tm-1801 aveva everything3d™ (1.1) foundations - chapter 4

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CHAPTER 4

4 Displaying Modelled Elements

This chapter describes how to view the required model elements; set the view limits and set the viewing direction.

In order to view the model in a 3D View, the basic things to consider are:

Which elements are required to be viewed, i.e. Building the Drawlist.

Scaling the required elements to fit the 3D View, i.e. Setting the View Limits.

Which direction are the elements to be viewed from, i.e. Setting the View Direction.

4.1 Building the Drawlist

AVEVA E3D uses the concept of a Drawlist, that is, a list of database elements that are displayed in a 3D View. All elements in the Drawlist must exist in the databases, i.e. they can be seen in Model Explorer. However, not all database elements need be in a Drawlist, thus making the Drawlist a very powerful tool for viewing the model.

Before any element can be displayed in a 3D View it must be added to a Drawlist. The Drawlist may consist of a single element, e.g. an EQUI element, a number of items,(e.g.an EQUI element and some PIPE elements, a complete SITE, or the whole model.

When elements are added to a Drawlist, any element that is a member of the added element, i.e. elements owned by the added element, are also added to the Drawlist. Elements may be added or removed from a Drawlist at any time during a Model session.

4.1.1 Displaying the Drawlist

On the 3D VIEW tab, in the Contents group, clicking the Drawlist button displays the Drawlist for the current 3D View.

See section 5.5 for details of multiple 3D Views.

The Drawlist is a re-sizable and dockable form.

Before any element can be displayed in a 3D View it must be added to a Drawlist. The Drawlist may consist of a single element, e.g. an EQUI element, a number of items,(e.g.an EQUI element and some PIPE elements, a complete SITE, or the whole model.

When elements are added to a Drawlist, any element that is a member of the added element, i.e. elements owned by the added element, are also added to the Drawlist.

Elements may be added or removed from a Drawlist at any time during a Model session.

AVEVA Everything3D™ (1.1) Foundations TM-1801


4.1.2 Populating the Drawlist

Elements may be added and removed from the Drawlist in several ways, as described in the following sections. If elements are added to the Drawlist, by any method, that are already present in the Drawlist, they are not added again, i.e. there is only one occurrence in a Drawlist of a database element.

4.1.2.1 Drag & Drop from Model Explorer

Elements may be dragged from the Model Explorer and dropped into a 3D View. Clicking an element in Model Explorer and dragging it into a 3D View populates the Drawlist.

If the CE is a component or primitive the owning element is added to the 3D View. However, if the Ctrl key is pressed during the drag and drop operation, only the component or primitive will be added to the 3D View.

If the added elements are the first elements to be added to an empty Drawlist, the display zooms to the limits of the elements. Subsequent additions to the Drawlist do not affect the limits of the display.

4.1.2.2 From the 3D VIEW Tab

The Contents group of the 3D VIEW tab contains three buttons to add and remove elements from the Drawlist.

Clicking the Add CE button adds the current element to the Drawlist and the 3D View.

Clicking the Remove CE button removes the current element from the Drawlist and the 3D View.

Clicking the Remove All button empties the Drawlist completely and the 3D View.

4.1.2.3 From Model Explorer

Clicking the CE in Mode Explorer with the right mouse button displays the Model Explorer pop-up menu, as described earlier in this training guide.

The 3D View option has a sub-menu that has the following options:

Add – this option adds the CE to the Drawlist and 3D View, together with all the elements it owns. If the CE is a primitive the owning element is also added to the 3D View.

Add Only – this option adds only the CE to the Drawlist and 3D View. If the CE is a primitive only the primitive is added to the Drawlist and 3D View.

Add Connected – this option adds the CE and any elements connected to it to the Drawlist and 3D View.

How elements are connected varies depending on the discipline and is outside the scope of this training guide. Refer to specific discipline training guides for element connectivity.



Add Within Volume – this option adds the CE and any elements that are partially or wholly within a ‘volume box’ whose size is derived from the extremities of the CE to the Drawlist and 3D View.

Remove – this option removes the CE from the Drawlist and 3D View, with all the elements it owns. If the CE is a primitive the owning element is also removed from the Drawlist and 3D View.

Remove Only – this option removes only the CE from the Drawlist and 3D View. If the CE is a primitive only the primitive is removed from the Drawlist and 3D View

Whichever method is used to populate the Drawlist, the form updates (refreshes) automatically providing the Track changes checkbox is checked. If it is not checked the Drawlist will not update with changes to the Drawlist until the checkbox is checked.

4.1.3 Using the Drawlist

The Drawlist has many features to help control the Drawlist for a 3D View and has three areas, as described in the following sections.

4.1.3.1 Tabs

The top part of the form consists of three tabs, each of which has a grid.

The Drawlist tab displays all the elements currently in the Drawlist.

The Graphical Selection tab displays all elements in the current graphical selection.

The Primitives tab displays the primitives of an element selected from the Drawlist tab list. The tab header changes to Primitives of /<nnnn>, where <nnnn> is the name of the element, when an element is selected from the Drawlist tab. If more than one element is selected in the Drawlist tab, the first primitives of the first element selected will appear in the Primitives tab and the tab title appropriately changed.

The grid in each tab have the same functionality. Each grid has two columns showing the element Name, either an explicit name or the system generated name, and the element Type.

The grid entries may be grouped, sorted and filtered to suit the user’s requirements.

The grids have a right click pop-up menu which has the following options:

Multiple selections can be made from the grid.

Navigate To – this option navigates to the element, selected in the list, in the Model Explorer, effectively making it the current element. Where more than one element is selected this option navigates to the first one in the list.



Hide in 3D View – this option hides the selected element(s) in the 3D View. The elements are not removed from the Drawlist, only removed from the 3D View graphics. The Show checkbox in the Display Settings frame of the Drawlist is unchecked.

Show in 3D View – this option shows the selected elements(s) in the 3D View if they have been hidden. The Show checkbox in the Display Settings frame of the Drawlist is checked.

Remove from 3D View – this option removes the selected element(s) from the Drawlist and 3D View.

Add to Collections – this option adds the selected element(s) to the current collection.

See section 7.1 for details of the Collections form.

Export to Excel… – this options opens the Save Drawlist As browser, enabling the grid contents to be saved to a .xls file.

Print Preview… - this option opens the Print Preview form and displays a print preview of the grid. The grid contents may be printed from the form.

4.1.3.2 Display Settings

The Display Settings frame of the Drawlist enables single elements or multiple elements selected in the tab grids to have their visual properties in the 3D View modified.

When the display settings of a top level element in the Drawlist are modified, all lower level elements owned by the element are also modified, however, individual primitives may have their display settings changed from their owner’s colour by making a selection from the Primitives of /<nnnn> tab.

The Show checkbox enables an entry in the Drawlist to be displayed or hidden in a 3D View’s graphics. If unchecked, the Show checkbox hides the selected item(s) in the 3D View. Checking the checkbox displays the object in the 3D View, if previously hidden.

The Colour button caption shows the colour of the selected element(s) and displays its colour name. If more than one element is selected the colour of the first element selected is shown, although the operation will change the colour of all selected elements.

Clicking the Colour button displays the Colour form which displays the standard 16 AVEVA E3D colours. Any colour may be selected from the palette by clicking the required colour button

Clicking the More… button displays a larger Colour form with 256 available colours.

When a colour is selected the Colour button on the Drawlist form is updated. The selected elements in the Drawlist will be displayed in the selected colour.

The Edges checkbox toggles the highlighting of the element’s edges in the 3D View. This setting is often used with semi-translucent elements to ensure a clearer view of the element(s).



The Translucency slider enables the translucency of elements to be modified. Setting the translucency of displayed elements allows other elements that are obscured in the display to be seen through the semi- translucent element.

The number next to the slider label shows the percentage of translucency for the selected item(s), i.e. 0% is a solid colour and 100% is completely transparent.

The percentage may be set by dragging the slider or by clicking the left or right arrow buttons at each end of the slider until the desired number is reached.

If more than one element is selected the translucency of the first element selected is shown, although the operation will change the colour of all selected elements.

4.1.3.3 Options

The Options frame of the Drawlist contains three link labels that have the following functions:

Select CE in List – this link label selects the CE, as shown in Model Explorer, in the selected tab grid and highlights the entry. If the CE is not in the selected tab list then a warning alert form is displayed.

Add CE to Drawlist – this link label adds the CE, as shown in Model Explorer, to the Drawlist. This may be a significant element, a component or a primitive.

Remove Selection – this link label removes the selected row(s) from the Drawlist. The other tabs are updated automatically. This button is only enabled when one or more rows in any of the tab grids has been selected.

4.1.4 Hiding and Showing Elements

In addition to the show and hide functionality available from the Drawlist, elements in the 3D View may be hidden and displayed, but not removed from the Drawlist, in other ways.

Clicking the Hide Selected tile on the upper left side of a 3D View, hides the current graphical selection.

Right clicking on an element in the 3D View displays the Element pop-up menu.

Clicking the Hide option hides the current selection.

Refer to section 5,2 for information on graphical selections. The other options on this menu are described elsewhere in this training guide.



Hovering the pointer over the Hide Selected button displays three fly-out tiles.

Clicking the Show Last Hidden tile restores the last hidden element or graphical selection to the 3D View. Clicking the tile again has no effect.

Clicking the Show All Hidden tile restores all hidden elements to the 3D View.

Clicking the Hidden List Form tile displays the Hidden Objects form.

The form displays a grid of all hidden elements. Single or multiple selections may be made from the grid and the selected items restored to the 3D View by either clicking the Show Objects button or right clicking in the grid and selecting the Show option from the pop-up menu.

The Refresh button updates the grid of hidden elements.

When one of these tiles is clicked it becomes the default tile, i.e. it is displayed in the 3D View.

4.2 Setting the View Limits

In order to display items in the 3D View, whether it is a single item, a selection of items or an entire model, the elements have to be scaled to fit the view. Scaling of the items is performed automatically by AVEVA E3D once the limits of the items to be displayed are known. The limits of an item, or a selection of items, can be envisaged of as a box completely encapsulating the item(s) to be viewed.

Limits of a single EQUI element Limits of several different element types

The following sections describe the ways in which the elements to be viewed can be scaled to fit a 3D View:



4.2.1 Using the View Control Tiles

The view limits may be set using the View Control tiles on the upper left side of a 3D View.

Clicking the Limits CE tile sets the view limits to the current element.

Clicking the Explicit tile displays Volume - Design form.

This form enables a limits box to be set from a volume which is specified by defining two diagonally opposed corners of a 3D box.

The From and To co-ordinates may be specified

manually - by entering values in the text boxes

graphically – by selecting two elements

from the Select form menu which has the following options:

CE – this option sets the limits box to the extremities of the CE.

Owner – this option sets the limits box to the extremities of the owner of the CE.

Pick – this option sets the limits box to the extremities of an element picked in the 3D View.

Pick Owner – this option sets the limits box to the extremities of the owner of an element picked in the 3D View.

Clicking the Obstruction tile sets the view limits to the elements contained in the Obstruction List. This list is primarily used for clash detection but may be used for this purpose.

Clash Detection and Obstruction Lists are outside the scope of this training guide.

Clicking the Clipbox tile sets the view limits to the same co-ordinates as the current Clipbox, if defined.

See section 5.10 for information on Clipping.

Clicking the Zoom to Drawlist button sets the view limits and centres the view to the contents of the Drawlist.

Clicking the Zoom to Selection button sets the view limits to the current graphical selection. If there is no current graphical selection the CE is used as the selection.

Refer to 5.2 for information on graphical selections.



4.2.2 Using the 3D View Pop-up Menu

Right clicking in any blank area of a 3D View, i.e. the cursor is not over an element, displays the 3D View pop-up menu.

Selection – this option sets the view limits to the current graphical selection or to the CE if there is no current graphical selection.

Identify Element… - this option enables an element to be selected graphically from the 3D View. In this case, the selected element does not become the CE.

Entire Draw List – this option sets the view limits to the extremities of the entire Drawlist.

Walk To differs from Zoom To in that it removes items between the eye position and the target item that are not in the immediate vicinity of the target item. Items in the immediate vicinity of the target will continue to be displayed, so it may be necessary to remove items still obscuring the target item by removing them from the Drawlist. The other options on this menu are described elsewhere in this training guide.

4.2.3 Using the Element Pop-up Menu

Right clicking an element in the 3D View will display the element pop-up menu.

The menu contains Zoom To and Walk To options that use the current graphical selection.

Refer to 5.2 for information on graphical selections.



4.3 Setting the View Direction

Although the model may be viewed form any direction, functions are provided for setting the viewing direction to pre-defined and explicit directions.

The options are available from the Manipulate group on 3D VIEW tab or from the 3D View pop-up menu.

4.3.1 Look

The Look options contains the six cardinal viewing directions and an explicit direction option. Selecting one of the cardinal directions sets the viewing direction of the 3D View in that direction, i.e. selecting North views the model from the South, looking North.

Selecting the Direction option display the Look form which enables any direction to be entered.

See section 6.3 for information on orientation syntax.

4.3.2 Plan

The Plan option contains four cardinal directions. Selecting a direction displays a plan view of the model with the selected direction pointing up in the 3D View.



4.3.3 Isometric

The Isometric option contains four pre-set isometric view directions. Each direction corresponds to North towards bottom right, top right, top left and bottom left of the 3D View.

The current viewing direction is displayed in the Status bar on a 3D View: A direction of n90d, i.e. North 90º Down, is the default viewing direction and is the direction obtained when selecting Plan > North.

A direction of e45n35d, i.e. East 45º North 35º Down, is the direction obtained when selecting Isometric > Iso 3.



Exercise 2

Building the Draw List

1. In the 3D View, click the Remove All tile on the left side of the view to clear the 3D View and empty the Drawlist.

2. On the 3D VIEW tab, in the Contents group, click the Drawlist button to display the Drawlist form.

3. Dock the Drawlist on the bottom of Model Explorer. Note that the Drawlist is empty as no components have been added to the 3D View. Make sure the Track Changes checkbox at the top left of the Drawlist form is checked.

4. In Model Explorer expand the TRA.SITE element to show the ZONE elements and expand the EQUIP.ZONE element. Highlight the equipment item TANK1 and drag and drop it into the 3D View. Note that the equipment element has been added to the 3D View and the view limits adjusted to the element.

5. Make the equipment item PUMP1 in Model Explorer the CE and on the 3D VIEW tab, in the Contents group, click the Add CE button add the equipment to the Drawlist and 3D View.

6. Right click the EQUIP.ZONE element in Model Explorer to display the pop-up menu and select 3D View > Add to add the ZONE to the Drawlist. Note that only the equipment element TANK2 has been added to the Drawlist. As the other equipment items owned by the EQUI.ZONE were already in the Drawlist only the remaining equipment item has been added.

7. TANK2 cannot be seen in the 3D View as the display limits were set around TANK1. Click the Zoom to Drawlist tile on the left side of the 3D View. The limits are now set to display all of the equipment elements in the 3D View.

8. Right click on TANK1 in Model Explorer and select 3D View > Add Connected from the pop-up menu. This will add pipe1-b1 to the 3D View as the pipe is connected to the equipment item.

9. Right click on TANK2 in Model Explorer and select 3D View > Add Within Volume from the pop-up menu. This adds pipe2-b1 and some of the section (SCTN) elements that make up the TANK2 supports to the 3D View as they are within the volume of the equipment item.

10. Make the PIPE.ZONE element the CE and click the Add CE to Drawlist button on the Drawlist form to add the remainder of the pipe branches to the 3D View.

11. Add the CIVIL.ZONE to the Drawlist using any method.

Setting the View Limits

12. Clear the Drawlist by selecting all of the entries in the Drawlist grid, right clicking in the grid to display the Drawlist pop-up menu and select the Remove from Drawlist option.

13. Add the TRA.SITE to the Drawlist and remove the BASE element in the CIVIL.ZONE from the Drawlist by right clicking on it in the 3D View to make it the CE and display the element pop-up menu and selecting the Remove from 3D View option.

14. Right click in an empty area of the 3D View and select Walk To > Entire Draw List from the 3D View pop-up menu and note that the elements in the Drawlist now fill the 3D View.

15. Right click on TANK1 in the 3D View to make it the CE and display the element pop-up menu. Select the Walk To option from the menu and note that the equipment element now fills the 3D View.

16. Left click on any visible part of PUMP1 in the 3D View to make it the CE and left click the Zoom to Selection button on the left side of the 3D View. Note that the pump now fills the view.

17. Display the entire Drawlist again by right clicking anywhere in a blank area of the 3D View to display the 3D View pop-up menu and select the Walk To > Entire Drawlist entry.



18. Navigate to TANK2 in Model Explorer to make it the CE and. click the Explicit tile from the left side of the 3D View to display the Volume form. Select the Select > CE option from the form menu and note the volume box that is displayed around the extents of TANK2. Click the Apply button to set the view volume. The equipment item now fills the 3D View. Close the form to clear the volume box.

Setting the View Direction

19. Add the BASE element to the Drawlist and click the Zoom to Drawlist button to view the entire Drawlist contents.

20. Note the view direction in the status bar in the bottom left corner of the 3D View. It should read n 90 d, i.e. North 90º Down, a plan view with the North direction going up the 3D View.

21. On the 3D VIEW tab, in the Manipulate group, select Iso 3 from the Isometric button options list. Note the change in the view direction on the status bar.

22. Right click anywhere in a blank area of the 3D View to display the 3D View pop-up menu. Select Isometric > Iso 1, Iso 2 and Iso 4 in turn, noting the change to the 3D View and the view direction in the status bar.

23. On the 3D VIEW tab, in the Manipulate group, select North from the Look button options list to display the southern elevation of the model. Note that the view direction has changed to n, i.e. North. Select different options from either the Look button options list or the Look sub-menu on the 3D View pop-up menu, noting how the view changes.

24. On the 3D VIEW tab, in the Manipulate group, select North from the Plan button options list. Note that the view direction has changed to n 90 d, the default viewing direction. Select different options from either the Plan button options list or the Plan sub-menu on the 3D View pop-up menu, noting how the view changes.

25. Click the Save Work button on the Quick Access Toolbar.

tm-1801 aveva everything3d™ (1.1) foundations - chapter 4

Documents

drawlist elements

added elements

drawlist button

model explorer elements

required elements

required model elements

pipe elements

modelled elements