Some applications do not support the ability to configure application-specific properties
or create attribute expressions. In these instances, contact Customer Support.
Project defaults
On the Project Defaults Tab, you can view and configure the default properties that are available for the selected project. Project defaults enable you to configure application-specific properties. Because project defaults are application-specific, the product that displays in the Application list determines the properties that display on the tab. See Appendix: Project Defaults for a list and descriptions of the project defaults that I-Configure supports .
Attributes
The Attributes Tab displays the available attributes and their specified attribute values. Unlike project defaults, attributes are the same regardless of the associated application. Most commonly, you can set attributes on a pipeline, component, weld, bolt, spool, or material basis. However, the Attributes Tab also enables you to manage attributes that have a specific context, such as flange- or valve-specific attributes, or attributes that belong to information items including messages or thickness measurement locations. See Appendix: Attribute Groupings for descriptions of the Isogen and user-specified attributes that display on the tab.
When you double-click an attribute in the grid, the software opens the Attribute Dialog so that you can edit specific values and settings as needed. You can toggle Visible and Editable properties directly from the Attributes Tab: right-click the attribute, and then select Toggle Visible or Toggle Editable from the shortcut menu.
The Attributes Tab also enables you to access the Expression Builder so that you can create an attribute expression.
Attribute expressions
You can define an attribute that contains an expression that references other attributes in the same collection and can contain functions. The value of the attribute is then the result of evaluating the expression.
ATTRIBUTE1 = P-100-ABC
ATTRIBUTE2 = Left(“$ATTRIBUTE1$”,1) & Right(“$ATTRIBUTE1$”,3)
In the example, ATTRIBUTE2 contains an expression. The resulting value is reported as PABC. This value consists of the left-most character plus the three right-hand characters from the Attribute1 string (P-100-ABC).
A good analogy is a spreadsheet, where a cell can reference the contents of another
cell and built-in spreadsheet functions. Cells can contain both values and formulas.
You build and test attribute expressions using the Expression Builder. You access the Expression Builder using the Evaluate Expression option in the Attribute Dialog. When you create an attribute expression, we recommend that you follow the expression building rules listed below.
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You can make references only to other attributes in the same collection of attributes. That is, you cannot reference a pipeline attribute from a component.
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References to other attributes are made using the $ATTRIBUTE_NAME$ syntax. The ATTRIBUTE_NAME must be the underlying unique name for the attribute, not the Display Name setting that displays on the Attributes Tab.
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Expressions are evaluated using the VBScript engine. That is, the syntax of the attribute expression must be valid VBScript syntax and can contain any function supported by that language. If an expression cannot be evaluated, regardless of the reason, the value reported is the original expression. For example, with the expression ATTRIBUTE2 = Left(“$ATTRIBUTE1$”,1), ATTRIBUTE2 would display P. However, with the expression ATTRIBUTE2 = Lft(“$ATTRIBUTE1$”,1), ATTRIBUTE2 would display Lft(“$ATTRIBUTE1$”,1) because Lft is not a valide VBScript function.
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If the expression is expecting a string, you must use the double quote (" ") around the attribute reference regardless of whether the referenced attribute is defined as a string. In the example, the Left function takes a string value for its first argument:
Left(“$ATTRIBUTE1$”,1)
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You must define the attribute that contains the expression as a string. Any of the piping object data file (POD) user-specified attributes (for example, ATTRIBUTE1 through ATTRIBUTE199 or COMPONENT-ATTRIBUTE1 through COMPONENT-ATTRIBUTE100) is suitable to use as an expression.
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