Advanced Features6.1

Some Advanced FeaturesThe purpose of this section is to inform users about some of the more advanced features which areavailable in Personal ISOGEN , and the extra information which can be provided on the Isometricdrawings or in text files. For detailed description of these facilities and others, and instructions onhow to use them, users should refer to the Reference Manual.1. Alternative Text (AText)2. User Positioned Text (TextPos)3. Weights and Centre of Gravity4. User Defined Symbols

Advanced Features6.21) AText - Alternative TextWhat is AText?AText (Alternative Text) allows users to substitute their own preferred terminology in place ofthe standard ISOGEN text on the isometric.Example 1. The standard text heading on the BOM for materials needed for fabrication isFABRICATION MATERIALS - as shown here.If required this could be changed to some other text string, for example, FAB SHOPCOMPONENTS - when the heading would then look like this.

Advanced Features6.3Example 2. Where a pipeline connects to a nozzle on a vessel the standard text to indicate this onthe isometric is CONN. TO - as shown here.Again, this could be changed to some other text string, for example, ATTACH TO - as shownbelow.To effect AText changes like these, you don’t need to replace all the standard AText strings thatare held in the program, as little as just one word may be changed if that’s all that is needed.

How it Works - The BasicsAll the standard text generated on an isometric by Personal ISOGEN is held internally in theprogram in the form of a series of individual text strings.Each of these text strings has a unique identification number to enable recognition of that textstring, both by the program and the user. e.g. The identification number for the textFABRICATION MATERIALS used on Example 1 on the preceding page is -300 while theidentification number for the text CONN. TO on Example 2 is -208. The total number of standardtext strings held by the program in this way is currently in excess of 300A standard text string may either be a single character, a single word or a group of words.Furthermore, some special ATexts are, by default, set to a blank word. All the standard textstrings, their identification numbers and a description of their uses are listed in the ISOGENOPTIONS & ATEXT section of the Reference Manual.

Advanced Features6.4

Where AText is storedIn the Personal ISOGEN system, all User defined AText is stored in the ALTERNATIVE-TEXTfile. This is an ASCII text file that can be created and maintained using any suitable text editor butto simplify the use of this feature there is an Atext Editor available to users of Personal ISOGEN.If you do not have this editor please ask your Piping Design System supplier or contact AliasLimited directly.Once created, the file is automatically accessed by the program every time Personal ISOGEN isrun. Default ALTERNATIVE-TEXT files are held in each isotype directory under\PISOGEN\STANDARD and each has the extension .ALT. These settings turn off some ISOGENtext which would otherwise over write parts of the drawing frames provided. They are loaded intothe isotype directories when a project is created. The default files can be customised using theAtext Editor or a suitable text editor (e.g. the EDIT program in DOS or the Windows Notepad) forchanges to be applied to all projects, or project specific changes can be made to the copies in theproject area after it has been created.Note that all the standard AText for Personal ISOGEN is stored internally in the program itself. Ifyou wish to use all this default text and do not want to create any of your own AText at all thenyou do not need an ALTERNATIVE-TEXT file. The line defining the ALTERNATIVE-TEXT filecan then be removed from the appropriate ISOGEN.FLS files and the .ALT files can be deletedfrom the isotype directories for the project.Users of the Atext Editor will not need to know any more than this but for those using a simple texteditor the following will help.

Changing An AText StringTo replace any Personal ISOGEN default text string with your own wording, all you have to do isadd a record to the ALTERNATIVE-TEXT file. This will consist of the AText identificationnumber followed by the replacement text. All AText identification numbers are negative and hencemust be preceded by a minus sign, as illustrated here. A $ symbol between two words will causethe string to be broken into two lines. A ? symbol causes ISOGEN to introduce data which it hascalculated or found in the piping data file. The specific action of ? depends on the particularAText item, and the Reference Manual gives full details.

Examples-208 ATTACH TO-300 FAB SHOP$COMPONENTS-456 SEE SKETCH ?

Advanced Features6.5If the record consists of the identification number alone, the corresponding ISOGEN text will beturned off together with any associated data. eg-317-318will turn off the text strings PIPE NS and CL LENGTH from the summary area along the bottomof the Material List and the centre line length summary will not be included in the drawing.

Foreign Language UseAText can be of particular benefit to non-English language users who wish to produce isometricscontaining text in their native tongue. However there are restrictions governing which charactersare permissible.

The Usable Character SetOnly standard English, and certain special purpose characters, as listed here, are used in ATextdefinitions.Upper or lower case letters in the range A to ZNumeric characters in the range 0 to 9A blank space character (from the space bar)The symbols * + - . , : [ ] ( ) # ’ < > = | & %

. Although the AText feature has a considerable degree of built-in flexibility, users must

exercise a certain amount of care when defining their own words, particularly in respect ofword lengths. As a general rule, newly defined words or word strings should be about equalin length or shorter than the text that is being replaced. (Obvious exceptions to this are thecases of the single line headings in the Material List region.)

N Take care when assigning AText definitions - ISOGEN will not warn you in cases where

words are too long and hence cannot be accommodated in the standard space provided onthe isometric. Badly designed AText can lead to undesirable results - such as over-writingor incorrectly positioned text.

Advanced Features6.62) TextPos - User Positioned TextThe TextPos feature is used to position various ISOGEN parameters at user defined locations onthe user’s own backing frames.(Although Personal ISOGEN offers users the option of using several supplied drawing frames, itis most likely that once you have become an established user, you will want to make your ownframe design and have your isometrics plotted onto that).To specify text positions, a User Positioned Text Definition file is created with a record for eachrequired parameter. There is a definition file for each “isotype” in the subdirectories under eachproject. Each record in these files includes a code to identify the parameter and the XY coordinatesat which the text is to be positioned. Further data is specified to define the characterwidth and height. See example below.Examples of such parameters arethe PIPELINE REFERENCEthe PROJECT IDENTIFIERthe PLANT AREAthe PIPING SPECIFICATIONthe DATE OF ISSUE

ExampleIn the following example the TextPos feature has been used to locate data in a user definedbacking frame at pre-defined positions on the isometric. Here, these positions are all in fixed boxeswhich are next to an associated box containing identification text.e.g. TexPos has placed the pipeline reference 1.5”-HGP-4250 in the empty box allocated forthat purpose. This is below the associated box containing the fixed descriptive wording PIPELINEREF which is part of the drawing frame.

Advanced Features6.7The definition file for this TextPos would be as follows:Text ! Heading line 1ID X Y Char Char ! Heading line 2No Pos Pos Width Height ! Heading line 3------ ------ ----- ----- ------ ! Heading line 4! Heading line 5-6 31200 27300 0 450 ! PIPELINE REF-8 40400 27300 0 450 ! ISSUE NUMBER-9 23400 3400 0 280 ! PROJECT I/D-10 23400 2200 0 280 ! PLANT AREA-11 23400 1000 0 280 ! PIPING SPEC-14 30600 1000 0 280 ! PROCESSING DATE

-17 30600 3400 0 280 ! PAINTING SPEC-19 30600 2200 0 280 ! OPERATING TEMP-700 19700 28200 ! NORTH ARROW-702 37500 27300 0 450 ! DRAWING NUMBER-703 38500 27300 0 450 ! NUMBER OF DRAWINGS

Advanced Features6.8Explanatory Notes1. All X and Y drawing positions and character height must be specified in 1/100 millimetreunits.2. The 5 file heading lines shown above are all mandatory and must be present in the file3. All Text I/D numbers are negative. The - sign preceding the number must appear in columnposition 1.4. Data input is ‘free-format’ - this means the number of spacing-out characters between the datafields is not fixed.5. Character Width should be set to zero (0) as this field is not yet operational.6. The exclamation mark symbol ( ! ) can be used to denote useful comments. Any datafollowing it on a line of input will be ignored by the program.7. You may completely eliminate an unwanted text item that would normally be generated on theisometric but which is not required (for example PLANT AREA) by setting both its X and Ydata co-ordinates to zero ( 0 ).8. You do not need create a POSITIONED-TEXT file if you are using the standard ISOGENdrawing frame and are therefore not using the TextPos feature.

The North ArrowTextPos may also be used to position the North Arrow. When doing this note from the sketchbelow where the X and Y fixing points are on the North Arrow.

TextPos identification numbersThe following tables list all the permissible TextPos numbers in the Personal ISOGEN system.TextPos Table 1. Regular TextPos.I.D.Number Use-6 Pipeline Reference-8 Revision Identifier-9 Project Identifier-10 Plant Area-11 Piping Specification-12 Pipeline Pressure Rating-14 Processing Date

Advanced Features6.9-15 Insulation Specification-16 Tracing Specification-17 Painting Specification-19 Pipeline Operating Temperature-23 Standard Bend Radius-25 System Isometric Reference-600 to-699 Additional user defined pipeline attributes-700 The North Arrow-702 Isometric Drawing (Or Sheet) Number-703 Number Of Isometric Drawings (Or Sheets)TexPos Table 2 - TextPos for the Weights and Centre of Gravity facility.-704 Total Weight of all components on DRG

-705 " " " Fabrication components only on DRG-706 " " " Erection components only on DRG-707 " " " Offshore components only on DRG-710 Weight of Unlisted Items on DRG-711 Total Dry Weight (empty pipe) for complete pipeline-712 Total Wet Weight (full pipe)-713 Total Insulation Weight-718 Total Fabrication Weight for Pipeline (All DRG’s)-719 " Erection " " " " "-720 " Offshore " " " " "-714 C Of G Dry (Empty)-715 C Of G Dry (Empty) + Insulation-716 C Of G Wet (Full)-717 C Of G Wet (Full) + Insulation

3) Weights and Centres of Gravity (C of G)If component weight information is available, Personal ISOGEN can calculate pipeline or spoolweight and centre of gravity. If the Piping Design System does not support component weight datathe Component Information Module (see Reference Manual for details) allows the user to specify therequired data in an external file and thereby take advantage of the facilities within PersonalISOGEN.Depending upon the features required, information can be provided for the following pipelineconditions :-1. Empty pipeline2. Full pipeline3. Insulated pipeline - Empty or Full4. Detailed component Weights are also available.

Advanced Features6.10Examples1) This is how Weights and Centre of Gravity information can be reported on the isometric:Here, the information is written to a pre-determined area of the drawing frame using the PersonalISOGEN TextPos feature. (This particular example does not show insulation details).2) Detailed Component Weights.This shows how component Weights can be included on the Material List.3) Weights and C of G output to a text file.PROJECT NO. OG-26A AREA REF. AR-J-3PIPING SPEC. PS-101 RUN DATE 01 NOV 95WEIGHT WEIGHTPIPELINE DRG EMPTY FULL C of G C of GREF.. NO (LBS) (LBS) EMPTY FULL----------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- ----------3”-PTA-1082 1 428.3 585.6 E 510’6” E 508’3”N 476’4” N 479’1”EL +56’3” EL +57’7”

Operating FilesThe generation of Weights and C of G information in Personal ISOGEN is achieved through theuse of the following user provided text files.1. The Component Information File (CIF) which holds individual component weights, andpipeline contents weights expressed as weight of water for Pipeline Full calculations.EMPTY PIPEFULL PIPEWEIGHT LBS C of G POSITION585.6

428.3 E 510’ 6" N 476’4" EL +56’3"E 508’3" N 479’1" EL +57’7"

Advanced Features6.112. The Insulation Weights File (IWF) which contains insulation weights for the variousInsulation Specifications.3. The Specific Gravity File (SGF) which contains a Specific Gravity value for each pipelinereference on the project.4. The Function Definition File (FDF) which is a master control file that defines the structure ofthe CIF, IWF and SGF.

Explanatory Notes1. The IWF is only needed if you want to consider the effect of insulation in Weight and C of Gcalculations.2. Similarly, the SGF is only needed if you only want to calculate Weights and C of G for Fullpipelines.3. The minimum file requirements are a CIF and FDF. These will provide the capability ofgenerating Weights and C of G information for Empty pipelines only.4. As an alternative to obtaining basic component Weight information from the CIF, if availablein the 3D Design system, it may be passed to Personal ISOGEN in the piping component file.In addition (or as an alternative) to placing the calculated Weights and C of G on the Isometricdrawing, Personal ISOGEN can put the results in a text files.

4) User Defined Symbols.Most of the standard symbol shapes that are plotted on Personal ISOGEN isometrics may beredefined by the user if required.For example, the standard shape for a globevalve that looks like this -Could be made to look likethis -Similarly, the standard weld neck flange shape here -Could be made to look like this -This is how these new shapes would look on the isometric -

Advanced Features6.12These shapes are defined as ISOGEN Symbol Keys (SKEY’s) and the creation of new of shapeslike these is achieved through the use of a User Defined Symbol File that contains redefined data.This file must have an entry in the ISOGEN.FLS:BINARY-SYMBOLS SYMSET1.BSMThe command set in the symbol file permits the following operations :-1. Using X-Y points, the redefinition of symbol shapes for existing SKEY’s2. The creation of new shapes with new SKEY’s3. Scaling of symbols

Creating a User Defined Symbols FileWhilst in principle it is possible to create a User defined Symbols file using a text editor to createrecords in the required format and then converting this file to Binary foramt using a translatoravailable from Alias Limited, this is a very laborious and time consuming process. Alias Limitedhas therefore created a User Defined Symbols Editor which allows the graphical construction ofSymbols and the creation of the Binary file in the required format. If this utility has not beenprovided with your Personal ISOGEN installation please ask your Piping System supplier orcontact Alias Limited directly.

Advanced Features7.1

7. Further InformationFull details of these and other ISOGEN features can be obtained through your Piping Systemsupplier support channel or by contacting:Alias Limited16 Seymour CourtTudor RoadManor ParkRuncornChechire WA7 1SYEnglandTel: +44 (0)1928 579311Fax: +44 (0)1928 579389Email: Info@alias.ltd.ukOr visit us on our Web Page at WWW.alias.ltd.uk