Using Alternative Text - Isogen - Help

Isogen Configuration Help

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English
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Isogen
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I-Configure Version
6.0(2016)
Isogen Control Panel Version
2.0(2016)
Isogen Version
13.0(2016)

AText allows you to substitute your own text terminology or language in place of the standard ISOGEN words on the isometric. To make a word change, you do not have to replace the entire standard AText--you can change as little as just one word if that is all is required.

Although the AText feature has a considerable degree of built-in flexibility, you must exercise a certain amount of care when defining your own words, particularly in terms of word lengths. As a general rule, newly defined words or word strings should be about equal in length or shorter than the text that is being replaced. Obvious exceptions to this are the cases of the single line headings in the material list region. In this respect, you must take full responsibility for word definition. ISOGEN does not warn you in cases where words are too long and cannot be accommodated in the standard space provided on the isometric. Badly designed AText can lead to undesirable results, such as over-writing or incorrectly positioned text.

Special Characters

The following special characters further extend the functionality of ATexts:

  • The Dollar ($) Sign - The $ character, which is used in Isogen to force a new line in regular isometric message text, can also be used with ATexts. However, when using the $ character, it is recommended that you carefully check the output results of each occurrence.

  • The Question Mark (?) - The ? character has the following two different uses:

    • In ATexts -210 (Flange Part Number), -211 (Gasket Part Number), and -212 (Bolt Part Number) to suppress the plotting of the single characters normally associated with these ATexts, without switching off their associated facility, as would normally happen when an AText is set to blank. For example, setting AText -210 ? suppresses the F that is normally plotted. It does not completely suppress the plotting of the flange material list part number as would normally happen when an AText item is set to blank. Using the ? character is particularly advantageous on spool isometrics.

    • In some special ATexts at points where the software dynamically inserts information. By default, AText -456 is set to DETAIL ?. As a result, the software inserts either a letter or a number, depending upon which system you have specified at the position of the ? character.

The "At" (@) Sign - You can use the @ character to pad out an AText string with trailing blanks. As a result, the text that follows the AText has a series blanks between it and the AText.

Foreign Language Use

AText is particularly beneficial to foreign language users who want to produce isometrics containing text in their native language. However, there are restrictions governing which characters are permissible. Those restrictions are outlined in The Usable Character Set section below.

The Usable Character Set

You can only use the following standard English and special purpose characters in AText definitions:

  • Upper- or lower-case letters in the range A to Z.

  • Numeric characters in the range 0 to 9 inclusive.

  • A blank space character.

  • The following special purpose symbols: * + - . , : [ ] ( ) # ' < > = | & %

Other foreign language characters, such as those used in the Cyrillic, Greek, or Chinese alphabets are excluded, as are specially accentuated characters, such as à, á, â, and so on.

AText and the Drawing Frame Symbols

The AText feature goes further than just controlling text characters. The standard symbols appearing in the line summary area across the bottom of the standard ISOGEN drawing frame, viz. for shop weld, field weld, and so on through traced pipe, can all be suppressed when they are not required by setting their associated ATexts to blank.

Composite Text Messages

Composite text messages are made up of more than one text item and the composition is done by ISOGEN automatically. Such messages can be composed in either of the following two ways:-

  • By combining two or more related ATexts

  • By combining AText and an associated design database attribute value

Generally, in those cases where AText operates together with design database attribute information to form a composite message, setting the AText part to blank to suppress the plotting of it causes suppression of the attribute text also. For example, if the composite message BATCH REF: 12/100A/C in the title block area needs to be completely suppressed, then setting AText -252, which contains the words BATCH REF, to blank causes both this and the attribute part, 12/100A/C, not to be plotted.

See Also

Examples

Grouping of AText Listings