POSITION
- Last UpdatedAug 28, 2025
- 9 minute read
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Function: |
Allows the user to create tables of standard text annotations or pipe attributes. |
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Description: |
All items of text used for the standard annotation of isometrics have default positions at which they are plotted on the drawings. Some of these texts, together with a list of specified pipe attributes, can be plotted in a separate area away from the main drawing. The standard text annotations which can be repositioned are as follows:
The user can also specify the positions of up to 100 additional pipe attributes such as the pipe’s name, owner, temperature and pressure rating, and include UDAs and user-specified text. The user can also specify the position of drawing attributes when detailing a drawing as defined by the Spool module, using the System attribute option. All text must be positioned in a margin, away from the drawing area, to avoid overwriting the isometric plot itself. The user will normally allocate a suitable margin by using the MARGIN or RESERVE commands. Note: No checks on text positions are made by Isodraft, so the user must take care not to corrupt the isometric by poor positioning. Note: Positioning an annotation at the origin (0, 0) has the effect of suppressing the output of that text. This is particularly useful for suppressing. It is possible to output the same piece of text at more than one position on an isometric plot by defining its coordinates more than once. The new definitions will not overwrite the earlier ones. The command POSITION text OFF is used to cancel a defined text position. The user can define an angle of rotation for the positioned text, ranging from horizontal to vertical, using the ANGLE. The POSITION command also allows the user to produce a number of different tables on the isometric: BENDING TABLES can be produced using the BENDTABLE command. This creates a sketch showing a schematic of a bend, annotated to show the various bend parameters, and a table giving the appropriate lengths, radii and angles for pulled bends appearing on that drawing. If needed, the user can output the data as an ASCII file for transfer to a bending machine. Drawing History Tables can be included using the REVISIONTABLE command. This produces a detailed history of the drawing (for example, dates, descriptions, who drew and approved the drawing and so on). Details for up to ten revisions of the isometric will be included (numbered 0 to 9). Only UDAs can be selected for the table, and each UDA represents a family (for example, :REV0 means subsequent table entries will be taken from :REV0, :REV1, :REV2 and so on until an unset attribute is found. Design Conditions Tables are available through the SYSTEMTABLE command. These apply to system isometrics or drawings as defined by the Spool module. For each column a pipe attribute or UDA can be selected (refer to tabledef syntax description in MATERIALLIST). If a SHORTCODE is defined it will be used to label the divisions between pipes on a drawing (a shortcode of L will label pipes as L1, L2 etc.). This shortcode can be included in the table against the pipe name. Also, the user can specify delimiter characters for pipe name prefix and suffix. If the user selects either or both delimiters for a name, the prefix or suffix will be stripped off before outputting the pipe name to the table. Therefore, two pipes forming one line on the P&ID, bearing the same basic name but with different area code suffixes, will appear as a single name in the table. Weld Tables can be included by using the WELDTABLE command, and this also allows the user to create a Weld Report File. WELDNUMBERS FROMDB must be selected if the user wants to produce either a user-defined Weld Table or a Weld Report File (refer to WELDNUMBERS command). Each column must be set to be filled by an attribute or UDA of the welds. The user can choose one column as an alphanumeric sort key (the default being the weld number). If the user chooses a column other than weld number as a sort key, the table will be sorted firstly by their selected column and secondly by weld number. The sort order can be forwards (meaning numbers start at the top of the table) or reverse (numbers start at the bottom of the table). Column title can be left blank if needed, and the user can leave column contents empty if desired. Dynamic Detail Area PLOT Files can be included using the DETAILPLOTS command. These can show details of any particular item of interest on the isometric (welded supports, drain and vent assemblies, complex manifolds etc.). |
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Command Syntax: |
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>- POSItion -----. |
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xyoff defines the x and y offsets between the columns and rows for positioning attributes on system isometrics, as follows: >--+-- XOFFset - <uval> --+-- YOFFset - <uval> --. |
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uval is a dimension in either the current or specified units. For example: |
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X 10 Y 30 |
current units |
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X 0.5 inches Y 1.2 inches |
specified units |
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reltxt positions the specified corner of the new text relative to the specified corner of the previous text by the X and Y offset distances. The syntax for this is: |
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- BL -| Where: BL = bottom left |
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For example, the command: BR REL TL XOFF 10 YOFF 20 CHARH 2.5 BOX will position the bottom-right corner of the new text 10mm across and 20mm up from the top-left corner of the previous text. The new text will be boxed and have a character height of 2.5mm. tab defines the number of rows and columns in the table and the order in which they are filled: |
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>- DIREction -+- Horizontal -. |
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tabledef defines the headings and contents for the production of user defined tables. Note: Isodraft automatically tabulates the contents of the tables and draws lines between the rows and columns. The syntax is: |
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.----------------------------------------------------------------------------. |
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where number is the number of the column the user wants to define, text is the column heading (in inverted commas), attribute is any attribute name and value is the column width in characters. Note: SHORTCODE applies to the System Table only. possiz allows the user to position the table: |
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>- CORner -+- BL -. |
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with BL being Bottom Left, TR being Top Right, and so on. This allows the user to position one of the corners of the table exactly. direcn gives a direction for future detail plots: |
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>-- DIRection --+- Up ----. |
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CHARHeight value is the character height in mm. The default size is 2.1mm, while the minimum size is 1.4mm. sortby is: |
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>-- SORTby -- attribute --+-- FORwards --. |
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Note: For detailing at Branch level, attributes NAME, PSPEC, ISPEC, TSPEC and PTSP are taken from the Branch settings. Other attributes are taken from the Pipe settings. If the user positions any pipe attribute which has an associated ATEXT, the output of the Atext will be suppressed. |
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Example: |
Defining a Spool Number Table A 4x3 table of spool numbers can be set up by using the command POSI SPOOLN AT X 100 Y 10 CHARH 3 XOFF -10 YOFF 8 DIRE V R 4 C 3 These table parameters (that is, X Offset ‑10mm; Y Offset 8mm; Character height 3mm; Direction Vertical; Number of rows 4; Number of columns 3) will generate the following output for a pipe containing 11 spools:
The origin of the table (which was positioned at X 100mm, Y 10mm by the POSI SPOOLN command) is at the bottom left-hand corner of the first spool number. If the user specifies SPOOLNUMBERS OFF before plotting the isometric, the space allocated for the table will appear as a blank area. If the user specifies SPOOLNUMBERS PREFIX, the prefix will be plotted with the spool number. If the number of spools exceeds the number of places available in the table (12 in this example), the table will be filled and then an error message will be generated. |
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Example: |
Creating a Drawing History Table If the user wants to plot a table that showed the history of an isometric and who was involved in its production, the user could enter the following commands: POSI REVISIONT COR BL AT X 20 Y 40 CHARH 2.0 COL 1 HEAD ‘Rev‘ :REV0 WI 3 |
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Example: |
A System Isometric The following commands will position the pipe attributes NAME, BORE, TEMP, PRESS, and CCEN as shown in Examples of Isometric Plots. |
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MATE OFF |
(Material List not plotted) |
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MARG R 120 |
(Set width of right margin) |
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DIME COMP ON |
(Plot composite-style dimensions) |
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SPLIT 1 DRW |
(Plot whole system on a single sheet) |
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POSI NAME AT X480 Y150 CHARH 4.5 YOFF -9 DIRE V ROWS 6 COLU 1 POSI BORE AT X510 Y150 CHARH 4.5 YOFF -9 DIRE V ROWS 6 COLU 1 POSI TEMP AT X525 Y150 CHARH 4.5 YOFF -9 DIRE V ROWS 6 COLU 1 POSI PRESS AT X540 Y150 CHARH 4.5 YOFF -9 DIRE V ROWS 6 COLU 1 POSI CCEN AT X555 Y150 CHARH 4.5 YOFF -9 DIRE V ROWS 6 COLU 1 DETAIL /SYSTEM1 /SYSTEM2 /SYSTEM3 /SYSTEM4 AS ’/ISOG96.TEST’ |
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Querying: |
Q OPTions |
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Q TEXTPOSitions |
Lists all current user-defined text positions. |
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Q TEXTPOSitions text |
Lists the position of the attribute given by text. |
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The following Query commands list the parameters set for the item, as described in the previous pages: Q TEXTPOSitions SYSTEMName Note: The following queries are for application use only: |
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Q TEXTPOSitions TEXT Tells the user the number of user text strings ( that is, ’ABC’ strings) positioned. Q TEXTPOSitions TEXT n Gives the actual string value for the item at position n in the list. Q TEXTPOSitions TEXT text Gives the details (X, Y coordinates, character heights etc.) for text. Q TEXTPOSitions ATTRibute Number of pipe attributes/UDAs positioned. Q TEXTPOSitions ATTRibute n Gives actual attribute of item in position n in the list. Q TEXTPOSition <att> Gives details of the named attribute. Q TEXTPOSitions SYSTEMATTRibute Gives the number of drawing attributes/UDAs. Q TEXTPOSitions SYSTEMATTRibute n Gives the attribute at position n in the list. Q TEXTPOSitions SYSTEMATTRibute <att> Gives the details of the named attribute. |
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