Label Pipes

Pipes, branches, trim pipes, reducers and breaks can all be labelled, refer to Label Symbols and Pipes. Several pipe labels may be placed on one pipe by a single use of this command. It is not possible to label across equipment when labelling a pipe. Labels are entered using Properties Dialogs.

The command may operate automatically when a pipe is drawn. This is known as autolabelling'. Auto-labelling for pipes is switched on and off using the facilities in the Pipeline group of the Home tab.

Whether or not auto-labelling is on by default is set in the Miscellaneous - Labels Sub- Category of the AVEVA P&ID Project Administration program.

Facilities are provided to check the association between an existing label and a pipe, if this is not clear on the drawing. Refer to Show Associations between Items.

The pipe with which a pipe label is associated can be changed if required. Refer to Change the Association of a Pipe Label.

Skids may be added to drawings. Items that fall within the area of a skid are automatically assigned to it, and the details of the skid are added to their properties. See Add Skids.

Note: The current properties of items can be viewed on the drawing page by hovering the cursor over the symbol in question.

Pipe Label Fields

A pipe label consists of the data entered into between three and twenty two fields, depending on the project configuration (set using the Pipes - Labels Sub-Category of the AVEVA P&ID Project Administration program). While the format of a label is fixed, it is possible to limit the number of fields that are actually displayed on a drawing by switching off fixed label formatting.

Reformat Existing Pipe Labels

If the project configuration option dictating the order and/or number of the pipe label fields is altered, existing labels are reformatted automatically. This takes place when AVEVA P&ID is next initialised. Fields that have been added to the project configuration are populated with the default null character. Fields that have been removed from the project configuration are deleted.

Nodes

When a pipe is labelled, 'nodes' are placed at the start and end of each pipe. All the pipe data is held at the start node.

At any time, a pipe route may be changed by moving these nodes. Revision time is minimised, as only the nodes need be moved and not whole associations of pipes, equipment etc. All pipe label field data is held on the start node.

Main Pipe Labels

In the case of pipes that have multiple labels, one of these labels may be set as the “main pipe label”, refer to Set a Pipe Label as the Main Label. By default, the properties of the pipe at the start node are presented as the “main” properties of the pipe on export. This option sets the label of another part of the pipe, which may be more representative of the properties of the pipe as a whole, to be the “main” properties.

The main pipe label is displayed in a different colour on the P&ID, and the part of the pipe that has been labelled as the “main” pipe label is displayed at the top of the hierarchy of a pipe and its branches in the Engineering Explorer. If no main pipe label has been set, the pipe start node properties assume this position by default.

Reducer and Other Pipe Feature Labels

In addition to the labels of the pipes themselves, reducers and inline breaks can be labelled. Examples of inline breaks include Specification Changes, Area Breaks, Insulation Breaks, Trace Breaks and Paint Breaks. Refer to Label Pipes with Breaks and Inline Breaks.

Label with Data from the P&ID Grid

All of the data displayed in the tables in the right-hand window of the P&ID Data Grid may be used to label the drawing. In this way, the drawing may be labelled with data not available using the normal labelling procedures, for example, with properties of items that are not included in the standard labels.

Pipes that are not fully labelled may also be labelled by assigning unassigned items from the grid to them.

For details of these procedures, refer to Label with Data from the P&ID Data Grid and Refresh P&ID Data Grid Labels.

Label Uniqueness

Each pipe label must be unique on the drawing. In addition, the project may be set to require that selected fields or combination of fields in pipe labels must also be unique.

Associated Project Configuration Options

The boilerplate text labelling the three project definable fields which appear on the pipe labelling Properties dialog are specified in the Pipes - Labels Sub-Category of the AVEVA P&ID Project Administration program.

Pipe label format is also established in this pane.

The character used as the field delimiter in pipe labels is specified in the Delimiter field. If this delimiter is to follow the area code field, the Delimiter after area field checkbox must be checked, otherwise the size of the space to be left after the area code field must be specified in the Number of characters field.

The label fields which are to be checked for uniqueness are specified in the Unique Validation field.