• Surface Resolution: When you enable the 3D Drawing Mode radio button, a Surface Resolution setting will be activated. This value assigns AutoCAD;s SURFTAB1 and SURFTAB2 environment variables that control the mesh display of component graphics. A number between 2 and 32766 is required, while a setting of 12 or 16 is recommended. Changing this value does not change the Surface Resolution setting assigned to previously inserted components. You toggle the display of the inherent mesh representation of 3D components with the Piping Tools>3D Display Modes>Mesh command.
• 2D HL Options: When you enable the 2D Drawing Mode radio button, the Surface Resolution option will be replaced by a 2D HL Options button. Pressing this button displays the HLR Options dialog shown below, which enables you to define how hidden line removal is haldned for the2D-Double Line representations. Hidden line removal is handled on a per component basis with respect to the settings defined in this dialog.
The Output Hidden Geometry check box determines if hidden line output should be displayed for each component. Enabling this check box will activate the Output Properties grid in this dialog. The grid options define the manner in which hidden line output is displayed as described below:
Visibility If the “Light bulb” is ON (yellow), then visibility is turned ON and hidden lines will be visible.
Color Assigns the color of the visible hidden lines.
Linetype Selects the line type to be used for the hidden line. Only loaded line types can be used from this selection and there will be no interface to load line types. The standard CAD interface should be used for this purpose.
Lineweight Determines the weight of the visible hidden lines. When you click within this grid field, a Browse button will appear. Press this button to display a dialog to assign the desired settings. Select the desired Units, then pick the desired line weight that will be used for your 2D representations.
A brief description of the remaining fields in this dialog is provided below. Review the descriptions below, then set the starting values as shown in the previous figure and press OK.
FIELD DESCRIPTION
Specification Path Displays the root specification directory path. Sub-directories that reside below this directory will appear as options in the Specification:
selection list covered below. This path is defined in the configuration selected when you started this drawing.
Specification Lists the specification directories that reside below the Specification Path shown. Select a spec directory from this list to make it active.
New specifications can be created (or existing one edited) using the specification Generator.
Nominal Size Lists the available main nominal pipe sizes from the selected specification. The selected size is applied to all subsequent components placed in the model, provided the size is available for that component in the specification.
Other Database
Fields
Settings are provided to enable you to specify the value that will be written in the external drawing database for Insulation Thickness, Insulation spec, and Paint Code. These values will be stored in the external drawing database for components when they are placed. To graphically control the display of pipe insulation, enable/disable the show Insulation checkbox in this dialog.
From Component Prompts you to select an existing 3D component an then automatically resets the Drawing Preferences dialog settings from the selected component.
Graphics component when placed. If the port is not horizontal, and the ports end condition are set to be optimized, then the graphics are optimized at that port. If a vertical component port is found, the entity is changed to the Layer and Line Type specified below.
This option may be enabled manually while running the application as follows:
Enable: (at_PipingSystem_setVariable “Optimized_2d_Graphics” “1”) Disable: (at_PipingSystem_setVariable “Optimized_2d_Graphics” “0”) You can fully customize 2D optimization settings for a project on the Piping/2D Optimization property page in the Project Administrator application.
Drawing Model Representation
Refer to the explanation prior to this table.
Component
Color/Layer These settings determine the set of rules that define component color and layer attributes. Components of the same Size, Layer, Spec, Line No., Paint value or Service can be colored the same in order to visually distinguish them when viewing the model. Likewise, components can be arranged on the same layer according to their specification or Line Number.
Data Mode Determines how settings are applied when routing components.
“From Connecting component,” extracts the component preferences (size, spec, line number, and insulation thickness) from the existing component and applies them to the connecting component that is being placed. This option overrides the Drawing Preferences dialog settings to provide an easy method of maintaining consistency. “From Settings,” will enforce the settings assigned in the Drawing Preferences dialog despite the preferences associated with a connecting component.
Auto Router Mode Enable this switch to automatically connect a selected component to the run end of the previous component. This is the fastest method of placing a series of connected components in a continuous pipeline. If the selected component contains a branch or a bend, you will still be prompted to specify the orientation.
Show Insulation This check box controls the graphical display of insulation on pipe components in the drawing when they are placed.
Debug Mode This switch should ONLY be enabled if you are customizing/creating component placement scripts or related functions. When enabled, this switch places BasicScript execution in debug mode. When a Basic Script function is executed, it will display in the Script Editor in Debug Mode to enable you to step through each step of the function as it is executed. This is primarily used to locate/test for errors in customized Basic scripts.
Default Spec Choice When a component is selected for placement, PIPING searches the selected specification for the component record based on the component preferences set in the Drawing Preferences dialog and the type of component selected. If more than one match is found, the Specification Selection dialog displays to enable you to select the desired component from the matching records. For example, the component records may have the same size and type, but may have different facings, end conditions, schedules, ratings, etc.
When the Default Spec Choice switch is enabled, PIPING will place components marked as defaults in the specification automatically, without displaying the Specification Selection dialog. A component
may be marked as the default selection by placing a 1 in the Option Code field of the specification record using the spec Generator application.
Weld Gaps Welded joints determine the fastener used to connect welded components based on this setting. If the check box is enabled, a weld gap will be inserted using the fastener basic script at_weldedjoint_fasteners to insert AT_WELDGAP. If this check box is disabled, then a weld gap will not be inserted, but a buttweld fastener will be inserted using this script to insert AT_BUTTWELD.
AutoFlange If this toggle is enabled, the application determines if the component’s class definition contains the following definition when a component is inserted into the model:
ENABLE_AUTOMATE_OPTION=1
If true, then following the component’s insertion, the function attempts to “automate” each open port. It looks in the Auto_Mate specification table for a record that has MAIN_SIZE and END_COND field values that match the open port.
If found then a component of the class specified in that record is inserted, connected to the open port.
Save Port Data Enable this option to save joint, port, and fastener data in the external drawing database. This information is saved in the drawing by default.
Advanced Tap Port Method
The Advanced Tap Port Method is a tap port insertion method that will enable you to create a tap port at any position and any direction.
Enabling this check box and then specifying that you want to insert a top will prompt you for the XYZ position of the tap port, the direction of the tap port, and the tap position projected on the centerline of the pipe (tap port origin).
Tracing Tracing is basically an electrical form of insulation. For example, it may be used to keep fluid warm enough to flow in piping. This toggle determines whether or not the TRACING drawing database field for components is turned ON (set=1). This is used by AUTO-ISO and ISOGEN to indicate that these components have tracing using different linetype.
The default values that display the first time this dialog is opened are defined in the configuration that you selected when you started the drawing. Once a drawing has been saved, the last set of drawing preferences will appear as the default the next time the dialog is opened.