File Commands

From SysCAD Documentation

Navigation: User Guide -> Menu Commands -> File Commands

This section shows the File Commands in SysCAD 9.2. Refer to File Commands in 9.1 for SysCAD 9.1.

Contents 1 New File 2 Open File 3 Save/Rename Graphics As 4 Save/Rename Trend As 5 Close Active Graphic/Trend 6 New Project 7 Open Project 8 Open Project (Alternate Cfg) 9 Save Project 10 Save Project As 11 Save Project Version 12 Zip Project 13 Save Project Layout 14 Close Project 15 Load Scenario 16 Save Scenario 17 Compare Scenarios 18 Print Setup 19 Print 20 Print Multiple 21 Print Preview 22 Merge Project 23 Import 24 Export 25 Exit

New File

Command Button
Command Path	File - New File
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+N

This command is not available if no SysCAD project is open. If a project is already opened, SysCAD will display the following dialog box:

Choosing Graphics or Trend from the list will open a new Graphics Window Grf_x.scg or a Trend Window Trend_x.trn respectively. You may also open a controls trend page by selecting Trend with Controllers.

Note this is not available if SysCAD is solving or running.

Open File

Command Button
Command Path	File - Open File
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+O

This command is not available if no SysCAD project is open. If a project is already opened, this command allows you to open any closed Graphics Window or Trend Window. This option is not available when SysCAD is solving or running.

Save/Rename Graphics As

Command Path	File - Save/Rename Graphics As
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+Shift+A

This command is only available if the active window is a graphics window.

This creates a new copy of the graphics window, closes the old window and saves it with a new name. This is not available if SysCAD is solving or running.

WARNING
This action only makes a copy of the Graphics Symbols on the page but does not save/copy any project or models information, thus it CANNOT be used to save model data NOR can it be used to make a copy of the models on the graphics page.

Save/Rename Trend As

Command Path	File - Save/Rename Trend As
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+Shift+A

This command is only available if the active window is a trend window.

This creates a new copy of the trend window, closes the old window and saves it with a new name. This is not available if SysCAD is solving or running.

Close Active Graphic/Trend

Command Path

File - Close Active Graphic/Trend

• This closes the active Graphic or Trend window. Before closing the window, SysCAD will prompt for reconfirmation.
• This is not available if SysCAD is solving or running.
• The Message, Command, Plantmodel And Access Windows cannot be closed.
• If the Project.SpjWindow is closed, the project is closed. SysCAD will prompt for save of the project before closing.

WARNINGS

1. If a graphics or Trend Window is closed, it will NOT be automatically opened when the project is loaded the next time. To reopen closed Graphics or Trend Windows, use the Open command.
2. It is recommended to keep all the graphics windows opened in SysCAD. The reason being if a window is closed, it will not be saved when the Save Project command is used. Worst still, if a Save Project version or Save Project As is used, the closed graphics window will not be copied over thus may result in missing graphics pages permanently.
3. Closed graphics window will also cause problems during project merge because the graphics page is not available for tag name changes.

As a general rule, ALWAYS use the MINIMISE button if the pages are not being used and only close the graphics pages if the models on the pages are being represented by another page or the models on the page have been deleted.

New Project

Command Button
Command Path	File - New Project
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+N (this shortcut will only work when no projects are currently open. If a project is open this then shortcut will activate the New File command.)

If a project is currently opened:

The user will be able to save and close the current project before the Creating a New Project Dialog box is displayed.

If no projects are currently opened:

The New | Project command will bring up the Creating a New Project Dialog box, from which a new project will be created.

The user must select a project configuration file either from the list provided or use the Browse button to find an existing cfg file.

Note: The user cannot create a new configuration file using this command. Please see Project Configuration (cfg File) for information on creating a new configuration file.

If you no longer require a configuration file to appear in the list, highlight the unwanted file and use Remove to remove it from the list.

To open the new project, select the correct models configuration file by highlighting it and press OK on the Create a New Project Dialog box. You will be prompted to type in the name of the project. When all is complete, SysCAD will then bring up the New Project Setting Dialogue box for user to define some default project settings.

Selected the appropriate project settings and press OK.

The new project is created; a default windows will be created if the Create new Graphics Window and Create New Trend Window options were selected.

Open Project

Command Button
Command Path	File - Open Project
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+O (this shortcut will only work when no projects are currently open. If a project is open this then shortcut will activate the Open File command.)

This allows you to open an existing project. This option is not available when SysCAD is solving or running.

Find the required project.spf folder using the Look in pull down list, click on the project.spj file and press Open.

If a project is currently opened:

The user will be able to save and close the current project before the selected project is opened.

Open Project (Alternate Cfg)

Command Button
Command Path	File - Open Project (Alternate Cfg)

This function allows the user to choose different customised project configurations when loading the project. If a project is already opened, you can use this command to open a different project. If an alternative configuration is needed for the current project, close the project first, and then use the Open Project (Alterante Cfg) command to load the project with the new configuration file.

From the Open dialog box, choose the project, from the Loading Project dialog box, press browse to add in the new configuration file(xxxx.cfg) or choose one from the list. Select the configuration file by highlighting it and press OK.

NOTES:

1. This option is not available when SysCAD is solving or running.
2. By changing the project configuration like this, you are essentially creating a new project. Therefore, if species are missing in the new configuration file, model data that is associated with the missing species will not be loaded. To avoid permanent data lost, it is recommended that you do a Save Project As if you intend to keep both versions of the project.
3. The advantage of this feature is that you can use subsets of the species database for smaller projects and you can revert back to the full list if required.

Save Project

Command Button
Command Path	File - Save Project
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+S

• This is used to save the project.
• This action will save the entire project using the existing project name overwriting the existing data.
• If you wish to save to a new project name use the Project Save Project As or Save Project Version command.
• Before closing a project or exiting SysCAD, you will be prompted to save the project.
• A project save cannot be performed if SysCAD is running or solving.

Hint:

A project should be saved regularly to avoid lost of information during building of a new project or when making major changes to existing projects.

Save Project As

Command Path

File - Save Project As

• A project save cannot be performed if SysCAD is running or solving.
• This command saves the entire project in a new project folder and copies all referenced files if requested.
• With the project save as dialog box opened, find the correct folder to put the new project and type in a name for the project. Press Save.
• A Project Save Options dialog box will be opened requesting for user input on what referenced files to copy if present. See Save Project Version for the various options.

BEWARE:

Make sure to choose a correct location for the new project folder, as this will help with file management.

Save Project Version

Command Button
Command Path	File - Save Project Version
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+Shift+S

• This cannot be performed if SysCAD is running or solving.
• This command saves the project with a version number.
• This command is similar to the Project Save As... command with only one exception. Part of the file name will be prefixed with the old project name.

For Example:

If you have project - SteadySt.spf opened and want to save with the Save Project Version command.

You will be presented with the Project Save Options dialog box:

Comment

• If you leave this Comment text blank and press OK, your new project will be saved in a folder called SteadySt-00.spf.
• If this is saved again with Save Project Version the new project will be called SteadySt-01.spf.
• Alternatively, you can type in a version Name, e.g. Test. The New Project will then be saved in a folder SteadySt(test)-01.spf.

Database Options

• Format - This allows the user to specify the ModelData.mdb format. (File in which SysCAD stores all the models information.). The global default for this option can be set via Tools - General Options - Global.
• Remove Previous Revisions - This allows the user to specify the ModelData.mdb save options. (File in which SysCAD stores all the models information.) The global default for this option can be set via Tools - General Options - Other.

  NOTE: It is recommended to select the Remove Previous Revision Option to keep the database small and more accessible. This will also shorten the save and load times.

• Copy DB Files - The user may not change this. SysCAD will always build a new ModelsData.mdb when a new project is created.

Zip Project

Save Project Layout

Command Path

File - Save Project Layout

• This will save the position and size of all the windows as well as the position and arrangement of the toolbars.
• The layout is automatically saved when a project is saved.
• This command is useful if you want to save the layout of the project without saving the entire project.

Close Project

Command Path

File - Close Project

• This command is not available if SysCAD is running or solving.
• This closes the current project.
• Before closing the project, SysCAD will prompt for save of the project.

Load Scenario

Command Button
Command Path	File - Load Scenario
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+F6

Once a project is loaded, previously saved scenarios can be loaded. See below for how to use Save Scenario command.

To load a scenario, just select the appropriate file from the list and press Open.

• When a scenario is loaded, models that exist in the scenario but not in the project are ignored, and models that exist in the project but not in the scenario are left unchanged.
• The time taken to load a scenario is significantly faster than a project load.
• SysCAD may be running while scenarios are being loaded. However, for best results, pause the project before loading a scenario.
• Scenarios can be used for Scenario Comparisons since a saved scenario saves all the calculated values, which are required for meaningful scenario comparisons. See Compare Scenarios.

Save Scenario

Command Button
Command Path	File - Save Scenario
Short Cut Key	Shift+F6

Once a project is loaded, a scenario of the project can be saved. A scenario is a complete binary dump of the state of a project. It saves all the configuration and calculated data for all unit models in the project.

BEWARE: If the project is very large, this is then a very large file. The user can save this file in a zip format, see below.

The time taken to save a scenario is significantly faster than project save and the user can request a Save Scenario while SysCAD is solving or running. However, for best results, pause the project before saving a scenario.

All snapshot files have the extension scn. The naming of scenarios may be automated. This is done through the General Options dialog box, tab page Snapshots as shown below:

• The Prompt for filename option generates the file save dialog box where a filename can be entered.
• The Automatically incrementing filename option lets SysCAD generate a filename based on a combination of the Filename prefix and Next Snapshot number fields.
• The Reuse same filename option always uses the filename specified in the Default fixed filename field, the old snap-shot is always overwritten.
• The option Zip Snapshot/Scenario files will save the files in a ZIP format, reducing the file size for storage purposes.

Once Scenarios are saved, it can be used for Scenario Comparisons for debugging purposes. See Compare Scenarios.

Compare Scenarios

Command Path

File - Compare Scenarios

This command can be used to:

• compare previously saved Scenarios,
• compare a previously saved Scenario with current values,

These are done through the Compare Tag Values Dialog box.

Use the Add... button to add in files for comparison:

Use the browse button to find the 1^st scenario file. Enter the 2^nd file name if required or you can choose to compare the 1^st file with the current values. Enter the output file name or use the window as the output destination. Press OK when completed and you will be back to the Compare tag Values dialog box.

The Delete button allows you to delete a comparison entry.

The Edit button brings you back to the Compare dialog box.

The Done button closes the Compare Dialog box.

The Compare button performs the comparison of the files.

The Options button opens the Tag Value Comparison Options dialog box:

This dialog box lets you to customise the compare output file.

Another similar command is Compare Data.

Print Setup

Command Path File - Print Setup

Used for setting up the current print/printer options.

NOTE
The default print setup for SysCAD is Landscape.

Print

Command Button
Command Path	File - Print
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+P

Used for printing the Graphics Window graphics, Access Window information and Trend Window trends.

When print is pressed, SysCAD will print the information on the active window only. When the Graphics Window is printed, all graphics will be printed in one colour depth. If the active window is the Trend Window, the following pop up dialog will appear:

The Trend Window is separated in two sections; the user can print out either the Trend Line View or the Trend List View or Both. If use true colours is selected, the user can print out the Trend lines in colour if colour printing or in shades of grey if using a black and white printer.

Please NOTE that the Access Window cannot be printed from this command. To print the Access Window contents, open the Access Window for a selected Unit Operation, and select print from the Access Window Options button. When printed, each tab page will be on separate pages.

Hint:

Printing the file \SysCAD\SCD_Log.csv can print the error messages in the Message Window.

Print Multiple

Command Path	File - Print Multiple
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+Shift+P

• Used for printing multiple Graphics Window pages.
• Any graphics page must be active to select this command.
• The user will then be given a dialog box that can be used to select any number of the graphics pages to be printed.
• The graphics will be printed in one colour depth.

Print Preview

Command Path File, Print Preview

This is currently not available for use.

Merge Project

This command is to merge two projects, both of which use the same configuration file, into one project. Both projects must be saved in the same version, use the same species database, same solver mode and the same model configuration file.

For Example:

Open the SysCAD project to merge into. This is the Current project.

Select the menu option File | Merge Project ....

In the Project Merge dialog box, (shown below) browse for the file name for the imported project. This is the Import project.

The Tag Changing Method section of the dialog box can be used to determine the rules to be followed for renaming tags where duplicates are found. The recommended option is to select "Change Duplicate Tags" for the current project and "Do not change any tags" for the imported project. This gives the fastest merge time and minimises the tag changes required in models, controllers, etc.

Type in the path for Report file or use the default file name.

Press OK.

SysCAD will now check if the two projects can be merged together. If so, it gives a detailed report of what is going to happen when the projects are merged.

When satisfied, press Continue to execute Merge of the two projects or Cancel to go back to the previous dialog window.

When finished, use the Project Save | Save Project As... command to save the merged project as a new project.

NOTE: If the user is merging two projects each containing a reference file (for example reaction file) with the same name, then a merge problem will occur. Instead of giving the Continue page, SysCAD will give a warning detailing the problem encounter. The user can then choose to go ahead with the merge, thus not copying the reference file in the imported project or to cancel the merge operation.

Import

Command Path File, Import

NOTE: SysCAD must be in the Edit mode for this command to be accessed.

Selecting SysCAD Flowsheet from the above dialog box will activate the Project Merge command described above.

Export

Exit

Command Path File, Exit

Short Cut Key Alt F4

Exits SysCAD. Will prompt for save of opened project before exiting.