Graphics Commands

From SysCAD Documentation

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

This sections shows the Graphics Commands in SysCAD 9.2. Refer to Graphics Commands in 9.1 for SysCAD 9.1.

There are a number of menu commands and toolbar buttons related to graphics. They only become available if a Graphics Window is the currently active window.

This section explains the ungrouped graphics commands which are used to draw and manage SysCAD flowsheets. Note that SysCAD must be in the Edit mode (stopped) for most of these commands to be accessed.

The grouped graphics commands are explained on the following pages:

• Insert Graphics Commands
• Edit Graphics Commands
• Delete Graphics Commands
• Construct Graphics Commands
• Animation Commands

Contents 1 Insert 2 Edit 3 Delete 4 Construct 5 Redraw 6 Zoom 7 Isometric 8 Animation 9 Colour Scheme 10 Create Group 11 Copy bitmap 12 Bulk Change Tag

Insert

• Insert Graphics Commands
  • Insert Unit
  • Insert Link
  • Insert Text
  • Insert Symbol
  • Insert Group

Edit

• Edit Graphics Commands
  • Tag Position, Show or Hide
  • Move
  • Scale/Rotate
  • Redraw Link
  • Change Symbol
  • Change Text

Delete

• Delete Graphics Commands
  • Delete
  • Explode
  • Delete Graphics Only
  • Explode Symbol

Construct

• Construct Graphics Commands
  • Load Drawing
  • Construct Unit
  • Construct Link
  • Construct Tie
  • Construct Symbol

Redraw

Command Button
Command Path	Graphics - Redraw
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+B

This command refreshes the drawing on the Graphics Window.

Zoom

Command Button
Command Path	Graphics - Zoom
Short Cut Key	Ctrl+M

This command is used to move around and change the magnification of the active Graphics Window. The zoom command opens a floating toolbar:

• Clicking closes the toolbar.
• The next four buttons allow you to move around the Graphics Window, left, right, up or down respectively. The magnification of the drawing is not changed.
• The next two buttons increase (zoom in) or decrease (zoom out) your view of the drawing.
• The All icon zooms to fit the drawing on the Graphics Window.
• To view a portion of the drawing, with the zoom toolbar opened, drag a selection box on the Graphics Window with the left mouse button. To return to the overall drawing, either click on the All icon, or click once on the Graphics Window.

Isometric

Command Path Graphics, Isometric

This command is only relevant for drawings with three dimensional spatial co-ordinates. This command zooms the graphics to an isometric view.

Animation

• Animation Commands
  • Insert Annotation Table
  • Insert Fill Area
  • Insert Dynamic Bars
  • Insert Toggle
  • Update Annotation Table
  • Update Fill Area
  • Update Dynamic Bars
  • Update Toggle
  • Refresh Annotation
  • Refresh All Annotation

Colour Scheme

There are 5 background colours available:

• Black
• Grey
• LightGrey
• Offwhite
• White

User can customise the colour scheme via the Tools | General Options | Colours Tab

Create Group

Command Button
Command Path	Graphics - Create Group

This command allows the user to choose selected groups of SysCAD models and save them in a neutral database. Once the group of models is saved, they can be inserted onto any graphics windows, this includes different projects. This is an easy way to create multiple flowsheets that contain the same layout of models. Furthermore, the create group function enables the user to change model tags using some tag rules. With this feature, the user may more easily rename models if the models follow some logical tag naming rules.

To create a group:

1. Open a project that contains a graphics page with the required models for copying
2. Choose Create Group. This will bring up the floating save Group tool bar and the mouse pointer will change to read ORIGIN:

   

3. Select the origin by right clicking once on the required insert position.

   Note: this will mark the bottom left hand corner of the group when the models are inserted later using the Insert Group function.

4. Once the origin is selected, the mouse pointer will change to read NODE.
5. The user can select the required models one at a time by LEFT clicking on them or use the cross-window or in-window buttons on the Save Group tool bar.
6. When all the models have been selected, press the tick button on the floating tool bar to confirm. This will now open a Create Group Dialog box.

For example:

In the above example, some key features are highlighted. There are a few main points to note here:

1. The model information will be stored in a neutral database.
2. The description field must have an entry.
3. The Groups field allows the user to assign the copied models to a group. The syntax to use here is Group:Name. See example on Insert Group section for the resulting view.
4. Find and replace tags - this is optional, but should be used if the copied group is to be inserted into the same project to avoid duplicate tag names. In the above example, we have asked to find tags that Starts with FT_. The Start Tag is marked by "^". You can also ask to find End Tag, just click on the ... button to the right of the field to get the options. If you have made a mistake, press the Reset button to start again. Note that it will reset all the tags and not just the last replace.
5. The Current Status line will display any duplicate tag errors if any. You will not be allowed to proceed if any duplicate tags are found. In that case, press the reset button and start again.
6. Once all the options have been specified and the current status displays Ready, press OK to proceed with the export of data to the database.

Copy bitmap

Command Path Graphics, Copy Bitmap

This command will copy the graphics window contents to the clipboard. This can then be inserted into another file, such as an Excel spreadsheet, Word document, etc. The command takes a print screen of the graphics page, and then changes its colour to mono with black lines and white background.

NOTES

• Since this is a screen print, it will copy whatever is displayed on screen. Therefore ensure that the entire graphics page is visible on the screen. If only a section of the graphic page is required, use the zoom command to display the required graphics before copying the bitmap.

• It is recommended to maximise the graphics window before copying for best possible screen print. Otherwise you may have trouble reading the text in the bitmap.

Bulk Change Tag

Identical to Bulk Change Tag on the Edit Commands page.