
Selection option from the pop-up menu. The selection will be
highlighted thus:

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90.

Alternatively, you can choose to clip the View to the selection box by
choosing Clip to Box from the pop-up menu. The effect of this is to hide
from View everything not inside the box. For example, this View:

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Will change to the View below:

6-10

91.

Restore the View by right-clicking anywhere in the View and unchecking the Show Clipping Planes option from the popup menu.

92.

Experiment for a while using the selection tools and the other controls
in the View. If you find youve changed the Views to much, you can
easily restore your work by doing a Display>Get Work from the main
menu.

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Labelling
There are two types of Label, General Labels (GLAB) and Symbolic Labels
(SLAB). Their characteristics are as follows:

General Labels consist of text derived from the design model. These
labels are discussed in this chapter.
Symbolic Labels are generated from templates (which can contain 2D
primitives, including text), defined by a reference to a Symbol
Template (SYTM). These labels are not described in this Guide.

The relevant part of the Draft hierarchy is simply that the Views own Layers
that in turn own the labels.

7.1.

Creating a General Label


Exercise continues:

93.

The current working sheet must be /DR1/S1. If necessary, select it in


the Draft Explorer and select Open Sheet from the shortcut menu on
the selection.

94.

Select Create>Label >General/Symbolic from the main menu bar. The


Labels form is displayed.

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95.

Select the General Labels tab.

Note that Draft automatically selects the Label layer in anticipation


that you are going to create Labels. The Label layer, along with
Drawing layers for dimensions, notes and tags are created
automatically as members of a View.
The Label layer is also selected in the Layers toolbar and in the History
toolbar.
Layers
toolbar
History
toolbar

The Layers toolbar simply shows the Drawing Layer you are currently
working on. The History toolbar displays a history of the current
elements that you have selected (use the left/right arrows to select
recently accessed elements).
96.

7-2

The Attach to drop-down list on the General Labels tab allows you
to select the element type that you wish to label. The list has two parts:
the top part displays a list of MENUS for different types of elements and
the bottom part displays a list of Common Elements.

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97.

Select Equipments from the Common Elements part of the drop-down


list. This ensures that when you use the pointer to identify the element
to be labelled it will find an item of Equipment, rather than, for
example, a Nozzle, which may be the actual element under the pointer.

98.

Click Create NEW to begin to create a new Label. The Label layer is
now selected in Draft Explorer.

You will be prompted (in the main window status area) to identify the
Design elements to be labelled.
99.

Identify each item of equipment, by clicking on it in the Drawing


display or the 3D View. As you click on an item of equipment, a label
containing the name of the equipment will be created at the origin of
the equipment and will appear in the 2D View only.

100.

When you have labelled each item of Equipment, press Esc (Escape) to
return to normal operation.

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7-4

101.

The Labels will appear in the Drawing Window at the origins of the
Equipment you have selected, although you will probably have to zoom
in (see section 3.6.1) to see them:

102.

The contents of the label are set by default to be the Name of the
labelled element. You can change the contents by selecting Text
Contents from the Attributes drop-down list on the General Labels
tab of the Labels form. The Modify Text form is then displayed.

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The textbox on the form shows the content of the label. This can be
normal text directly entered and which appears in the label, or
Intelligent Text for which the information in the label is
automatically taken from the Design database.
The default #NAME entry is an example of Intelligent Text. It is one of
many different attributes, which are listed in the Intelligent Text form,
which is displayed when you select Intelligent Texts on the Modify
Text form. The intelligent text can be selected and copied (using
Control + C and Control + V) into the Modify Text form.
103.

7.2.

When you have finished, Dismiss the Modify Text and Labels form.

Modify Mode
Modify mode is used to modify Dimensions, Labels and 2D Geometry by
graphical interaction.
There are many other non-geometrical modifications, such as changing the
appearance of the text and linestyles that can only be carried out using the
main menu Modify option. These are not discussed in this exercise. Refer to
the online help for more information.

7.2.1.

Entering and Exiting Modify Mode


To enter Modify mode, you click

on the Drawing Display Window toolbar.

Draft will exit from Modify mode when you:

click on the Modify Mode button again,


load a new Sheet or Library,
update the design, model, picture or annotation.

While you are in Modify mode, you can still control the view by zooming and
panning, as normal.

7.2.2.

Item Selection and Display Details


The item (in this case a label) for modification is selected by left-clicking on it.
It is then displayed in the current highlight colour. You can then modify the
item you have selected, or select another item for modification.

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Labelling

When you select the label, several hotspots are displayed. Initially the
Attachment and Connection point hotspots for the leader line (if leader lines
have been selected for the label) are on a single point, adjacent to the label.
The display is like this:

One of two arrows


pointing to hotspots

Rotation
hotspot

Attachment
and
Connection
hotspots

Label
outline

The arrangement of the hotspots becomes apparent when the label is moved
from its initial position. The following illustration shows the label moved
upwards and to the right:

Arrow pointing to
attachment hotspot

Attachment
hotspot

Rotation
hotspot

Connection
hotspot

Arrow pointing to
connection hotspot

Label
outline

Bend point

The position of the label can be moved by left-clicking and dragging its outline.

7-6

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By left-clicking and dragging a hotspot you can modify the angle of the label or
the geometry of the leader line.

7.2.3.

If you press the Escape key while the item is selected, no changes to the
item will be made.
When you move the pointer away from a modifiable item and click the
left-hand mouse button, the changes will be saved, and the display
shows the new arrangement.
Whether or not the changes are saved, Draft will still be in Modify mode
and you can continue to pick other items for modification.

Positioning
Once you have selected an item or hotspot in Modify mode, the Modify Mode
shortcut menu can be displayed by clicking the right-hand mouse button.
Options on this menu (see below), apart from the default 2D Cursor hit option,
allow you to choose a position for a leader line hotspot with relation to an
existing line, or lines, of the displayed engineering drawing.

The 2D cursor hit option, causes the item or hotspot, when selected, to be
moved to, and follow, the position of the mouse pointer position. When the
mouse button is released, the hotspot remains at the latest position.
When an option is selected that specifies the position related to a line of the
engineering drawing, as you drag the hotspot over a line or lines that can
satisfy the option, the line(s) will be highlighted. The hotspot snaps to the
appropriate position and will remain there when the mouse button is released.
For example, if you select the Centre Point of option the hotspot will snap to
the centre of any arc or circle it moves over.

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Labelling

If no position has been found that satisfies the selected menu option, when you
release the mouse button, the item will be dropped at the pointer position.
Menu options that are not applicable to the current element are greyed out.
The menu options applicable to leader lines and their methods of use are in
the following table. Note that these options do not apply to moving text.
Menu Option

Method of Use

2D cursor hit

Drag hotspot to the required position. This is the default,


which is reset each time a new element is picked.

End Point of

Drag the hotspot over a line or arc, which will be


highlighted when recognised

Mid Point of

Drag the hotspot over a line, which will be highlighted


when recognised.

Centre Point of

Drag the hotspot over a circle or arc, which will be


highlighted when recognised.

Intersect at

Drag the hotspot over two lines that actually intersect.


The items will be highlighted in turn.

Intersect
between

Drag the hotspot over two lines whose extensions


intersect. The items will be highlighted in turn.

Nearest to

Drag the hotspot over any Design or Draft item. The point
will snap to the nearest point on the item.

The 2D positioning menu is automatically reset to 2D cursor hit when an


element is first picked

7.3.

Modifying Labels Graphically


This Section describes how to modify the geometry of a Label. Similar
information is provided for Dimensions and 2D Geometry in later chapters

7-8

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The Name label for Nozzle C1101-N6 is used in the illustrations.

Exercise continues:

104.

Click

on the Drawing Display Window toolbar.

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105.

7-10

Zoom in (see section 3.6.1) on the required label and select it. The
hotspots will be shown in cyan. The colours have been modified here for
clarity, but on your display you will probably have a black background,
green Equipment lines and a cyan feedback colour.

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106.

Drag the label outline away from the equipment.

107.

You will now be able to see the Bend point at the mid point of the
leader line, and the hotspots, which consist of:

108.

The Rotation handle

The Attachment point

The Connection point.

Pick the bend point and drag it to put a bend in the leader line. A
second bend point will be created. You can move this point as well, if
you wish.
Note:

You must pick the label itself if you want to re-select it.

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You can move the attachment points and the connection point to create
gaps and offsets. A dashed line will then appear between the arrow
hotspot and the default position of the point. As an example, the
following illustration shows the connection hotspot dragged down and
to the right.

7-12

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109.

7.4.

When the leader line and label are positioned as you require them, save
the arrangement by clicking on the background away from the label
and leader line. The label and leader line are then shown in the preselected colour (red in the following example).

2D Positioning Menu Options


The following steps serve as an example of using one of the menu options to
position a leader line.
Note

The circles on the engineering diagram consist of many short


straight lines rather than arcs, and consequently the Centre Point
of menu option cannot be used. The most straightforward effect that
can be demonstrated on this diagram is Mid Point of.

110.

Click on the label outline to select it. Then click on the leader line
connection hotspot to select it.

111.

Right-click to display the Modify Mode shortcut menu and then select
Mid Point of

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112.

Drag the connection hotspot over the lines of the engineering diagram
and observe that the hotspot jumps to the midpoint of the currently
highlighted line.

113.

When your observations are completed, return the connection hotspot to


its original position, and click on the background to de-select the leader
line.

For the use of other menu options, refer to the on-line help for more
information.

7.5.

Gaps in Labels
You use the Gap Manager form to create and delete gaps in lines, such as label
leader lines, and linear, angular and radial dimension, and projection lines.
To invoke the form, click the Create Gaps button on the Label form:

The Gap Manager looks like this:

The form will be greyed out if the Current Element is not on an element type
that allows gaps to be created (SLAB, GLAB, DPOI, DPPT and DPBA). The
button allows you to navigate by picking a label to create and delete gaps
on, and is never greyed out, except when the graphics are in pick mode.
The form is tracking and so will grey out and grey in when you navigate
around the drawing and database. It contains the following tool buttons:
Button

Function

Click this to select and navigate to a label in the 2D view.


Click this to create a single gap on the current label. Click on the
leader line of the label where you wish to create the gap.
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Button

Function

Click this to create a number of gaps on the current label using


the same method as above. Press the Cancel button on the
qualifier form when you have finished. Please note that no more
than 10 gaps per label are allowed.
Click on this to create a gap of varying gap distance. The first
click defines the start point of the gap and the second click
defines the end point. A ghost line circle is displayed between the
first and second pick as feedback (in the feedback colour) so you
can see how big the gap will be after the second click.
Click this to create many of the previous 2 point gaps as required.
You can create no more than 10 gaps on one label.
Click this to delete a single gap by clicking on or near the gap you
wish to delete.
Click this to delete many gaps on the current label; this is similar
to the previous method.
Click to delete all gaps on the current label. Note this will not ask
you if you wish to delete them.
Exercise continues:

Although there are a number of ways you can create gaps using the buttons
described above, we will demonstrate only one. In this tutorial, we will show
you how to create a gap in a leader line by choosing two points along it.
114.

Invoke the Gap Manager from the Label form. Select the
icon. This
allows you to create a gap by selecting two points along the leader line.
The Point Construction Option Form will appear. For this exercise, leave
the cursor option at the default value 2D Cursor Hit, as shown below:

115.

Zoom in on the leader line of the label in the last section and pick a
point on it:

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116.

7-16

Pick a second point on the line:

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Labelling

The system will calculate the size of the gap by drawing a circle with a
radius equal to the distance between the points you chose. It will then
remove that length of the leader line from the display:

7.6.

Label Leader Attributes


The options to set the Leader Pen are common to several different types of
pen in Draft. Pens can be set in two ways: either Standard or User Defined.
Standard options of colour, thickness and style are set explicitly. User-defined
options are selected from examples.
Note: Changing the pen only affects the current Label. If you want to change
the pen for any new Labels you create, you will need to change the Layer
attributes. You will then need to create a new label to see the effect.

7-18

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Exercise continues:

117.

Click on the label to make it the Current Element and then select
Modify>Label>Definition from the main menu bar. The Labels form
will be displayed.

118.

At the Attributes dropdown list, select Leader Line. The Label


Leader Attributes form will be displayed.

119.

You can experiment with changing the Standard settings on this


form, and see the effect they have on the Leader Line, after you have
clicked Apply.

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Labelling

120.

To experiment with user-defined options, select the User Defined


option button and then click Reselect. The Select User-Defined Pen
form is then displayed.

Note:

7-20

If you know which pen number you want, you can type in
the number on the Label Leader Attributes form rather
than click on Reselect.

121.

Use the Up and Down buttons to scroll through the list. When you see
the line style you want, click on Cursor Select, and pick the line style
in the window.

122.

The Pen Number will be filled in automatically.

123.

When you click on OK, the pen number will be automatically entered at
the Label Leader Attributes form. Click on Apply to observe the line
style.

124.

When you have finished experimenting, Dismiss the Label Leader


Attributes form.

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8.

Dimensioning
The types of dimensions are Linear (LDIM), Angular (ADIM), Radial (RDIM)
and Pitch Circle Diameter (PDIM). Their appearances are shown in the
following illustration.
Dimension

Example

Linear

Angular

Radial

Pitched Circle

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A Dimensions form (illustrated below showing its Linear and Angular tabs)
accessed by Create>Dimension>Dimension Toolbar contains illustrations of
various types and styles of dimension. Clicking on the required style of a
linear or angular dimension leads to the Linear/Angular Dimensions form
(which is discussed later in the tutorial).
Illustrations of linear dimensions also appear on the Linear Dimensions toolbar.
When you are familiar with the styles of dimension illustrated, you should find
the toolbar method of selecting a dimension style more convenient than use of
the Create Linear Dimensions and Create Angular Dimensions forms, as discussed
later in the tutorial.

Dimensioning elements are created under Layers owned by Views, as shown in


the following diagram. Different types of dimension are created on different
layers. All these elements will be created automatically as you dimension your
View.

LAYE

LDIM*

ADIM*

RDIM

PDIM*

* These dimensions contain/own dimension points

8-2

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8.1.

Creating Linear Dimensions


The elements of a simple linear dimension are shown in the following diagram.

N
}

Overshoot (positive)

Dimension
Dire c tion
(Ea st)

Dimension Line
Projection Line
Direction (90)

Terminator

Offset

Projection Line

Clearance (positive)
Dimension Points

The diagram illustrates the following features:

On the drawing, a pair of Dimension Points relates to a pair of points


in the Design model.
From each of these dimension points, a Projection Line is drawn on
the drawing, Offset in a direction defined by the user.
Between the parallel projection lines, Dimension Lines are drawn.
These have Terminators (normally arrows).
Each dimension and projection line may have text associated with it.

The various elements (Projection line, Dimension line, etc) of the dimensions
are shown in the Members form as DPPT1, DPPT2 etc, owned by the
dimension, for example, LDIM.
Note

The values shown in the dimension text are taken directly from the
3D Design model. If the points associated with the dimension points
are moved in DESIGN, the dimension can be updated automatically
by selecting Graphics>Update>Annotation.

Exercise continues:

We will continue by creating a Linear Dimension between the Nozzles along


the centre of Equipment D1201.

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125.

The current working sheet must be /DR1/S1. If necessary, select it in


the Draft Explorer. The layer must be /DR1/S1/V1/USER_Dims. If
necessary, select it in the Draft Explorer.

126.

Zoom in on Equipment D1201, (using the middle mouse button).

127.

Select Create>Dimension>Dimension Linear from the main menu bar.


The Create Linear Dimension form is then displayed.

128.

The name of the View and the View Direction are shown at the top of
the form.

129.

The Type dropdown list gives options of Chain (chained), Tail


(parallel) or Truncate (truncated parallel). (For more information on
dimension types, refer to the online help topic The Create Linear
Dimension form.)

130.

Set the Dimension Line Direction to North, because this is the


direction in which we want to dimension the Nozzles.
Note:

131.

8-4

All dimensions in Draft are defined with respect to 3D


World directions.

Leave the other settings on the Create Linear Dimension form at their
defaults, as illustrated above. Click OK. The Linear/Angular
Dimensions form is then displayed.

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132.

This form is used to create the points that define the Dimensions and
form the link with the 3D Model element.

133.

The list on the left of the form sets how Dimension Points are created.
Make sure that Item is selected in the list. This will create the
dimension point at the origin (P0) of the design primitive.

134.

The default is that the Create button must be used for each point, but
symbol (to the right of the Create
for this exercise, click on the
button) so the adjacent checkbox displays a tick. This allows you to
create several points of the same type one after the other.
Note:

The
symbol must be off if you want to create
Dimension Points in different ways, or if you want to use
the 3D Pos, Cursor or Matchline positioning options.

135.

Click on Create.

136.

Pick the nozzles in the sequence shown the following illustration. This
can be done in the 2D View by holding down the left mouse button (the
pointer shape changes to a square) moving the pointer over the item
and releasing the button. Note that when the pointer passes over a
suitable item, that element is highlighted and its name is displayed in
the Status Bar.

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Alternatively, the nozzles can be picked in the 3D View. The name of


the item, p-point or p-line under the cursor will be highlighted in a tool
tip as the cursor moves around, and pressing the button will select it.

NOZZ 4
NOZZ 2

NOZZ 5

NOZZ 1

8-6

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Press Esc to finish the process and the distances between the nozzles
are then dimensioned like this:

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8.1.1.

Deleting dimension points


A dimension point can be deleted as follows:
Click on an element of the particular dimension to make it the Current
Element. (It is advisable to check in the Draft Explorer that the element is
highlighted.)
Either select Delete from the shortcut menu over the DPPT (Dimension Point)
element in the Draft Explorer or select Delete>CE (Current Element) from the
main menu bar.
In either case, click on Yes in the alert form that is displayed.

8.1.2.

Modifying linear dimensions graphically


Modifying linear dimensions graphically is limited to changing the length of
the projection lines, moving projection lines to the other side of the
dimensioned item, and changing the standout distance of the text.
You can modify dimensions graphically by entering the Modify mode and
moving the dimension elements similarly to modifying Labels, as discussed in
Section 7.2.

8-8

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Exercise continues:

We will now extend the text standout and length of the projection lines of the
dimensions we have created on Equipment D1201, so that the drawing looks
like this:

137.

Click

138.

To increase the length of the projection line, select and drag the
dimension line to the left. Then click on the background

139.

To increase the text standout distance, select the outline of the text box
and drag it to the required position. Then click on the background.

140.

This illustration is an example the modified dimensions. Continue to


experiment with modifying the dimensions, as you wish.

on the Drawing Display Window toolbar.

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141.

8.2.

1.
When you have positioned the dimensions as required, leave the
modify mode.

Angular dimensions
We will now create the angular dimension between two of the Nozzles on
Equipment C1101.
Exercise continues:

142.

8-10

Zoom in on Equipment C1101, (using the middle mouse button).

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143.

Make sure that you are still on the Dimensions layer


(DR1/S1/V1/USER_Dims), and then select
Create>Dimension>Dimension Angular from the main menu bar. The
Create Angular Dimension form is then displayed.

144.

We will use the default values, so click OK on the Create Angular


Dimension form. You will be prompted to identify the item that the
angular dimension is to be attached to. Click on DISH 1 of EQUIP
C1101, as shown below:

1. Pick this Dish


The origin will be here
2. Pick this Nozzle
3. Pick this Nozzle

145.

The dimension will have its origin that is the point from which the
angular dimension directions will radiate, at the origin of the element
picked.

146.

The Linear/Angular Dimensions form is then displayed. This is the


same form as displayed for Linear Dimensions, and it is used in the
same way. Switch on the
symbol, and click on Create.

147.

You will be prompted to pick the items to be dimensioned. Pick the


Nozzles in the order shown in the above illustration. (Selection is

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clockwise, because the setting is Clockwise in the Create Angular


Dimension form.)
148.

8.2.1.

Click on the background or press the Esc(ape) key. The dimension will
be drawn as shown below:

Modifying angular dimensions graphically


Modifying angular dimensions graphically is limited to changing the offset and
standout distances.
Exercise continues:

We will now increase the offset of the dimension on C1101, so that the
projection lines pass through the nozzles in question.

8-12

149.

Click

150.

Select the dimension line and drag it away from the origin of the
projection lines, until it is outside the nozzles.

on the Drawing Display Window toolbar to enter Modify Mode.

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151.

Click on the background or press Esc. The dimension will then be


drawn like this:

152.

Click

again to leave modify mode.

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8.3.

Radial dimensions
We will now create a radial dimension on Equipment C1101.
Exercise continues:

153.

Zoom in on Equipment C1101.

154.

Select Create>Dimension>Dimension Toolbar from the main menu bar.


The Dimensions form is then displayed. Select the Radial tab.

Note:

8-14

All types of dimensions can be selected at this form, but for


the purpose of the exercise we use it only for Radial
Dimensions.

155.

Check that On Item (not On Point) is displayed. If not, right-click on


the 6symbol and select the On Item option.

156.

Select the required radius style. For this exercise, use this style the
Internal Radius Dimension. This is bottom left-hand style (if required,
refer to the ToolTip).

157.

You will be prompted to select the item to dimension. Click on DISH 1


of EQUIP C1101 (the same item that you selected for angular
dimensions).

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8.3.1.

158.

The dimension will be created, as shown here.

159.

The Radial Dimensions form is then displayed. This form is used to


modify dimensions, but this action is not included in this exercise and
the form should be closed. For further information, refer to the on-line
help.

Modifying radial dimensions graphically


You can modify Radial Dimensions graphically in a similar way to modifying
other dimension types. This action is not described here.

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8-16

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9.

Automatic Drawing Production


This Chapter provides an introduction to Automatic Drawing Production
(ADP) in Draft.
There are three ADP utilities:

9.1.

General ADP, for the production of General, Pipework and Equipment


drawings. This is covered in Section 8.1
Steelwork Detailing ADP. This is not covered in this course
Hangers and Supports ADP. This is not covered in this course. (For
further information, refer to Support Design Using VANTAGE PDMS.)

General ADP
The General ADP Utility uses special drawing sheets, referred to as Backing
Sheets, which enable schedules and lists of reference drawings to be
generated and placed on the drawing sheet automatically. It also uses
intelligent keyplans (in the form of overlays), which can be used to define the
limits of the models shown on the drawings.
ADP depends on having rules set up to define how different types of drawing
will be created and annotated. There are defaults rules supplied as part of the
sample project, which will be used in this Example. Changing the defaults is a
System Administration task, and so is outside the scope of this manual.
We are now going use the ADP forms to create an annotated and dimensioned
view on a drawing sheet.
Exercise continues:

160.

Enter the ADP application, by selecting Draft>Auto Drawing


Production from the main menu.

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161.

9.1.1.

If no sheet is currently displayed, the Drawing Selection form may be


displayed. In this case select DEPT1/REGI1/DR1/S1 and click OK.
Alternatively, select this sheet using Draft Explorer.

ADP application menu


Once the application has been loaded, the ADP application menu is displayed
across the top of the window.

For reference, the online help provides details of all menu options.

9-2

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The Create and Modify menus are exclusively for ADP and use of their options
is discussed later, during the exercise.
Exercise continues:

162.

Select Create>General ADP>Drawing from the main menu.


Note:

The Drawing will be created under the current Registry,


assuming that the Current Element is a Registry or lower.
If you are at a higher level, and more than one Registry is
available, you will be prompted to move to the Registry
required, by selecting it in the Draft Explorer. In this case
display the Draft Explorer and select DEPT1/REGI1, and
select Create>General ADP>Drawing again.

163.

The Create DRWG form is displayed.

164.

Click OK. The Modify General ADP Drawing form is displayed.

165.

The Backing Sheet to be used is selected at the Frame drop-down list.


For this example, select /DRA/MAS/BACKS/MET/A2.

166.

If you wish, enter a title for the Drawing in the Title text box.

167.

Note that the Date and Drn options are filled in automatically.

168.

Click Apply.

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9-4

169.

Click Create ADP Sheet. The Create SHEE form will then be
displayed.

170.

Click OK. The backing sheet will then be shown in the Drawing display
Window and the Modify General ADP Sheet form will be displayed.

171.

On the Modify General ADP Sheet form, the Frame drop-down list
shows the Backing Sheet already selected.

172.

The Keyplan drop-down list allows you to select the keyplan, which
will define the limits of the drawing. Set it to Above Grade (i.e. above
datum level).

173.

The Area list then becomes available. Select North.

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174.

Click Apply. The keyplan will then be displayed in the appropriate


area of the sheet (see below).

175.

You can zoom into keyplan area using the Keyplan


Modify General ADP Sheet form.

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button on the

9-5

Automatic Drawing Production

9-6

176.

To return to the full frame, click on the Frame


Modify General ADP Sheet form.

button on the

177.

Click the Create ADP View button. The Create VIEW form will then
be displayed.

178.

Set the Function of the View to be DRA-GENADP-PIPING


- Basic
Piping GA. That will create a View, which references a Piping GA,
defaults file.

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179.

Click OK. The Modify General ADP View form will then be displayed.

180.

Fill in the form as follows:

181.

Ensure that the Drawlist is set to Volume Defined (the Drawing is


to be defined by the values in the direction boxes at the bottom of the
form).

182.

Set the Style to be /DRA/PRJ/REPR/GEN/PIPE.

183.

In the Limits panel, click on From Keyplan.

184.

The rectangular View Frame will then appear in the centre of the
drawing area of the Sheet. Click Apply.

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185.

Click on Update at the bottom of the form. The View Update form will
be displayed.

186.

This form allows you to specify which elements in the View will be
updated.
As this is the first time the Drawing has been generated, select all the
Update options, namely, Design Graphics, Schedules, Tagging,
Annotation, Piping, Equipment and Gridline.
Note that Automatic Savework is on by default.

9-8

187.

Click on Update Now. You will see messages in the Status Area giving
you information about the creation process, which can take a few
minutes.

188.

On completion of the creation process, the drawing View will be


displayed (see below).

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189.

Click Dismiss to close the View Update and Modify General ADP View
forms.

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10.

2D Drafting
Drafts 2D Drafting facility is used for adding manually-drafted graphic and
text details to drawings that have been generated by Draft from the Design
database. The facility is not intended to be a used as a drafting package.
This Chapter is an introduction to 2D drafting in Draft.
There are three sets of menu options specific to 2D Drafting:
Draw

Enables you to draw 2D Primitives and Local Symbols

Construct

Enables you to construct lines and other primitives using


existing primitives

Edit

Enables you to change the attributes of a primitive, move


primitives and nodes, insert gaps in lines, trim lines and
arcs, rotate primitives, reduce a symbol to its components
and manipulate groups.

We will only discuss the Draw and Edit functions here, for details of Construct
see the Draft online help.

10.1. The 2D Drafting hierarchy


The basic geometric shapes and text that can be drawn are called Primitives.
The primitives exist in the Draft hierarchy as members of NOTEs, VNOTs
elements, or Symbol Templates (SYTMs).
By default, the NOTE and VNOTE elements will be created automatically
whenever a Sheet or Layer element is created, but you can create additional
ones if you wish.
Primitives that exist as members of VNOTs may have their dimensions and
positions defined in terms of 3D Design values.
Note

Whenever a VIEW is created, a number of Layers are automatically


created, one of which will be reserved for Notes. You can also create
additional Layers if you wish via the Create>Layer from the main
menu bar.

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The following diagram shows the 2D Drafting part of the Draft hierarchy. It shows
the related elements and at what level in the hierarchy they may be created. All of
these elements, with the exception of extra Layers, can be created as you add extra 2D
elements to your Sheet or View.

SHEE

VIEW

NOTE

Sheet Note

LAYE

VNOT

CIRC
ELLI

View Note

SYMB

TEXP

Text Primitive Symbol

RECT
TABL
ETRI
DMND
HEXA
MRKP
STRA
ARC
OUTL

10.2. Exercises in 2D Drafting


Exercise continues:

10.2.1.

Creating sheet note and view note elements


190.

10-2

Select a Sheet from the Draft Explorer to add 2D graphics to, or create a
new Drawing Sheet using the Create New From Default Template toolbar
(see the end of Section 4.) This will be created with member Views and
Layers, with the Notes layer (used for 2D drafting) owning a View Note.
2D Primitives are to be added to the View Note in this case.

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10.2.2.

191.

If the Sheet you wish to add 2D graphics to is not already selected and
you have not used the Create New From Default Template option, select
the Sheet in the Draft Explorer. Select Create>Note at the main menu
bar. The Create NOTE form is then displayed. Leave the name as the
default, and click OK.

192.

Depending where in the hierarchy you were positioned when you


created the Note, a Sheet Note (NOTE element) or a Layer Note (VNOT
element) will then be created, as appropriate. To create a NOTE you
must be positioned at the SHEE element or below, but not below a
VIEW, whereas to create a VNOT you must be positioned at a LAYE
element or below. As the Notes are created, they are added to the list of
Notes at the right-hand side of the toolbar. The one shown will indicate
where primitives are to be subsequently created.

Creating primitives
193.

To create primitives, first make sure that the NOTE (or VNOT) element
that you have just created is the current element, then select
Draw>Primitives from the main menu bar. The 2D Draughting form
will appear.

194.

Hold down the left-hand mouse button over the relevant icon to reveal a
display of alternative icons. Move to the required icon and then release
the mouse button to select the icon.

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10-4

195.

For all primitives except Symbols (the


icon), the Point Construction
Option Form will appear. The prompt text included in this form tells
you what to do next. The text will vary according to the type of
primitive being created, as shown in these examples.

196.

Use the default Option which is 2D cursor hit. This enables you to
position the selected primitive free-hand. Pick the point(s) requested,
by left-clicking the mouse with the pointer in the appropriate
position(s) on the drawing.

197.

If the primitive is a graphic, it is drawn as the points are selected.


Depending on the type of graphic, it may be necessary to click on
Cancel on the Point Construction Option Form when the final point
has been selected, in order to complete the graphic.

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10.2.3.

198.

If the primitive is Text, only one point is selected and the Modify Text
form is then displayed.

199.

You can enter the required text at this form and select its format. Click
on Apply to insert the text on the drawing, and then Dismiss the
form.

Editing 2D primitives graphically


As with Labels and Dimensions, you can edit 2D primitives graphically.
Exercise continues:

200.

Click
mode.

on the Drawing Display Window toolbar to enter Modify

201.

The general action is to select the primitive and then select and drag
one of the hotspots until the required result is achieved. Then click on
the background.

202.

You can practise by modifying primitives you have already created. The
hotspots available and the operations you can carry out, depend on the

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type of primitive, and are described below under the names of the
graphics.
203.

When you have finished, click

again to leave Modify mode.

The individual primitives, and how they may be modified, are now
described.

Arcs

A hotspot at the centre of the arc, to allow the whole arc to be


moved.

A hotspot at each end of the arc, to allow the corresponding end


of the arc to be repositioned. The repositioning will be such that
the bulge factor remains the same.

A hotspot mid way round the arc. This may be moved


anywhere, and the bulge factor will adjust appropriately.

A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre - the arc
can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these
hotspots.

Circles

10-6

A hotspot at the centre of the circle to allow the whole circle to

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be repositioned.

A hotspot on the circumference, which will allow the radius of


the arc to increase or decrease as it is moved, while the centre
remains fixed.

Diamonds

A hotspot in the centre of the diamond to allow the whole


diamond to be moved.

A hotspot at each end of the axes. These hotspots can be moved


along their axis, and the axis will alter length as it moves.

A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre. The
diamond can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any
of these hotspots.

Ellipses

A hotspot at the centre of the ellipse to allow the whole ellipse


to be moved, with its major axis parallel to its original position.

A hotspot at one end of the major axis. This hotspot can be


moved along the major axis. The length of the major axis
changes as the hotspot moves.

A hotspot at one end of the minor axis. This will be constrained

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to move only perpendicular to the major axis, and can be used


to increase the length of the minor axis.

A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre. The
ellipse can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of
these hotspots.

Hexagons

A hotspot in the centre of the hexagon to allow the whole


hexagon to be moved.

A hotspot at each corner. These enable the hexagon to be


resized.

A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre - the
hexagon can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any
of these hotspots.

Lines

10-8

A hotspot in the middle of the line to allow moving of the whole


line parallel to its original position

A hotspot at each end to allow the associated end of the line to


be moved. This may involve rotation or lengthening of the line.
The other end of the line remains fixed.

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Rectangles (and Tables)

A hotspot in the centre of the rectangle to allow the whole


rectangle to be moved parallel to its original position.

A hotspot in the centre of each of the edges. These will enable


the rectangle to be stretched in that direction. The opposite
edge will remain fixed, and the opposite sides remain parallel.

A hotspot on each corner. This will enable the rectangle to be


enlarged in such a way that the opposite corner remains fixed,
and the opposite sides remain parallel to each other.

A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre - the
rectangle can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any
of these hotspots.

Symbols

A hotspot in the centre of the symbol to allow the symbol to be


moved.

A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the symbols origin the symbol can be made to rotate about its origin by rotating
this hotspot.

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2D Drafting

Text

A box round the text. Picking and dragging this box causes the
text to move.

A dotted line circle and four hotspots round the centre. The text
can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these
hotspots.

Triangles

10-10

A hotspot in the centre of the triangle to allow the whole


triangle to be moved parallel to its original position.

A hotspot at two of the edges of the triangle. Moving either of


these enables the triangle to be resized while the other hotspot
remains fixed. (Note that the triangle remains equilateral.)

A dotted line cross and three hotspots round the centre. The
triangle can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating this
hotspot.

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Version 11.6SP1

Views

If view frames are not visible, the user can select the View
Frames on/off option on the right-click popup menu from the
main display.

Hotspots on view frames cannot be snapped to construction


points, but they can be snapped to the grid.

Outlines
Outlines are created by the following icons on the Draw form:

There are two type of outline:

Polyarc - A series of connected arcs and lines

Spline - A smooth bi-cubic curve connecting the points on the


outline

An outline may be closed, but this property is not preserved if the user
chooses to move one of the ends and not the other.
Both types of outline may be picked and dragged to a new position. The
detailed modification behaves differently, as described below:

Polyarcs

A hotspot at each end of the arc or line. Moving either of these


will move the endpoint of that arc or line (in the same way as
for arcs or lines above), and will also move the endpoint of the
next arc or line connected to that same endpoint.

A hotspot at the mid point of the arc/line. Moving this will


change the bulge factor of the arc/line and could thus change a
line into an arc.

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10-11

2D Drafting

If the user clicks on a hotspot, it becomes selected and changes


colour to be white. The user can then select from the pop-up
menu either:
Delete point:

If it is an endpoint, the whole arc or line is


deleted. If it is a mid point, the arc becomes a
straight line. The first point cannot be
deleted.

Insert After:

The user then picks a new position on the


screen, and a new straight-line span is
created from the end of the currently selected
span, and connected to the following one.

Splines

10-12

A hotspot at each vertex. Moving any of these will cause the


curve to be recalculated dynamically.

If the user clicks on a hotspot, it becomes selected and changes


colour to be white. The user can then select from the pop-up
menu either:
Delete point:

The point is deleted, and the curve


recalculated without it. The first point on the
outline cannot be deleted.

Insert After:

The user then picks a new position on the


screen, and a new curve is calculated which
includes this point positioned after the
selected hotspot.
A new point cannot be placed before the first
one.

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS


Version 11.6SP1

11.

Section Planes
From the 3D View you can create, manipulate and manage Section Planes.
The following buttons allow you to access planes functionality:

Show Section Planes: Activates Section Planes and displays


the Section Planes form. All section Planes are displayed as
green, transparent planes. The origins of the planes are
indicated by a cross (X). An arrow indicates the normal to the
plane. The Section Planes form allows you to create and
amend planes.
Exercise continues:

204.

Click on

to activate the Section Planes form. For example:

The form indicates:

The name of the View.

The identity of each plane.

The properties of each plane.

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11-1

Section Planes

11.1. Creating a Section Plane


Exercise continues:

205.

Click on
in the Section Planes form. This creates a new Section
Plane in the 3D View. This is effectively a stepped plane with just two
points defined. Section planes are always created across the full span
view and to the full depth of the model:

You can also create and amend planes using this form:

New Section Plane: This creates a new Section Plane


in the 3D View. This is effectively a stepped plane
with just two points defined. To create a stepped plane
with more points, the Redefine Points option is used.
Section planes are always created across the full span
view and to the full depth of the model. They can then
be moved and edited according to your requirements.

Add to Clipping List: Adds the currently selected


element to the clipping list
Add to Clipping List: Removes the currently selected
element from the clipping list

11-2

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Show Clipping List: This shows the clipping list for


the Section Planes. Each section plane can have a
selective clipping list. The contents of each list can be
displayed in a selected colour.
Indicate Section Plane Clipping. Indicates which side
of the plane is being clipped
206.

Highlight the Section Plane you just created on the Section Planes form.

207.

To amend the planes details, hold down the right-mouse button and
select the required option from the context menu:
Modify

Displays the Modify Plane form.

Redefine
Points

This allows you to redefine the points to make a


stepped plane using the pointer in the 3D View.

Highlight

This flashes the selected plane.

Shown

Displays/hides the selected plane in the 3D View.

Delete

This deletes the selected plane. You are asked if you


wish to delete the VSEC referencing the section
plane. If yes, you are then asked to confirm the
deletion of the section plane. Note that you may not
wish to delete the plane if it is a library plane
referenced by a number of VSECs.

Clipped

Sets the section plane to clip/unclip specified


elements.

Flip

Switches the side of the plane to be clipped. This is


displayed as perpendicular lines on the side of the
plane to be clipped.

Highlight Clip
List

Highlights elements selected for clipping.

Colour

This selects the colour displayed for the selected


plane from the associated menu.

Transparent

Switches between displaying the plane as transparent


or opaque.

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11-3

Section Planes

11.2. Editing a Section Plane


After you have created a section plane in the 3D View using the
button,
you can manipulate the position of the plane in the 3D View. To do this:
Exercise continues:

208.

Click on the plane you're interested in.


This displays manipulation handles for you to reposition the plane in
the 3D View.
For example:

11-4

209.

To reposition the plane select the appropriate handle by pressing and


holding down the left-mouse button with the pointer over the handle of
interest.

210.

While continuing to hold down the left mouse button, drag the handle
as required.

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The display changes to indicate the direction and extent of movement:

211.

Drag the handles until the plane is in the required location.

212.

Release the mouse button.

213.

With the movement handles selected, you can also use the right-mouse
shortcut menu to orient the plane:

214.

Enter Value

This allows you to enter a rotation value about the


current point.

Orient to Point

This allows you to orient the plane to a selected point


on the view.

Align with
direction

This aligns the selected plane with a selected


direction.

Align with...

This aligns the plane with a selected element.

Rotate Handle

This provides the above options for the selected


rotation handle.

See the Draft online help for more details of the movement handles.

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11-5

Section Planes

11.3. Editing Stepped Planes


Exercise continues:

For stepped planes:

11-6

215.

Select the plane in the 3D View.

216.

Select Edit Steps to create and manipulate steps in the plane.

217.

Select Insert Step After (from the shortcut menu that is now enabled) to
insert a step after the selection.

218.

Select the step to amend the steps position and rotation:

219.

Move the step as described previously to the desired orientation.

220.

Select Insert Step After to create a new step after the selected step.

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221.

Select the new step and position the step as required:

222.

Repeat the above procedures until you have the required number of
steps. If necessary, Delete a step using the right-mouse menu.

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Section Planes

11.4. Showing the Clipping


Exercise continues:

11-8

223.

Click on
to display the side of the plane that will be clipped.
Perpendicular lines to the plane show the side to be clipped:

224.

to show the clipping list. Select Highlight Clipping List


Click on
from the right-mouse menu to highlight clipped items in the list.

225.

Select Flip from the right-mouse menu to change the side of the plane to
be clipped.

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12.

More you can do


Whilst not part of Drafts core functions, there are other general facilities
available to increase your productivity whilst using Draft.

12.1. User utilities


This facility allows you to create your own menus in Draft. To access the
facility, select Utilities>General Utilities from the main menu bar. The User
Utilities form appears. Selecting Control>Define from this forms menu bar
gives the Utilities Definitions form, which enables you to define menus to
execute Draft command syntax or to bring up a Draft form.

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12-1

More you can do

12.1.1.

Defining a menu to execute a command


In the Heading text-entry box, enter the title of the main menu you wish to
define.
In the Description text-entry box, enter the title of the pull-down menu.
Click in the Commands text-entry box, then enter the required command (the
VANTAGE PDMS Draft User Guide contains the syntax of all the Draft
commands.
Click Add to add the menu definition to the Currently Defined set.
Click Save to save the definition.
When you next select Utilities>General Utilities the menu you have defined
will appear in the User Utilities menu bar.
The example below shows a menu which will execute the command: Colour

1 Black

12.1.2.

Defining a menu to display a form


This follows a similar procedure to defining a menu to execute a command,
except the Commands check box must be cleared. This then enables you to
select the Formname check box. You can then enter the name (not the title) of
a form in the Formname text box.

12-2

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If you dont know the name of a form you wish to display then:
a) Bring up the form that you wish to display from a menu.
b) Press F1 to bring up the help window for the form.
c) In the right-hand window pane, select View Source from the shortcut
menu.
The name of the form will be at the end of the <meta NAME=MS-HAID
CONTENT=. . .html line.

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More you can do

12-4

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The Draft Database


WORLD
LIBY
(see overleaf)

REPO

DEPT
REGI

DRWG
LIBY

TEXT

(see overleaf)

SHEE

REVI
TEXT

OLAY

NOTE

REVI

VIEW

:
(see overleaf)

LAYE

RRUL

VSEC
HRUL

ADIM

LDIM

PDIM

RDIM

VNOT

GLAB

SLAB

TAGR

:
(see overleaf)

NOTE: Automatically created system elements are not shown.

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Appendix B

Note: Automatically created system elements are not shown.


Note: Not all elements shown are discussed in this manual.

A-2

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Other Documentation
This guide is only an introduction to using PDMS Draft. For more detailed
information, see the following documentation.

On-Line Help
On-line help is provided as an integral part of the user interface. It gives
detailed instructions on the forms and menus.

VANTAGE PDMS Draft Administrator Application User Guide


This document explains more of the basic concepts behind the administration
of PDMS Draft.

VANTAGE PDMS Draft User Guide


This document describes the Draft commands, and gives fuller information
about some of the command options.

VANTAGE Plant Design Software Customisation Guide


This document explains how to use the AVEVA programmable macro language
(PML) and how to create your own forms and menus.

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B-1

Appendix B

B-2

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Index
2D Drafting, 10-1
2D Positioning Menu, 7-8
2D Primitives, 10-3
Modifying, 10-5

3D View, 6-1
ADP, 9-1
Alert Forms, 3-5
Angular Dimension
Creating, 8-10
Modifying, 8-12

Applications, 2-2
Automatic Drawing Production
General, 9-1
Utilities, 9-1

Buttons, 3-4
Check boxes, 3-4
Creating Elements, 4-1
Current Element, 3-14
Database Hierarchy, 3-12, 4-1
Department
Attributes, 4-2

Department
Creating, 4-1

Display Grid, 3-19


Drawing

Creating, 4-5
Creating automatically, 9-1

Drawlist, 5-3, 5-14


Drop-down lists, 3-3
F1 Key, 3-11
Forms, 3-2
Help, 3-11
Label
Contents, 7-4
Creating, 7-1
Modifying, 7-8

Layer, 10-1
Linear Dimension
Creating, 8-3
Deleting, 8-8
Modifying, 8-8

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Linear Dimensions, 8-3


Logging In, 3-5
Main Window, 3-8
Menu bar, 3-9
Menus, 3-2
Modify Mode, 7-5
Mouse, 3-1, 3-15
NOTE (Sheet Note) element, 10-1
On-line help, 3-11
Option buttons, 3-4
Panning, 3-18
PDMS, 2-1
Planes, 11-1
clipping, 11-8
Create, 11-2
Edit steps, 11-6
Form, 11-1
Manipulation, 11-4

Primitives, 10-3
Modifying, 10-5

Radial Dimension
Creating, 8-14
Modifying, 8-15

Radio buttons, 3-4


Registry
Attributes, 4-4
Creating, 4-3

Reset Limits, 3-18


Scrollable lists, 3-4
Sheet
Creating, 5-12

Status area, 3-10


Template, 4-5
Text boxes, 3-3
Title bar, 3-8
Tutorial Exercise
Conventions, 1-2
Start, 3-5

View

Creating, 5-13
Modifying, 5-2

Index-i

Index

Views, 5-1
VNOT (View Note) element, 10-1
Windowing In, 3-18

B-ii

Zooming, 3-18
Zooming In, 3-18
Zooming Out, 3-18

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