OpenPlant PID Help

Connectors Options Dialog

It allows you to define new unlinked page connectors, or, new page connectors linked to and an existing connector on another drawing.
Important: The ability to link page connectors across multiple drawings is under a Technology Preview and will be available in the CONNECT Edition Update release.
Accessed from:
  • Piping Ribbon > Connector Gallery
  • Instruments Ribbon > Instrument Lines Gallery
Note: This dialog is a common dialog used when placing connectors for Process or Instrument lines. The only change will be in the columns displayed in the Available Connectors section. See below for more information on this.

Below is the default settings for placing a new connector without any links. If you want to link the new connector to another, enable the Existing Page Connector option.

SettingDescription
New Page Connector Lets you place a new page connector on the active drawing. While placement, program will query the tag repository in PlantSight to find the next available sequence number for the project regardless of which document is active. This will prevent duplication errors when syncing to PlantSight later. The type of page connector (On/Off) is also determined during the placement procedure.
Existing Page Connector Lets you place a new page connector with the ability to connect to an existing page connector on another drawing. This option is disabled when working offline (not connected to the iModel Hub).

Connect to Existing Page Connector

If you select the Existing page Connector, additional options are displayed allowing you to search for and link to page connectors available in the project. As you will note in the dialogs shown below, the Signal Page Connector does not have pipeline information associated with it. These connectors are identified and matched using the Document and Sequence number. Like the Pipe Run Page connectors, a single sequence number is assigned an off page and on page connector. The iModel will recognize this as a single connection with two connector symbols.

Pipe Run Page Connector

Signal Page Connector

SettingDescription
Document Filter
  • Enable: This option enables the document filter which is a list of available drawings in the project. It lets you search individual drawings for available connectors to link to. When it is not checked, the search option will display all available connectors in the project.
  • Search: Click this option to search the project for available connectors to link to. The search results will represent either the selected drawing, or the entire project depending on whether or not the document filter was enabled.
Note: The page connectors functionality works in conjunction with the iModel Hub.
Available Connectors This section lists the available connectors in a drawing selected from the Document Filter list. This section only displays when the Existing Page Connector option is selected, allowing you to link the new connector to an existing connector on another page.
The connectors listed in the Available Connectors list includes the following columns:
  • Off Page Model: If the connector is an off page connector, the model the connector was placed on is listed here.
  • On Page Model: If the connector is an on page connector, the model the connector was placed on is listed here.

The type of page connector selected from the Available Connectors will determine the type of new connector being placed. For example, if an Off page connector is selected, then the new connector will be an On page.

Property Info

To view the properties of the connector, right-click on it and select Properties from the popup menu.

To define a sequence number, either enter a number directly into the field, or click the arrow button in the field to display the control shown below. This control allows you to select the next available number for the sequence or increment the current number by the amount shown in the Increment By field. The Maximum button sets the tag number one number above the current highest number used. (For example, if the current highest tag number used is P-104, then the Maximum tag number will be set to P-105.)

When finished defining the sequence increments, click Done to collapse the Property Details section.

Linking Instrument Lines

If using Connectors to link instrument lines, in the Available Connectors section, there is no pipeline information listed as instrument lines do not have tag numbers assigned. Instead, the sequence number will display along with columns for Off Model or On Model which identifies the type of connector.

The Document Filter option enables a drop down lists containing all of the project drawings which have page connectors. When you select a drawing from the list, only the page connectors from that drawing are displayed.

If the Enable check box is not checked, when you click the Search icon, all of the connectors in the entire project will display in the Available Connectors list.

The type of available connectors displayed is determined by the Connector Direction selected. For example, if you want to link to an Off Page connector, then On Page as the Connection Direction.
Note: Although OpenPlant PID supports the .Dwg drawing mode, a known limitation at this time is the inability to link to an existing .Dwg file when placing a new page connector.