Drawing Production

Drawing Production Using
VANTAGE PDMS
Version 11.6
pdms1160/Drawing Production
issue 021104
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Revision History
Date Version Notes

October 2003 11.5 The structure of document has been updated in line with other
documents in the series. The technical content is unchanged. Much
of the text has been reworded and additional illustrations of forms
and screen elements have been included.
Sept 2004 11.6 Updated to include new GUI features of this version of PDMS,
including Draft application merging and simplified drawing
creation. Inclusion of 3D View and Section Plane material.
Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS Revision History-i

Version 11.6
Revision History
Revision History-ii Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Version 11.6
Contents
1 Read This First..............................................................................................1-1

1.1 The scope of this guide ............................................................................................................. 1-1
1.1.1 Intended audience........................................................................................................... 1-1
1.1.2 Preconditions and assumptions....................................................................................... 1-1
1.1.3 Tutorial exercise ............................................................................................................. 1-2
1.1.4 Further reading ............................................................................................................... 1-2
1.2 Text conventions....................................................................................................................... 1-2
1.3 Terminology ............................................................................................................................. 1-3
1.4 How this guide is organised...................................................................................................... 1-3
1.5 Further training in the use of PDMS......................................................................................... 1-4
2 Introducing VANTAGE PDMS and the Draft Module.................................2-1
2.1 The strengths and structure of PDMS....................................................................................... 2-1
2.2 The structure and functions of Draft......................................................................................... 2-1
2.2.1 General functions ........................................................................................................... 2-2
2.2.2 Labelling......................................................................................................................... 2-2
2.2.3 Dimensioning ................................................................................................................. 2-3
2.2.4 2D drafting ..................................................................................................................... 2-3
2.2.5 Automatic drawing production application .................................................................... 2-3
2.2.6 AutoDRAFT application ................................................................................................ 2-4
2.2.7 Administration................................................................................................................ 2-4
3 Getting Started..............................................................................................3-1
3.1 Basic information ..................................................................................................................... 3-1
3.1.1 Using the mouse ............................................................................................................. 3-1
3.1.2 Using menus ................................................................................................................... 3-2
3.1.3 Using forms .................................................................................................................... 3-2
3.1.4 Using text boxes ............................................................................................................. 3-2
3.1.5 Using drop-down lists .................................................................................................... 3-3
3.1.6 Using option buttons ...................................................................................................... 3-3
3.1.7 Using check boxes.......................................................................................................... 3-4
3.1.8 Using scrollable lists ...................................................................................................... 3-4
3.1.9 Using action buttons....................................................................................................... 3-4
3.1.10 Responding to alert forms .............................................................................................. 3-5
3.2 Logging in................................................................................................................................. 3-5
3.3 The Draft startup display .......................................................................................................... 3-7
3.4 Using on-line help .................................................................................................................. 3-10
3.5 Loading an existing drawing sheet ......................................................................................... 3-11
3.5.1 The Draft database hierarchy........................................................................................ 3-11
3.5.2 The Draft Explorer ....................................................................................................... 3-12
3.5.3 Displaying the sheet ..................................................................................................... 3-13
3.6 Using the mouse and keyboard to manipulate the view of the sheet ...................................... 3-14
3.6.1 Mouse buttons .............................................................................................................. 3-14
3.6.2 Zooming and panning................................................................................................... 3-17
Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS Contents-i

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

4.1 Creating a Department.............................................................................................................. 4-1
4.2 Creating a Registry ................................................................................................................... 4-3
4.3 Creating Drawings and Sheets.................................................................................................. 4-5
5 Views..............................................................................................................5-1
5.1 Modifying an existing View to make it user-defined ............................................................... 5-2
5.1.1 Defining the Drawlist contents....................................................................................... 5-3
5.1.2 Setting the scale.............................................................................................................. 5-5
5.1.3 Other options .................................................................................................................. 5-5
5.1.4 Displaying the contents of the View .............................................................................. 5-5
5.2 Creating a Sheet and a limits-defined View ............................................................................. 5-6
5.2.1 Setting the contents of the View..................................................................................... 5-9
6 Populating the 2D View using a 3D Design View .......................................6-1
6.1 Manipulating the 3D View ....................................................................................................... 6-4
6.1.1 Positioning the 3D View ................................................................................................ 6-4
6.1.2 Setting the Scale ............................................................................................................. 6-5
6.1.3 Setting the View Type.................................................................................................... 6-6
6.1.4 Manipulating the Viewfinder ......................................................................................... 6-6
6.2 Selecting 3D Content................................................................................................................ 6-7
6.3 Updating the design .................................................................................................................. 6-9
7 Labelling ........................................................................................................7-1
7.1 Creating a general label ............................................................................................................ 7-1
7.2 Modify mode ............................................................................................................................ 7-4
7.2.1 Entering and exiting Modify mode................................................................................. 7-4
7.2.2 Item selection and display details................................................................................... 7-5
7.2.3 Positioning...................................................................................................................... 7-6
7.3 Modifying labels graphically.................................................................................................... 7-7
7.4 2D positioning menu options.................................................................................................. 7-11
7.5 Label leader attributes............................................................................................................. 7-12
8 Dimensioning ................................................................................................8-1
8.1 Creating linear dimensions ....................................................................................................... 8-2
8.1.1 Deleting dimension points.............................................................................................. 8-7
8.1.2 Modifying linear dimensions graphically....................................................................... 8-7
8.2 Angular dimensions .................................................................................................................. 8-8
8.2.1 Modifying angular dimensions graphically.................................................................. 8-10
8.3 Radial dimensions................................................................................................................... 8-12
8.3.1 Modifying radial dimensions graphically..................................................................... 8-13
9 Automatic Drawing Production ...................................................................9-1
9.1 General ADP............................................................................................................................. 9-1
9.1.1 ADP application menu ................................................................................................... 9-2
10 2D Drafting ..................................................................................................10-1
10.1 The 2D Drafting hierarchy...................................................................................................... 10-1
10.2 Exercises in 2D Drafting ........................................................................................................ 10-2
10.2.1 Creating sheet note and view note elements................................................................. 10-2
10.2.2 Creating primitives ....................................................................................................... 10-3
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10.2.3 Editing 2D primitives graphically ................................................................................ 10-5

11 Section Planes ............................................................................................11-1
11.1 Creating a Section Plane......................................................................................................... 11-2
11.2 Editing a Section Plane........................................................................................................... 11-4
11.3 Editing Stepped Planes ........................................................................................................... 11-6
11.4 Showing the Clipping ............................................................................................................. 11-8
12 More you can do .........................................................................................12-1
12.1 User utilities............................................................................................................................ 12-1
12.1.1 Defining a menu to execute a command ...................................................................... 12-2
12.1.2 Defining a menu to display a form ............................................................................... 12-3
Appendix A: The Draft Database......................................................................... A-1
Appendix B: Other Documentation..................................................................... B-1
Index.................................................................................................................Index i
Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS Contents-iii

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Contents
Contents-iv Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Version 11.6
1 Read This First
1.1 The scope of this guide
This guide introduces some of the facilities provided by Draft, which is the module
of AVEVA’s VANTAGE Plant Design Management System (PDMS) used for the
generation of fully annotated engineering drawings directly from design data. The
guide explains the main concepts underlying Draft and its supporting applications,
and shows how you can apply these to your own projects.
The chapters of this guide take the form of a hands-on tutorial exercise combined
with frequent explanation of the underlying concepts. As you work progressively
through the exercise, you will gain practical experience of the ways in which you
can use Draft, while learning about the powerful facilities it provides.
The guide does not give step-by-step instructions on how to carry out specific
drawing functions. You can access such information as you work, by using the On-
line Help. You are told how to do this at an early stage of the tutorial.
1.1.1 Intended audience

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

For you to use this guide, the sample PDMS project, Project SAM, must be correctly
installed on your system, and you must have read/write access to the project
databases.
It is assumed that you know:
• where to find PDMS on your computer system
• how to use the Windows operating system installed at your site.
Contact your systems administrator if you need help in either of these areas.
Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS 1-1

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1.1.3 Tutorial exercise

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

line across the page, like this:
Continuation of the exercise after each interval is shown like this:
Exercise continues:
1.1.4 Further reading

You can find a list of relevant AVEVA documentation in the appendices of this
guide.
1.2 Text conventions
This guide uses the following text conventions:

Serif for the majority of the text.
Bold to highlight important information, and to introduce special
terminology.
Serif italic to denote internal cross references and citations.
Sans-serif to denote keys on your keyboard.
Sans-serif bold for menu names and options, and for the names of forms.
Typewriter for text within a form, including text that you enter yourself
using the keyboard.
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Read This First
1.3 Terminology
The following terms are used throughout this guide to describe what action to carry
out:
Enter Type text into the specified dialogue box, then press the Enter (or
Return) key to confirm the entry.
Click Place the mouse pointer over a specified point, then quickly press
and release the designated mouse button. If no button is specified,
use the left-hand mouse button.
Pick Click on the required item to select it.
Drag Place the mouse pointer over a specified point, then press and hold
down the required (normally left) mouse button while moving the
pointer to a second specified point. Release the button over the
second point.
Double-click Place the mouse pointer over a specified point, then click the left-
hand mouse button twice in quick succession.
1.4 How this guide is organised
This guide is divided into chapters and appendices, as follows:

Chapter 1 introduces this guide and summaries its scope.
Chapter 2 gives a general overview of the structure and strengths of PDMS

and of the Draft module.
Chapter 3 describes essential elements of the graphical user interface and

how to start up PDMS Draft. (If you are already familiar with
Motif forms and menus interfaces, you should be able to read
through this part of the chapter rapidly.) The chapter describes
how to display an existing drawing sheet and includes an
explanation of the relevant part of the Draft database hierarchy.
The method of accessing on-line help is included.
Chapter 4 describes how to create the elements of the Draft hierarchy, as

necessary to create a new drawing sheet.
Chapter 5 describes how to set up Views, which define the parts of the model
that are drawn on a drawing sheet

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Chapter 6 describes how to populate drawing Sheets using the 3D View

functionality.
Chapter 7 describes how to add Labels to items that appear in Views. It also
describes how to change the appearance of the labels.
Chapter 8 describes how to add dimensions to the engineering items that

appear in Views.
Chapter 9 describes how to produce a dimensioned and labelled drawing

automatically.
Chapter 10 describes how to add text and basic graphical shapes to existing
sheets and views.
Chapter 11 describes how to create and manipulate section planes.
Chapter 12 describes a useful utility.
Appendix A illustrates the Draft database hierarchy.
Appendix B identifies other sources of information that supplement and expand

upon the brief details given in this guide.
The guide concludes with an index, allowing you to refer back to any specific topics
about whose details you need to be reminded.
1.5 Further training in the use of PDMS
This guide teaches you to about the key features of using PDMS for drawing
production.
If you wish to learn more about the wide-ranging facilities of PDMS, AVEVA
provides a wide range of training courses, covering all levels of expertise and all
design disciplines. For details of courses, and to arrange course attendance, contact
your nearest AVEVA support office (see the copyright page at the front of this guide
for our web address).

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2 Introducing VANTAGE PDMS and the Draft
Module
2.1 The strengths and structure of PDMS
PDMS is a powerful suite of facilities, for the design of Process Plant, the emphasis
being on maximising both design consistency and design productivity:
• The design modelling functions incorporate a degree of apparent intelligence
that enables them to make sensible decisions about the consequential effects of
many of your design choices. This allows you to implement a sequence of
related decisions with a minimum of effort.
• You can incorporate modifications into your design at any stage without fear of
invalidating any of your prior work, because data-consistency checking is an
integral part of the product. PDMS automatically manages drawing production,
material take-off reports, and so on, by reading all design data directly from a
common set of databases, to prevent errors from being introduced by
transcribing information between different disciplines.
• The applications let you check all aspects of your design as work progresses.
This includes on-line interdisciplinary clash detection, so the chances of errors
and inconsistencies reaching the final documented design are reduced to an
exceptionally low level.
• The applications are controlled from a graphical user interface. This means that
all design, drawing and reporting operations are initiated by selecting choices
from menus, and by entering data into on-screen forms. For ease of use, pictorial
icons also represent many common actions.
• On-screen help is available to assist you whenever you need help.
PDMS is subdivided into modules, which are used to carry out specific types of
operation. This guide covers the Draft module, which is used for generating
annotated and dimensioned drawings of 3D models, produced in the Design module.
2.2 The structure and functions of Draft
Draft is the drawing production module of PDMS. It allows you to generate fully
annotated engineering drawings directly from data in the PDMS Design model.
Drawings can be easily updated to reflect changes in the design model.
Within Draft there are applications that are used for specific functions associated
with the production of drawings. These applications are called:

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Introducing VANTAGE PDMS and the Draft Module
• General
• Auto Drawing Production
• AutoDRAFT.
The functions of the applications, together with some notes on administration, are
discussed in the following sub-sections.
2.2.1 General functions

The Draft Graphical User Interface has been designed to allow you to generate and
retrieve industry-standard engineering drawings quickly and efficiently.
You can then add dimensioning and other annotations. You do not need to make any
calculations or input any data, as all annotation information comes directly from the
design model.
Drawing Creation
You select the particular part of the design model and the direction and scale to use.
The design model can be viewed from any angle at any scale, including isometric
views, with perspective if required. The appearance of the 3D graphics is controlled
from representation rules that are pre-defined by the project administrator. This
allows different types of design items to have different line styles applied to them.
You can select the required representation during view creation.
Various levels of wireline and hidden-line removal can be used. Sectional views can
be generated by the creation of flat or stepped section planes, and there are no
restrictions on the number of planes created or the selection of items that can be
sectioned. The scale of the 3D graphics can be selected from a set of Metric,
Architectural and Engineering values, with the option of an automatic scale selection
to use the largest scale possible for the given design data and drawing sheet size.
Hierarchy
Facilities are available for specifying details of the hierarchy within the Draft
database for the location of the drawings and their sheets.
2.2.2 Labelling
Labels can be attached to any design element and used to display any attribute of the
element. You can control the format, content and appearance of the labels, with
suitable project defaults defined by the administrator. Direct reference to the design
data, combined with a simple update annotation operation, means that the annotation
always reflects the current state of the design model. The position and orientation of
the labels can be modified graphically, to ensure a clear drawing layout.
Automatic labelling (Autotagging)

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Labels can be automatically generated for a set of design items that match a tagging
rule.
The rule sets determine the type of label and which design items the labels will be
applied to. For example, you could label all nozzles that have a bore of >100mm and
<300mm with a pressure rating of #150. After the labels have been created, they can
be automatically updated to reflect any changes to the design model.
When the labels have been created, you can adjust their positions graphically.
2.2.3 Dimensioning
There are three generic dimension types available in Draft, namely, Linear, Angular
and Radial. These allow intelligent dimensions to be created to dimensioning
standards.
Dimensions are calculated directly from the design model. You can control the
format, content and appearance of the dimensions. The administrator can define
suitable project defaults.
As with labelling, direct reference to the design data means that the annotation
always reflects the current state of the design model, with a simple update annotation
operation.
The position and orientation of dimensions can be adjusted graphically.
2.2.4 2D drafting
Draft's intelligent 2D drafting allows you to generate additional 2D annotation on the
drawing sheet. Operations such as grouping, multiple copying, rubber banding,
nested symbols, symbol libraries, and full element editing functions are available.
Like other Draft data, all 2D annotation can be linked to the design data and so can
easily be updated to follow the changes that occur in the design model.
2.2.5 Automatic drawing production application

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

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2.2.6 AutoDRAFT application

This application is the Draft two-way interface to AutoCAD. (It is not included in
the tutorial exercise in this manual.)
It is possible to transfer a Draft drawing directly across to AutoCAD, where some
users prefer to perform final annotation before drawing issue. The transferred
drawing maintains the exact style and representation as set from Draft.
The user can develop symbol libraries and drawing frames in AutoCAD and import
these directly for use in Draft prior to returning the drawing from AutoCAD into
Draft.
2.2.7 Administration
This Guide only deals with the Draft User Applications. If you have administration
rights within Draft, you will be able to use the Administration applications. For more
information see the VANTAGE PDMS Draft Administrator Application User Guide.
A brief summary of the Administration facilities follows.
The Draft administrator uses the administration application to customise Draft, by
setting default attributes and creating libraries of drawing frames, symbols and
labels. The Administrator can set default representation rules, labelling rules,
naming conventions, line styles and hatching patterns. Template drawings, which
contain predefined drawing data, can be set up, thus reducing drawing creation time.
Symbology
The Draft administrator can generate suites of symbols to be used in both 2D
annotation and as part of a symbolic label definition. The symbols are built up from
standard 2D annotation elements and can be created by grouping the existing 2D
annotations. The library approach to symbol definition maximises drawing
consistency, whilst minimising the required storage space for the symbol itself.

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3 Getting Started
This chapter describes:

• how to use the mouse and elements of the windows, menus and forms from the
PDMS graphical user interface.
• how to log in to PDMS.
• how to use on-line help.
• how to display an existing drawing.
3.1 Basic information
This section is intended for readers who are unfamiliar with computer practices. It
provides information on the use of the mouse and describes the elements that
regularly appear in the windows of the graphical user interface.
3.1.1 Using the mouse

You use the mouse to steer the graphics pointer around the screen. The appearance
of the pointer changes according to the type of display item that is underneath it.
There are three buttons on the mouse. These perform different tasks depending on
the type of window, and the position occupied by the pointer within the window.
The left-hand mouse button has these functions:
• On a graphical view, clicking the left-hand button with the pointer over a Design
element in a Drawing results in that element being selected in the Design
Explorer – see section 3.6.1. Clicking on a Draft element (for example a
Dimension or a Label) results in that element being selected in the Draft
Explorer – see section 3.5.2. In a sequence of menus, dragging with the left-hand
button activates the command represented by the highlighted menu option when
the button is released.
• On a form, the effect varies according to the selected item.
The middle mouse button or wheel is used primarily to manipulate the graphical
view contents.
• The right-hand button is used to access pop-up menu options specific to the
graphical view window.

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Getting Started
3.1.2 Using menus

Menu options in pull-down or shortcut menus (the menu revealed by pressing and
holding down the right-hand mouse button) can be in any of three formats:
Standalone options initiate an action immediately.
Options followed by three dots display a form requiring

further input from the user in order to complete the action.
Options followed by a pointer, display a subsidiary menu that

offers a further range of options.
Throughout this guide, related selections from menus are abbreviated using the >
symbol as a separator. For example:
Select Utilities>Reports>Create means:
a) Select Utilities from the bar men.
b) Select Reports from the resulting pull-down menu
c) Move the pointer to the right and select Create from the resultant submenu.
3.1.3 Using forms

Forms are used both to display information and to let you enter new data. Forms
typically comprise an arrangement of buttons of various types, text-boxes, and
scrollable lists. Input to a form is usually by use of the mouse and keyboard.
While you have access to a form, you can change a setting, return to the initial
values, accept and act on the current data, or cancel the form without applying any
changes, according to the nature of the form.
Forms can include any of the following elements, the uses of which are described in
the following sections:
• text boxes
• drop-down lists
• option buttons
• check boxes
• scrollable lists
• action buttons.
3.1.4 Using text boxes

Text boxes are the areas where you type in alphanumeric data such as names or
dimensions. A text box will usually have a label to tell you what to enter.

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A text-box often contains a default entry (such as unset) when first displayed.
Some text boxes accept only text or only numeric data, and entries with the wrong
type of data are not accepted.
To enter data into a text box:
• Click in the box to insert the text-editing pointer (a vertical bar).
• Type in the required data, editing any existing entry as necessary. (You may
need to delete the existing entry first.)
You can edit the contents of the text box by moving the pointer using the arrow keys
or by moving the pointer with the mouse and clicking the left mouse button. You can
delete text by using the Backspace key to delete characters to the left-hand of the
pointer or the Delete key for those to the right-hand.
When you have finished, confirm the entry by pressing the Enter (or Return) key. A
yellow background highlights any text box with an unconfirmed setting.
3.1.5 Using drop-down lists

Drop-down lists let you choose one option from a multiple selection. The list will
usually have a label to tell you what you are setting and will show the current
selection.
They typically have the following appearance:
To change the setting, click on the down arrow or button face to reveal the full list of
available options. Then pick the required option.
When the arrow has a bar under it, clicking on the button leads to another form, at
which the required option can be selected from a scrollable list.
3.1.6 Using option buttons

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

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3.1.7 Using check boxes

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

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

Most forms include one or more action buttons. You use these to tell PDMS what to
do with the details you have entered in the form.
The common action buttons are:
Tells PDMS to accept the current form settings, and closes the form.
Cancels any changes you have made to the form, and closes the form.
Tells PDMS to accept the current form settings, and leaves the form
displayed for further use.
Cancels any changes you have made to the form, and leaves the form
displayed for further use.
Closes the form, keeping the current settings.
Some forms contain more specific types of control button, which carry out particular
command options. The action is indicated by the name of the button (such as Add or
Remove).

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Getting Started
3.1.10 Responding to alert forms

Alert forms are used to display information such as error messages, prompts and
requests for confirmation of changes. You should respond by carrying out the
prompted task, or by clicking on the control buttons on the form (usually an OK or
Cancel button).
3.2 Logging in
This is the first step of the tutorial exercise. If you do not know where the PDMS
program is stored on your system, you will have to contact your system
administrator at this point.
Exercise begins:
1. Start PDMS by double-clicking on the PDMS icon.
The following VANTAGE PDMS Login form appears, at which you specify a
number of details at the start of your session.
2. Click on the VANTAGE PDMS Login form to make it active.

Note: The following entries made at this form are specifically for the tutorial.
Those required for your own project will be different.
3. Enter, or select using the dropdown list button, the name of the Project in
which you want to work. For this tutorial, the project is SAM (in upper case).
4. Enter, or select using the dropdown list button, your Username. For this
tutorial, it is SAMPLE (in upper case).
5. Enter your allocated Password, which is SAMPLE (in upper case). The
textbox displays an asterisk for each entered letter.
6. Enter, or select using the dropdown list button, the part of the project
Multiple Database (MDB) you want to work in. For this tutorial it is
SAMPLE.

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Getting Started
7. Using the dropdown list, select the name of the module you wish to use. This is
Draft.
8. Make sure that you leave the Read Only box unchecked, so that you can
modify the database as you work.
9. You must specify which files (Load from) to load at startup. The options are
the application default settings (Macro Files) or a customised setup saved
during an earlier session (Load from Binary Files). For this tutorial
select Macro Files.
When you have entered all the necessary details, the form looks like this:
10. Click on the button.

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Getting Started
3.3 The Draft startup display
When Draft has loaded, the Draft Main Display occupies the screen. The Main
Display contains a number of sub-windows (more properly forms). The main
display would typically appear as:
Title bar
Main menu bar
Toolbars
Drawing Window toolbar
Draft Explorer My Data
Design Explorer
Drawing Window
Status Line
You can reposition or minimise these forms at any time by using the standard
Windows management controls.
Note that all the forms in the Draft Main Display (except the Drawing Window) can
be set to the standard Windows Dockable, Hide, Floating or Auto Hide display
modes by selecting from the shortcut menu in the title bar of the form. See the
PDMS online help for more details.
The features of the main window, as illustrated above, are summarised here. The
tutorial exercise explains when relevant elements are selected to achieve particular
objectives. For a detailed description of all elements, reference should be made to
the online help.
Title Bar
This shows that the current PDMS module is Draft, and the application name, which
in this case is General. The Main Display is maximised and therefore [Main
Display] appears in the title bar.

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Getting Started
Main Menu Bar

This displays the names of the available drop-down menus. The menu bar can be
repositioned and resized as described for toolbars (see below). For reference, the
online help provides details of all menu options.
The Toolbars
The toolbars provide shortcuts to various Draft functions. The toolbars will be
introduced and described as the tutorial in this manual progresses. Each toolbar is
also described in the Draft online help. A menu showing the available toolbars can
be displayed by positioning the pointer over a toolbar and clicking the mouse right-
hand button. The menu enables you to display or hide a selected toolbar.
You can reposition and resize the toolbars as required using standard Windows
manipulation methods, and detailed toolbar manipulation information can be found
in the online help for any Microsoft Office product. In summary:
To move a toolbar, rest the pointer over the vertical dotted line at the left-hand edge
of the toolbar, press and hold down the left-hand mouse button and move the toolbar
as desired:
(If you only move the symbol horizontally, you are able to move the toolbar
within the main toolbar.)
If you resize the main Draft window to make it smaller, you will find that the
toolbars will also reduce in size and a Toolbar Options symbol will appear at the
right-hand end of the toolbar:
Left-clicking anywhere on the Toolbar Options symbol will bring up a graphical

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

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Getting Started
In this case the Default toolbar normally appears as:
The Main Display forms

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

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Getting Started
3.4 Using on-line help
Most bar menus end with a Help option. Where available, on-line help gives detailed
instructions on the use of the forms and menus in each application.
You are advised to make full use of the on-line help facilities whenever you want
clarification of any operations, during the later steps of the exercise.
The Help option gives you the following choices from its submenu:
Help>Contents
This displays the Help tri-pane window with the Contents tab at the front so that
you can find the required topic from the hierarchical contents list.
Help>Index
This displays the Help tri-pane window with the Index tab at the front so that you
can find all topics relevant to a selected keyword.
Help>Search
This displays the Help tri-pane window with the Search tab at the front so that you
can enter a word or words to search for.
Help>About
This displays information about the version of PDMS that you are using.
More Info... lists the version numbers of the libraries being used by the
displayed version of PDMS.
Pressing the F1 key at any time will display the help topic for the currently active
window.
Exercise continues:
11. Experiment with each of the Help options until you understand the search and
navigation facilities for finding specific items of information. Use the F1 button
to read the help texts for any forms, which you can currently see on your screen.
12. When you are ready to continue, close any forms that you have been
experimenting with as follows:
• If a form has a Dismiss button, click this button.
• If a form has its own menu bar, select Control>Close from that menu.
• Close any Help windows, which are displayed by double clicking in the
control box in the top left-hand corner of each window.
Do not close the Main Display window, because you will use it in the next part of
the exercise.

Version 11.6
Getting Started
3.5 Loading an existing drawing sheet
We need to load an existing drawing sheet from the Sample project, so that the
exercise can continue with practising the use of the mouse.
Before we load the sheet, the following short explanation of how elements are stored
in the Draft database hierarchy, will be helpful.
3.5.1 The Draft database hierarchy
WORLD
DEPT DEPT
REGI
REGI
DRWG DRWG
SHEE SHEE
The Draft database is a tree structure, which for reference purposes is illustrated in
Appendix A. The above hierarchy shows the part of the tree that is relevant to
displaying drawings and sheets.
The World is the top element. The next level down in the structure is a
Department. The World can own several Departments, which are known as its
Members, and the World is known as the Owner of the Departments.
Departments can own Registries, which can own Drawings, which can own Sheets.
Later we will discuss the members of Sheets, but knowledge the above hierarchy is
sufficient for the purpose of displaying a sheet.
You can view the elements of the hierarchy in the Draft Explorer, but you cannot
display them graphically. For more details of these elements, see the VANTAGE
PDMS Draft User Guide, Part 1.

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Getting Started
Exercise continues:
3.5.2 The Draft Explorer

13. At the top-left of the Main Display you will see the Draft Explorer form. Click
the + sign to the left of the ‘World’ icon:
Clicking the + sign shows the elements under the World which, in the Sample
project, as supplied, looks like this:
When you look at the Draft Explorer you will see that the first (top) element is
the WORL (world) element. The World is shown in the Draft Explorer as * and
cannot be either created or deleted. The World signifies owns all ‘members’
displayed below it.
Note the Filter tool. This enables the list of items to be ‘filtered’ according to
whether the user is a ‘General User’ or an ‘Administrator’. The Administrator
will be able to see more than a general user, but display of the DEPT
(Department) and REGI (Registry) administrative elements will be skipped,
only the contents of (Drawings or Libraries) of these elements will be displayed.
Select the Filter check box, then select General User or Administrator from
the adjacent list to see the effects of using this tool.
The Department named Stabilizer_Drawings contains drawings of the
Stabilizer model supplied as part of the sample project. We will use these
shortly.
There are three other Departments supplied with the product:

Version 11.6
Getting Started
• ADP-DEPT for Automatic Drawing Production sheets

• Project_Libraries contains sample sheets.
• Master_Libraries containing standard backing
sheets, symbol libraries etc.
PDMS has a ‘serialisation’ feature, which means it will ‘remember’ the state of
the Main Display when you leave Draft and re-enter it, so you don’t have to
remember how the display looked and recreate it.
3.5.3 Displaying the sheet

14. In the Draft Explorer, select the DEPT Stabilizer_Drawings by
clicking on the + sign next to it with the left-hand mouse button. The hierarchy,
shown in the Explorer, will then be expanded to show the REGIs owned by the
DEPT. Continue to work down the tree by selecting the following elements:
REGI Stabilizer_EquipDetails,
DRWG STAB50001,
SHEE STAB50001/S1.
Note that the element selected in the Explorer is known as the Current
Element, that is, the element on which you want to carry out the next operation.
15. At this point close the My Data form (if present; we will have no use for it in
this exercise) by clicking the button at top right. The Drawing Window on
the right will grow larger accordingly.
16. Display the Working Sheet toolbar, if it is not already displayed, and then
display the STAB50001/S1 Drawing Sheet in the Drawing Display window
by clicking on the button on the toolbar:
17. The Name of the sheet will be displayed in the Working Sheet toolbar list next
to the button (you may need to resize the toolbar to see this) and the currently
selected Layer will appear in the Layers toolbar. The sheet will be displayed in
the Drawing Display.
A large selection of Layers (selectable from the Layers toolbar list or the Draft
Explorer) exist below the Sheet (below View level), ready for when you come
to create Dimensions, Labels or 2D primitive annotation. (See later in this
tutorial.)
This Sheet shows Equipment D1201, and the display is like this:

Version 11.6
Getting Started
3.6 Using the mouse and keyboard to manipulate the

view of the sheet
3.6.1 Mouse buttons

Left-hand button
As previously mentioned, clicking the left-hand button with the pointer over an
element makes the element the Current Element.
The element may be a Design element (part of the engineering item displayed) or a
Draft element (for example, the outline of the drawing sheet, a label, or a
dimension).
If a Draft element is clicked, the Draft Explorer changes appropriately, for example:

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Getting Started
(The highlighted element shows that a radial dimension has been selected.)
Similarly, if a Design element is clicked, the Design Explorer display will change:

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Getting Started
(showing that a Cylinder primitive within Equipment /D1201 has been selected.)
Middle button
The middle button allows you to increase and decrease the scale of the displayed
view, as follows:
• Windowing in. Position the pointer at one corner of the imaginary rectangle
enclosing the part of the sheet that you want to fill the Drawing display. Hold
down the middle button and move the pointer to the diagonally opposite corner
of the rectangle. A 'rubber band' rectangle, enclosing the area, will be displayed.
When you release the mouse button, the chosen area will fill the display area.
• Zooming in. Position the pointer at the point you want to become the centre of
the view. Hold down the (shift) key and repeatedly click the middle button,
as required. After each click, the display zooms in by a factor of 1.5, centred on
the current pointer position.
• Zooming out. Position the pointer at the point you want to become the centre of
view. Repeatedly click the middle button, as required. After each click, the
display zooms out by a factor of 1.5, centred on the current pointer position.
• If your mouse has a wheel, then rotating the wheel away from you will zoom in,
towards you will zoom out.

Version 11.6
Getting Started
Right-hand button
• Clicking the right-hand button, when the pointer is in the main display, activates
a shortcut menu. At this stage, the only option that you should use is Reset
Limits. The effect of this is to zoom out until the full extent of the Sheet is
displayed.
3.6.2 Zooming and panning

Zooming
We have just discussed Windowing in, Zooming in and Zooming out using the
mouse middle button or wheel. Here are some additional features:
• The Pg Up key can be used for zooming in.
• The Pg Dn key can be used for zooming out.
• Holding down the Ctrl key while zooming in or zooming out using the middle
mouse button, doubles the zoom factor.
• The numeric keypad odd-numbered keys can be used for zooming (see the
diagram below).
Panning
Panning (moving the displayed area across the overall drawing) can be achieved by
the following methods, once you have zoomed in.
• Use the mouse pointer to drag the Drawing display slider controls.
• Use the up/down, left/right arrow keyboard (see diagram below). As required,
hold down the Ctrl key to increase the step size by a factor of 10. Or, as required,
hold down the (shift) key to decrease the step size by a factor of 10.
Use the numeric keypad even-numbered keys, as shown below:
7 8 9
In In
4 5 6
1 2 3
Out Out
Arrow keys pan in Numeric Keypad keys 2, 4, 6, 8 pan in

directions shown directions shown by half view width.
Keys 7 and 9 zoom in
Keys 1 and 3 zoom out
Method Applicable to Windows 2000: After you have zoomed in on the display,
the first click on the mouse middle button causes a panning symbol to appear in the
position occupied by the pointer. If you then move the mouse to draw the pointer
away from the panning symbol, the displayed area moves across the drawing in the

Version 11.6
Getting Started
direction of the pointer and at a speed proportional to the distance of the pointer
from the panning symbol.
Panning Symbol Pointer
Exercise continues:
Now you can familiarise yourself with some of Draft’s viewing controls.
18. Experiment by using the mouse, as described above.
19. Switch on the Display Grid, by clicking on the Display Grid button. This is
on the toolbar at the side of the Drawing display window.
Note: Elements of a drawing can be positioned at grid points, by clicking on
the SNAP to grid button ( ). This feature will be discussed later in
the course.
20. When you are ready to continue, close any forms that you have been
experimenting with.
21. Close any Help windows that are displayed, by clicking in the control box in the
top left-hand corner of each window.
Do not close the Main Display window, because you will use it in the next parts
of the exercise.

Version 11.6
4 Setting up the Hierarchy to Create a
Drawing Sheet
This Chapter describes how to create a drawing sheet belonging to a new branch of
the Draft hierarchy. We discussed this hierarchy in Chapter 3 and it is illustrated in
Figure 3-1.
There is also a method of creating a Drawing Sheet from a standard template with a
single click. That is described at the end of this Chapter, but first we will describe
the ‘long’ way of creating a Drawing so as to familiarise you with part of the Draft
database hierarchy and some Draft concepts.
An administrative element can be created only at one level lower than an existing
element, which will then own it. Consequently, as we are going to create a drawing
in a new branch of the hierarchy, we must create the upper elements of that branch,
firstly a Department and then a Registry, before we create the Drawing and its Sheet.
Exercise continues:
4.1 Creating a Department
Departments can be created only under the World level.

22. From the bar menu at the top of the screen, select:
Create>Department
(It doesn’t matter where you are in the database hierarchy, Draft will
automatically create the Department at the correct level.) The Create DEPT
form is displayed, which you can use to name your DEPT. A default name,
DEPT1, is shown in the Name text box.
23. You would normally change the name of the Department to something
meaningful, but in the following form examples it is left at its default. If you
want to change the name, move the pointer into the text box and click the left
mouse button. Type the name, making sure that you do not use spaces.

Version 11.6
Setting up the Hierarchy to Create a Drawing Sheet
24. When you have finished, click OK. Note that the Cancel button closes the
form without any action being carried out.
When you click OK on the Create DEPT form, the Department Information
form is displayed.
25. The Department Information form shows the name of the DEPT and gives you
the opportunity to automatically create a Registry and/or to set up attributes of
the Department.
26. To view the range of available attributes, click on the Attributes button. The
Department Attributes form is then displayed.

Version 11.6
The attributes set at this form are default properties of the Sheets that will
eventually be created in the branch below the Department. The attributes are
cascaded down through the Registries and Drawings, but they can be changed
at any level.
For this exercise, we will use the default attributes, and so just click on the
Dismiss button to close the form.
27. Ensure that the Create Registry checkbox on the Department
Information form is selected, as it is when the form is first displayed, then click
OK. The Create REGI form will then be displayed.
4.2 Creating a Registry
28. The Create REGI form should be displayed at the end of the previous step.
However, if the Create Registry checkbox on the Department
Information form was off, the Create REGI form does not automatically
appear. In these circumstances, it can be displayed by use of the
Create>Registry option on the bar menu.
As for the equivalent form for a Department, this form allows you to change the
default name. For this exercise, leave the default name as REGI1. Click OK.
The Registry Information form will be displayed.

Version 11.6
29. The Registry Information form shows the name of the Registry and DEPT and
gives you the opportunity to automatically create a drawing and/or to set up
attributes of the Registry.
The Create Drawing checkbox enables you to select whether or not a
drawing is automatically created. If the checkbox is selected, then the method of
drawing creation will depend on whether you select the Explicitly or From
Template option button. The difference is explained in the next section.
The Attributes button displays the Registry Attributes form. This form is
not illustrated here, as the attributes are as shown on the Department
Attributes form. For this exercise, we will use the default attributes, so you do
not need to access the Registry Attributes form.
30. Make sure that the Create Drawing checkbox is selected, and that the From
Template option button is selected. Click OK. The Create DRWG form is
then displayed.
31. Leave the drawing Name as the default DR1, and click OK. The Drawing and
Sheet Templates form is displayed:

Version 11.6
4.3 Creating Drawings and Sheets
There are two methods of creating Drawings, Explicitly or From Template. Both
methods are available, regardless of whether you create the drawing by selecting
Create Drawing button on the Registry Information form, or by selecting
Create>Drawing at the Draft General bar menu.
From Template
If you create a drawing from a template, several other elements will be created
automatically. The Drawing will own a Sheet, which will own at least one View.
The View will own several Layers, which are discussed later in the exercise.
There may be other elements, such as Sheet Notes, which are used to store text and
primitives for the 2D Drafting.
The Drawing will also own a Library. Draft makes extensive use of libraries, most
of which are set up by the System Administrator. Users can only extract information
from libraries; not change them.
Libraries are used to store things like symbols and Drawlists (which you will use
later to define the contents of a View). Libraries are accessed by the Application
automatically and, therefore, you will not need to access them directly. You should
not try to rename or delete Libraries or their members.
The ‘quick’ method of creating a Drawing, described below, uses a built-in template.
Explicitly
If you create a drawing explicitly, you will have to use the Create options on the
main bar menu to create all of its member elements, such as Sheets and their Views.
Exercise continues:
32. The Drawing and Sheet Templates form enables you to select the source of
the template, the drawing size and the Sheet number of that drawing.
Note: At the top of the form, the Mode is set to Drawing Creation. If
the form is used for creating a Sheet, the Mode is set to Sheet
Creation, but otherwise the form is unchanged.
The Options drop-down list shows the drawing disciplines that contain the
drawing template libraries, as set up by the System Administrator. For this
exercise, we are going to use the drawing Sheet to show details of Equipment,
so select the equipment template, which is /DRA/PRJ/TMP/EQUI.
Select the A0 option (/DRA/PRJ/TMP/EQUI/A0) from the Drawings list
(this one is already selected by default).
There will be a single sheet (/DRA/PRJ/TMP/EQUI/A0/S1) displayed and
selected in the Sheets list.
Click on OK. A Sheet having all the attributes of the template will be created,
and displayed in the Drawing Window, as shown below.

Version 11.6
We have now created the administrative elements that define the Drawing
Sheet. In the next part of the exercise, we will specify which engineering items
are to appear on the Sheet. To do this, we modify the View created by the
template.
33. Before we continue, we will demonstrate the use of the ‘quick’ way to create a
Drawing Sheet. Simply click on the Create New From Default Template
button on the toolbar of the same name:
A Drawing Sheet (looking just like the one we have just created) will appear in
the Drawing View. Note that there has been no need to name the Sheet; it is
named automatically (as /DR1/S1 if it is the first such Sheet to be created) and
the hierarchy above and below it is created automatically. (You can select
drawing templates other than the default; see the Draft online help for details.)

Version 11.6

Version 11.6
5 Views
Note: PDMS 11.6 introduces a new method of populating drawing sheets using
the 3D View of the design model within Draft. An example is given in
Chapter 6.
This chapter continues by describing the “traditional” method of defining
and populating a View. This method is still valid, and the tutorial steps that
follow are useful in introducing the fundamental concepts of View creation
and population. You are advised to become familiar with these concepts
before reading Chapter 6.
A View determines which Design Model items are shown on the Sheet that owns the
View. Each View element defines:
• the viewing parameters (looking direction, scale, etc),
• the size, position and orientation of the View on the Sheet,
• the contents of the View (the Drawlist).
If you have created a Sheet from a template, the Sheet will normally contain at least
one View, depending on how the template has been set up by the System
Administrator. You can modify an existing View using the Modify>View options on
the main Draft General menu, or create more Views on a Sheet by using the
Create>View options. You must be at Sheet level or below before you can create a
View.
For the purpose of the exercise we will discuss two versions of a View, namely,
Limits-Defined and User-Defined.
Limits-Defined View
Limits-Defined Views are used to draw the contents of a specified volume of the
model. The limits are defined in project co-ordinates, and are represented by the size
of the View frame at the selected scale. The View frame can include matchlines with
text showing the coordinates of the View limits.
User-Defined View
User-Defined Views are used to draw individual items or groups of items in the
design model, when the volume or limits of the items are not known. The size of the
frame is independent of its contents. The scale can be automatically set to fit the
design elements into the available view frame area.

Version 11.6
Views
5.1 Modifying an existing View to make it user-defined
We will now modify the attributes of the View that was automatically created as part
of the template. We will define it as a User-defined View, and set up a drawlist for
it.
Exercise continues:
34. For this exercise we will continue to use the Sheet previously displayed (the one
we created ‘from scratch’, not the Sheet created using the ‘quick’ method). It
has one View, which must be selected before it can be modified.
Note: If you fail to select a View before attempting to modify one, the system
will prompt you to select an item within a View. If you have a Sheet
displayed with an empty View but whose frame is displayed, then you
can identify this to continue. Otherwise to exit the request, press the
Escape key to return the system to normal operation.
35. Check that the hierarchy displayed in the Draft Explorer is as shown below:
If the Sheet is not already displayed, select DR1/S1 and display the Sheet by
clicking on the button. (Alternatively, select Open Sheet from the shortcut
menu on the Sheet.)

Version 11.6
Views
Ensure that the View DR1/S1/V1 is selected before continuing.

36. Select Modify>View>User-defined from Draft General bar menu. The User-
Defined View form will appear:
5.1.1 Defining the Drawlist contents

37. The next task is to define which elements are drawn in the View. To do this we
set up the Drawlist.
Select Graphics>Drawlist, from the User-Defined View form’s menu bar. The
Drawlist Management form is then displayed.

Version 11.6
Views
The principles of using the form are as follows:

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

Version 11.6
Views
Drawlist Members list with the word Remove after it. The actual Drawlist
is the combination of the 'added' and 'removed' elements in the list.
38. In the Reference List Members list, select SITE STABILIZER. This
list will change to display the members of the Site. Select the ZONE EQUIP.
The list will change to show the equipment elements in the Zone.
39. Now add three items of equipment (D1201, E1301 and C1101) to the Drawlist,
as follows:
• Select D1201 and click on Add. The Equipment name will appear in the
Drawlist Members list, with the word Add after its name.
• Reselect ZONE EQUIP and select and add E1301.
• Reselect ZONE EQUIP and select and add C1101.
40. Click Dismiss.
5.1.2 Setting the scale

The next step is to set the scale of the View.
41. Click on Auto Scale on the User-Defined View form, and the Scale text
box will be updated to show a scale that will just fill the View with the graphics.
This is not usually a standard scale, so click on Nearest to select the closest
standard scale.
5.1.3 Other options
42. Leave the other settings on the form at their defaults. For information on their
functions, refer to the online help.
43. Click Apply.
5.1.4 Displaying the contents of the View

44. Select Update Design in the Update Design on Apply? panel at the base of
the form and click Apply. Draft will extract the information from the Design
database, and create the contents of the View. You will see messages in the
Status line informing you of the progress. When the process is complete (it
shouldn’t take very long), the View should be as illustrated below.

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Views
Notes: Whenever any settings on the User-Defined View form are changed, you
must select Update Design in the Update Design on Apply? panel at the
base of the form and click Apply (or select Graphics>Update>Design
from the main menu bar) before any change will be seen.
If you don’t want a black background to your drawing you can change it by
selecting Colour Settings>Background Colour… from the shortcut menu
within the Drawing View.
45. Dismiss the User-Defined View form.
5.2 Creating a Sheet and a limits-defined View
We will now create another Sheet, with a Limits-defined View.

Note: You must be at Drawing level or below in the hierarchy.
46. Select Create>Sheet>Explicitly from the main menu.
47. The Create SHEE form is displayed.

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Views
Click OK. The Sheet Definition form will be displayed. This form will define
a Sheet that does not contain any Views. We will create a View later.
48. A Sheet has now been created that is size A0 by default. To change this select a
backing sheet /DRA/MAS/BACKS/MET/A2 from the Reference drop-
down options list. When asked whether you wish to change the Sheet size, click
Yes. Click Dismiss. The Sheet is displayed, but temporarily at a reduced
size.
Exercise continues:
49. Select DR1/S2 in the Draft Explorer and click . The new Sheet is displayed,
filling the Drawing Window.
50. Select Create>View >Limits-defined from the Main Menu. The Create VIEW
form appears.
Click OK. The Limits-Defined View form will be displayed.

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Views
The Limits-Defined View form is similar to the User-Defined View form. The
main differences are related to setting the limits, namely, the Limits option on
the form’s menu, and the Matchlines check box, which switches matchlines
on and off. Also, the Scale options are slightly different.

Version 11.6
Views
5.2.1 Setting the contents of the View

51. Select Graphics>Drawlist from the menu at the top of the Limits-Defined
View form. The Drawlist Management form will be displayed (see Section
5.1.1)
52. To create a new Drawlist, click Create on the Drawlist Management form.
The Create Drawlist form is displayed. Change the name of the drawlist to
DR1/DRAWLIST/LIMITS and click on OK.
53. On the Drawlist Management form, select the new Drawlist

DR1/DRAWLIST/LIMITS from the Drawlists list. Add the Zone EQUIP,
that is SITE STABILIZER/ZONE EQUIPMENT, to the Drawlist
Members list. Dismiss the form.
54. By default, all new Sheets and Views reference the Drawlist cascaded from the
Drawing. Therefore, we now need to make the Limits-defined View refer to the
new drawlist containing the EQUIP Zone.
On the Limits-Defined View form, select Graphics>Drawlist Ref at the menu
at the top of the form.
The Drawlist Reference form is displayed.

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Views
55. On the displayed Drawlist Reference form, select the Drawlist

/DR1/DRAWLIST/LIMITS you have just created. Click on Apply and then
on Dismiss.
56. On the Limits-Defined View form, set the Limits, which will define the area
of the model drawn in the View, as follows:
From To
South 2000 North 15000
West 2000 East 12000
Up 1500 Up 25000
57. At the Scale right-hand drop-down list, select 1/50.
58. Select the Matchlines checkbox.
59. Select Update Design and then click Apply, and the contents of the view
will be displayed (see illustration below). If the Matchlines overlap the Sheet
frame, select Frame>Position>Cursor>Top Right from the menu at the top of
the Limits-Defined View form, and click on the Sheet where you want to
reposition the top right corner of the view to fit in the available space.
60. Dismiss the Limits-Defined View form.

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Views

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6 Populating the 2D View using a 3D Design
View
The 3D View Window in Draft allows you to assemble and manipulate Design
elements to populate drawing Sheets. This allows you to examine the content of the
drawings in 3D view, before finalising the view content as a 2D drawing.
The steps that follows are separate from the general tutorial in this guide, which
continues at Chapter 7. This will allow you to explore this new functionality while
maintaining the integrity of the previous tutorial.
Exercise begins:
1. Select an appropriate Sheet (STAB00001/S1 is used in this example).
2. Select Open Sheet from the shortcut menu on the sheet selection to display the
sheet in the 2D view, then select Display>3D View from the main menu (or
select 3D View from the shortcut menu in the 2D View).
The 3D View window appears, displaying the item you selected. For example:

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Populating the 2D View using a 3D Design View
The main features of the 3D View are:

• The Display controls. These allow you to display the list content, add
selected components to the 2D View Content list (see below), and remove
all items from the list.
Show View Content: This toggles between displaying the 2D
View Content list, and hiding the display.
Add to View: This adds elements to the 2D View Content list
and the 3D View. The element added is usually the current
element, unless there is an active multiple selection (in which
case the entire selection is added). Added elements are
displayed in the colour specified by the representation rules
Remove from View: This removes elements from the 2D View
Content list and the 3D View. The element removed is usually
the current element, unless there is an active multiple selection
(in which case the entire selection is removed).
(The Section Plane controls to the right of the above controls are
detailed in Chapter 11.)

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The View Content list shows the elements which have been added to
the 2D and 3D Views in Draft. To remove an item from the 3D View,
select it in the list and select Remove Selected from the shortcut
menu.
• The Update controls update the 2D View with any changes that are made to the
Design database (which will be shown in the 3D View). These are described at
section 6.3.
• The Update the 2D View Content when adding from the Design Explorer
check box. When selected, any element added or removed from the 3D View
from Design Explorer is automatically amended in the 2D View Content List.
This is displayed in the 3D View by the appropriate representation colour.
If this option is not selected, any addition or removal of an element affects the
3D View only, and the 2D IdList is unchanged. In this case added items are
shown in grey.
Therefore, the colour of items displayed in the 3D View indicates their status;
grey items are in the 3D View only and not in the IdList (and therefore will not
be recognised by an Update Design), whereas coloured items are in both the 3D
View and the IdList.
Update 3D View from 2D View: This displays the contents of the 2D
View in the 3D View.
Pick 2D View to associate to the 3D View: This allows the current
3D View contents to be associated with a different 2D View. When
using this tool you are asked to identify a 2D View to associate with
the current 3D View contents. This functionality is particularly useful
whenever you require different views of similar content.
• Scale Control

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• This allows you to enter a view scale directly, or to input a scale via the Scale
form (click on the ellipsis). Any changes to scale are reflected immediately on
the display.
This option allows you to scale the Frame to the drawing. The Scale form
allows you to:
o Choose whether the scale is shown as a numeric ratio (Metric), or in
Architectural or Engineering styles.
o Instruct Draft to calculate a scale so that the elements in the drawlist
will just fit within the View, using the Auto Scale button. The actual
scale will be displayed in the Scale text box.
See the Draft online help for further details of the Scale form, and section 6.1.2
for an example of its use.
• View Manipulation Buttons down the left-hand side, which can give one-click
control of a variety of view manipulation functions. These are the standard
buttons associated with drawing views. (See the Draft online help for more
details.)
• An Information Bar below the viewing window, which shows the current view
direction and settings of that window, for example:
w45n35d Parallel Model Zoom
• You may also see Rotation Sliders across the bottom and down the right-hand
side of the window. These allow you to rotate the displayed model, regardless of
the mode the window is in. If not shown, display the sliders by pressing F9.
You can control how the design model is shown by using the options on the 3D
View shortcut menu with the mouse pointer in a 'blank' area of the main display
window, or by using the 3D View menu options from the Main menu.
You can also use the Section Planes buttons to access section planes functionality –
see Chapter 11.
The Viewfinder (the magenta box) can be interactively resized, repositioned and
rotated. Resize and Rotate changes made to the Viewfinder give equivalent changes
in the 2D View. The Viewfinder is detailed in the Draft online help and an example
of its use is given at section 6.1.4.
6.1 Manipulating the 3D View
You can manipulate the 3D View using the functionality contained in the window:
6.1.1 Positioning the 3D View

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

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Exercise continues:
3. Use the Rotate button ( ) to rotate the view to show the details you are
interested in. For example:
The View manipulation buttons are fully described in the Draft online help.
6.1.2 Setting the Scale
Exercise continues:
Set the scale of the drawing:
4. Click on the ellipsis in .

You see:
5. Select Auto Scale to allow Draft to automatically select a scale for the view.

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6. Select Nearest to instruct Draft to find the nearest standard scale to the
calculated value. The View size will be changed accordingly, and the new scale
factor will be shown in the text box.
6.1.3 Setting the View Type

The can select the type of view to be generated in 2D, from the full list of PDMS
view types:
Exercise continues:
7. Click on to display the options available.

8. Select Universal Hidden Line to set this option in the 2D View.
See the Draft online help or the VANTAGE PDMS Draft User Guide for full details
of the different view types.
Note: Section planes (see Chapter 11) do not clip in wireline views.
6.1.4 Manipulating the Viewfinder

In the 3D View, you can manipulate the Viewfinder by holding down the right-
mouse button while the pointer is over the frame. You can rotate the frame using the
corner markers (if ‘Free Rotate’ option has been selected – see below), resize the
frame, or move it by dragging.
This allows you to manipulate the view in 3D until you achieve the desired result for
2D.
Exercise continues:
9. Manipulate the view using the view control buttons until it is in the condition
you require.
10. Hold the pointer over the frame and select the appropriate option from the
context menu.
The options available are:
• Align with 3D View: This modifies the view direction. To do this, adjust the 3D
View to the desired direction and then select this option. The frame snaps to this
new direction. Note that the frame cannot be moved unless it is aligned to the 3D
view.
This allows you to manipulate the 3D View until it is how you wish it to be
captured in the 2D drawing. Selecting this option then aligns the view
appropriately, and you can then update the 2D view.
• Refresh from 2D View: This updates the 3D View if the view has been changed
from the 2D View.
• Centre: This centres the frame on the volume of the view content.

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• Rotate: The option ‘Free Rotate’ allows you to toggle the display of ‘blobs’ on
the corner of the Viewfinder frame; you can interactively rotate the 3D View
within the frame by dragging one of these blobs. You can also rotate the frame
by 90 degrees Left or Right or Up or Down relative to the model, by selecting
the corresponding menu option.
• Resize: When selected this displays resizing handles on the frame. You can then
drag any of these handles (left-hand mouse button) to resize the frame in the
direction required.
(The Centre, Rotate and Resize options are not active until the frame has been
‘unlocked’ – see below.)
• Lock: This locks the frame to prevent accidental moving of the view. You can
toggle this option on and off.
• Hide: This hides the frame from the view. When selected, you can display the
frame using the Viewfinder>Show frame option from the right-hand menu when
in the 3D View.
• Auto Update: If selected, an Update Design is performed each time the frame is
moved.
• Colour: You can select a frame colour from the options available.
• Translucent: This gives the frame a background translucency, or no
background. A translucent frame is easier to select, but can obscure objects
behind it.
6.2 Selecting 3D Content
You can select elements in the 3D view in the normal way. You can also make
multiple selections in the 3D View.
Exercise continues:
Select multiple elements in the 3D View by:
11. Holding down the Ctrl key and selecting individual elements with the left-hand
mouse button.
Or:
Holding down the right-hand mouse button and dragging a selection rectangle
over the elements you need to select. This activates a selection box. For
example:

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Or:
This option allows you to select multiple elements within, or partially within,
the volume you define using the drag functionality. You can re-size the
selection box using the handles displayed in the View.
12. When you have selected the required volume using this drag functionality, you
can select from the following options:
o Wholly Within: This selects only those elements that are completely
contained within your defined volume.
o Wholly And Partially Within: This selects any element that is
completely contained within the defined volume, or has any part of
its structure contained within the defined volume.
o Cancel: This cancels the selection.

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6.3 Updating the design
When changes have been made and an Update Design action is required, the title of
the 3D View window changes from 3D View to 3D View*.
Exercise continues:
13. Click on the Update 2D View from 3D View button ( ). This updates the
2D view with the current content of the View Content list (which itself reflects
the current content of the 3D View).
Note: Updating the design may take considerable time if large amounts of data are
involved. Alternatively this can be done as a Background Process – see
below, and the Draft online help for further details (also the VANTAGE
PDMS Draft User Guide Part 1.
The design can be updated according to the options on the Update list:
• On Demand: The design is updated when the button is selected.

• Background: The design is updated as a background process. This allows you
to carry on with your work, knowing that the update will occur at the appropriate
time.
• Auto Update: The design is updated when the 2D View changes.

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7 Labelling
There are two types of Label, General Labels (GLAB) and Symbolic Labels
(SLAB). Their characteristics are as follows:
• General Labels consist of text derived from the design model. These labels are
discussed in this chapter.
• Symbolic Labels are generated from templates (which can contain 2D
primitives, including text), defined by a reference to a Symbol Template
(SYTM). These labels are not described in this Guide.
The relevant part of the Draft hierarchy is simply that the Views own Layers that in
turn own the labels.
7.1 Creating a general label
Exercise continues (from Chapter 5):

61. The current working sheet must be /DR1/S1. If necessary, select it in the Draft
Explorer and select Open Sheet from the shortcut menu on the selection.
62. Select Create>Label >General/Symbolic from the main menu bar. The Labels
form is displayed.
63. Select the General Labels tab.

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Note that Draft automatically selects the Label layer in anticipation that you are
going to create Labels. The Label layer, along with Drawing layers for
dimensions, notes and tags are created automatically as members of a View.
The Label layer is also selected in the Layers toolbar and in the History
toolbar.
Layers toolbar
History toolbar
The Layers toolbar simply shows the Drawing Layer you are currently working
on. The History toolbar displays a ‘history’ of the current elements that you
have selected (use the left/right arrows to select recently accessed elements).
64. The Attach to drop-down list on the General Labels tab allows you to
select the element type that you wish to label. The list has two parts: the top part
displays a list of MENUS for different types of elements and the bottom part
displays a list of Common Elements.
Select Equipments from the Common Elements part of the menu. This
ensures that when you use the pointer to identify the element to be labelled it
will find an item of Equipment, rather than, for example, a Nozzle, which may
be the actual element under the pointer.
65. Click Create NEW to begin to create a new Label. The Label layer is now
selected in Draft Explorer.

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66. You will be prompted (in the main window status area) to identify the Design
elements to be labelled.
Identify each item of equipment, by clicking on it in the Drawing display. As
you click on an item of equipment, a label containing the name of the
equipment will be created at the origin of the equipment.
67. When you have labelled each item of Equipment, press Esc (Escape) to return
to normal operation.
The Labels will appear in the Drawing Window at the origins of the Equipment
you have selected, although you will probably have to ‘zoom in’ (see section
3.6.1) to see them.
Label Contents
The contents of the label are set by default to be the Name of the labelled element.
The contents can be changed by selecting Text Contents from the

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Attributes drop-down list on the General Labels tab of the Labels form. The
Modify Text form is then displayed.
The textbox on the form shows the content of the label. This can be normal text
directly entered and which appears in the label, or Intelligent Text for which the
information in the label is automatically taken from the Design database.
The default #NAME entry is an example of Intelligent Text. It is one of many
different attributes, which are listed in the Intelligent Text form, which is displayed
when you select Intelligent Texts on the Modify Text form. The intelligent
text can be selected and copied (using Control + C and Control + V) into the
Modify Text form.
68. When you have finished, Dismiss the Modify Text and Labels form.
7.2 Modify mode
Modify mode is used to modify Dimensions, Labels and 2D Geometry by graphical

interaction.
There are many other non-geometrical modifications, such as changing the
appearance of the text and linestyles that can only be carried out using the main
menu Modify option. These are not discussed in this exercise. Refer to the online
help for more information.
7.2.1 Entering and exiting Modify mode
To enter Modify mode, you click on the Drawing Display Window toolbar.
Draft will exit from Modify mode when you:
• click on the Modify Mode button again,
• load a new Sheet or Library,

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• update the design, model, picture or annotation.

While you are in Modify mode, you can still control the view by zooming and
panning, as normal.
7.2.2 Item selection and display details

The item (in this case a label) for modification is selected by left-clicking on it. It is
then displayed in the current highlight colour. You can then modify the item you
have selected, or select another item for modification.
When you select the label, several hotspots are displayed. Initially the Attachment
and Connection point hotspots for the leader line (if leader lines have been selected
for the label) are on a single point, adjacent to the label. The display is like this:
One of two arrows
pointing to hotspots
Attachment
and
Connection
hotspots
Rotation
hotspot
Label
outline
The arrangement of the hotspots becomes apparent when the label is moved from its
initial position. The following illustration shows the label moved upwards and to the
right:
Arrow pointing to Attachment
attachment hotspot hotspot
Rotation
hotspot
Connection Label
hotspot outline
Arrow pointing to
connection hotspot Bend point
The position of the label can be moved by left-clicking and dragging its outline.

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By left-clicking and dragging a hotspot you can modify the angle of the label or the
geometry of the leader line.
• If you press the Escape key while the item is selected, no changes to the item
will be made.
• When you move the pointer away from a modifiable item and click the left-hand
mouse button, the changes will be saved, and the display shows the new
arrangement.
• Whether or not the changes are saved, Draft will still be in Modify mode and
you can continue to pick other items for modification.
7.2.3 Positioning
Once you have selected an item or hotspot in Modify mode, the Modify Mode
shortcut menu can be displayed by clicking the right-hand mouse button. Options on
this menu (see below), apart from the default 2D Cursor hit option, allow you to
choose a position for a leader line hotspot with relation to an existing line, or lines,
of the displayed engineering drawing.
The 2D cursor hit option, causes the item or hotspot, when selected, to be moved to,
and follow, the position of the mouse pointer position. When the mouse button is
released, the hotspot remains at the latest position.
When an option is selected that specifies the position related to a line of the
engineering drawing, as you drag the hotspot over a line or lines that can satisfy the
option, the line(s) will be highlighted. The hotspot snaps to the appropriate position
and will remain there when the mouse button is released. For example, if you select
the Centre Point of option the hotspot will snap to the centre of any arc or circle it
moves over.

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

2D cursor hit Drag hotspot to the required position. This is the
default, which is reset each time a new element is
picked.
End Point of Drag the hotspot over a line or arc, which will be
highlighted when recognised
Mid Point of Drag the hotspot over a line, which will be
highlighted when recognised.
Centre Point of Drag the hotspot over a circle or arc, which will be
highlighted when recognised.
Intersect at Drag the hotspot over two lines that actually
intersect. The items will be highlighted in turn.
Intersect between Drag the hotspot over two lines whose extensions
intersect. The items will be highlighted in turn.
Nearest to Drag the hotspot over any Design or Draft item.
The point will snap to the nearest point on the
item.
The 2D positioning menu is automatically reset to 2D cursor hit when an element is
first picked
7.3 Modifying labels graphically
This Section describes how to modify the geometry of a Label. Similar information
is provided for Dimensions and 2D Geometry in later chapters
The Name label for Equipment C1101 is used in the illustrations.

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Exercise continues:
69. Click on the Drawing Display Window toolbar.

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

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70. Drag the label outline away from the equipment.
You will now be able to see the Bend point at the mid point of the leader line,
and the hotspots, which consist of:
• The Rotation handle
• The Attachment point
• The Connection point.
71. Pick the bend point and drag it to put a bend in the leader line. A second bend
point will be created. You can move this point as well, if you wish.
Note: You must pick the label itself if you want to re-select it.

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72. You can move the attachment points and the connection point to create gaps and
offsets. A dashed line will then appear between the arrow hotspot and the
default position of the point. As an example, the following illustration shows
the connection hotspot dragged to the right.
73. When the leader line and label are positioned as you require them, save the
arrangement by clicking on the background away from the label and leader line.

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The label and leader line are then shown in the pre-selected colour (red in the
following example).
7.4 2D positioning menu options
The following steps serve as an example of using one of the menu options to
position a leader line.
Note: The circles on the engineering diagram consist of many short straight lines
rather than arcs, and consequently the Centre Point of menu option cannot
be used. The most straightforward effect that can be demonstrated on this
diagram is Mid Point of.
74. Click on the label outline to select it. Then click on the leader line connection
hotspot to select it.
75. Right-click to display the Modify Mode shortcut menu and then select Mid
Point of
76. Drag the connection hotspot over the lines of the engineering diagram and
observe that the hotspot jumps to the midpoint of the currently highlighted line.
77. When your observations are completed, return the connection hotspot to its
original position, and click on the background to de-select the leader line.
For the use of other menu options, refer to the on-line help for more information.

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7.5 Label leader attributes
The options to set the Leader Pen are common to several different types of pen in
Draft. Pens can be set in two ways: either Standard or User Defined. Standard
options of colour, thickness and style are set explicitly. User-defined options are
selected from examples.
Note: Changing the pen only affects the current Label. If you want to change the
pen for any new Labels you create, you will need to change the Layer
attributes. You will then need to create a new label to see the effect.
Exercise continues:
78. Click on the label to make it the Current Element and then select
Modify>Label>Definition from the main menu bar. The Labels form will be
displayed.
79. At the Attributes dropdown list, select Leader Line. The Label
Leader Attributes form will be displayed.

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You can experiment with changing the Standard settings on this form, and
see the effect they have on the Leader Line, after you have clicked Apply.
80. To experiment with user-defined options, select the User Defined option
button and then click Reselect. The Select User-Defined Pen form is then
displayed.
Note: If you know which pen number you want, you can type in the number
on the Label Leader Attributes form rather than click on Reselect.
81. Use the Up and Down buttons to scroll through the list. When you see the line
style you want, click on Cursor Select, and pick the line style in the
window.
The Pen Number will be filled in automatically.
When you click on OK, the pen number will be automatically entered at the
Label Leader Attributes form. Click on Apply to observe the line style.

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82. When you have finished experimenting, Dismiss the Label Leader
Attributes form.

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8 Dimensioning
The types of dimensions are Linear (LDIM), Angular (ADIM), Radial (RDIM) and
Pitch Circle Diameter (PDIM). Their appearances are shown in the following
illustration.
Linear Angular Radial PCD (Pitch Circle
dimension dimension dimension Diameter) dimension
j200
R100
Note: A Dimensions form (illustrated below showing its Linear and Angular
tabs) accessed by Create>Dimension>Dimension Toolbar contains
illustrations of various types and styles of dimension. Clicking on the
required style of a linear or angular dimension leads to the Linear/Angular
Dimensions form (which is discussed later in the tutorial). Also,
illustrations of linear dimensions appear on the Linear Dimensions toolbar.
When you are familiar with the styles of dimension illustrated, you should
find the toolbar method of selecting a dimension style more convenient than
use of the Create Linear Dimensions and Create Angular Dimensions
forms, as discussed later in the tutorial.

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Dimensioning elements are created under Layers owned by Views, as shown in the
following diagram. Different types of dimension are created on different layers. All
these elements will be created automatically as you dimension your View.
LAYE
LDIM* ADIM* RDIM PDIM*
* These dimensions contain/own dimension points
8.1 Creating linear dimensions
The elements of a simple linear dimension are shown in the following diagram.
N
Dimension
Dire c tion
Overshoot (positive) E
} (Ea st)
Dimension Line
Terminator Projection Line
Direction (90º)
Offset
Projection Line
Clearance (positive)
}
Dimension Points
The diagram illustrates the following features:

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

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The various elements (Projection line, Dimension line, etc) of the dimensions are
shown in the Members form as DPPT1, DPPT2 etc, owned by the dimension, for
example, LDIM.
Note: The values shown in the dimension text are taken directly from the 3D
Design model. If the points associated with the dimension points are moved
in DESIGN, the dimension can be updated automatically by selecting
Graphics>Update>Annotation.
Exercise continues:
We will continue by creating a Linear Dimension between the Nozzles along the
centre of Equipment D1201.
83. The current working sheet must be /DR1/S1. If necessary, select it in the Draft
Explorer. The layer must be /DR1/S1/V1/USER_Dims. If necessary,
select it in the Draft Explorer.
84. Zoom in on Equipment D1201, (using the middle mouse button).
85. Select Create>Dimension>Dimension Linear from the main menu bar. The
Create Linear Dimension form is then displayed.
The name of the View and the View Direction are shown at the top of the
form.

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The Type dropdown list gives options of Chain (chained), Tail (parallel) or
Truncate (truncated parallel). (For more information on dimension types,
refer to the online help topic The Create Linear Dimension form.)
86. Set the Dimension Line Direction to North, because this is the
direction in which we want to dimension the Nozzles.
Note: All dimensions in Draft are defined with respect to 3D World
directions.
87. Leave the other settings on the Create Linear Dimension form at their defaults,
as illustrated above. Click OK. The Linear/Angular Dimensions form is then
displayed.
This form is used to create the points that define the Dimensions and form the
link with the 3D Model element.
88. The list on the left of the form sets how Dimension Points are created. Make
sure that Item is selected in the list. This will create the dimension point at the
origin (P0) of the design primitive.
89. The default is that the Create button must be used for each point, but for this
exercise, click on the symbol (to the right of the Create button) so the
adjacent checkbox displays a tick. This allows you to create several points of
the same type one after the other.
Note: The symbol must be off if you want to create Dimension Points
in different ways, or if you want to use the 3D Pos, Cursor or
Matchline positioning options.
90. Click on Create.
91. Pick the nozzles in the sequence shown the following illustration. This can be
done in the 2D View by holding down the left mouse button (the pointer shape
changes to a square) moving the pointer over the item and releasing the button.
Note that when the pointer passes over a suitable item, that element is
highlighted and its name is displayed in the Status Bar.

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Alternatively, the nozzles can be picked in the 3D View. The name of the item,
p-point or p-line under the cursor will be highlighted in a tool tip as the cursor
moves around, and pressing the button will select it.
NOZZ 4
NOZZ 2
NOZZ 5
NOZZ 1
92. Press Esc to finish the process and the distances between the nozzles are then
dimensioned like this:

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8.1.1 Deleting dimension points

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

Modifying linear dimensions graphically is limited to changing the length of the
projection lines, moving projection lines to the other side of the dimensioned item,
and changing the standout distance of the text.
You can modify dimensions graphically by entering the Modify mode and moving
the dimension elements similarly to modifying Labels, as discussed in Section 7.2.
Exercise continues:
We will now extend the text standout and length of the projection lines of the
dimensions we have created on Equipment D1201, so that the drawing looks like
this:
93. Click on the Drawing Display Window toolbar.

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

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95. To increase the text standout distance, select the outline of the text box and drag
it to the required position. Then click on the background.
96. This illustration is an example the modified dimensions. Continue to experiment
with modifying the dimensions, as you wish.
97. When you have positioned the dimensions as required, leave the modify mode.
8.2 Angular dimensions

We will now create the angular dimension between two of the Nozzles on
Equipment C1101.
Exercise continues:
98. Zoom in on Equipment C1101, (using the middle mouse button).
99. Make sure that you are still on the Dimensions layer
(DR1/S1/V1/USER_Dims), and then select Create>Dimension>Dimension
Angular from the main menu bar. The Create Angular Dimension form is
then displayed.

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100. We will use the default values, so click OK on the Create Angular Dimension
form. You will be prompted to identify the item that the angular dimension is to
be attached to. Click on DISH 1 of EQUIP C1101, as shown below:
1. Pick this Dish

The origin will be here
2. Pick this Nozzle
3. Pick this Nozzle
The dimension will have its origin that is the point from which the angular
dimension directions will radiate, at the origin of the element picked.
101. The Linear/Angular Dimensions form is then displayed. This is the same form
as displayed for Linear Dimensions, and it is used in the same way. Switch on
the symbol, and click on Create.
102. You will be prompted to pick the items to be dimensioned. Pick the Nozzles in
the order shown in the above illustration. (Selection is clockwise, because the
setting is Clockwise in the Create Angular Dimension form.)

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103. Click on the background or press the Esc(ape) key. The dimension will be
drawn as shown below:
8.2.1 Modifying angular dimensions graphically

Modifying angular dimensions graphically is limited to changing the offset and
standout distances.
Exercise continues:
We will now increase the offset of the dimension on C1101, so that the projection
lines pass through the nozzles in question.
104. Click on the Drawing Display Window toolbar to enter Modify Mode.
105. Select the dimension line and drag it away from the origin of the projection
lines, until it is outside the nozzles.

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106. Click on the background or press Esc. The dimension will then be drawn like
this:
107. Click again to leave modify mode.

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8.3 Radial dimensions

We will now create a radial dimension on Equipment C1101.
Exercise continues:
108. Zoom in on Equipment C1101.
109. Select Create>Dimension>Dimension Toolbar from the main menu bar. The
Dimensions form is then displayed. Select the Radial tab.
Note: All types of dimensions can be selected at this form, but for the
purpose of the exercise we use it only for Radial Dimensions.
110. Check that On Item (not On Point) is displayed. If not, right-click on the
6symbol and select the On Item option.
111. Select the required radius style. For this exercise, use this style the Internal
Radius Dimension. This is bottom left-hand style (if required, refer to the
ToolTip).
112. You will be prompted to select the item to dimension. Click on DISH 1 of
EQUIP C1101 (the same item that you selected for angular dimensions).

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113. The dimension will be created, as shown here.
114. The Radial Dimensions form is then displayed. This form is used to modify
dimensions, but this action is not included in this exercise and the form should
be closed. For further information, refer to the on-line help.
8.3.1 Modifying radial dimensions graphically

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

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Version 11.6
9 Automatic Drawing Production
This Chapter provides an introduction to Automatic Drawing Production (ADP) in

Draft.
There are three ADP utilities:
• General ADP, for the production of General, Pipework and Equipment drawings.
This is covered in Section 8.1
• Steelwork Detailing ADP. This is not covered in this course
• Hangers and Supports ADP. This is not covered in this course. (For further
information, refer to Support Design Using VANTAGE PDMS.)
9.1 General ADP
The General ADP Utility uses special drawing sheets, referred to as Backing Sheets,
which enable schedules and lists of reference drawings to be generated and placed
on the drawing sheet automatically. It also uses intelligent keyplans (in the form of
overlays), which can be used to define the limits of the models shown on the
drawings.
ADP depends on having rules set up to define how different types of drawing will be
created and annotated. There are defaults rules supplied as part of the sample project,
which will be used in this Example. Changing the defaults is a System
Administration task, and so is outside the scope of this manual.
We are now going use the ADP forms to create an annotated and dimensioned view
on a drawing sheet.
Exercise continues:
115. Enter the ADP application, by selecting Draft>Auto Drawing Production from
the main menu.
If no sheet is currently displayed, the Drawing Selection form may be
displayed. In this case select DEPT1/REGI1/DR1/S1 and click OK.
Alternatively, select this sheet using Draft Explorer.

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Automatic Drawing Production
9.1.1 ADP application menu

Once the application has been loaded, the ADP application menu is displayed across
the top of the window.
For reference, the online help provides details of all menu options.
The Create and Modify menus are exclusively for ADP and use of their options is
discussed later, during the exercise.
Exercise continues:
116. Select Create>General ADP>Drawing from the main menu.

Version 11.6
Note: The Drawing will be created under the current Registry, assuming that
the Current Element is a Registry or lower.
If you are at a higher level, and more than one Registry is available,
you will be prompted to move to the Registry required, by selecting it
in the Draft Explorer. In this case display the Draft Explorer and
select DEPT1/REGI1, and select Create>General ADP>Drawing
again.
117. The Create DRWG form is displayed.
Click OK. The Modify General ADP Drawing form is displayed.
118. The Backing Sheet to be used is selected at the Frame drop-down list. For this
example, select /DRA/MAS/BACKS/MET/A2.
If you wish, enter a title for the Drawing in the Title text box.
Note that the Date and Drn options are filled in automatically.
Click Apply.
119. Click Create ADP Sheet. The Create SHEE form will then be displayed.

Version 11.6
Click OK. The backing sheet will then be shown in the Drawing display
Window and the Modify General ADP Sheet form will be displayed.
120. On the Modify General ADP Sheet form, the Frame drop-down list shows the
Backing Sheet already selected.
The Keyplan drop-down list allows you to select the keyplan, which will
define the limits of the drawing. Set it to Above Grade (i.e. above datum
level).
The Area list then becomes available. Select North.
Click Apply. The keyplan will then be displayed in the appropriate area of the
sheet (see below).

Version 11.6
You can zoom into keyplan area using the Keyplan button on the
Modify General ADP Sheet form.

Version 11.6
121. To return to the full frame, click on the Frame button on the Modify
General ADP Sheet form.
122. Click the Create ADP View button. The Create VIEW form will then be
displayed.
123. Set the Function of the View to be

DRA-GENADP-PIPING - Basic Piping GA
that will create a View, which references a Piping GA, defaults file.
Click OK. The Modify General ADP View form will then be displayed.

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124. Fill in the form as follows:

Ensure that the Drawlist is set to Volume Defined (the Drawing is to be
defined by the values in the direction boxes at the bottom of the form).
Set the Style to be /DRA/PRJ/REPR/GEN/PIPE.
In the Limits panel, click on From Keyplan.
The rectangular View Frame will then appear in the centre of the drawing area
of the Sheet. Click Apply.

Version 11.6
125. Click on Update at the bottom of the form. The View Update form will be
displayed.
This form allows you to specify which elements in the View will be updated.
As this is the first time the Drawing has been generated, select all the Update
options, namely, Design Graphics, Schedules, Tagging,
Annotation, Piping, Equipment and Gridline.
Note that Automatic Savework is on by default.
126. Click on Update Now. You will see messages in the Status Area giving you
information about the creation process, which can take a few minutes.
On completion of the creation process, the drawing View will be displayed (see
below).
Click Dismiss to close the View Update and Modify General ADP View
forms.

Version 11.6

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Version 11.6
10 2D Drafting
Draft’s 2D Drafting facility is used for adding manually-drafted graphic and text
details to drawings that have been generated by Draft from the Design database. The
facility is not intended to be a used as a drafting package.
This Chapter is an introduction to 2D drafting in Draft.
There are three sets of menu options specific to 2D Drafting:
Draw Enables you to draw 2D Primitives and Local Symbols
Construct Enables you to construct lines and other primitives using existing
primitives
Edit Enables you to change the attributes of a primitive, move
primitives and nodes, insert gaps in lines, trim lines and arcs,
rotate primitives, reduce a symbol to its components and
manipulate groups.
We will only discuss the Draw and Edit functions here, for details of Construct see
the Draft online help.
10.1 The 2D Drafting hierarchy
The basic geometric shapes and text that can be drawn are called Primitives. The
primitives exist in the Draft hierarchy as members of NOTEs, VNOTs elements, or
Symbol Templates (SYTMs).
By default, the NOTE and VNOTE elements will be created automatically whenever
a Sheet or Layer element is created, but you can create additional ones if you wish.
Primitives that exist as members of VNOTs may have their dimensions and positions
defined in terms of 3D Design values.
Note: Whenever a VIEW is created, a number of Layers are automatically
created, one of which will be reserved for Notes. You can also create
additional Layers if you wish via the Create>Layer from the main menu
bar.
The following diagram shows the 2D Drafting part of the Draft hierarchy. It shows
the related elements and at what level in the hierarchy they may be created. All of
these elements, with the exception of extra Layers, can be created as you add extra
2D elements to your Sheet or View.

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2D Drafting
SHEE
NOTE VIEW
Sheet Note
LAYE
VNOT
View Note
CIRC TEXP SYMB

ELLI
RECT Text Primitive Symbol
TABL
ETRI
DMND
HEXA
MRKP
STRA
ARC
OUTL
10.2 Exercises in 2D Drafting
Exercise continues:
10.2.1 Creating sheet note and view note elements

127. Select a Sheet from the Draft Explorer to add 2D graphics to, or create a new
Drawing Sheet using the Create New From Default Template toolbar (see the
end of Section 4.) This will be created with member Views and Layers, with the
Notes layer (used for 2D drafting) owning a View Note. 2D Primitives are to be
added to the View Note in this case.
128. If the Sheet you wish to add 2D graphics to is not already selected and you have
not used the Create New From Default Template option, select the Sheet in the
Draft Explorer. Select Create>Note at the main menu bar. The Create NOTE
form is then displayed. Leave the name as the default, and click OK.

Version 11.6
Depending where in the hierarchy you were positioned when you created the
Note, a Sheet Note (NOTE element) or a Layer Note (VNOT element) will then
be created, as appropriate. To create a NOTE you must be positioned at the
SHEE element or below, but not below a VIEW, whereas to create a VNOT you
must be positioned at a LAYE element or below. As the Notes are created, they
are added to the list of Notes at the right-hand side of the toolbar. The one
shown will indicate where primitives are to be subsequently created.
10.2.2 Creating primitives

129. To create primitives, first make sure that the NOTE (or VNOT) element that
you have just created is the current element, then select Draw>Primitives from
the main menu bar. The 2D Draughting form will appear.
130. Hold down the left-hand mouse button over the relevant icon to reveal a display
of alternative icons. Move to the required icon and then release the mouse
button to select the icon.
For all primitives except Symbols (the icon), the Point Construction
Option Form will appear. The prompt text included in this form tells you what
to do next. The text will vary according to the type of primitive being created,
as shown in these examples.

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2D Drafting
131. Use the default Option which is 2D cursor hit. This enables you to
position the selected primitive free-hand. Pick the point(s) requested, by left-
clicking the mouse with the pointer in the appropriate position(s) on the
drawing.
132. If the primitive is a graphic, it is drawn as the points are selected. Depending on
the type of graphic, it may be necessary to click on Cancel on the Point
Construction Option Form when the final point has been selected, in order to
complete the graphic.
133. If the primitive is Text, only one point is selected and the Modify Text form is
then displayed.
You can enter the required text at this form and select its format. Click on
Apply to insert the text on the drawing, and then Dismiss the form.

Version 11.6
10.2.3 Editing 2D primitives graphically
As for Labels and Dimensions, you can edit 2D primitives graphically.
Exercise continues:
134. Click on the Drawing Display Window toolbar to enter Modify mode.
135. The general action is to select the primitive and then select and drag one of the
hotspots until the required result is achieved. Then click on the background.
You can practise by modifying primitives you have already created. The
hotspots available and the operations you can carry out, depend on the type of
primitive, and are described below under the names of the graphics.
136. When you have finished, click again to leave Modify mode.
The individual primitives, and how they may be modified, are now described.
Arcs
• A hotspot at the centre of the arc, to allow the whole arc to be moved.
• A hotspot at each end of the arc, to allow the corresponding end of the arc to be
repositioned. The repositioning will be such that the bulge factor remains the same.
• A hotspot mid way round the arc. This may be moved anywhere, and the bulge
factor will adjust appropriately.
• A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre - the arc can be made to
rotate about its centre by rotating any of these hotspots.

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2D Drafting
Circles
• A hotspot at the centre of the circle to allow the whole circle to be repositioned.
• A hotspot on the circumference, which will allow the radius of the arc to increase or
decrease as it is moved, while the centre remains fixed.
Diamonds
• A hotspot in the centre of the diamond to allow the whole diamond to be moved.
• A hotspot at each end of the axes. These hotspots can be moved along their axis,
and the axis will alter length as it moves.
• A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre. The diamond can be made to
Ellipses

Version 11.6
• A hotspot at the centre of the ellipse to allow the whole ellipse to be moved, with its
major axis parallel to its original position.
• A hotspot at one end of the major axis. This hotspot can be moved along the major
axis. The length of the major axis changes as the hotspot moves.
• A hotspot at one end of the minor axis. This will be constrained to move only
perpendicular to the major axis, and can be used to increase the length of the minor
axis.
• A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre. The ellipse can be made to
Hexagons
• A hotspot in the centre of the hexagon to allow the whole hexagon to be moved.
• A hotspot at each corner. These enable the hexagon to be resized.
• A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre - the hexagon can be made to
Lines
• A hotspot in the middle of the line to allow moving of the whole line parallel to its
original position
• A hotspot at each end to allow the associated end of the line to be moved. This may
involve rotation or lengthening of the line. The other end of the line remains fixed.

Version 11.6
2D Drafting
Rectangles (and Tables)
• A hotspot in the centre of the rectangle to allow the whole rectangle to be moved
parallel to its original position.
• A hotspot in the centre of each of the edges. These will enable the rectangle to be
stretched in that direction. The opposite edge will remain fixed, and the opposite
sides remain parallel.
• A hotspot on each corner. This will enable the rectangle to be enlarged in such a
way that the opposite corner remains fixed, and the opposite sides remain parallel to
each other.
• A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre - the rectangle can be made to
Symbols
• A hotspot in the centre of the symbol to allow the symbol to be moved.

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

Version 11.6
Text
• A box round the text. Picking and dragging this box causes the text to move.
• A dotted line circle and four hotspots round the centre. The text can be made to
Triangles
• A hotspot in the centre of the triangle to allow the whole triangle to be moved
parallel to its original position.
• A hotspot at two of the edges of the triangle. Moving either of these enables the
triangle to be resized while the other hotspot remains fixed. (Note that the triangle
remains equilateral.)
• A dotted line cross and three hotspots round the centre. The triangle can be made to
rotate about its centre by rotating this hotspot.

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2D Drafting
Views
• If view frames are not visible, the user can select the View Frames on/off option on
the right-click popup menu from the main display.
• Hotspots on view frames cannot be snapped to construction points, but they can be
snapped to the grid.
Outlines
Outlines are created by the following icons on the Draw form:
There are two type of outline:

• Polyarc - A series of connected arcs and lines
• Spline - A smooth bi-cubic curve connecting the points on the outline
An outline may be closed, but this property is not preserved if the user chooses to
move one of the ends and not the other.
Both types of outline may be picked and dragged to a new position. The detailed
modification behaves differently, as described below:
Polyarcs
• A hotspot at each end of the arc or line. Moving either of these will move the
endpoint of that arc or line (in the same way as for arcs or lines above), and will
also move the endpoint of the next arc or line connected to that same endpoint.
• A hotspot at the mid point of the arc/line. Moving this will change the bulge factor
of the arc/line and could thus change a line into an arc.
• If the user clicks on a hotspot, it becomes ‘selected’ and changes colour to be white.
The user can then select from the pop-up menu either:
• Delete point: If it is an endpoint, the whole arc or line is deleted.
If it is a mid point, the arc becomes a straight line.
The first point cannot be deleted.

Version 11.6
• Insert After: The user then picks a new position on the screen, and a new
straight-line span is created from the end of the currently selected
span, and connected to the following one.
Splines
• A hotspot at each vertex. Moving any of these will cause the curve to be
recalculated dynamically.
• If the user clicks on a hotspot, it becomes ‘selected’ and changes colour to be white.
The user can then select from the pop-up menu either:
• Delete point: The point is deleted, and the curve recalculated without it. The
first point on the outline cannot be deleted.
• Insert After: The user then picks a new position on the screen, and a new
curve is calculated which includes this point positioned after the
selected hotspot.
A new point cannot be placed before the first one.

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2D Drafting

Version 11.6
11 Section Planes
From the 3D View you can create, manipulate and manage Section Planes. The
following buttons allow you to access planes functionality:
Show Section Planes: Activates Section Planes and displays the
Section Planes form. All section Planes are displayed as green,
transparent planes. The origins of the planes are indicated by a cross
(X). An arrow indicates the normal to the plane. The Section Planes
form allows you to create and amend planes.
Indicate Section Plane Clipping indicates the clipping side of the
section plane by displaying a series of perpendicular lines behind the
section plane.
Exercise begins:
137. Click on to activate the Section Planes form. For example:
The form indicates:

• The name of the View.
• The identity of each plane.
• The properties of each plane.

Version 11.6
Section Planes
11.1 Creating a Section Plane
Exercise continues:
138. Click on in the Section Planes form. This creates a new Section Plane in
the 3D View. This is effectively a stepped plane with just two points defined.
Section planes are always created across the full span view and to the full depth
of the model:
You can also create and amend planes using this form:
New Section Plane: This creates a new Section Plane in the 3D View.
This is effectively a stepped plane with just two points defined. To
create a stepped plane with more points, the Redefine Points option is
used.
Section planes are always created across the full span view and to the
full depth of the model. They can then be moved and edited according
to your requirements.
New Clipping List: Displays the Create Drawlist forms to create a new
clipping list.
Show Clipping List: This shows the clipping list for the Section
Planes. Each section plane can have a selective clipping list. The
contents of each list can be displayed in a selected colour.
139. Highlight the Section Plane you just created on the Section Planes form.
140. To amend the plane’s details, hold down the right-mouse button and select the
required option from the context menu:

Version 11.6
Modify Displays the Modify Plane form.
Redefine This allows you to redefine the points to make a stepped plane
Points using the pointer in the 3D View.
Highlight This flashes the selected plane.
Shown Displays/hides the selected plane in the 3D View.
Delete This deletes the selected plane. You are asked if you wish to
delete the VSEC referencing the section plane. If yes, you are
then asked to confirm the deletion of the section plane. Note that
you may not wish to delete the plane if it is a library plane
referenced by a number of VSECs.
Clipped Sets the section plane to clip/unclip specified elements.
Flip Switches the side of the plane to be clipped. This is displayed as
perpendicular lines on the side of the plane to be clipped.
Highlight Clip Highlights elements selected for clipping.
List
Colour This selects the colour displayed for the selected plane from the
associated menu.
Transparent Switches between displaying the plane as transparent or opaque.

Version 11.6
Section Planes
11.2 Editing a Section Plane
After you have created a section plane in the 3D View using the button, you can
manipulate the position of the plane in the 3D View. To do this:
Exercise continues:
141. Click on the plane you're interested in.
This displays manipulation handles for you to reposition the plane in the 3D
View.
For example:
To reposition the plane:

142. Select the appropriate handle by pressing and holding down the left-mouse
button with the pointer over the handle of interest.
143. While continuing to hold down the left mouse button, drag the handle as
required.
The display changes to indicate the direction and extent of movement:

Version 11.6
You then:
144. Drag the handles until the plane is in the required location.
145. Release the mouse button.
146. With the movement handles selected, you can also use the right-mouse shortcut
menu to orient the plane:
Enter Value This allows you to enter a rotation value about the current point.
Orient to Point This allows you to orient the plane to a selected point on the
view.
Align with This aligns the selected plane with a selected direction.
direction
Align with... This aligns the plane with a selected element.
Rotate Handle This provides the above options for the selected rotation handle.
See the Draft online help for more details of the movement handles.

Version 11.6
Section Planes
11.3 Editing Stepped Planes
Exercise continues:
For stepped planes:
147. Select the plane in the 3D View.
148. Select Edit Steps to create and manipulate steps in the plane.
149. Select Insert Step After (from the shortcut menu that is now enabled) to insert
a step after the selection.
Select the step to amend the step’s position and rotation:
150. Move the step as described previously to the desired orientation.

151. Select Insert Step After to create a new step after the selected step.
152. Select the new step and position the step as required:

Version 11.6
153. Repeat the above procedures until you have the required number of steps. If
necessary, Delete a step using the right-mouse menu.

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Section Planes
11.4 Showing the Clipping
Exercise continues:
154. Click on to display the side of the plane that will be clipped. Perpendicular
lines to the plane show the side to be clipped:
155. Click on to show the clipping list. Select Highlight Clipping List from the
right-mouse menu to highlight clipped items in the list.
156. Select Flip from the right-mouse menu to change the side of the plane to be
clipped.

Version 11.6
12 More you can do
Whilst not part of Draft’s core functions, there are other general facilities available
to increase your productivity whilst using Draft.
12.1 User utilities
This facility allows you to create your own menus in Draft. To access the facility,
select Utilities>General Utilities from the main menu bar. The User Utilities form
appears. Selecting Control>Define from this form’s menu bar gives the Utilities
Definitions form, which enables you to define menus to execute Draft command
syntax or to bring up a Draft form.

Version 11.6
More you can do
12.1.1 Defining a menu to execute a command

1. In the Heading text-entry box, enter the title of the main menu you wish to
define.
2. In the Description text-entry box, enter the title of the pull-down menu.
3. Click in the Commands text-entry box, then enter the required command (the
VANTAGE PDMS Draft User Guide contains the syntax of all the Draft
commands.
4. Click Add to add the menu definition to the Currently Defined set.
5. Click Save to save the definition.
When you next select Utilities>General Utilities the menu you have defined will
appear in the User Utilities menu bar.
The example below shows a menu which will execute the command:
Colour 1 Black

Version 11.6
12.1.2 Defining a menu to display a form
This follows a similar procedure to defining a menu to execute a command, except
the Commands check box must be cleared. This then enables you to select the
Formname check box. You can then enter the name (not the title) of a form in the
Formname text box.
If you don’t know the name of a form you wish to display then:
Bring up the form that you wish to display from a menu.
Press F1 to bring up the help window for the form.
In the right-hand window pane, select View Source from the shortcut menu.
The name of the form will be at the end of the <meta NAME=MS-HAID
CONTENT=. . .html line.

Version 11.6
More you can do

Version 11.6
Version 11.6
A The Draft Database
WORLD
LIBY DEPT
(see overleaf) REGI
REPO DRWG
TEXT LIBY
(see overleaf)
SHEE REVI
TEXT
OLAY NOTE REVI VIEW
:
(see overleaf)
LAYE RRUL VSEC
HRUL
ADIM LDIM PDIM RDIM VNOT GLAB SLAB TAGR
:
(see overleaf)
NOTE: Automatically created system elements are not shown.
Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS A-1

Version 11.6
Appendix A
Note: Automatically created system elements are not shown.

Note: Not all elements shown are discussed in this manual.
A-2 Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Version 11.6
B Other Documentation
This guide is only an introduction to using PDMS Draft. For more detailed
information, see the following documentation.
On-Line Help
On-line help is provided as an integral part of the user interface. It gives detailed
instructions on the forms and menus.
VANTAGE PDMS Draft Administrator Application User Guide
This document explains more of the basic concepts behind the administration of
PDMS Draft.
VANTAGE PDMS Draft User Guide
This document describes the Draft commands, and gives fuller information about
some of the command options.
VANTAGE Plant Design Software Customisation Guide
This document explains how to use the AVEVA programmable macro language
(PML) and how to create your own forms and menus.
Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS B-1

Version 11.6
Appendix B
B-2 Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Version 11.6
Index
2D Drafting, 10-1 Drop-down lists, 3-3

2D Positioning Menu, 7-7 F1 Key, 3-10
2D Primitives, 10-3 Forms, 3-2
Modifying, 10-5 Help, 3-10
3D View, 6-1 Label
ADP, 9-1 Contents, 7-3
Alert Forms, 3-5 Creating, 7-1
Angular Dimension Modifying, 7-7
Creating, 8-8 Layer, 10-1
Modifying, 8-10 Linear Dimension
Applications, 2-1 Creating, 8-3
Automatic Drawing Production Deleting, 8-7
General, 9-1 Modifying, 8-7
Utilities, 9-1 Linear Dimensions, 8-2
Buttons, 3-4 Logging In, 3-5
Check boxes, 3-4 Main Window, 3-7
Creating Elements, 4-1 Menu bar, 3-8
Current Element, 3-13 Menus, 3-2
Database Hierarchy, 3-11, 4-1 Modify Mode, 7-4
Department Mouse, 3-1, 3-14
Attributes, 4-2 NOTE (Sheet Note) element, 10-1
Department On-line help, 3-10
Creating, 4-1 Option buttons, 3-3
Display Grid, 3-18 Panning, 3-17
Drawing PDMS, 2-1
Creating, 4-5 Planes, 11-1
Creating automatically, 9-1 clipping, 11-8
Drawlist, 5-3, 5-9 Create, 11-2
Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS B-i

Version 11.6
Appendix B
Edit steps, 11-6 Status area, 3-9

Form, 11-1 Template, 4-5
Manipulation, 11-4 Text boxes, 3-2
Primitives, 10-3 Title bar, 3-7
Modifying, 10-5 Tutorial Exercise
Radial Dimension Conventions, 1-2
Creating, 8-12 Start, 3-5
Modifying, 8-13 View
Radio buttons, 3-3 Creating, 5-7
Registry Modifying, 5-2
Attributes, 4-4 Views, 5-1
Creating, 4-3 VNOT (View Note) element, 10-1
Reset Limits, 3-17 Windowing In, 3-16
Scrollable lists, 3-4 Zooming, 3-17
Sheet Zooming In, 3-16
Creating, 5-6 Zooming Out, 3-16
Index-ii Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Version 11.6

Drawing Production

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Drawing Production

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Drawing Production Using

© Copyright 1991 through 2004 AVEVA Solutions Limited

Date Version Notes

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS Revision History-i

Revision History-ii Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

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

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS Contents-i

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

Contents-ii Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

10.2.3 Editing 2D primitives graphically ................................................................................ 10-5

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

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS Contents-iii

Contents-iv Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

1.1 The scope of this guide

1.1.1 Intended audience

1.1.2 Preconditions and assumptions

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS 1-1

1.1.3 Tutorial exercise

Each interval in the exercise for inclusion of general information is preceded by a

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

1.1.4 Further reading

1.2 Text conventions

This guide uses the following text conventions:

1-2 Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Pick Click on the required item to select it.

1.4 How this guide is organised

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

Chapter 2 gives a general overview of the structure and strengths of PDMS

Chapter 3 describes essential elements of the graphical user interface and

Chapter 4 describes how to create the elements of the Draft hierarchy, as

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS 1-3

Chapter 6 describes how to populate drawing Sheets using the 3D View

Chapter 8 describes how to add dimensions to the engineering items that

Chapter 9 describes how to produce a dimensioned and labelled drawing

Chapter 11 describes how to create and manipulate section planes.

Chapter 12 describes a useful utility.

Appendix A illustrates the Draft database hierarchy.

Appendix B identifies other sources of information that supplement and expand

1.5 Further training in the use of PDMS

1-4 Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

2.1 The strengths and structure of PDMS

2.2 The structure and functions of Draft

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS 2-1

2.2.1 General functions

2-2 Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

2.2.5 Automatic drawing production application

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS 2-3

2.2.6 AutoDRAFT application

2-4 Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS 2-5

This chapter describes:

3.1 Basic information

3.1.1 Using the mouse

Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS 3-1

3.1.2 Using menus

Standalone options initiate an action immediately.

Options followed by three dots display a form requiring

Options followed by a pointer, display a subsidiary menu that

3.1.3 Using forms

3.1.4 Using text boxes

3-2 Drawing Production Using VANTAGE PDMS

3.1.5 Using drop-down lists

3.1.6 Using option buttons

Option not selected