Manual Plant 4D Athena SP2 - 4D Explorer-master

8/12/2019 Manual Plant 4D Athena SP2 - 4D Explorer-master

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Plant 4D Athena SP2

4 D E xp l o r e r M a n u a l

Version 1.2

Copyright 1996-2007 CEA Technology B.V., The Netherlands


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Table of contents

1. Introduction.......................................................................................2

1.1. General................................................................................................................2

1.2. Legal notice ......................................................................................................... 2

2. 4D-Explorer functionality.................................................................3

2.1. General................................................................................................................3

2.2. Databases ........................................................................................................... 3

2.3. Interface...............................................................................................................4

2.4. Authorization........................................................................................................ 4

2.5. Features ..............................................................................................................4

3. Getting started ..................................................................................5

3.1. Starting the 4D-Explorer....................................................................................... 5

3.2. The 4D Explorer (Projects) tree............................................................................5

3.2.1. System Administration Tree .....................................................................................6

3.2.2. Specifications Tree..................................................................................................9

3.2.3. Components Tree..................................................................................................11

4. Working on a project......................................................................17

4.1. Drawings............................................................................................................17

4.1.1. Creating New drawings..........................................................................................17

4.1.2. Opening a drawing ................................................................................................18

4.1.3. Renaming a drawing..............................................................................................19

4.1.4. Copying a drawing.................................................................................................20

4.1.5. Copy multiple drawings..........................................................................................21

4.1.6. Deleting a drawing.................................................................................................22

4.1.7. Including more drawing information........................................................................22

4.1.8. Viewing 2D information..........................................................................................23

4.1.9. Viewing 2D project reports.....................................................................................27

4.1.10. Viewing PIPE (3d models) information....................................................................29

4.2. Project Maintenance ..........................................................................................34

4.3. Miscellaneous options........................................................................................ 35

4.3.1. Dialog Editor .........................................................................................................35

4.3.2. Data Manager (Project reports)..............................................................................43

4.3.3. Executing queries..................................................................................................47

4.3.4. Project rights.........................................................................................................48

4.4. Issue Management.............................................................................................48

4.4.1. Creating a revision ................................................................................................49

4.4.2. Inspecting component changes..............................................................................51

4.4.3. Inspecting process changes...................................................................................53

4.4.4. Viewing revision drawing .......................................................................................53

4.4.5. Compare different revisions. ..................................................................................54


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4.4.6. Restoring P&ID data..............................................................................................55

4.5. Isometrics ..........................................................................................................55

4.5.1. Starting the Plant4D to Iso interface .......................................................................55

4.5.2. Viewing Isometrics ................................................................................................55

4.6. Attaching documents to your project................................................................... 564.7. Managing assets................................................................................................ 58

4.8. Project Management..........................................................................................59

4.9. Virtual TAG-numbers .........................................................................................59

4.9.1. Creating a virtual TAG number...............................................................................59

5. Authorization management ...........................................................625.1.2. Users....................................................................................................................64

5.1.3. Right Groups.........................................................................................................66

5.1.4. Assigning a Right Group to a project ......................................................................68

5.1.5. Assigning a project to a particular user...................................................................69

6. Miscellaneous .................................................................................70

7. Maintaining Plant-4D databases using the 4D-Explorer.............71


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Plant 4D Athena SP2 4D Explorer Manual

1 Introduction General Page 2 of 73

1. Introduction1.1. General

The 4D-Explorer module is used to present the project database information to both engineering

contractors and owner/operators in such a way that they can easily keep track of changes and assets and

see project related information at a glance.

The 4D-Explorer can either be operated as a single application or together with other Plant-4D modules.

Read this manual carefully before starting with the 4D-Explorer. If you have any questions during the

installation or operation, please contact your local Plant-4D dealer or visit the CEA website for more

information:

Website: http://www.cea-int.com

E-mail: [email protected]

1.2. Legal notice

This publication or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose

without the express written consent of CEA Technology.

CEA Technology makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to,

the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

CEA Technology, or any of its subsidiaries, shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental

or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. The name Plant-4D

is a

registered trademark of CEA Technology B.V., The Netherlands.

If you have any questions during the installation or operation, please contact your local Plant-4D dealer or

visit the CEA website for more information:

Copyright 1996-2007 CEA Technology B.V., The Netherlands
http://www.cea-int.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.cea-int.com/


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2 4D-Explorerfunctionality General Page 3 of 73

2. D-Explorer functionality2.1. General

The 4D-Explorer is the main Plant-4D front-end application that provides user access to all project, archive

and user/user group related information within the Plant-4D project/plant database environment.

One of the main functions is to structure the project and/or plant Information and assets in logical

units/groups and provide access to the CAD applications and the reporting facilities. User and group rights

are defined and maintained by the 4D-Explorer.

The 4D-Explorer enables the user to connect to a local project or plant information database even at

remote locations and is the integrator with regards to linking with other databases for maintenance,

purchasing and inventory (e.g. ERP systems).

The 4D-Explorer also provides issue management and revision control, to keep track of added, removed

and modified objects. The user is able to visualize the differences between various revisions and also able

to monitor the process data modifications.

Asdasd

2.2. Databases

The 4D-Explorer provides a tool for users to easily link to other database engines such as Oracle, SQLServer, MSDE and MS-Access. Just by selecting another type of database engine the system will connect

to it.


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2 4D-Explorerfunctionality Interface Page 4 of 73

2.3. Interface

The 4D-Explorer interface is very intuitive and offers a wide variety of options. All system options and

commands are activated by a simple mouse click. The user interface can be customized to meet company

specific requirements with regards to system dialogue, visualization and data representation.

2.4. Authorization

4D-Explorer, being the portal to all other Plant-4D applications, also prevents unauthorized usage. The

user has to have a username and password in order to be able to log on to the system and manipulate

the data. Rights such as read, write and file handling can be granted at various levels. Also the rights to

modify data or just viewing rights can be set per application and per username if required.

2.5. Features

The 4D-Explorer handles the following main features of Plant-4D:

Protection of the software against unauthorized usage. Through a user login system, the 4D-Explorer

offers a protection for the users valuable project/plant assets. Users can be connected to one or more

workgroups. Two main workgroups are (by default) available to the user. There is one with and one without

administrative rights.

Protection of drawings and project data against unauthorized and incompetent usage. When a

project is related to a workgroup the rights for each and every application have to be set. The following

settings are available: None, read, read and write, read, write and file handling. This methodology

enables the administrator to grant specific rights per project and per application.

Users and workgroup administration settings.All members of an administrator workgroup are able to

control the user rights and workgroup rights. These users are able to remove, add and modify the users

and workgroups from the entire system.

Controlling the project databases and drawings.All users with workgroup membership rights are able

to create new projects. Users with default rights in the current project are able to create, modify, erase and

rename drawings.

Launching the applications. Users are able to select and launch the desired application from the 4D-

Explorer start button.

Reporting and editing database information. The Plant-4D MS-Access front-end can be launched by

using the right mouse button and choosing Open DataManager.


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3 Getting started Starting the 4D-Explorer Page 5 of 73

3. Getting started3.1. Starting the 4D-Explorer

Select the icon from the computer desktop or the 4D-Exploreroption from the Programs >> Plant-4D

>> Start menu of Windows.

The program will load and your screen should look similar to the following image.

The Plant-4D Login dialog asks for a username and password. By default the system comes with both

the Username and password as sa (lowercase characters).

Note: This sa user holds system administration rights. Make sure that this password is changed after

installation to prevent unauthorized usage of the program.

If the picture above does not appear correctly on your screen please check if the dongle is attached to the

system, the license service is running and the proper licenses are assigned. If this is the case, please

make a note of the error messages displayed and forward those in e-mail to your local Plant-4D support

organization.

3.2. The 4D Explorer (Projects) tree

After logging into the 4D-Explorer, your window will look like this:


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3 Getting started The 4D Explorer (Projects) tree Page 6 of 73

On the left hand side a section called Projects is displayed. Clicking on the expands this tree. The tree

is based upon data available in the Plant-4D databases.

3.2.1. System Administration Tree

The tree at the System Administration tab is used to create new projects and to show all relevant

project information.

3.2 .1 .1 . Creat ing new pro jects

Click the System Administration tab and right click Projects in the System Administration (SAM) tree to

create a new project.


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Select New Project from the appearing popup menu and the following dialog will open.

Select the database on which the new project will be based from theSelect a source/template database

list. Any existing project database in the Plant-4D environment is available for this.

Note: The Prototype database is an empty project database shipped with Plant-4D.

Enter the name of the new project in the Type the name of the new project field.

Click OK to create the new project with those settings.


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Close and open the projects tree to view the new project.

3.2 .1 .2 . Ass ign ing spec i fi cat ions

Specifications need to be assigned to the project. Right click on the new project and select Spec and

components from the appearing popup menu.

Note: The Project ID field may vary depending on the number of projects previously created.

Click the Specifications tab and select either PID or PIPE as Application type.


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In the Specification Databases list you will find a list of available specification databases. SPEC is the

default specification database, but Plant-4D allows you to define own specification databases.

PRJ_LOCAL is a project specific specification database, which can be used for specifications referring

to specials only applied in specific projects.

In the Specifications Tables list you will find all available specifications in the databases checked in the

Specification Databases field.

Check the required specification tables from the list on the right hand side.

Note: Specifications can also be added to a template or prototype project database. All future project databases

using this template will incorporate these modifications. Project specific templates can be setup for convenience

this way.

3.2.2. Specifications Tree

The specifications tree is used to view specification data and to assign new specification databases.

3.2 .2 .1 . V iew ing spec if icat ion da ta

From the 4D-Explorer, you can get an overview of the content of specifications all logically grouped in the

tree. To view all dimensions defined in the spec, open the tree as shown below.


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3.2.2.2. Ass ign ing new spec databases to the Tree

Right click on Specifications and select New database.

.

Enter the new spec database name into the dialog box and click ok.

Reopen the specifications tree.

Note: The naming of this function can be rather confusing, because you might have the expectation now there is

a new database created somewhere. Actually there is only a reference created in the tree which expects to find a

database at the Projects location (where all other databases are stored) with the name you entered. So no


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database will be created; you have to do that yourself. Because of the complexity of specifications and their

databases it is recommended to make a copy of an existing database. Reuse and change existing definitions to

meet your needs.

The name displayed in the tree can be renamed using the Connection info option (right mouse click on

the database name).

Enter the new database description in the following dialog box.

Enter the new database name and click OK.

After reopening the Specification Tree it will be displayed in the tree.

This database can now be assigned to one or more projects. See section 0 forfurther details.

3.2.3. Components Tree

The components tree is used to view component data and to assign new component databases in a similar

way like discussed at Specifications (see 0). The Component Copy tool is also located here.


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3.2 .3 .1 . V iew ing component da ta

Open the components tree as shown below.

This will show which primitives and parameters are used to define a P&ID or PIPE component.

3.2.3.2. Ass ign ing new component databases to the Tree

Right click on Components and select New database.

Enter the new component database name into the following dialog box.

Note: Like the New Specification function, the naming of this function can be confusing. You might have the

expectation that this function creates a new database somewhere. Actually there is only a reference created in

the tree which expects to find a database at the Proj ects location (where all other databases are stored) with the

name you entered. So no database will be created; you have to do that yourself. Because of the complexity of

components and their databases it is recommended to make a copy of an existing database. Reuse and change

those existing definitions to meet your needs.

Reopen the components tree to refresh the list of component databases.


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The name displayed in the tree can be renamed using the Connection info option (right mouse click on

components).

Enter the new database description in the following dialog box.

Enter the new database name and press OK.

Reopen the Specification Tree to display it in the tree.

This database can now be assigned to one or more projects.

3 .2.3 .3. Component Copy

Left click on Component Copy. The following window will be shown in the 4D-Explorer.


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Select in the two Select Database windows the component databases.


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Select the component(s), which need to be copied and click the Copy button. The Ctrl and Shift can be

used to select multiple components.


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4 Working on a project Drawings Page 17 of 73

. Working on a projectThe project tree will show the following information for each project:

2D Drawings (PFD et P&ID),

Pipe Drawings (3D models),Isometrics,

Plant Grids,

2D Arrangements,

Project Documentation,

Asset management,

Project management and

Virtual TAG-numbers.

Plant Grids and 2D deliverables are discussed in the 2D-Deliverable utility manual. The others are

discussed in the following sections.

4.1. Drawings

4.1.1. Creating New drawings

To create a PFD, P&ID or Assembly drawing, right click the required drawing type in the 2D Drawings

section and click the command.


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For a Pipe drawing, right click on 3D Models and select New drawing.

.

Enter a drawing name in the dialog box and click OK.

Close and open 2D Drawings or 3D Models to see the new drawing listed.

Note: If you receive an error during the creation of this drawing, please check if this project if working with an

Athena SP2 database format. If your prototype project wasnt updated after upgrading to Athena SP2, this new

project inherited an incorrect database format. This is a common cause of such errors. In that case run the

Database Update Tool first (see the Installation Guide for more detailed information).

4.1.2. Opening a drawing

Click with the right mouse button on the drawing you like to open and select Start.


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Starting a 2D drawing will automatically start your CAD software. If your system is setup with multiple CAD

applications, Plant-4D will prompt you to select the one you would like to use.

Starting a 3d model (Pipe) drawing will show a window like the one below. Double click the CAD

application you want to start.

Another method to start this dialog box is by selecting the drawing and clicking the Start tab in the right

window of the screen.

4.1.3. Renaming a drawing

Right click the drawing and select Rename.

Enter a new drawing name in the following dialog box.


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4.1.4. Copying a drawing

Right click the drawing name and select Copy.

From here you can copy a drawing within the project, but also copy it to another project.

Enter a new drawing name and select a destination project.

In the following dialog box, a new name can be entered.


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When you want to copy a drawing to one of the other 2D drawing categories, like PFDs or assemblies, you

can change the Drawing type field to the appropriate type.

Note: When copying a drawing, elements of the copy are interpreted as copies also. Existing Tag numbers and

Line numberswill change. These will get a prefix consisting of DrawingID number and the @ sign.

For example, 1-HV-0001 will become 3@1-HV-0001.

4.1.5. Copy multiple drawingsWith the Copy function discussed in the previous paragraph, drawings can be copied one by one. In case

you would like to copy a batch of drawings, this could be done with this function but in case of a large

batch it can be a time-consuming job. Therefore 4D-Explorer provides a copy function for multiple

drawings.

Right click on the P&IDs-category in the tree and select Copy Drawings from the appearing popup

menu. The following dialog will appear:


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In this dialog we can check every drawing we would like to copy and setup the settings New drawing

name and Drawing type per drawing. These can be changed by selecting one of the drawings and

change those fields.

Note that although we started this function by clicking the P&ID category, you will find here a list of all 2D

drawings: not only P&IDs but also PFDs and Assemblies. Because of the different appliance of 3D

drawings, they wont be found here, but have their own copy drawings function.

In addition to the single drawing copy you will find here the Use prefix for Tag-Numbers and

LineNumbers field. As noted at copying a single drawing, a prefix will added to tag- and line numbers

during the copy process. With this option at the multiple copy function, you can select whether you want to

use such a prefix or keep their original tags for copied items.

4.1.6. Deleting a drawingRight click the drawing name and select Delete.

ClickYes to delete the drawing.

4.1.7. Including more drawing information

Right click the drawing name and select Edit Info.


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Here you can add additional information to drawings. It can be entered in the Info name and Info value

fields. Click the Save button to store it as a Drawing info entry.

4.1.8. Viewing 2D information

It is possible to view P&ID information by selecting one of the options in the right side 4D-Explorer window.

4.1 .8 .1 . V iew ing 2D draw ings

4D-explorer uses the Adobe SVG viewer with which it is possible to examine 2D and 3D drawings without

needing any CAD program installed.

Select the drawing name and click the right side window Preview tab. The right window will split up in a

screen with the drawing and a search column.


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View commands.

Pan: hold down Alt+Left mouse button.

Zoom: hold down Ctrl and click the left mouse button.

Zoom window: hold down Ctrl and press an d move the Left mouse button to create the window.

Refresh: click the preview tab.

From this viewer you can also access drawing and asset information:

Tooltips (Plant4D metric only): move the cursor over an item in the drawing.

Information window: left click an edge of an item and a window with basic information will appear in the

right column.

SVG menu: right click a clear area in the drawing and the SVG menu will appear (see below on the left).

SVG menu with Plant-4D tools: right click on the edge of an item or click the tooltip (Plant4D metric only)

of that item (see below on the right).


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The SVG menu has several commands of which the most important are:

Zoom in/out: zoom centered around cursor.

Original view: return to the start view of the drawing.

Higher Quality: change the quality of the preview plane.

Find: search for a specified string, for example a Tag number. This will be shown highlighted when found.

The commands in the extended Plant-4D menu are:


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Display data: this opens a window with detailed information on the item. Its possible to change or add to

the data shown.

Show linked documents: this shows a table with documents linked to the item.

Document manager: with this its possible to add documents to drawings and projects. See 0.

Components in a drawing can also be found using the search window on the right.

Select the type of component in Groups.

Enter a component TAG in Search or leave it empty to find any of that type. Press the question mark. A list

of results appears. Select one of them to highlight it in the drawing.

Click Reset Highlight to reset the image.


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4.1 .8 .2 . V iew ing 2D draw ing data

To view P&ID, PFD or Assembly data, select the drawing and click the Reports tab in the right side

window.

Detailed data of items in the drawing can be accessed by opening the tree down to the item level and

clicking it.

Data can be added or modified in this screen.

4.1.9. Viewing 2D project reports

Project reports can be accessed by clicking Project Report and selecting the subject.


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4.1.10. Viewing PIPE (3d models) information

It is also possible to view PIPE (3d models) information by selecting one of the options in the right side

explorer window.

4.1.10.1. Viewing PIPE model

To view the Pipe model in the 4D-Explorer window, select the drawing and click the Preview tab in the

right window.

View commands. Click the image screen to access

Pan: keyboard arrows: left (left arrow), right (right arrow), up (home button) and down (End button).

Zoom: keyboard arrows: zoom in (up arrow), zoom out (down arrow).

Mouse: scroll wheel.

Zoom speed: page up (faster), page down (slower).Rotate view: move the mouse with (view up/down) our without (free orbit) holding ctrl down.

Standard views can be selected with the view menu on the right.

Detail views: press the ctrl key and left click the component.

Refresh the view: click the preview tab.

Press Escape to leave the image screen.

Drawing style. This is set using the Fill menu on the right of the drawing. The options are:

Fill: solid.

Line: wireframe.Point: endpoints.


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From left to right: Fill, Line & Points rendering

Smoothness level. This is set using the Shade menu on the right of the drawing. The options are:Smooth shaded.

Flat shaded.

Smooth Flat

Finding components. The search window on the right can be used for this.

Select the type of component from the pull down menu on the left. Enter a component TAG in the box on

the right or leave it empty to find any of that type. Press the question mark. A list of results appears. Select

one of them to highlight and zoom to it in the drawing.

Accessing drawing information and menus.

Information window: left click an item and a window with information will appear in the right column.

Right click the drawing to access the menu below:

3D preview menu options.


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Show data: this opens a window with detailed information on the item. Its possible to change or add to the

data shown.

Clashes: clash detection. This is discussed in the next section.

Document manager: with this its possible to add documents to drawings and projects. See 4.7.

Show linked documents: this shows a table with documents linked to the item.

4.1.10.2. Clash detect ion

This is used to check whether or not components in a 3d model touch or are found within a set boundary of

each other. The command window is opened by right clicking the 3D drawing screen and selecting

Clashes.


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It is possible to create a new clash detection test or to use one from a previous session. Check New clash

detection and enter a description in the field below for a new test. Check Use existing and enter a

description. Check Calculate clashes for a new test and Review previous run to see past results.

Click Next.

There are several options is this screen.

Hard clash: check whether or not components actually touch.

Soft clash: check if components are found within a set distance of each other. The distance is set in the

field Distance.

Skip Primitives: skip any drawing elements not drawn with Plant4D.

Skip components with the same Line number.

Skip Connected components: these are correctly connected components.

Max. Node distance and Max. node Angle (degr.): this sets the margin within which two nodes are

considered to be correctly connected.

Press Finish.

The results are shown in the next window. Red crosses indicate hard clashes and blue crosses soft

clashes.

Select an occurrence and check one or more of the boxes to focus on it. Here is an example of a hard

clash where two pipes interfere with each other.


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Highlight Zoom Isolate

These clashes can be corrected by changing the drawing or the occurrences can be accepted by clicking

the cross in front of the component. It will change in a green checkmark.

Press Save to keep settings and results for future reference.

4.1.10.3. Viewing PIPE bi l l of mater ials

To view the bill of materials for a Pipe drawing, select it in the list and click at the right topside on the

B.O.M tab.

By opening the tree, detailed information will be shown.


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4 Working on a project Project Maintenance Page 34 of 73

4.2. Project Maintenance

Select the System Administration tab. Open the Databases and Project tree. Right click the project name

and select clean up.

Clean up will remove all unused records from the tables:

CLASH

COMMONDATA

COMPONENTS

INFO

LINERUNS

PRIMITIVES

PROCESS

SETTINGS

SOLODATA

You will be asked if you want to continue.


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4 Working on a project Miscellaneous options Page 35 of 73

Yes will permanently delete unused records.

4.3. Miscellaneous options

After right clicking a project and selecting Miscellaneous, the following applications can be started:

Dialog Editor

Execute queries

Open DataManager

4.3.1. Dialog Editor

With the Dialog Editor you can define the dialog boxes per project.

Select Edit Dialogs from the miscellaneous section. This will open the Dialog Editor window.

Here you find a list with all different dialogs within the project. Most of the dialog names consist of the text

COMP_ and some sort of ID. This numerical part refers to a type of Component in Plant-4D. Every

component related to this ID will get this particular dialog when its Data Dialog is requested.

Note: For an overview of which Component ID corresponds to what type of equipment, check out the

COMPONENT_GROUPIDS table in the project database.


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These dialogs appear as a standard Windows dialog when opened from the CAD environment, but when

opened from the 4D-Explorer they are automatically transformed into a web form.

Windows Dialog Web form

Select an entry, .e.g. COMP_002 for the valve dialog, from the Plant-4D Dialog Editor and click Edit

The dialog as currently defined will be shown. When you made any changes you can click on OK to

confirm them or click Cancel to discharge changes.


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4.3 .1 .1 . F ie ld de fin it i ons

Now click on a field to take a look at its definitions. A dialog in Plant-4D is nothing more than a collection of

data definitions. Based on those definitions the dialog is formed and will be generated.

These are the available definitions:

Tab sheet: In case you want to store lots of data about a particular component type, you are not restricted

to one fixed set of fields. You can easily extend the dialog by adding new tabs. Tabs are defined by the

TabSheet field in the field definitions. As soon as you refer to a new name in this field, Plant-4D will

automatically put that field on a new tab sheet.


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ObjectType: Plant-4D dialog supports several types of fields. The supported fields are shown below.

The required type of field can be selected from the ObjectType field of the field definition.

Row, Column: The location of the field on the dialog is defined by the data in those fields. It is calculated

starting from the Left upper corner and is defined in row and column indexes. E.g. to position a field in the

upper left corner, you need to set both row and column to 1. In case you want to position a field in the

centre of the dialog as in our example you see it is the 2nd

column so you should specify a column of 2

and it is on the 3rd

row so set the row to 3.

Width, Height: These fields specify the size of the dialog field, measured in columns/rows. E.g. if you

would like to have a field over the full width in our example you need to specify a Width of 3 (dialog has

three columns in total).

Note: However the Height field is provided at every type of field, it is only applicable on ObjectTypes List and

RadioGroup. In all other cases the specified Height will be ignored and interpreted as 1.

Caption: This field specifies the label above the field. If omitted no label will be shown.


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Hint: With this field you can specify a tooltip, which appears when a user hovers with the mouse above the

field.

Table.Field: Actually this part consists of two fields. With those you can specify a link between a field

somewhere in the definitions of the related components. This link means that data already stored in that

(data) field will be shown in the dialog field and data entered in the (dialog) field will be stored in that data

field.

Such a link can be established at two different levels, which can be selected from the combo field:

- CommonData;

- SoloData.

In the edit box at the left side of this field, you can enter the name of the column in the selected level

(actually database table). You wont get a list of it because Plant-4D supports customization/extension on

those tables, so you even can specify your own columns here.

SQL: In this field you can specify a list of data/selections. You can define a list with fixed selection or even

connect it to a column in the projects database.

A fixed list can be created by entering every item in the SQL field comma separated. To declare it as a

fixed list, you need to start with a # mark. Example: #List item 1, List item 2, List item 3, List item 4

To refer to a source of data you need to need to start with a @ mark in the SQL list. After that you can

specify the table and the column you want to use divided by a .. Example: @MyTable.Description

Note: However you can specify the SQL field for every ObjectType is it only support by the list controls, like

ComboBox and ListBox.

An exception on this is the RadioGroup. Based on the list specified at the SQL field, the list of options will

be generated. It behaves like a usual ListBox, but presented as a group of radio buttons. Example:

Source Result

In all other cases this field is ignored.


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InfoLevel: In Plant-4D authorization groups/users can get a certain level of authorization within a function

module. This level lays in a range from 0 (denied) to 5 (full access).

With the InfoLevel parameter of a dialog field you can define which minimum level is authorized to edit this

field. At the opening of the dialog the level of the current user will be determined. If its level is lower than

the specified InfoLevel, that field will be shown but in a disabled state. So no modifications can be made.E.g. when you set the InfoLevel on 3, a user on level 2 (or lower) can see the data of this field but cannot

change it. A user on level 3 (or higher) can both see and edit the data.

However Plant-4D provides a user level mechanism in the range 0 to 5, you can assign an InfoLevel of 6

to a field. Because a user level cant exceed 5, setting a field to level 6 will result in a field that is disabled

for all users. This is intended for fields/data that are only meant to provide information, but shouldnt be

edited.

4 .3.1 .2. Add ing f iel ds

Besides changing the properties of existing fields you can also extend the form with new fields. This action

should be done at dialog level instead of field level. So you need to click beside the tab sheet area and not

on one of the buttons. See the marked areas on the next picture. Those are the areas where you can click

to retrieve the general dialog settings.

When clicking here, the following dialog will appear:

Here you can click the New Item button to add a new item to the dialog. Next the dialog with field

properties will appear. Here you can change the appearance and behavior of the field like discussed in theprevious section.


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4.3 .1 .3 . Delet ing f ields

To delete an item you can click on the field to delete. The field properties dialog will appear. At the lower

part of the dialog you will find a Delete Item button in the middle. Click this button to delete the currently

selected item.

4.3 .1 .4 . Change Dialog set tings

In the examples we have seen the dialog has a certain size and the possibility of 5 rows and 3 columns of

fields. This is also a setting which can be changed. This action should be done at dialog level instead of

field level. So you need to click beside the tab sheet area and not on one of the buttons. See the picture

with marked areas at paragraph 0. Those are the areas where you can click to retrieve the general dialog

settings.


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First of all you can change the name of the Dialog in the DialogName field. This is its unique name Plant-

4D recognizes it on.

In the field Caption you can specify the title of the dialog.

Here you also find the Width and Height fields. Unlike the width and height definitions of a field, those aremeasured in pixels. To get a neat size which matches you need, it might take some trail and error.

At the # of Columns and # of Rows fields you can define the number of columns/rows you would like to

use on your dialog. These values are also related to the Width and Height parameters: the rows/columns

will be evenly distributed over the available space in the dialog. So you can extend the number of rows, but

if you dont change the dialogs height, fields may overlap.

5 rows at height 500

5 rows at height 250

Please refer to the customization manual for a more detailed description of the possibilities of the Dialog

Designer.


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4.3.2. Data Manager (Project reports)

Amongst other things, the Data Manager is used to display reports and fill out extensive data sheets of

equipment. This front-end application uses MS-Access, even if running on a SQL Server or Oracle

environment. In such case the Data Manager will just behave as an interface wrapper around you central

databases.

To start this application, select Open DataManagerfrom the Miscellaneous menu.

This will start the Data Manager application in MS-Access.


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4 .3.2 .1. Data Sheet s

From here you can access several data sheets to fill in additional data for particular types of equipment. To

access those, click the Process Data Sheets button.

4.3 .2 .2 . P rocess Repor ts

At Process Reports you will find an overview of all available reports. When opening such a report, first a

preview will be generated. From there you can do some modifications in page setup and/or sent it to a

printer.


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Tip: Sometimes it can be valuable to export data from a report instead of printing it. When you right click on a report

preview, you can select Export from the appearing popup menu. With this function you can export your data to common

formats like Excel or even XML (only for MS-Access XP and higher versions). This is a commonly used and easy way to

exchange data with other parties or systems.

4.3 .2 .3 . Mater ia l Take Off

The Material Take Off section is a more dynamic section for generating reports. Here you can select

whether you want to generate a complete MTO/B.O.M. or just a list per process line.

4 .3.2 .4. M is cel laneous

At this section you can do several integrity checks.

You can check on data consistency between your P&ID and PIPE models. With that you can check if the

naming of components and process lines are consistent between those environments. You will find several

reports for doing such investigations:

P&ID -> Pipe: An overview of all assets from P&IDs and related or non-related components in Pipe.

P&ID / Pipe: An overview of all assets which arent found in both environments.

Pipe -> P&ID: An overview of all assets from PIPE and related or non-related components in P&ID.


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Diameter P&ID -> Pipe: An overview of all inconsistencies in diameters between P&ID and Pipe.

The output of those overviews is also in a report format.

4.3.2.5. Set ti ng s

From this section you can change the settings for your project. As these settings are part of customization

or even defining company standards, please make sure you know what you are doing before making any

changes here. You can easily mess up those settings with unwanted results or even malfunction of Plant-

4D.

For more detail information of those settings, see the Customization Manual.


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4 .3.2 .6. Cus tom izat ion

One of the strengths of Plant-4Ds Data Manager are the customization possibilities. You can easily

change the lay-out of reports to met your company standards, extend presented data existing reports or

even add your own reports to it. For a detailed description of such customizations, see the Customization

Manual or contact the support desk of CEA for advice.

4.3.3. Executing queries

With this option you can execute queries defined in file SQL.INI. The query is only executed on the

selected project.

Select Execute queries from the Miscellaneous menu. The following dialog box is started.


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4 Working on a project Issue Management. Page 48 of 73

Some common queries are already available. Click to view all those queries.

4.3.4. Project rights

In the project tree, there is also an option to show the rights of the current project.

See chapter 0 forauthorization management.

4.4. Issue Management.

The 4D-Explorer supports revision control and issue management on P&ID drawings.

In the P&ID tree, a revision section is available to store and maintain historical data.


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4.4.1. Creating a revision

A revision can be added to the current P&ID drawing by selecting Add Revision tab in the right side

window.

The following window will be shown.


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Enter the desired data and click Add revision.

Depending on the workflow, e.g. status and/or revision can be defined.

The revision details can be viewed by clicking the revision in the tree.


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4.4.2. Inspecting component changes

By selecting Component changes, an overview is shown of new or modified components in the 4D-

Explorer. Click on the + in front of the component ID to view more details.

Added components will look like:


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The section Modified Components displays changed component data. The old data is displayed in red.


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4.4.3. Inspecting process changes

By selecting Process changes, an overview of modified process data will be displayed. Click the + in front

of the process ID to view more details.

4.4.4. Viewing revision drawing

By selecting the View tab, the P&ID drawing of the selected revision will be shown.


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4.4.5. Compare different revisions.

Select Revisions in the tree and click the Differences tab in the right window.

In the left and right windows different revisions can be selected.


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4 Working on a project Isometrics Page 55 of 73

4.4.6. Restoring P&ID data

P&ID data can be restored. Select the revision ID (you want to rollback to) from the tree and click on the

Restore tab.

Click the Restore button to start this function. Be aware that data will be lost if data was changed after

setting a revision.

4.5. Isometrics

4.5.1. Starting the Plant4D to Iso interface

Select Generate Isos after right clicking a pipe drawing.

4.5.2. Viewing Isometrics

Generated isometrics can be viewed by selecting the dxf file in the isometrics iso type tree.


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4 Working on a project Attaching documents to your project Page 56 of 73

In this viewing window, the left mouse button is used for panning. CTRL left mouse is used for zooming

and also the right mouse button has several functions.

4.6. Attaching documents to your project

Right click on Project Documents and select Document Managerfrom the appearing popup menu.

The Document Manager opens in a new screen.


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4 Working on a project Attaching documents to your project Page 57 of 73

Note that document in the context of the Document Manager isnt restricted to Word-documents, but can

contain any file format supported by Windows. So you can add Excel-files with calculations, PDF-files with

data/instructions from your supplier, CAD-drawings from a 3rd

party supplier, etc. Everything you would like

to keep organized in your project, you can add with the Document Manager.

Right click one of the document groups and click on Add documents to selected group. Select the file

you want to attach to the project.

Note: The Document Manager isnt intended to be a full document management system. So it doesnt storedocuments into the database but just a link to the location of the file. If you move or remove a linked document,

be aware of the fact that it will not be noticed by Plant-4D and will result in a broken link when trying to open it

from 4D-Explorer. In that case you need to reassign the document to the project.

From the 4D Explorer tree you will see that you get an overview of all of the related documents. Expand

Project Documents in the tree for that.


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4 Working on a project Managing assets Page 58 of 73

Before starting the document first select check out and then start it.

4.7. Managing assets

Click Asset management and the underlying elements to view the details of all assets that are present in

the P&IDs.


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4 Working on a project Project Management Page 59 of 73

4.8. Project Management

Click Project management and Time spent per drawing for an overview of time consumption per

drawing.

4.9. Virtual TAG-numbers

This option makes it possible to attach assets to a project without creating a graphical representation.

These will appear in bill of materials and the information can be linked to components later.

4.9.1. Creating a virtual TAG number

Right click Virtual TAG-numberand select New.

Select the type of asset to be added from the list. Enter the TAG data and click Insert.


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4 Working on a project Virtual TAG-numbers Page 60 of 73

The Virtual TAG will appear in the tree. Click the asset to open a window where additional information can

be added.


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4 Working on a project Virtual TAG-numbers Page 61 of 73

4.9.1.1. L ink ing a v i r tua l TAG to a drawing element .

Place the component in the drawing and enter the id of the Virtual TAG when asked for in the TAG

dialogue.

After clicking OK this window will appear. Click OK again to accept.

The virtual Tag number is now linked to the component and has been removed from the Virtual TAG list.

Right click Virtual Tag Numberand select Purge to remove any data related to old Virtual Tags.

Error! Objects cannot be created from editing field codes.


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5 Authorization management Virtual TAG-numbers Page 62 of 73

5. Authorization managementAuthorization management can be set in the user section of the 4D-Explorer. Click on User.


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In this tree, users groups and a rights profile (rights group) can be set.

A right group is linked to a project.

5.1.1.1. Gro up s

Open the tree Users, groups and rights. Then select the Groups branch. By default, three groups are

defined: administrators, process and pipe.

Users are assigned to these groups.

5.1 .1 .2 . Creat ing a new group

Right click Groups and select New.

Enter the details for the new group in the following dialog box.

5.1 .1 .3 . Ass ign ing users to a group in the group d ialog

Select a user and click on to assign that user to the group.


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5.1.2. Users

5.1 .2 .1 . Creat ing or mod i f ying a user

Right click Groups and select New.

Define the new user in the following dialog box. The user can also be assigned to one or more groups in

this dialog box

Assigning Database login information is only used when Plant-4D databases are stored on ORACLE or

SQL-Server.

Leave everything blank to use SQL Server with NT Authentication,


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Check the option to logon on ORACLE or SQL Server using SQL Server

Authentication. The login name and password are assumed to be identical to the 4D-Explorer login name if

no username and password is defined.

Fill in a username and password to use this as the ORACLE login ID or SQL-Server login ID using SQL-

Server authentication.

Right click on the user to change these settings.

A user can change the password. If the user does not remember the password, the Plant-4D administrator

has to first delete and then recreate the user.

5.1.2.2. Ass ign ing users to a group in the user dia log

Select the groups the user needs to be assigned to.

Click on to add the user to this group.


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5.1.3. Right Groups

A right group (read profile) is used to set the security of Plant-4D. One or more groups are assigned to a

right group.

By default a common right group is defined, containing Administrator, Pipe and Process groups. Each has

rights to certain applications.

5.1 .3 .1 . Creat ing a Righ t Group

Right click Right Groups in the tree and select New to create a new Right group.

The following dialog will open.


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Enter a new right group Name and click the in front of the desired group and application. The Level is

referring to rights in the dialog boxes used in the Plant-4D modules.


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5.1 .3 .2 . Mod if y ing a R igh t Group

Right click an existing Right Group and select Edit.

See the previous section to set these rights.

Select Delete to delete the Right Group.

5.1.4. Assigning a Right Group to a project

Open the Projects tree and right click on Project Rights and select Edit.

The following dialog will be opened.

Select the desired group(s) you want to assign to this particular project and click OK.

In this dialog, it is also possible to create, delete or modify a Right Group.

If a Right group doesnt have the authorization to start a Plant-4D application, the following message will

appear:


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5.1.5. Assigning a project to a particular user

Right click Projects in System Administration (SAM).

The following dialog box will open:

Select the desired project to be assigned to the user.


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6 Miscellaneous Virtual TAG-numbers Page 70 of 73

6. MiscellaneousThe Miscellaneous section in the 4D-Explorer tree shows additional databases. One refers to the catalog

database. The other one refers to the Isogen database.


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7. Maintaining Plant- D databasesusing the D-ExplorerDatabases that are deleted in the 4D-Explorer, are only marked for deletion in the PCE database.

To delete these permanently, right click Database and select Clean Up.

The following warning will be displayed.

Once the databases are deleted you will see.

To view the settings of your 4D explorer click on Open PCE database (linked tables).

The Clean upjust done doesnt only affect the PCE, but also cleans up all projects. Sometimes it isnt

wanted to clean up all project, but just a single project. In case you would like to purge just a single project

right click on that particular project in the (System Administration) tree. Next select Clean up from the

appearing popup menu.