Report Expressions

Report COLUMN Expressions

The COLUMN expression in a report can now contain functions and mathematical, relational and logical operations.

Mathematical Operators
+	plus	Also used for string concatenation
-	minus
*	multiply
/	divide
^	power

Relational Operators
>	Greater than
>=	Greater than or equal
<	Smaller than
<=	Smaller than or equal
==	Equal	Can be used for number and string comparison
!=	Not equal	Can be used for number and string comparison
=	RegEx	Regular expression operator

Logical Operator
&&	Logical AND
\|\|	Logical OR

Additionally
-	Unary minus
!	Unary negate
()	grouping

Functions
If (Boolean, then, else)	If then else
MapText (string)	Map one text to another
Left (expression) Right (expression)	The expression operates on the component/port properties of what's connected left/right of a fastener
Total (expression)	Rune the expression on every component grouped in a single report line and adds up the results
DA (expression)	Runs the expression on drawing attributes

Formatting values in a report

Any value in a report can be formatted using format specifiers. Formatting is done when a property name, expression or function is directly followed by a colon and a format specifier.

<property name> : <format specifier>

The format specifier not only formats a number but also may specify decorating text around the value.

Example: Format the property LENGTH (with value 25.625)
LENGTH	25.625	Display without formatting.
LENGTH:".0000""	25.6250	Display the value of the property LENGTH with 4 significant digits.
LENGTH:"#'#.#/16\""	2'1.5/8"	Display the LENGTH property as feet/inch/fraction with 1/16 inch accuracy.
LENGTH:"#.#/16'""	25.5/8"	Display LENGTH as inch/fraction with 1/16 inch accuracy.

Example: Format the result of an expression
LENGTH + 1	26.625	Display without formatting.
(LENGTH + 1):"#.0000"	26.6250	Display with 4 significant digits.
(LENGTH + 1):"#'#.#/16\""	2'2.5/8"	Display as feet/inch/fraction.
(LENGTH = 1):"#.#/16\""	26.5/8"	Display as inch/fraction.

Example: Format the result of a function
Total (WEIGHT):"#.00kg"	3.00 kg	Display the total weight with 2 significant digits.

Typically the format specifier only needs to be enclosed in double quotes when the format specifier:

Is a number.
When the format specifier contains reserved characters like +, - , spaces or a double quote.

Format Specifiers

A format specifier is a combination of #, 0, decimal point and other characters. In general, the # and 0 (zero) characters are used as value placeholders, all others are used as is.

Please see below for a few examples:

Integer formatting: Examples use 3.1 as input value

Spec	What does it do	Result
#	Format as integer.	3
0#	Format as integer with at least 2 digits. Leading zeros will be used for numbers < 10.	03
00#	Format as integer with at least 3 digits. Leading zeros will be used for numbers < 100	003

Decimal formatting: Examples use 3.014 as input value

Spec	What does it do	Result
#.#	Format as decimal with at most one digit after the decimal point.	3
#.0	Format as decimal with exactly one digit after the decimal point	3.0
#.000	Format as decimal with exactly three digits after the decimal point	3.014
00#.00	Format as decimal with leading zeros for number < 100 and exactly two digits after the decimal point.	003.01

Imperial formatting: Examples use 61.625 as input value

Spec	What does it do	Result
#'#.#/16"	Format as feet/inch/fraction. The first # is the placeholder for the feet part, the second # is the placeholder for the inch part and the third # is the placeholder for the fraction numerator. The 16 after the / specifies the accuracy for the fraction denominator. Possible values are 2,4,8,16,32,64. All of the characters between the placeholders and after the accuracy part are displayed as is.	5'1.5/8"
# Feet #-#/16 Inch	Same as above but with different unit display.	5 Feet 1-5/8 Inch
#-#/16"	Format as inch/fraction. Same as above except for feet display.	61.5/8"
#-#/16 Inch		61-5/8 Inch
#'#80.#/16"	An integer value following the inch placeholder specifies an inch/feet threshold. Below the threshold the value is reported in inches. Above it feet are used. Normally only 24 would be optionally used in dimensioning.	5'1.5/8"

Formatting with conversion

Optional one can divide/multiply the input value. This is done by pre-pending the format specifier with /<number>. For instance: /12 divides the input value by 12 and then applies the formatting.

Spec	What does it do	Result
/12#.00ft.	Divide the input by 12 and format as a decimal with exactly 2 digits after the decimal point. The end result is decimal feet when used in an imperial project.	18 -> 1.50 ft.
/36#.00 yards	Same above except output in yards	18 -> 05.yards
/1000#.000 m	Output as meters with 3 significant digits.	2500 -> 2.500 m

In reporting the conversion can probably be done better using the new expression option: The conversion to yards: (LENGTH / 36):"#.00 yards"

Reserved properties in a report

A few properties get special handling in a report:

NEWLINE

NEWLINE is a pseudo property that insert a line break in a report column

SIZE, SIZE1, SIZE2, SIZE3

On a component:

SIZE1 holds the main port size
SIZE2 holds the run port size
SIZE3 holds the branch port size
SIZE pseudo variable that returns a port size combination string

When used in reporting, SIZE1, SIZE2 and SIZE3 may not return the value expected. Sometimes the value returned is empty, sometimes it returns the value for another port.

Please see the table below:

Case	SIZE1	SIZE2	SIZE3	SIZE
Single port component	SIZE1			SIZE1
2 port non reducing component	SIZE1			SIZE1
2 port reducing component	SIZE1	SIZE2		SIZE1xSIZE2
3 port equal	SIZE1	SIZE2		SIZE1xSIZE2
3 port branch reducing	SIZE1	SIZE3		SIZE1xSIZE3
3 port run reducing	SIZE1	SIZE2	SIZE3	SIZE1xSIZE2xSIZE3
3 port run/branch reducing	SIZE1	SIZE2	SIZE3	SIZE1xSIZE2xSIZE3

The SIZER, SIZE1R, SIZE2R, SIZE3R pseudo properties are introduced to give the user more control when needed. These always return the value of the port.

Case	SIZE1R	SIZE2R	SIZE3R	SIZER
2 port non reducing component	SIZE1	SIZE2		SIZE1xSIZE2
2 port reducing component	SIZE1	SIZE2		SIZE1xSIZE2
3 port equal	SIZE1	SIZE2	SIZE3	SIZE1xSIZE2xSIZE3
3 port branch reducing	SIZE1	SIZE2	SIZE3	SIZE1xSIZE2xSIZE3
3 port run reducing	SIZE1	SIZE2	SIZE3	SIZE1xSIZE2xSIZE3
3 port run/branch reducing	SIZE1	SIZE2	SIZE3	SIZE1xSIZE2xSIZE3

Port sizes values are always formatted to the report diameter specification for the project unit unless specified differently by the user.

Quantity

QUANTITY is a property added by OpenPlant Isometrics Manager to each component.

For length items (pipes and bends) it holds the centerline length (in inches for imperial project, in millimeters for metric projects)
For piece items (fittings)) it is always 1
For fasteners it may hold any value: 8 bolts, 0.33kg resin etc

QUANTITY for Length items is formatted to the report length specification for the project unit unless specified differently by the user.

QUANTITY is an implied accumulation property. When used in a report it is basically equivalent to Total (QUANTITY)

When multiple components are grouped into a single report line, the quantity values for those components are added up

Report functions explained

IF (<Boolean expression>, <then expression>, <else expression>)

The result of the <then expression> or <else expression> is returned depending on the result of the Boolean expression>

Boolean expression examples
VAR > 6	returns true if VAR is greater than 6
VAR > 6 && VAR < 10	Returns true if VAR is greater than 6 AND VAR is less than 10
VAR > 6 \|\| VAR < 4	Returns true if VAR is greater than 6 OR VAR is less than 4
EC_CLASS=.VALVE.	Returns true if EC_CLASS contains the word VALVE. This is a regular expression
(a * b) > c

IF () example
If (IE_TYPE=CT_BOLT, "M" + SIZE1, SIZE)	For bolts return the bolt diameter prepended with a "M" character (like M12). For all other items return a size string (like 200x100)

TOTAL (<expression>)

The MapText function maps a text to another text. The following example maps the EC_CLASS property into something humanly readable:

The mapping are stored in a CFG file (for instance: style.cfg). Any text to be mapped is prefixed with MAPTEXT_.

For the example the following mappings were used

MAPTEXT_PIPE = I'm a pipe
MAPTEXT_PIPE_TEE_REDUCING_BRANCH = I'm a branch reducing TEE

The Left/Right function

The left/right functions can only be used in weld reports. We use the isometric snippet shown below to create a few example reports. We have a reducing butt weld TEE connected to pipes. There are 2 shop welds and 1 field weld.

We start with a basic weld type report showing id, size and type. The properties listed in the report definition refers to weld properties:

The next example shows the use of the LEFT/RIGHT functions in a weld report. Left and Right refer to the ports/components connected by the weld.

Left refers to the component with the lowest IE_SEQID
Left refers to a PIPE whenever a PIPE is part of the connection

The expression within the left/right function parenthesis is evaluated on the properties of the connected component.

Example: Add a column that shows the EC_CLASS of the connected components. Note that a single column is used with an expression using both LEFT and RIGHT functions.

The next example shows the use of the special property CM in the LEFT/RIGHT functions.

CM refers to the end prep of the connected port. In the below example a single column is used to list the end preps of the connected components:

The next example report shows something similar, here however two separate column lists the end preps. Also the MapText function is used to get a full end prep description:

The following mappings where added to the style.cfg enabling the MapText function to work:

MAPTEXT_PE = Plain End

MAPTEXT_BW = Butt Weld

DA (,expression>)

The DA function runs the expression on the drawing attributes instead of component attributes.

DA(LINENUMBER)

Returns the drawing attribute LINENUMBER.

Practical Bolt Size Reporting Example

SIZE in a report return a size string. So for instance:

100 for a pipe
100x50 for a tee
100x80 for a reducer

For a bolt, SIZE returns <bolt diameter> x <bolt length>

You could use the following to return only the diameter for bolts:

COLUMN = 25::if (IE_TYPE=CT_BOLT, SIZE1, SIZE)	Returns SIZE1 for bolts, SIZE for others.
COLUMN = 25::if (IE_TYPE=CT_BOLT, "M" + SIZE1, SIZE)	Same as above but prepends the bolt diameter with a 'M' character.

To have a column in the weld report that shows the connected end preps (llike BWxPE):
COLUMN = 14::left (CM) + "x" + right (CM)
To have a column in the weld report that shows the connected end preps (like Butt Weld x Sq. Cut):
COLUMN = 14::left (MapText(CM)) + "x" + right (MapText(CM))
To display the length of pipes in the BOM in meters instead of millimeters:
COLUMN = 14::Quantity / 1000 + "meters"
To display the length of pipes in the BOM in meters instead of millimeters with 2 digit accuracy:
COLUMN = 14::(Quantity / 1000):"#.00 meters"
To use an alternative description for reinforcement pads:
COLUMN = 60::if (EC_CLASS =="REINFORCEMENT", "reinforcement pad", IE_DESCRIPT)

Testing

One can test the functionality as follows:

Set OPIM_TEST_EXPR=1 in a CFG file (isoproj.cfg or style.cfg).
Create an expression test file expression.txt in c:/temp.
In an isometric click the re-hatch button.

All the expressions in expression.txt are evaluated and the results are written to c:/temp/expression.log

Please see the following expression.log.

Note: The expression parser can also handle vector calculation. This may be of use to replace the current EC2L00 implementation for determining the intersection point locations for complex custom components.

Changes in expression functionality

COLUM = 30:A:<expression>	The `A` as a column flag/qualifier stood for ACCUMULATE. Replaced With: The `TOTAL` function in the expression.
COLUM = 30:2:<expression>	An integer value as a column flag/qualifier specified the precision to use for numbers in the expression. Replaced with: The format specifiers in the expression itself.
DA("AttrName") DA(AttrName)	In previous versions there already was a DA function for getting a single drawing attribute. There the drawing attribute name needed to be within double quotes. Double quotes are still allowed for backward compatibility.
FIX (AttrName, nrDigits)	Previous versions had this `FIX` function to format a number. Replaced with: The new format specifiers detailed above. Note: An error will display on old reports having this function.

The following examples show how report results are returned when using the deprecated functions listed above: