Working with Specifications

By allowing PID components to be placed using a Piping Specification, OpenPlant PID (OPPID) can automatically update properties on the component with data from the Piping Specification at the time in which the component is placed into the PID.

Currently the OpenPlant Spec Manager can support specifications generated using the following spec providers:

OpenPlant Modeler (OPM)
AutoPLANT PDW (PDW)
PlantSpace Design Series (PSDS)
PDS (PDX)

The selection of the active spec provider and its configuration are controlled via the workspace configuration variables located in the %LOCAL_ROOT%\OpenPlant PID\Workspace\Projects\%PROJECT.pcf% file.

The spec data is converted from its native format to ECXML format based on the OpenPlant schema. Mappings which control which component properties are updated are contained in the OpenPlant_PID schema. The query into the spec and the updating of the component properties is defined by mappings from the spec fields to the component properties via spec mapping classes in the schemas.

Spec Manager Configuration Variable

OpenPlant PID can be configured to use either the Spec Manager from previous versions or the new OpenPlant Spec Manager. The configuration variable below defines which spec manager is to be used:

BMV_SPEC_MANAGER = OpenPlant

By default, the OpenPlant spec manager will be used unless the configuration variable is not defined, in which case the spec manager from previous OpenPlant PID versions will be used.

When using the OpenPlant Spec Manager, then you can define variables to use either of the spec providers listed above.

General Settings

Below are the general settings included in the %PROJECT%.PCF file. These variables apply to all of the spec providers.

OPM_SPECS_PLUGIN_DATABASES	Defines the location of the spec mapping databases required by the OpenPlant Modeler Spec Manager.
OPM_SPECPLUGIN_CURRENTSOURCE	Defines the spec provider to use. The following providers are available: OPM - OpenPlant Spec Provider (Default) PDW - AutoPLANT Spec Provider PSDS - PlantSpace Spec Provider PDX - PDS Spec Provider
OPM_DEFAULT_SPEC	Defines the default spec to be used when a new drawing is created. By default, no spec is defined.
OPM_DEFAULT_DISPLAYFIELDS (Optional)	Defines a default list of column headers to be used in the Spec Record Selection dialog. This is used only if no fields are defined in the property mappings

Additional variables may be required when using spec providers other than the default (OPM).

OpenPlant Provider Settings

The following variable is added to define the location of the spec files (Default value is displayed):

OPM_DIR_SPECS = (_USTN_PROJECTDATASET)Specs Databases/

A sample of the default configuration variables that ship with OPPID should look like the example below:

OPM_DIR_SPECS = $(_USTN_PROJECTDATASET)Specs Databases/

OPM_SPECS_PLUGIN_DATABASES = $(_USTN_PROJECTDATASET)Mapping Databases/

OPM_SPECPLUGIN_CURRENTSOURCE = OPM

OPM_DEFAULT_SPEC =

AutoPLANT Provider Settings

When the PDW Spec Provider is defined (OPM_SPECPLUGIN_CURRENTSOURCE = PDW) the following variable needs to be added to define the location of the PDW spec tables.

Note: The directory path displayed is an example and may differ from where your specs are stored.

OPM_DIR_SPECS = $(_USTN_PROJECTDATASET)Specs Databases/

OPM_SPECS_PLUGIN_DATABASES = $(_USTN_PROJECTDATASET)Mapping Databases/

OPM_SPECPLUGIN_CURRENTSOURCE = PDW

OPM_DEFAULT_SPEC =

OPM_SPECPLUGIN_PDW_SPECFOLDER = C:\AutoPLANT\Specs\imperial

PlantSpace and PDS Provider Settings

The configuration settings for the PSDS and PDS specs are much more detailed than for OPM and PDW and it is recommended that the project administrator contact the Bentley Technical Support Group for assistance when configuring the system to use those specifications.