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Getting Started withPDMS

Version 11.6

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PLEASE NOTE:

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Revision History

Date Version Notes

October2003 11.5 NewmanualatthisPDMSversion

Sept2004 11.6 UpdatedtoshownewPDMSGUIfeaturesatthisversion.

Coverpageamended.

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Revision History

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Contents

Contents

1 The scope of th is gu ide .................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Whatitincludes ..................................................................................................................... 111.2 Whatitexcludes..................................................................................................................... 111.3 Whoitismeantfor ................................................................................................................ 11

1.3.1 Assumptions.............................................................................................................. 121.4 Howthemanualissetout.................................................................................................... 121.5 Textconventions .................................................................................................................... 122 PDM S functions ................................................................................ 2-1 2.1 PDMSandwhatitcandoforyou ....................................................................................... 212.2 UsingPDMSinthePlantDesignprocess........................................................................... 232.3 PDMSmodules....................................................................................................................... 23

2.3.1 Designmodules ........................................................................................................ 232.3.2 Draftingmodules...................................................................................................... 242.3.3 Catalogueandspecificationmanagementmodules............................................ 262.3.4 Projectadministrationmodules ............................................................................. 27

3 Finding out more the user documentation and the online help .... 3-1 3.1 TheUserDocumentation...................................................................................................... 31

3.1.1 Accessingandusingthedocumentation .............................................................. 313.1.2 Thecontentofthedocumentation ......................................................................... 32

3.2 Theonlinehelp....................................................................................................................... 363.2.1 Accessingandusingthehelp ................................................................................. 363.2.2 Thehelpicons ........................................................................................................... 37

4 The PDM S databases........................................................................ 4-1 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 414.2 Thedatabasetypes ................................................................................................................ 41

4.2.1 TheProject ................................................................................................................. 414.2.2 DESIGNdatabase ..................................................................................................... 424.2.3 PADDdatabase......................................................................................................... 424.2.4 ISODdatabase........................................................................................................... 434.2.5 CATALOGUEdatabase........................................................................................... 434.2.6 LEXICONdatabase .................................................................................................. 434.2.7 PROPERTIESdatabase ............................................................................................ 434.2.8 SYSTEMdatabase ..................................................................................................... 434.2.9 COMMSdatabase..................................................................................................... 444.2.10 MISCdatabase .......................................................................................................... 444.2.11 TRANSACTIONdatabase....................................................................................... 44

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4.3 PDMSprojectstructure......................................................................................................... 444.3.1 Otherprojects ............................................................................................................ 45

4.4 Therelationshipsbetweendatabases ................................................................................. 454.5 Multipledatabases(MDBs) .................................................................................................. 475 How PDM S data is stored ................................................................. 5-1 5.1 TheDesigndatabaseelementtypes .................................................................................... 52

5.1.1 WORLD...................................................................................................................... 525.1.2 SITE............................................................................................................................. 525.1.3 ZONE ......................................................................................................................... 525.1.4 EQUIPMENT(EQUI) ............................................................................................... 525.1.5 SUBEQUIPMENT(SUBE)...................................................................................... 535.1.6 PRIMITIVES .............................................................................................................. 545.1.7 STRUCTURES(STRU) ............................................................................................. 545.1.8 FRAMEWORK(FRMW).......................................................................................... 545.1.9 SUBFRAMEWORK(SBFR) .................................................................................... 555.1.10 STRUCTURALCOMPONENTS ............................................................................ 555.1.11 PIPE ............................................................................................................................ 555.1.12 BRANCH(BRAN) .................................................................................................... 565.1.13 PIPINGCOMPONENTS ......................................................................................... 56

5.2 AttributesinPDMS ............................................................................................................... 575.2.1 NAME ........................................................................................................................ 585.2.2 TYPE ........................................................................................................................... 585.2.3 LOCK.......................................................................................................................... 585.2.4 OWNER ..................................................................................................................... 585.2.5 POSITION.................................................................................................................. 595.2.6 ORIENTATION ...................................................................................................... 5105.2.7 LEVEL ...................................................................................................................... 5105.2.8 OBSTRUCTION ...................................................................................................... 5105.2.9 HEIGHT ................................................................................................................... 5115.2.10 DIAMETER.............................................................................................................. 511

5.3 UDAs(UserDefinedAttributes) ....................................................................................... 5116 Us ing PDM S...................................................................................... 6-1 6.1 GettingintoPDMS................................................................................................................. 61

6.1.1 Workinginamodule ............................................................................................... 626.1.2 Changingtoanothermodule .................................................................................. 62

6.2 GettingoutofPDMS ............................................................................................................. 636.3 Internationalisation ............................................................................................................... 656.4 Customisationfacilities;theprogrammablemacrolanguage......................................... 667 Bas ic GUI featu res ........................................................................... 7-1 7.1 Usingthemouse .................................................................................................................... 717.2 Usingforms ............................................................................................................................ 71

7.2.1 Usingtextboxes ........................................................................................................ 727.2.2 Usingdropdownlists ............................................................................................. 72

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7.3 Usingmenus........................................................................................................................... 727.4 Usingthetoolbars .................................................................................................................. 737.5 Usingthestatusbar ............................................................................................................... 737.6 Moreonusingforms ............................................................................................................. 747.6.1 Usingoptionbuttons................................................................................................ 74

7.6.2 Usingcheck boxes .................................................................................................... 747.6.3 Usingscrollablelists................................................................................................. 747.6.4 Usingactionbuttons ................................................................................................ 75

7.7 Respondingtoalertforms .................................................................................................... 757.8 DockableWindows,MenuBarsandToolBars ................................................................. 767.9 Usingcommands ................................................................................................................... 76

7.9.1 Whyusecommandsyntax? .................................................................................... 768 Basic operat ions in PDM S ................................................................ 8-18.1 Querying ................................................................................................................................. 818.2 Currentelementandcurrentlistposition .......................................................................... 828.3 Navigatingtoagivenelement............................................................................................. 84

8.3.1 TheDesignExplorer................................................................................................. 848.3.2 TheMembersList ..................................................................................................... 858.3.3 OtherExplorers......................................................................................................... 868.3.4 MyData...................................................................................................................... 86

8.4 Modifyingthecontentofadatabase................................................................................... 879 Inter faces to other systems ............................................................. 9-19.1 VANTAGEPlantEnginerring(VPE) .................................................................................. 91

9.1.1 VPEWorkbench........................................................................................................ 919.1.2 IntroducingtheVPEWorkbenchuserinterface .................................................. 929.1.3 VPEP&ID .................................................................................................................. 94

9.2 VANTAGEPlantResourceManagement(VPRM) ........................................................... 959.2.1 VPRMInterfaces ....................................................................................................... 969.2.2 VPRMFacilities......................................................................................................... 979.2.3 VPRMArchitecture .................................................................................................. 989.2.4 IntroducingtheVPRMuserinterface .................................................................... 99

9.3 VPEandVPRMInterfaces Summary ............................................................................. 9109.4 VANTAGEPlantDesignModelManagement................................................................ 910

9.4.1 TheModelManagementSystemcorefacilities.................................................. 9119.4.2 IntroducingtheModelManagementSystemGUI ............................................ 912

9.5 VANTAGEEnterpriseNET(VNET)................................................................................. 9129.6 VANTAGEPlantDesignGlobal........................................................................................ 913

9.6.1 TheTransactiondatabase ...................................................................................... 9139.7 VANTAGEPlantDesignReview ...................................................................................... 9139.8 TheDataExchangeInterfaces ............................................................................................ 914

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1 The scope of this guide

1.1 What it includes

ThismanualisdesignedtointroduceyoutoPDMSasasystemandhowitfitsinto

AVEVAsVANTAGEproductfamily. ThemanualgivesanintroductiontowhatPDMS

doesand

how

it

does

it,

including

introductions

to:

thePDMSmodulesandwhattheydo

thePDMSdatabases

thePDMSuserinterface

Moredetailedinformation,particularlyonthePDMSmodulesandthedatabasestheyuse,

canbefoundelsewhereinthePDMSuserdocumentationset. SeeChapter3.

1.2 What it excludes

Thismanualdoesnotincludeinformationabout:

FacilitieswhicharerelatedtothecomputeroperatingsystemfromwhichPDMSis

entered.Forinformationaboutthese,seeyourcomputeroperatingsystemmanuals

oraskyoursystemadministrator.

FacilitieswhichapplyonlytoasmallproportionofPDMSmodules.Forinformation

aboutthese,seetheuserdocumentationoronlinehelpfortherelevantmodules.

DetailedinformationonanyofthePDMSmodulesordatabases

FacilitiesneededtocreatemacrosandusetheProgrammableMacroLanguage

(PML)tocreateintelligentmacros,newinterfacesetc.Youllfindinformationon

thesetopics

in

theVANTAGEPlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationUserGuideandSoftwareCustomisationReferenceManual.

1.3 Who it is meant for

Themanualiswrittenforanewuserwhois:

comingtoa3DPlantDesignManagementSystem(i.e.PDMS)forthefirsttime

or

migrating

from

asimilar

3D

system

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Bothtypesofuserwillprobably,butnotnecessarily,haveattendedaPDMSBasicTraining

course.

1.3.1 Assumptions

Itisassumedthatthereader:

isfamiliarwithtypicalIntelPChardwareandMicrosoftWindows2000and/orXP

hasareasonableunderstandingoftheprinciplesandjargonofprocessplantdesign

1.4 How the manual is set out

Themanualisorganisedasfollows:

Chapter2introducesthebasicstepstobetakentodesignaProcessPlantusing

PDMS,andintroducesthePDMSmodules.

Chapter3describestheUserDocumentationsetandtheonlinehelp

Chapters4and5introducethePDMSdatabasesandthewaydatainPDMSis

structuredandhowitisstored

Chapters6to8describehowtogetintoPDMSanduseitperformsimpleoperations.

Chapter9introducestheotherproductsintheVANTAGEsuite,whichPDMScan

interfacewith.

AppendixA

is

aglossary

of

PDMS

terms

and

abbreviations.

Notethatthisguidedoesnotalwaysprovidefulldetailsofmenusandformsassociated

withthesetopics.ForthisinformationseethePDMSDesignonlinehelp.Directreferences

maybemadetotopicswithintheonlinehelp,thefollowingdevicebeingusedtoindicate

suchreferences:

: The 3D View Window; Creating a 3D View Window

1.5 Text conventions

Thisguideusesthefollowingtextconventions:

Serif forthemajorityofthetext.

Bold tohighlightimportantinformation,andtointroducespecial

terminology.

Serifitalic todenoteinternalcrossreferencesandcitations.

Sans-serif

to

denote

keys

on

your

keyboard.

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Sans-serif bold formenunamesandoptions,andforthenamesofforms.

Typewriter textoutputtothescreen,includingtextthatyouenteryourselfusingthekeyboard.Alsofortextwithinaform

NotethatthismanualmayrefertothePDMSonlinehelp,butitwillnotalwaysprovidefull

detailsofmenusandformsassociatedwithspecifichelptopics.Forthisinformationseethe

relevantonlinehelp.Directreferencesmaybemadetotopicswithintheonlinehelp,the

followingdevicebeingusedtoindicatesuchreferences:

: The Current Session Units form

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2 PDMS functions

PDMSispartofAVEVAsVANTAGEsuiteofPlantDesignproducts.PDMScaninteract

withtheothertwoprincipalmembersoftheVANTAGEsuite,VANTAGEPlant

Engineering(VPE)andVANTAGEProjectResourceManagement(VPRM)(seeChapter9).

Chapter6introducestheprinciplesofusingPDMS.

2.1 PDMS and what it can do for you

PDMS(thePlantDesignManagementSystem)enablesyoutodesigna3Dcomputermodel

ofaprocessplant.PDMSallowsyoutoseeafullcolourshadedrepresentationoftheplant

modelasyourdesignprogresses,addinganextremelyimpressivelevelofrealismto

traditionaldrawingofficetechniques.

Inthemodelyoucanstorehugeamountsofdatareferringtoposition,size,partnumbers

andgeometricrelationshipsforthevariouspartsoftheplant.Thismodelbecomesasingle

sourceofengineeringdataforallofthesectionsanddisciplinesinvolvedinadesignproject.

Allthis

information

is

stored

in

databases.

There

are

many

different

output

channels

from

thedatabasesthroughwhichinformationcanbepassedon. Theserangefromreportson

datastoredinthedatabases,fullyannotatedanddimensionedengineeringdrawings,tofull

colourshaded3Dwalkthroughcapabilitieswhichallowyoutovisualisethecomplete

designmodel.

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PDMS functions

Figure21 DifferenttypesofoutputfromPDMS

Evenwith

the

advanced

features

of

PDMS,

the

main

form

of

communication

between

the

plantdesignerandthefabricatorremainsthedrawings.Withoutengineeringdrawingsthe

taskofbuildingaplantwouldbealmostimpossible.Tomeetthisrequirement,PDMScan

producenumeroustypesofdrawing,rangingfromcomplex3Dillustrationstofully

annotatedanddimensionedarrangementdrawingsandpipingisometrics.

AllthedatainaPDMSdesignwouldbeoflittlevaluewithouttheabilitytoensurethe

qualityofthedesigninformation.PDMScontributestothequalityofthedesigninthe

followingways:

Ensuresconsistentandreliablecomponentdata

Inadesignenvironmentwhichusesonly2Ddrawingtechniques,thesizeofeach

fittingmustbedecidedbeforeitcanbedrawn.Thisisatimeconsuminganderror

proneprocess,whereoftenthedesignerrorsareonlyfoundduringtheerectionstage

oftheproject.WithPDMS,allpipingcomponentsizesandgeometryarepredefined

andstoredinacatalogue,whichcannotbechangedbythedesigner.Thisensures

thatallitemsaretruetosizeandareconsistentthroughoutthedesign,nomatter

howmanyusersthereareontheproject.

Adherestodefinableengineeringspecifications

Pipingspecificationsandsteelworkcatalogues,statingpreciselythecomponentsto

beused,arecompiledforthepurposeofensuringconsistent,safeandeconomic

design.Design

applications

for

Piping,

Hangers

and

Supports,

HVAC,

Cable

trays

andSteelworkallusespecificationstoassistcomponentselection.

Ensurescorrectgeometryandconnectivity

Therearemanydifferentwaysofmakingdesignerrors,suchasincorrectfitting

lengths,incompatibleflangeratings,orsimplealignmenterrors.PDMScancheckall

oftheseusingdataconsistencyproceduresbuiltintothesystemtocheckallor

individualpartsofthedesignmodel.

Avoidscomponentinterferences

Despiteawealthofskillandexperienceinplantdesign,traditionaldrawingoffice

techniquesarestillsubjecttohumanerror.Layingoutcomplexpiperunsand

generalarrangementsinconfinedareasusingconventional2Dmethods,inevitably

leadstoclashesbetweenelements,whicharetryingtosharethesamephysicalspace.

PDMSenablesyoutoavoidsuchproblemsintwoways:

1. Byviewingthedesigninteractivelyduringthedesignprocess,allowingvisual

checksonthemodelfromdifferentviewpoints.Potentialproblemscanthusbe

resolvedastheyarise.

2. ByusingthepowerfulclashcheckingfacilitywithinPDMS,whichwilldetect

clashesanywhereintheplant.Thiscanbedoneinteractivelyorretrospectively.

Annotation

and

dimensions

obtained

directly

from

the

design

database

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ExtractedinformationfromthePDMSdatabase,suchasarrangementdrawings,

pipingisometricsandreports,willalwaysbethelatestavailableasitisstoredonlyin

onesource.Throughthecourseofaproject,informationisconstantlychangingand

drawingsneedtobereissued.Whenthishappens,drawings,reportsetccanbe

updatedandreissuedwiththeminimumofeffort.

2.2 Using PDMS in the Plant Design process

Thesequenceofoperations(greatlysimplified)inanewplantdesignprojectwouldbe:

Createtheprojectandsetupadministrativecontrols(usingthePDMSAdmin

module).

CreatetheCatalogueandSpecificationdatafromwhichstandarddesign

Componentscanbeselected(usingtheParagonandSpeconmodules).

Designthevariouspartsoftheplant,referencingitemsfromthecatalogues(using

theDesignmodule).

Checkthedesignforerrorsandinconsistencies(Design).

Documentthedesignintheformofdrawings(generalarrangement,construction,

assembly,andisometric),reportsandmateriallists(DraftandIsodraftmodules).

Youmayalsowishtotransferdesigndatatoorfromothersystemsatvariousstages.

2.3 PDMS modules

PDMSissplitintoanumberofmoduleswhichareusedatdifferentstagesintheplant

designprocess.Chapter3containsdetailsofthePDMSuserdocumentation,which

describesthePDMSmodulesandhowtousethem.

2.3.1 Design modules

Design

Designisthemain,graphicallydrivenconstructormodulewithinPDMS.Designenablesa

fullsizedthreedimensionalplantmodeltobedefinedintheDesigndatabase,withselected

viewsofthecurrentstateofthedesignshownonthegraphicsscreenasthedesign

progresses.

Allpartsofthedesign(includingequipment,andpipingandstructuralsteelworklayouts)

canbecreated.ComponentselectionisprovidedthroughSpecificationsthatdictatewhich

CatalogueComponentscanbeused.Eachpartofthedesignmodelcanbedisplayedin

colourshadedsolidcolourcodedrepresentationsforeaseofinterpretation.

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Designcancheckforinterferences(clashes)betweenitemscreatedinthedesign.Thereisa

veryflexiblereportingcapabilitythatcanbeusedtoproduceawidevarietyofdesign

documents frombulkMaterialTakeOfftodetailednozzleschedules.

PipingisometricscanbepreviewedinDesign(withouthavingtoswitchtotheIsometric

generationmodule,Isodraft).

Figure22AtypicalDesign3DView

Spooler

Spoolerisusedforpipeworkspooling.Itallowsthedesignertosplitthepipeworkdesign

intologicalsections(spools)readyforfabrication.Thespooldatacanthenbeoutputas

isometricdrawingsusingIsodraft(seebelow).

2.3.2 Drafting modules

Draft

Draftenablesdimensionedandannotatedscaledrawingsofselectedpartsofthedesign

modeltobeproduced.Allinformationneededtocreatethedrawingisaccessibleviaa

singledrawingdatabase,whichextractsdatatobeusedfordimensioningdirectlyfromthe

Designdatabase.

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Annotationcanbeintheformoflabelsattachedtodesignelements,or2Dannotationsuch

asdrawingnotes,ordrawingframes,tables,linesetc.

AnnotationattachedtoaDesigndataelementonthedrawingwillmoveifthe3Dpositionof

theelementchanges.Dimensionsarerecalculatedautomaticallyeverytimethedrawingis

updated.

ADesignmodel3DviewcanbepreviewedinDrafttoaidassemblyofadrawinginthe2D

view.

Figure23 AtypicalDraftannotatedanddimensioneddrawing

Isodraft

Isodraftproducesautomaticallyannotatedanddimensionedpipingisometricdrawings,

withassociatedmateriallists,ofspecifiedsectionsoftheplantpipework.Thecontentand

styleofthedrawingscanbechosentosuittheneedsofpipefabricatorsand/orerectorsand

canincludeawiderangeofoptionalfeaturestosuitlocalrequirements.

Otherfacilitiesinclude:

Fullmateriallists.

Automaticspoolidentification.

Automaticsplittingofcomplexdrawings.

Userdefineddrawingsheets.

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Figure24 AtypicalIsodraftpipingisometric

2.3.3 Catalogue and specification management m odules

Paragon

Usedtogenerateandmodifycatalogues,withfacilitiesforcataloguecomponent

constructionwithvisualcontrol(including3Dcolourshadedrepresentationsoftheitem

beingdesigned). ThecataloguesinPDMSserveasimilarpurposetothemanufacturers

catalogues,whichyouwouldrefertowhenusingconventionaldesignmethods.ThePDMS

componentcatalogueisusedtospecifythegeometry,connectioninformation,obstruction

anddetailingdataofsteelwork,piping,andHVACandcabletraycomponents.

Itshouldbenotedthat,wherethedesigndataisspecifictoaparticulardesign,catalogues

andspecificationsmaybespecifictoacompanybutgeneraltoanumberofprojectsinthat

company.Forexample,thesamecataloguecomponentmayalsoappearinotherdesigns

proceedingatthesametime.

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Figure25 AtypicalParagoncataloguecomponentdisplay

Specon

Usedto

create

or

modify

the

component

specifications

within

the

catalogue

database.

Specificationsdefinethesuitabilityofcataloguecomponentsforparticulartypesofuse.

Propcon

Usedtocreateormodifythepropertiesdatabase,whichholdsdetailsofthosepropertiesof

thecomponentsandmaterialswhichmaybeneededforstressanalysisorsafetyauditingof

allorpartofadesign.

2.3.4 Project administration modules

AdminLargeplantsdesignedusingPDMSwillusuallybebrokendownintoindividualareas

(eitherphysicalareasordesignareas),dependingonthephysicalsize,complexityand

configurationoftheplant.OnalargeProject,theSystemAdministratorwillfirstagreewith

ProjectandDesignManagement,thebreakdownofthePDMSProjectintosectionswhich:

Arerelevanttotheneedsofprojectreportingandcontrol.

Formreasonabledesignsubdivisionswithsensiblematchlinesanddesigncontent.

Enableenoughdesignerstoworkinparallelwithsimultaneousaccesstocarryout

theirdesigntasks.

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Inmuchthesamewayasinadesignoffice(withitssectionleader,draughtspeople,etc.),

PDMShasTeams,themembersofwhicharecalledUsers.TheseTeamscanconsistofany

numberofUsersandcanbeorganisedbydisciplineorphysicalworkareas.

Themainfeaturesare:

AccessControl(TeamsandUsers)

Databases

MultipleDatabases(MDBs)

Databasemanagementfunctionality

Adminincludesadatabaseintegritycheckingutility,usedtocheckforinconsistenciesinthe

contentsofthedatabasesandtoderivestatisticalinformationabouttheuseofthedatabase

storagecapacity.

AdminalsoallowstheSystemAdministratortoreconfigureaproject.Thismaybe

necessary:

tocompactdatabasesatintervals,freeingdiskspace

toupgradePDMSprojectswhenthedatabasestructurechanges

tocomparethecontentsoftwosimilardatabases;forexample,tocreatea

modificationrecord

Lexicon

UsedbytheSystemAdministratortosetupuserdefinedattributes.Attributesdefinedin

thiswayareheldinaLexicon(ordictionary)databaseandmaythenbeassignedtoelementsinotherdatabasesasrequired.UDAsallowadditionalinformationtobestoredin

thedatabasesandextractedintodrawingsandreports.

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3 Finding out more the userdocumentat ion and the online help

PDMScomeswithanextensivesetofuserdocumentsandonlinehelpfiles.Thischapter

explainshowtoaccesstheseresourcesandhowtomakethebestuseofthem.

3.1 The User Documentation

3.1.1 Accessing and using the documentation

TheuserdocumentationisprovidedasasetofAcrobat.pdffilesonthePDMSproductCD.

AfterinstallingPDMS,theuserdocumentationmaybefoundat(forexample)

C:\AVEVA\Pdms11.6\manuals\pdms116.Thisfolderwillcontaina.pdffilecalled

iindex.pdf,whichisacontentslistforthedocumentationset.

ProvidedyouhavetheAcrobatReadercorrectlyinstalledonyourworkstation,double

clickingonthe willgiveadisplaysomethinglike:

Usingthemousetopointatoneofthedocumentsinthelistandclickingthelefthand

mousebuttonwilldisplaytheselecteddocumentintheAcrobatReaderwindow.From

hereitcanbereadonscreen,printedandsearchedthroughusingtheAcrobatReader

facilities.

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Finding out more the user documentation and the online help

Ifyouareunsurewhichdocumentcontainsinformationonthetopicyouareinterestedin,

usethe

Acrobat

catalogue

search

facility.

This

is

accessed

from

the

button

on

the

AcrobatReadertoolbar.Typingakeywordtosearchforwillresultina(selectable)listof

allthedocumentsinthecontentslistwhichcontainthatkeyword.

3.1.2 The content of the documentation

Broadlyspeaking,thesupplieduserdocumentationmaybedividedintothreeclasses:

ReferenceManuals

UserGuides

Others

ReferenceManualscontaindetailedinformationaboutthePDMSdatabasesandfacilities,

usuallyatmodulelevel.

UserGuides(includingTutorialguides)tellyouhowtousePDMStoperformaparticular

task,andcontainworkedexamples.

Othermanualsdonotfiteasilyintoeitheroftheaboveclasses,forexamplethePDMSUserBulletin.Also,therearemanualswhich,strictlyspeaking,arenotPDMSspecificbutwhich

areincludedinthePDMSuserdocumentationsetbecausetheyarestillrelevanttoPDMS.

Intheorderofthe.pdfdocumentcontentslist,thedocumentsare:

Title Description

UserBulletin TellsyouaboutthenewfeaturesandbugfixesinthecurrentversionofPDMS

InstallationGuide TellsyouhowtoinstallthecurrentversionofPDMSStructuralDesignUsingPDMS TellsyouhowtousePDMStoproduceaconnectedsteelworkstructure;includesahandsontutorialexercise.SupportDesignUsingPDMS TellsyouhowtousePDMStocreatepipehangersandsupports;includesahandsontutorialexercise.PipeworkDesignUsingPDMS TellsyouhowtousePDMStocreateinterconnectedpipingnetworks;includesahandsontutorialexercise.HVACDesignUsingPDMS,Volume1 TellsyouhowtousePDMStocreateinterconnectedHVACnetworks;includesahandsontutorialexercise.HVACDesignUsingPDMS,Volume2

ContainsHVACDesignandCataloguedatabasereference

material

ReportingfromPDMS TellsyouhowtousethereportingfacilitiesinPDMS;includesahandsontutorialexercise.

MonitorReferenceManual DescribesthecommandsyntaxavailableintheMonitor3-2 VANTAGEPDMS Version 11.6

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Finding out more the user documentation and the online help

Title Description

SAINTReferenceManual Describes,thePDMSStructuralAnalysisInterfacemodule,aninterfacetotheGTSTRUDLandSTAADIIIpackages,usedforthestressanalysisofstructuralsteelwork.

AccessStairsandLaddersUserGuide

Tellsyouhowtoaddaccessfeaturestostructuralsteelwork

createdusingPDMS;includesahandsontutorialexercise.

DataAccessRoutinesUserGuide

DescribestheuseofasetofFORTRAN77subroutineswhich

maybeincorporatedintouserwrittensoftwareforthe

purposesofnavigatingandmanipulatingthedataheldwithin

aPDMSproject.Canbeusedforthecreationofinterfacesto

other

software

packages,

e.g.

material

take

off,

pipe

stress,

isometrics,etc.

PlotUserGuideExplainshowtousethePlotstandalonegraphicalplotting

utilitytointerpretplotfilesinarangeofpseudocodeformats,

asproducedbyanumberofAVEVA(andthirdparty)

programs.

DataCheckerUtilityUserGuide

Describeshowtoallowdataconsistencycheckingsoftware

writteninAVEVAsProgrammableMacroLanguage(PML)

tobeaddedtoPDMSDesign.

PipeworkSpoolingUsingPDMS TellsyouhowtousePDMStoproducePipeworkSpoolsfromexistingPipeworkdata;includesahandsontutorialexercise.IntroductiontoPDMSDesignTemplates

TellsyouhowtousethefacilitiesprovidedinPDMSforthe

creationofDesignTemplates;includesahandsontutorial

exercise.

DesignGraphicalModelManipulationUserGuide

IntroducesthegraphicalfacilitiesavailableinboththeModel

Editor3DViewandtheModelEditoritself.

DesignReference

Manual

Part1

DescribesgeneralDesigncommands,whichareused,for

example,forsettingupthedisplay,andqueryingand

navigatingaroundtheDesigndatabase.Usefulforthosewhowishtowritemacrosorusecommandinputratherthanthe

GUI.

DesignReferenceManualPart2

Describesthecommandsforcreatingdatabaseelementsand

settingtheirattributes.

DesignReferenceManualPart3

Containsdetailsofalltheelementswhichcanbecreatedin

theDesigndatabase,theirpositioninthedatabasehierarchy

andtheirattributes.

DesignReferenceManualDescribestheDesignUtilitiesfordataconsistencychecking

andclashdetection,andforexportingDesigndatato

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Title Description

Part4

programssuch

as

Review.

IndustrialBuildingDesignUsingPDMS

TellsyouhowtousePDMStocarryoutthedesignand

documentationofinterconnectedwallsandfloors;includesa

handsontutorialexercise.

PropconReferenceManual DescribesthecommandsforcreatingandeditingthePropertiesdatabase.

SpeconReferenceManual DescribesthecommandsforcreatingusedtocreateormodifySpecification(SPEC)elementsinCatalogueDatabase.

LexiconReferenceManualDescribeshowtocreateuserdefinedattributes(UDAs)for

useintheDesign,DraftandCataloguedatabases.

PlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationGuide

DescribeshowtousePML,AVEVAsProgrammableMacro

Language.ShouldbeusedtogetherwiththePlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationReferenceManual.

PlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationReferenceManual

TheReferenceManualforPML;intendedforuserswhoare

alreadyfamiliarwithPML.

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Finding out more the user documentation and the online help

3.2 The online help

TheonlinehelpexiststoprovideyouwithassistancewithaparticularfeatureofPDMSas

youareusingthatfeature,downtoformlevel.(SeeChapter7formoredetailsofformsand

menus.)Theonlinehelpdoesnotattempttoprovideastructurednarrative,althoughmuch

referencematerialdoesexistwithinthehelp.

3.2.1 Accessing and using the help

OnlinehelpexistsforallPDMSmoduleswithagraphicaluserinterface,namelyAdmin,

Design,Draft,Isodraft,Monitor,ParagonandSpooler.

MostbarmenusendwithaHelpoption,whichgivesyouthefollowingchoicesfromits

submenu:

Help>Contents

ThisdisplaystheHelpwindowwiththeContentstabatthefront,sothatyoucanfindthe

requiredtopicfromthehierarchicalcontentslist.

Help>Index

ThisdisplaystheHelpwindowwiththeIndextabatthefront,sothatyoucanfindalltopics

relevantto

aselected

keyword.

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Finding out more the user documentation and the online help

Help>Search

This

displays

theHelp

window

with

theSearch

tab

at

the

front,

so

that

you

can

search

for

instancesofakeywordacrossallthehelptopics.

Help>About

Thisdisplaysinformationaboutthecurrentoperatingsystemonyourcomputerandabout

theversionsofPDMSanditsapplicationstowhichyouhaveaccess.

PressingtheF1keyatanytimewilldisplaythehelptopicforthecurrentlyactivewindow.

Thehelpattemptstoprovideyouwithinformationinavarietyofways:

Howtohelp.Pickfromalistofhowtos.Thehowtowilljumptoasequenceof

stepstellingyouhowtoperformthetaskyouhaveselected.

Contextsensitivehelp.Provideshelpspecifictotheformyouareusing.

Indexsearch.Findsalltopicsrelevanttoaselectedkeyword.

Keywordsearch.Findsalltopicswhichcontainauserspecifiedwordorphrase.

3.2.2 The help icons

Note:notalloftheiconslistedbelowwillnecessarilyappearinallPDMShelps

The symbolindicatesabookwithowncontent.Thisbookdoesnotcontainanyhelptopics,butdoubleclickingthe iconwillbringupthecontentofthebook.

The symbolindicatesabookwithowncontentandtopics.Doubleclickingthe

iconwillbringupthecontentofthebookandalistofthehelptopics(and/or

otherbooks)containedwithinthatbook.

The symbolisanormalbook.Doubleclickingthe iconwillbringalistofthe

helptopics(and/orotherbooks)containedwithinthebook.

The symbolindicatesanorderedstepstopic(typicallyaHowtotopic).

The symbolindicatesareferencetopicgivingsupplementaryinformation.

The symbolindicatesanordinaryhelptopic

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4 The PDMS databases

4.1 Introduction

TheoverallpurposeofPDMSisthecontrolledcreationofacompletethreedimensional

processplantdesignmodelusingcomputersimulationtechniques.Allinformationwhich

existsabout

aPDMS

design

project,

whether

administrative

or

technical,

is

stored

in

aseries

ofhierarchicaldatabases.UseofthevariousPDMSmodulesallowsyoutocreate,modify

andextractinformationfromthesedatabases.

Thischapterdescribes

Thepurposeofeachtypeofdatabase

Howthedetailedprojectinformationisheldineach

Howtheseparatedatabasesarerelatedtoeachother

4.2 The database types

4.2.1 The Project

APDMSProjectconsistsofthecompletecollectionofinformationwhichrelatestoasingle

designproject.Thisisidentifiedbyathreecharactername,allocatedbytheProject

Administratorwhentheprojectisfirstinitiated.Thisnameisusedtoidentifytheprojectto

thesystemwheneveryouwishtoworkintheprojectusingPDMS.Thisallowsaccessrights

anduseofsystemresourcestobemonitoredandcontrolled.Forfurtherdetailsofthese

functions,seetheVANTAGEPDMSAdminandMonitorReferenceManuals.Thereare10differenttypesofdatabasewhichcangotomakeupacompleteProject:

Design and Drawing Databases:

DESIGNdatabase

PADDdatabase

ISODdatabase

Reference Databases:

CATALOGUEdatabase

DICTIONARYdatabase

PROPERTIESdatabase

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The PDMS databases

Administration Databases:

SYSTEM

database

COMMSdatabase

MISCdatabase

TRANSACTIONdatabase

(Seesection4.4formorebackgroundinformationonReferencedatabases)

EachPDMSmodulerequiresaccesstooneormorespecificdatabasetypes,andentrytothe

modulemaybepreventedifappropriatedatabasesdonotexistorifyoudonthavethe

appropriateaccessrights.NewdatabasescanonlybecreatedbytheProjectAdministrator;

seethePDMSAdminReferenceManualfordetails.The

functions

of

each

type

of

database

are

summarised

in

the

following

subsections.

4.2.2 DESIGN database

TheDesigndatabasescontainallinformationneededtocreateafullscalethreedimensional

representationoftheplant.

EachuserisnormallyallowedtomodifytheDesigndatabaseswhichrelatetohisfunctionin

theplantdesignteam,andwilloftenhavepermissiontolookatotherDesigndatabasesso

thathisworkiscompatiblewiththatofotherdesigners.

Typical

design

functions,

each

of

which

may

use

a

different

Design

database,

include:

Equipmentdesign(processvessels,storagevessels,pumps,heatexchangersetc.)

Pipeworkdesign(theinterconnectingpipesbetweenthevariousequipmentitems)

Structuraldesign(thecolumns,beams,walls,stairwaysetc.whichsupportandgive

accesstotheoperationalequipmentandpipework)

HangersandSupports(specialisedpipesupportstructures)

ThecompositionsoftheprincipaltypesofDesigndatabasearedescribedinthePDMSDesignReferenceManual,Part3.

4.2.3 PADD database(PADDisanacronymforProductionofAnnotatedandDimensionedDrawings)

Thistypeofdatabaseholdsdataaboutboththepictorialcontentofdrawingsandabout

theirannotationanddimensionalinformation.Itthereforeholdsacompletespecificationof

thecontentsofadrawing.ItsuseisspecifictotheinteractivedrawingmoduleDraft.

Forfurtherinformation,seethePDMSDraftUserGuide,Part1.

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The PDMS databases

4.2.4 ISOD database

TheISODdatabaseholdspipeworkspooldrawingsgeneratedbytheSpoolermodule.SeePipeworkSpoolingUsingPDMSformoredetailsofSpooler.4.2.5 CATALOGUE database

Thiscontainsacatalogueofthestandardcomponentswhichyoumayselectwhendesigning

pipework,ducting,hangersandsupportsorstructuralsteelwork.Itincludes:

Dimensionaldetailsforeachcomponent

Detailsofpermissibleconnectionsbetweendifferentcomponentsandofthebolts

neededto

assemble

flanged

components

Specificationsofthecomponents,whichdefinetheconditionsofuseforeachtype

(maximumpressure,temperatureetc.)

ACataloguedatabasemaycontainasingleuniversalcatalogue,butitwillmorecommonly

containageneralcatalogueplusoneormorespecialisedcataloguesspecifictoparticular

designfunctions.

4.2.6 LEXICON database

TheLexicon(orDictionary)databaseisaprojectspecificdatabasewhichisusedtoholdthe

definitionsofuserdefinedattributes(UDAs).TheUDAsareusedtoholdanyinformation,notallowedforbythestandardattributes,aboutelementswhicharethemselvespartof

eitheraDesign,CatalogueorDraftdatabase.

Forfurtherinformation,seethePDMSLexiconReferenceManual.4.2.7 PROPERTIES database

Thisisavailableforstoringdataaboutmaterialproperties,whichmaybeneededto

supplementCatalogueandSpecificationdataforsomedesignfunctionssuchasstress

analysis.Its

use

is

specialised

and

will

not

be

described

further

in

this

manual.

Forfurtherinformation,seethePDMSPropconReferenceManual.4.2.8 SYSTEM database

Thereisone,andonlyone,SystemdatabaseineachProjectFolder.Itholdsadministrative

informationaboutthecompositionanduseoftheproject,includingthefollowing:

Alistofdatabasesofallcategorieswhichareusableintheproject

Alistofallusers,identifiedbynameandpassword,whocanlegallyaccessthe

databases,

and

the

operating

Team(s)

to

which

they

are

assigned

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AlistofPDMSmodulesavailableforuseintheproject

Accesscontroldata,whichdefinesthosedatabaseswhichareaccessibletoany

specificuserandwhetherhemaymodifythemoronlylookatthem

4.2.9 COMMS database

TheCOMMSdatabasestorestheinformationaboutwhoisusingwhichmoduleandwhich

databasesarecurrent.EachuserhasaseparateareaoftheCOMMSdatabase,whichcanbe

accessedinwritemode,andsocanrecordmodulechangesetc.Eachuserhasreadaccessto

theotherusersareas,andsocanfindoutaboutotherusersintheproject.

4.2.10 MISC databaseTheMISCdatabaseisusedtostoreinterusermessages,andinterdatabasemacros.This

databasecanonlybeopenedinwritemodebyoneuseratatime,butmanyuserscanread

fromit.Allusersneedtobeabletowritetothisdatabase,butonlywhentheyaresending

messagesorwritinginterdatabasemacros,ordeletingmessagesandmacros.Alluserscan

readfromthedatabaseatanytime.

4.2.11 TRANSACTION database

To

enable

the

System

Administrator

to

monitor

the

progress

of

Global

commands,

PDMS

GlobalstoresdetailsofissuedcommandsinaTRANSACTIONdatabase.Transaction

messagesaregeneratedinthedatabaseeachtimetheprogressofthecommandchanges.

TransactiondatabasesareonlypresentwhenPDMSincorporatestheGlobalproduct.See

Chapter9 andthePDMSAdminReferenceManualfordetailsofGlobal.

4.3 PDMS project structure

Aprojectisidentifiedbya3charactername.Forexample,thesampleprojectsuppliedwith

PDMSisprojectSAM.Thestructureoftheprojectfolderisshownbelow:

Figure41 ProjectSAMstructure

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The PDMS databases

sam000 Theprojectdirectory.Thefilesundersam000are:

samsys

TheSYSTEM

database.

samcom TheCOMMSdatabase.

sammis TheMISCdatabase.

samnnnn_sammmmm Databasefileswhichcontaintheactualmodeldata.nnnnhasamaximumvalueof8188.

samiso ThedirectorywhichstoresfilesneededbyIsodraft.

sampic ThedirectorywhichstorespicturefilesproducedbyDraft.

sammac Thedirectorywhichstoresinterdatabaseconnectionmacros.

DFLTS ThePDMSdefaultsdirectory.

4.3.1 Other projects

BesidesSAM,yourPDMSinstallCDwillincludetheMASandIMPprojects:

MAS(Master)providesthesampleprojectdatainreadonlydatabases.Thisdata

shouldnotbedeletedorchangedinanyway,ortherestofthesampleprojectwill

becomeunusable.

IMPisan(empty)projectsettouseImperialunits

4.4 The relationships between databases

Althougheachtypeofdatabasecontainsitsownspecifictypeofdata,someofthedataitems

inonedatabasearederivedfromcrossreferencestodataitemsinotherdatabases.Itis

thereforesensible,andsometimesessential,tobuildupthevarioustypesofdatabaseina

logicalorder.

Inparticularyoushouldnotethefollowingpoints:

ASYSTEMdatabasemustexistbeforeyoucanaccessanyothertypeofdatabasein

whichyouwishtowork.Itiscreated(usingtheMAKEmacro)whenanewprojectis

setup;allothertypesofdatabasearecreatedusingtheADMINmodule.Seethe

ADMINReferenceManualforfurtherdetails. DESIGNdatabases,particularlythosecontainingpipingorstructuralsteelwork

designdata,deriveinformationabouttheindividualdesigncomponentsfromthe

CATALOGUEdatabases.Thisinformationincludesdimensionaldata,specifications

foruse,andconnectivitydata.ACATALOGUEdatabasemustthereforebebuiltup

beforeyoutrytoworkinaDESIGNdatabase. PROPERTIESdatabases,ifused,arereferencedbyCATALOGUEandDESIGN

databases.

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PADDdatabasesnormallyincorporatereferencestopartsofthedesignmodel,for

graphicalrepresentation,aswellasselfcontainedinformationfordrawing

annotationandadministration.ADESIGNdatabase,andhenceaCATALOGUE

database,shouldthereforeexistbeforeyoutrytoworkinaPADDdatabase. LEXICON(DICTIONARY)databasesholddefinitionswhicharereferencedfrom

DESIGN,CATALOGUEorPADDdatabases.

Generallymultidisciplineprojectsareexecutedusingdisciplinespecificdesignerswhowill

usespecificapplicationsinPDMStoconstructthemodelcomponentsfortheirdiscipline.A

project,therefore,mayconsistofanumberofDesigndatabasesforeachdiscipline.

Whenconstructingthemodel,referencesaremadetocatalogue,propertyanduserdefined

attributedatathatareheldindifferenttypesofdatabases.Asthisdataiscommontoall

usersofeachdiscipline,eachuserwillrefertoacommonsetofdatafortheproject.ThesedatabasesarecollectivelyknownasReferencedatabases.

Inorderthateachusercanseetherequireddesigncomponentsmodelledbyotherusersand

refertothecommoncatalogue,propertyanduserdefinedattributedata,theDesignand

ReferencedatabasesaregroupedtogetherintoaMultipleDatabase,orMDB.Seesection4.5

formoredetailsofMultipleDatabases.

Thecrossreferencesthatexistbetweenthevarioustypesofdatabase(excludingthe

administrationdatabases)areillustratedinFigure42.

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The PDMS databases

PROPERTIES DB

CATALOGUE DB

DESIGN DB

PADD DB

DICTIONARYDB

ISOD DB

Figure42

Relationshipsbetweenthedatabasetypes

4.5 Multiple databases (MDBs)

WhenaPDMSprojectissetupbytheProjectAdministrator,groupsofdatabasesare

definedforparticularpurposes.Forexample,themembersofanydesignteamwillneed

accesstothosedatabasescontainingthepartsofthedesigndataforwhichthatteamis

responsibleplussomeoftheCatalogueandDrawingdatabases.Suchagroupofdatabases

isknownasaMultipleDatabaseorMDB.TherewouldusuallybeseveralMDBsfora

project,eachdefiningspecificgroupsofdatabases,foruserswithdifferenttaskstoperform.

ThewayinwhichanMDBissetup,intermsofitsconstituentdatabasesandaccessrights,is

describedinthePDMSADMINReferenceManual.AlthoughanMDBmaycontainupto1000databases,only300ofthesemaybeaccessedat

anyonetime.Theseaccessibledatabasesareknownasthecurrentdatabases;allothers

withinthatMDBaresaidtobenoncurrentordeferred.Databasesmaybetransferred

betweencurrentanddeferredstatusatanytime.

ManyuserscanaccessthesameMDB,butinmostsituationsitisrecommendedthatthereis

oneMDBperuser.Thisallowsthedatabasewithwriteaccesstobeplacedatthestartofthe

MDB.Thisisessentialifnewdataistobeaddedtoanemptydatabase.Analternative

approachistohaveasingleMDBformanyusers,andthenusetheMonitormoduletomove

therequireddatabasetothefrontofthelist.

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5 How PDMS data is stored

DespitethehugepowerandpotentialofPDMS,thedatabaseisstructuredinaverysimple

andlogicalform.Thedatabaseishierarchical,atreelikestructure,asillustratedbelow.

Note: thehierarchybelowillustratesthe(simplified)Designdatabasehierarchy,butthe

Catalogue,PADD,ISOD,LexiconandPropertiesdatabasesalsohaveahierarchical

structure.

Figure51ThePDMSDesigndatabasehierarchy

Inthishierarchicalstructureallthedatabaseelementsareownedbyotherelements,with

theexceptionoftheWORLD.Elementsthatareownedbyanotherelement,e.g.aZONEis

ownedbyaSITE,aresaidtobemembersoftheowningelement,e.g.TheZONEisa

member

of

the

SITE.

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5.1 The Design database element types

5.1.1 WORLD

Whenthedatabaseisfirstbuilt,itisemptyexceptforasingleelementnamedtheWORLD.

EverydatabasehasitsownWORLDelementasthefirstelementinthehierarchy.

5.1.2 SITE

BelowtheWORLD,thesecondlevelofthehierarchyistheSITE.ASITEmaybeconsidered

asasignificant

collection

of

plant,

whose

size

is

not

necessarily

determined

by

physical

area,

butbypracticalconsiderations.Itmay,forexamplebethewholeProject,oronepartofa

largeProject.TherecanbeasmanySITEswithinaPDMSprojectasrequiredfordata

organisation.

5.1.3 ZONE

ThenextlevelbelowaSITEisaZONE.Again,aZONEisnotnecessarilyusedtodefinea

physicalarea,itismorelikelytostoresimilartypesofitemforeasyreference,suchasa

pipingsysteminoneZONE,relatedequipmentinanother,andsoon.Therecanbeasmany

ZONEsowned

by

asite

as

required

for

data

organisation.

SITEandZONEelementsarecommontoalldisciplines.BelowZONElevelthehierarchyis

disciplinedependent,i.e.theelementsdependonwhichdisciplineyouaremodelling.

5.1.4 EQUIPMENT (EQUI)

EquipmentitemsarebuiltupinPDMSusingelementsknownasprimitives.Eachpieceof

Equipmentcancompriseanynumberofprimitiveshapespositionedtoformtheitem.The

primitivesmaybeowneddirectlybytheEQUIelementorbyaSubEquipmentelement.An

EquipmentwouldtypicallybeaPump,oraVessel.TheBoxandCylinderprimitivesare

clearlyvisibleinthePumpEquipmentshowninFigure52.

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Figure52APumpEQUIelement

5.1.5 SUB-EQUIPMENT (SUBE)

ASUBEisanoptionalelementtofurthersubdivideanEQUI.TheSUBEcanalsoown

primitiveelements.

Figure53AVesselEQUI,withaSUBE

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5.1.6 PRIMITIVES

PrimitivesarethebasicbuildingblocksofPDMS.Theyareusedbyotherdisciplinesto

createcataloguecomponents.Therearemanytypesofprimitive,eachwithitsownfeatures,

whichwhencombinedwithotherprimitivescanrepresentcomplexshapes.Examplesof

primitivesarenozzle(NOZZ),box(BOX),cylinders(CYLI)andpyramids(PYRA).

5.1.7 STRUCTURES (STRU)

STRUelementsareadministrativeelements,i.e.theyexisttoownFRAMEWORKelements,

andallowtheplantstructurestobeseparatedforeaseofmodellingandreporting.

5.1.8 FRAMEWORK (FRMW)

FRMWelementsareusedtostorestructuralcomponentsinthemodel.Acomplexstructure

canbedividedintologicalframeworks.Dividingthestructureinthiswayallowsstructural

modelling,andalsoreporting,tobedonemoreefficiently,e.g.bycopyingacomplete

FRMW.StructuralcomponentsmayalsobeownedbyaSubFrameworkelement.

Figure54ApiperackFRMWelement

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5.1.9 SUB-FRAMEWORK (SBFR)

ASBFRisanoptionalelementthatcanownstructuralcomponents.Subframeworksare

usedtofurthersubdividecomplexprojectsorformodellingsubassemblieswithina

framework.

5.1.10 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

StructuralprofilesarerepresentedinPDMSbysection(SCTN)elements.Isectionprofile

sizesareselectedusingaSectionSpecificationthatreferencesstandardcataloguedatafor

sectionsizescomplyingwithvariousnationalstandards.Platesarerepresentedbypanel

(PANE)elementsandcurvedprofilesaremodelledusingageneralsection(GENSEC)

component.

5.1.11 PIPE

Pipesmaybeconsideredlikelinesonaflowsheet.Theymayrunbetweenseveralend

connectionpointsandareusuallygroupedbyacommonspecificationandprocess.

Figure55APipeelement,showingBranches

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5.1.12 BRANCH (BRAN)

Branchelementsaresectionsofapipe,whichhaveknownstartandfinishpoints.InPDMS

thestartandfinishpointsarecalledtheHeadandTail.Headsandtailsmaybeconnectedto

nozzles,teesorotherHeadsandtails,dependingontheconfigurationofthepipe,orleft

openended.

5.1.13 PIP ING COMPONENTS

ABRANcanownawidevarietyofcomponentssuchasgaskets(GASK),flanges(FLAN),

tees(TEE),valves(VALV),elbows(ELBO),etc.Theseformtheshapeandgeometryofthe

BRANandultimatelythepipelineitself.

PipingcomponentsareselectedusingPipingSpecificationsthatreferencestandard

cataloguedata.Forexample,eachtimeyouwanttousea100mmboreelbow,PDMSalways

accessesthedataforitfromthecomponentcatalogue.Thedataforthisremainsconstantno

matterhowmany100mmboreelbowsareusedinthedesign.

Figure56 Aselectionofpipingcomponents

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5.2 Attributes in PDMS

EveryelementinaPDMSdatabasehasafixedsetofpropertiesknownasitsattributes.

Someattributesarecommonthroughouttherangeofelementswhileothersdifferaccording

tothetypeofelementinvolved.Forexample,acylinder(CYLI)hasHeightandDiameter

attributeswhilstthesizeofabox(BOX)isdeterminedbyXlength,YlengthandZlength

attributes,asillustratedbelow:

Figure57 CylinderandBoxattributes

Whenyoucreateanelement,asetofappropriateattributesareenteredintothedatabase.

Theattributeswillvaryaccordingtothetypeofelementbutessentiallytheprocessisthesame.Forexample,acylinderhasthefollowingattributes:

Attribute Default Value

Name Nameifspecifiedorhierarchydescription

Type CYLI

Lock false(theelementisnotlocked)Owner thenameoftheowningelementoritshierarchydescription

Position N0mmE0mmU0mm(relativetoitsowner)

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Attribute Default Value

Orientation

Yis

N

and

Z

is

U

(relativetoitsowner)

Level 010(thisisarepresentationlevelsetting)Obstruction 2(itisasolidhardelementforclashingpurposes)Diameter 0mm

Height 0mm

Thesearealloftheattributesofacylinder,andallcylindersinthedatabasewillhave

preciselythesamenumberofattributes.

5.2.1 NAME

EveryelementinPDMScanbenamed.Whethernamedornoteveryelementwillhavea

uniquesystemgeneratedreferencenumber.Ifanameisnotspecified,thenahierarchy

descriptionwillbedisplayedintheDesignExplorerorMembersList(seesection8.3).

InternallyPDMSusesthereferencenumbersincethiscannotchange.Atableofnames

againstreferencenumbersismaintainedforthispurpose.

AllPDMSnamesbeginwithaforwardslashcharacter(/),whichisconsideredtobepartof

thename.Inordertosaveyoutheeffortoftypingthis,alloftheformsyouencounterwill

addtheforwardslashforyouwhenyoupresstheEnterkeyaftertypinganame.The

forwardslashcharacterisnotshownintheDesignExplorerorMembersList.TheWORLD

hasaspecialnameinPDMS,/*.

Namescannotcontainspacesandarecasesensitive.Forexample,/E1302Aisadifferent

namefrom/E1302aor/e1302A.ElementsinaPDMSdatabaseareunique,i.e.theycannot

havethesamenameorreferencenumber.

5.2.2 TYPE

Thisattributereferstothespecifictypeofelementitis,e.g.EQUIisanEquipmenttype.

5.2.3 LOCK

TheLOCKattributedeterminesifanelementmaybechangedornot.Ifanelementis

locked,itsLOCKattributeissettothevalueTRUE,preventingitfrombeingmodifieduntil

unlocked. Bydefault,LOCKisfalse.

5.2.4 OWNER

ThedifferentlevelsinthehierarchyaremaintainedbyanOwnerMemberrelationship.An

EQUIwillhaveZONEasitsowner,whileaCYLImightwellbeoneoftheEQUIsmembers.

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Theowneristhatelementwhichisdirectlyrelatedtothecurrentelementatthenextlevel

upinthehierarchy,asshowninthediagrambelow:

Figure58 Asimpleownershipstructure

TheelementontheupperlevelistheOwnerofthoseelementsdirectlybelowit,e.g.the

equipment(EQUI)ownstheprimitive(CYLI).ThelowerlevelelementsareMembersofthe

owningelement,

e.g.

the

EQUI

is

amember

of

the

ZONE.

5.2.5 POSITION

ManyitemsinadatabasehaveaPOSITIONattributewhichisthepositionoftheelementin

relationtoitsowner.Allprimitiveshaveapositionattributewhichrelatestoitspointof

origin.AseachprimitivehasadifferentPointofOriginchangingthepositionattributewill

havetheeffectofmovingthecylindertosomeotherpositionwithitspointoforigin

positionedonthenewcoordinates.

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Figure59PointofOriginofaCYLI

5.2.6 ORIENTATION

Bydefault,

acylinder

is

created

in

avertical

direction;

that

is,

with

one

of

its

ends

facing

up.

Theorientationattributeallowsthistobechangedtoanyangleonanyaxis.

5.2.7 LEVEL

PDMScanproducedifferentrepresentationsofanitem,dependingonhowithasbeen

modelledandtherepresentationlevelsused.Thedefaultlevelis0to10butlevelscanbeset

beyondthisrangeifneeded.

Forexample,steelworkprofilescanberepresentedbycentreline(stickrepresentation)only

orbythefulldetailofthesectionprofile.Bymanipulatinglevelsettingsitis,therefore,

possibletohavesimpleorcomplexrepresentationofelementsforDesigndisplayorDraft

drawings.

5.2.8 OBSTRUCTION

TheOBSTRUCTIONattributeisusedtodeclarewhetheranelementissolidornot.

ObstructionscanbedeclaredasHard,SoftorNoObstruction,dependingonthevalueofthe

OBSTRUCTIONattribute.Thedefaultvalueof2resultsinaHardobstruction,1resultsina

Softobstruction(usedforwalkways,maintenanceaccessetc.)and0isforNoObstruction

(usedtosavecomputingtimewhenelementsareenclosedinanotherelementwhichactsas

anoverallobstruction).

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5.2.9 HEIGHT

Theheightofthecylinder.

5.2.10 DIAMETER

Thediameterofthecylinder.

5.3 UDAs (User Defined Attributes)

ThistypeofattributeisdefinedandassignedtoelementsusingtheLexiconmodulebythe

SystemorProjectAdministrator.AUDAisjustlikeanyotherattributebutmaybespecific

tothecompanyortheparticularproject.ThesettingoftheUDAisuptotheuser,althoughit

mayhavebeensettoadefaultvalue.Changingthisisthesameaswithallotherattributes.

Theircurrentvaluesmaybefoundbyqueryingtheitemsattributes.AUDAcanbe

recognisedbythecolonplacedinfrontofit:

COLOUR (UserDefinedAttribute)HEIGHT (NormalAttribute)

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6 Using PDMS

6.1 Getting into PDMS

AssumingPDMShasbeencorrectlyinstalledonyourworkstation,startPDMSbyselecting

(forexample)Start>Programs>AVEVA>VANTAGE PDMS 11.6>Run PDMS;two

commandwindows

and

asplashscreen

will

appear

briefly.

The

VANTAGE PDMS Login

formthatappearsrequiresyoutospecifyanumberofdetailsattheoutsetofyoursession.

ToenterPDMS,youmustfirstclickonthePDMS Loginformtomakeitactive.

Project istheprojectyouwillbeworkingon(forexample,SAM).Typein,orselectfrom

thepulldownlist,pressingEnterineachcase.

UsernamewillhavebeenallocatedtoyoubyyourSystemAdministrator.Typein,orselect

fromthe

pull

down

list,

pressing

Enter

in

each

case.

PasswordwillhavebeenallocatedtoyoubyyourSystemAdministrator;typein.

MDB isthemultipledatabasewithinthegivenProjectthatyouwishtouse.Typein,or

selectfromthepulldownlist,pressingEnterineachcase.Makesurethatyou

leavetheRead Onlyboxuncheckedifyouwishtomodifythedatabaseasyou

work.

Module isthePDMSmodulethatyouwishtouse.Typein,orselectfromthepulldown

list,pressingEnterineachcase.

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UseLoad fromtospecifywhichsetupfilestoloadatstartup.Youcanchooseeitherthe

applicationdefaultsettings(Load from Macro Files)oracustomised

setupsavedduringanearliersession(Load from Binary Files).

TheexamplebelowshowsthatuserSTRUChasenteredPDMStoaccessMDBSTRUC from

theDesignmodule,loadingtheinitialsetupfrominbuiltmacrofiles.

Clickonthe buttontoentertheDesignmodule.

6.1.1 Working in a module

Onceyouhaveenteredamoduleyoucancarryoutanyvalidoperations(normallyreading,

addingtoormodifyingthedatastoredinthecurrentdatabases;seeChapter8)byusingthe

GUI(seeChapter7)orbyusingthecommandsyntaxforthatmoduleasdescribedinthe

relevantReferenceManual.

Youcanusuallychangethedatabasestowhichthemodulehasaccessfromwithinthe

module.YoucantransferdatafromPDMStopartsofyourcomputernetworkwhicharenot

partofthePDMSdatabase,suchasexternalfilesorhardwaredevices,andyoucanalsogive

nonPDMScommandsdirectlythecomputeroperatingsystem,asdescribedinsection7.9.

Youcanupdateyourwriteabledatabasesatanytime,soastoreflectanydesignchanges

youvemadewhileworkinginthecurrentmodule.

6.1.2 Changing to another module

EachPDMSmodulehasaModulessubmenuenablingyoutoswitchtoanyothermoduleto

whichyouhaveaccessrights.Forexample,fortheDesignmodule:

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Anoptionformwillbedisplayedaskingyouwhetheryouwishtosavethechangesyou

havemade

in

the

current

module

before

entering

another

one.

6.2 Getting out of PDMS

YouwillnormallyleavePDMSdirectlyfromtheapplicationmoduleinwhichyouare

working.Youmayeithersaveallworkdoneinthecurrentmodulebeforeleavingoryou

mayquitdirectlywithoutupdatinganydatabases.

AllthemoduleshaveanExitmenuselection;theoneshownbelowbeingforDesign:

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IfyouhavemadechangespriortoselectingExit(andifyouhavenotcarriedouta

SAVEWORKoperation),youwillbeaskedifyoufirstwishtosaveyourchangestothe

appropriatedatabase:

ClickingYESatthispointwouldbetheequivalentofdoingaSAVEWORK (andthena

QUIT).IfyouhavedoneaSAVEWORK (andmadenosubsequentchanges),orifyouhave

madenochangesatallduringyourDesignsession,thenExitwilldisplayamessagewhich

merelyasksyoutoconfirmthatyouwishtoleaveDesign:

Ineverycase,whenyouleavePDMSyouwillbereturnedtotheoperatingsystematthe

pointfromwhichyouenteredPDMS.

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6.3 Internationalisation

MicrosoftproducesmanylocalisedvariantsofWindows.VANTAGEproductsaredesigned

toworkinEnglishonallofthese,thoughtheydonotcurrentlysupporttheuseofallthe

locallanguages.Atthetimeofwriting,AVEVAprovideslimitedfacilitiesthatvary

somewhatbetweenproducts.

UsersofPDMSneedtoenterdata(textandnames)usingtheirlocallanguageandoutput

thesameontodeliverablessuchasdrawings,reportsetc.Insomecases,thereisalsoaneed

tolocaliseortranslatetheuserinterface.Thesamedataarealsorequiredinotherproducts

suchasVANTAGEPlantDesignReview.

Bydefault,yourPDMSprojectcanuseanylanguagewhosecharactersarecontainedwithin

theLatin-1 characterset,comprising:

Danish Dutch English Faroese

Finnish French Icelandic Irish

Spanish German Norwegian Portuguese

Swedish Italian

PDMScanalsosupportthefollowinggroupsoflanguages:

Far Eastern,comprising:

Japanese SimplifiedChinese

Korean TraditionalChinese

Latin-2,comprising:

Albanian Czech English German

Hungarian Polish Rumanian

SerboCroatian Slovak Slovene

Latin-Cyrillic,comprising:

Bulgarian Byelorussian English

Macedonian SerboCroatian Ukrainian Russian

PDMSdoesnotsupportanyothercharacterset/language,nordoesitsupportthemixingof

anyoftheaboveexceptthemixingofoneFarEasternlanguagewithEnglish.

PDMSmustknowifyouareusinganonLatin1languageinordertodisplaycharacters

correctlyondrawings.

Touseanalternativecharacterset/language:

YoumustuseanappropriateversionofWindowsandasuitablekeyboard.

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YoumustselecttheappropriateoptionsfromtheWindows ,

Regional Options.

Forfurtherdetails,seethePDMSInstallationGuide,alsothePDMSAdminUserGuidefordetailsoffontfamilies.

6.4 Customisation facil ities; the programmable macrolanguage

MostPDMSmodulesmakeuseofaGUItodrivethesoftware.Theinterfacesprovidedwith

PDMSaredesignedtoapplytoawiderangeofsituationsandbusinessneeds.However,as

youbecome

more

experienced

with

PDMS

you

may

wish

to

design

an

interface

which

is

morecloselyrelatedtoyourrequirements.YoudothisusingAVEVAsprogrammable

macrolanguage(PML).

TherearetwoversionsofPML,theolderone,knownasPML1,andthenewerone,known

asPML2.PML2hasbeenspecificallydesignedforwritingandcustomisingtheFormsand

MenusofPDMSandotherAVEVAproducts.AlmostallthefacilitiesavailableinPML1and

theolderFormsandMenusfacilitiesarepresentinPML2.

BeforeyoubegincustomisingaGUI,youmusthaveagoodworkingknowledgeofthe

commandsyntaxforthemoduleyouareworkingwith.Thecommandsaredescribedin

detail

in

the

reference

manuals

for

the

modules.

PML2hasnotcompletelyreplacedPML1,andtherearesometaskswhicharecarriedout

moreefficientlyusingPML1facilities.Inparticular,thePML1expressionspackage,which

isusedwithinPDMSforwritingrulesanddefiningreporttemplates.

TheabilitytocustomiseindividualApplicationstosuityourownspecificneedsgivesyou

greatflexibilityinthewaysinwhichyouuseyoursystem.Butitalsointroducestheriskthat

yourmodifiedmacrosmaynotbecompatiblewithfutureversionsofthesoftware,since

theyarenolongerunderAVEVAscontrol.YourownApplicationsmaydivergefromfuture

standardversionsandmaynottakeadvantageofproductenhancementsincorporatedinto

thestandardproduct.Tominimisethisrisk,itismostimportantthatyourinhouse

customisationpoliciesconstrainanychangeswhichyoumaketotheApplicationssothat

theyretainmaximumcompatibilitywiththestandardproductatalltimes.Rememberthat

AVEVAcangiveyoufulltechnicalsupportonlyforproductsoverwhichithascontrol.It

cannotguaranteetosolveproblemscausedbysoftwarewhichyouhavewrittenyourself.

ForfulldetailsofPML,refertotheVANTAGEPlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationGuideandthePlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationReferenceManual.IfyouneedafulldescriptionofPML1,forexampleifyouaremaintainingoldcode,youwillneedtorefertoprevious

versionsofthePlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationGuide.ThelastonetodescribePML1fullywasdatedOctober1995.

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7 Basic GUI features

PDMSusesaGUIusingforms(dialogboxes)andmenuswithwhichMicrosoftWindows

usersshouldnotbeunfamiliar.ThischapterdescribesthoseGUIfeatureswhicharespecific

toPDMS.

7.1 Using the mouse

Youusethemousetosteerthepointeraroundthescreenandtoselectorpickitemsbyusing

themousebuttons.Thebuttonsperformdifferenttasksdependingonthetypeofwindow,

andthepositionwithinthewindow,wherethepointerispositioned.Theappearanceofthe

pointerchangesaccordingtothetypeofdisplayitemthatisunderneathit.

Thelefthandmousebuttonhasthreefunctions:

Onagraphicalview,clickingthelefthandbuttonwiththepointeroveradesign

elementresultsinthatelementbecomingthecurrentelement(thatis,thedesignitem

onwhichyouwanttocarryoutthenextoperation).

Inasequence

of

menus,

dragging

with

the

left

hand

button

activates

the

command

representedbythehighlightedmenuoptionwhenthebuttonisreleased.

Onaform,theeffectvariesaccordingtowhatyouselect.

Themiddlemousebuttonisusedprimarilytomanipulateagraphicalview;therighthand

buttonisusedtoaccessthemenuoptionsspecifictothegraphicalviewwindow.

7.2 Using forms

Formscanincludeanyofthefollowing:

textboxes

dropdownlists

optionbuttons

checkboxes

scrollablelists

actionbuttons.

Textboxesanddropdownlistsareexplainedbelow;theremainderareexplainedlaterin

thischapter.

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7.2.1 Using text boxes

Textboxesaretheareaswhereyoutypeinalphanumericdatasuchasnamesordimensions.

Atextboxwillusuallyhavealabeltotellyouwhattoenter.

Whenyoufirstopenaformwhichcontainstextboxes,thefirsttextboxontheformis

currentandatexteditingcursor(averticalbar)isdisplayedinthebox.Atextboxoften

containsadefaultentry(suchasunset)whenfirstdisplayed.Sometextboxesacceptonly

textoronlynumericdata,andentrieswiththewrongtypeofdataarenotaccepted.

Toenterdataintoatextbox:

Clickintheboxtoinsertthetexteditingcursor.

Typeintherequireddata,editinganyexistingentryasnecessary.(Youmayneedto

deletetheexistingentryfirst.)

Whenyouhavefinished,confirmtheentrybypressingtheEnter (orReturn)key.

Anytextboxwithanunconfirmedsettingishighlightedbyayellowbackground.

7.2.2 Using drop-down lists

Dropdownlistsletyouchooseoneoptionfromamultipleselection.Thelistwillusuallyhavealabeltotellyouwhatyouaresettingandwillshowthecurrentselection.

Theytypicallyhavethefollowingappearance:

Tochangethesetting,clickonthedownarroworbuttonfacetorevealthefulllistof

availableoptions,thenpicktherequiredoption.

7.3 Using menus

Menuoptionsinpulldownorpopupmenuscanbeinanyofthreeformats:

Standaloneoptionsinitiateanactionimmediately.

Optionsfollowedbythreedotsdisplayaform.

Optionsfollowedbyapointer,displayasubsidiarymenuthatoffers

afurtherrangeofoptions.

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7.6 More on using forms

Formsareusedbothtodisplayinformationandtoletyouenternewdata.Formstypically

compriseanarrangementofbuttonsofvarioustypes,textboxes,andscrollablelists.Input

toaformisusuallyviaacombinationofmouseandkeyboard.

Whileyouhaveaccesstoaform,youcanchangeasetting,returntotheinitialvalues,accept

andactonthecurrentdata,orcanceltheformwithoutapplyinganychanges,accordingto

thenatureoftheform.

7.6.1 Using option buttons

Optionbuttons(sometimesreferredtoasradiobuttons)areusedtoselectone,andonlyone,

fromagroupofoptions.Theselectionismutuallyexclusive,sothatselectingoneoption

deselectsothersinthatgroupautomatically.

Theytypicallyhavethefollowingappearance:

Optionselected

Optionnotselected

Tochangetheselectedoptionbuttoninagroup,clicktherequiredbutton.

7.6.2 Using check boxes

Checkboxesareusedtoswitchanoptionbetweentwostates,typicallysetandunset.

Unlikeoptionbuttons,theydonotinteract,sothatyoucansetanycombinationofcheck

boxesatthesametime.

Theytypicallyhavethefollowingappearance:

Set

Unset

7.6.3 Using scrollable lists

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Ascrollablelistisdisplayedasaverticallistofoptionswithinaform,withverticaland

horizontalscrollbarsalongitssides.Toselectanoption,clickonthelineyouwant.The

selectedlineishighlighted.

Somescrollablelistsletyoumakeonlyasingleselection,sothatselectinganyoption

deselectsallothersautomatically.Otherlistsletyoumakemultipleselections,withall

selectedoptionshighlightedsimultaneously.Youcandeselectahighlightedoptionina

multiplechoicelist,byclickingonitagain(repeatedclickstoggleaselection).

7.6.4 Using action buttons

Mostformsincludeoneormoreactionbuttons.YouusethesetotellPDMSwhattodowith

thedetails

you

have

entered

in

the

form.

Thecommonactionbuttonsare:

TellsPDMStoacceptthecurrentformsettings,andclosestheform.

Cancelsanychangesyouhavemadetotheform,andclosestheform.

TellsPDMStoacceptthecurrentformsettings,andleavestheformdisplayed

forfurtheruse.

Cancelsanychangesyouhavemadetotheform,andleavestheformdisplayed

forfurtheruse.

Closestheform,keepingthecurrentsettings.

Someformscontainmorespecifictypesofcontrolbuttonwhichcarryoutparticular

commandoptions.Theactionisindicatedbythenameofthebutton(suchAddorRemove).

7.7 Responding to alert forms

Alertformsareusedtodisplayinformationsuchaserrormessages,promptsandrequests

forconfirmationofchanges.Youshouldrespondbycarryingoutthetaskpromptedfor,or

byclickingonthecontrolbuttonsontheform(usuallyanOKorCancelbutton).

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7.8 Dockable Windows, Menu Bars and Tool Bars

PDMSusesanumberofMicrosoft.NETformswherewindowsaredockableand

undockable,andwhereotherwindowmanipulationfacilitiesareavailable.Forfulldetails

ofthesefacilitiesseethePDMSonlinehelp(forthegraphicalmodules),Dockable

Windows, Menu Bars and Tool Bars helptopic.

7.9 Using commands

PDMScommandscanbetypedinwhenusingPDMSviatheDisplay>Command Line

menuselection,

which

gives

the Command Window:

Togiveacommand,clickintheCommand>textentrybox,typeinthecommand,andpress

Enter.Thescrollablelistshowsthecommand(s)enteredandanyresultingoutputfrom

PDMS(includingerrormessages).

Commandeditingaidsareavailable:

ClickingonalineinthescrollablelistareacopiesthatlinetotheCommand >box.

CommandsyntaxintheCommand>boxcanbeeditedusingtheDeleteand

Backspacekeysinthenormalway.

HighlightingsomeorallofthetextintheCommand>boxandpressingtherightmousebuttongivesusefulWindowseditingcommands(Cut,Copy,Paste,Delete,

Undo).

7.9.1 Why use command syntax?

FormostpurposesyouwillwanttousePDMSviatheGUI.However,byusingcommands

youmaybeabletostreamlineyourmethodsofworkingandsaveyoutimeonrepeated

tasks.Inparticular,youmaywantto:

Createmacrostoautomaterepetitiveprocedures(seethePlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationGuideandReferenceManual)

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Designandcreatenewformsandmenusforyourgraphicaluserinterfacethatmatch

yourworkingneedsprecisely(seethePlantDesignSoftwareCustomisationGuideandReferenceManual)

InsomecasesitcanbeslightlyquickertousecommandsratherthantheGUIforsimple

operations.Forexample:

Q MEM listthemembersofthecurrentelement

Q ATT listtheattributesofthecurrentelement

NotethatyoushouldalwaysusetheGUItocreateelements.

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8 Basic operations in PDMS

WorkinanyPDMSmoduleismostlyaboutmanipulatingtheelementsandtheirattributes

inoneormoredatabases;eithertoadd,change,readordeletedata.Youmustthereforebe

abletotellPDMS:

whichdatabase(s)youwanttoaccess

whichelementsinthedatabasehierarchyyouwanttoaccess

whatchanges,ifany,youwanttomaketothedatabasescontents

Thischaptertellsyouhowtodothesethings

8.1 Querying

Youwilloftenfind,whenworkinginPDMS,thatyouneedtocheckexistinginformation

aboutsomeaspectoftheprogramsoperations.Forexample,youmayneedtofindout

aboutanyofthefollowing:

Thecurrentusageoftheprogramintermsofusers,modulesanddatabases

Theunique

code

which

identifies

the

process

you

are

running

and

the

station

you

are

runningitfrom(usefulforgeneratinguniqueworkfilenames)

Thecurrentsettingofacommandoption

Thecontentsofpartofaparticulardatabase;forexample,thecurrentsettingofan

attributeorthelistofmemberelementsownedbyaspecificelement

Theelementswhichmatchspecificselectioncriteriaenteredbyyou

EachmoduleincorporatesaQuerypulldownmenuwhichallowsyoutoaskaboutsomeof

thesetopics,thescopeofthefacilitybeingdependentupontheparticularmodulewhichyou

areusing.Forexample,theQuerypulldownmenuforDesignis:

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ThequeryingoperationsavailablefromtheGUIarefullyexplainedbytheonlinehelpfor

themoduleinquestion.

NotallofthequeryingoperationsavailablefromPDMScanbeaccessedusingtheGUI.For

theseother(general)options,theQUERYcommandmustbeused.SeethePDMSDesignReferenceManualPart1fordetails.

8.2 Current element and current list position

Chapter5explainedtheprinciplesofdatabasestructuresandtheconceptofownersand

members.Thissectionintroducestwonewconceptswhichapplytoallaspectsofdatabase

navigationwhen

you

are

using

aconstructor

module.

Whenyouareworkinginanydatabase,PDMSalwaysconsidersyoutobelocatedata

specificelementinthatdatabase.ThiselementisknownastheCurrentElement.

TheMemberListofanyelementcomprisesalistofpointerstothoseelementsdirectly

belowitinthedatabasehierarchy;thatis,tothoseelementswhichitowns.Thesepointers

haveadefiniteorder,identifiedbynumberedpositionsinthelist(seeFigure81).In

additiontobeingnotionallyattheCurrentElement,PDMSalsoconsidersyoutobeata

specificpointer.ThispositionisknownastheCurrentListPosition.

Current Element

Members ofCurrent Element

Pointer toCurrent List Position

1 2 3 4

List Position in Member List

Figure81CurrentElement,MemberListandCurrentListPosition

Asyoumoveaboutwithinadatabase,theCurrentElementandCurrentListPositionare

continuouslyupdatedsothatPDMSalwaysknowswhereyouare.Assoonasyouaccessa

newelement,thisbecomestheCurrentElement.

TochecktheCurrentElementanditsMemberList(innumericorder)atanytime,simply

clickthe boxnexttothedesiredcurrentelementintheDesign Explorer.Themembersof

thecurrentelementwillbeshow.Forexample:

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Alternatively,givethecommands:

Q CE todisplaythecurrentelement

Q MEM todisplaythememberslistofthecurrentelement

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8.3 Navigating to a given element

YouwouldnormallynavigatetoanelementbymeansoftheExplorerortheMemberslist.

8.3.1 The