Named Expressions: Managing Component Symbology in OpenPlant Modeler

Overview

OpenPlant component symbology is managed in the typical Microstation fashion. It is controlled through a combination of Named Expressions (used to read attributes and assign the Element Templates accordingly) and Element Templates (where symbology is defined for the elements identified by the Named Expression).

The first step in defining symbology is to add or modify a Named Expression to identify the component set you want to manage. OpenPlant Piping components can be managed based on any attribute (component data) or standard preference (Service, Unit etc.).  Equipment components may only be managed based on component data.  It is strongly recommended that existing Named Expressions be either copied or modified as opposed to creating new ones.  The steps below detail the procedure for assigning the symbology of all Piping, managed by Pipeline.

Defining the Named Expression

1. Launch OPModeler.DGNlib from your Workspace. (%ProjectName%\Dataset\DGNLib is the default location)
2. Open the Named Expression dialog from Utilities>Named Expressions.
3. In the left column, you will see a list of all pre-defined Named Expressions in the DGNLib
4. In this case, we are going to add to the OP Symobology Piping Expression.
5. Using the syntax of the existing expressions, add the following line:
   IIF( PIPELINE.NAME = "a" , "ServiceA:",
   
   **You will have to add an additional closing parenthesis at the end of the expression to accommodate this additional function**

Following the syntax present, the expression should now look like this:

"BY_LEVEL_AND_TEMPLATE:" & PIPELINE.SERVICE_NAME & "-" & PIPELINE.NAME & ":OpenPlant\Piping\" &
   IIF( OPITEM.IsOfClass( "GENERIC_INSTRUMENT", "OpenPlant_3D" ), "Instrument:",
    IIF( OPITEM.IsOfClass( "CONTROL_VALVE", "OpenPlant_3D" ), "Instrument:",
     IIF( PIPELINE.NAME = "a" , "PiplineA:",
      IIF( OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER <= 4 , "DiameterRange1:",
       IIF( OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER > 4 AND OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER <= 8, "DiameterRange2:",
        IIF( OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER > 8 AND OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER <= 12, "DiameterRange3:",
         IIF( OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER > 12 AND OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER <= 16, "DiameterRange4:",
          IIF( OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER > 16 AND OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER <= 20, "DiameterRange5:",
           IIF( OPITEM.NOMINAL_DIAMETER > 20, "DiameterRange6:", "Default:" ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) & "Model"

Creating the Element Template

At the end of each clause in the named expression, the item in quotation marks designates the name of the element template that will be used to define the symbology of all elements that match the criteria of the expression.  In this case, I chose the name PipelineA.  Now I need to create an element template corresponding to this.  The following steps detail the procedure to do this.

• In the Elements>Element Templates dialog, right click on the Piping section and create a new Template Group named PipelineA.
• Right Click on the Pipeline A group and create a new Template named Model.
• Define the Symbology of the template as you prefer. (Right click on the General Settings header to add further parameters to the Template)

See Also

External Links

Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase

Bentley LEARN Server

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