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Getting Started With The Iso Style Editor Beta

This document introduces the Iso Style Editor, which provides a simplified interface for editing isoconfig.xml files that control isometric output in Plant 3D. The editor displays the XML in a tree structure on the left and properties table on the right. It allows editing settings directly in the table or switching to code view. Navigation aids like search, section views, and breadcrumbs help access settings efficiently. Filters and themes are discussed as the main mechanisms for controlling iso output, with filters isolating piping types and themes defining how piping is dimensioned, annotated, layered, etc. Feedback on the editor is requested.

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123 views

Getting Started With The Iso Style Editor Beta

This document introduces the Iso Style Editor, which provides a simplified interface for editing isoconfig.xml files that control isometric output in Plant 3D. The editor displays the XML in a tree structure on the left and properties table on the right. It allows editing settings directly in the table or switching to code view. Navigation aids like search, section views, and breadcrumbs help access settings efficiently. Filters and themes are discussed as the main mechanisms for controlling iso output, with filters isolating piping types and themes defining how piping is dimensioned, annotated, layered, etc. Feedback on the editor is requested.

Uploaded by

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Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Getting

Started with the Iso Style Editor


Simplified Iso Style Editing

Welcome to the Iso Style Editor Public Beta!

The Iso Style Editor is not version dependent – use it with IsoConfig XML files from any
version of Plant 3D!

What is the Iso Style Editor?


As many of you have learned, our Isometrics engine can be configured extensively outside of the
settings exposed in the Plant 3D Project Settings using several XML files, most notably the IsoConfg.XML
file. Working with XML can be daunting even if you are familiar with it, and the IsoConfig file is rather
complex to navigate even in highly functional XML editors.

To try and simplify things, we have created an Iso Style Editor that will let you work with these XML files
in a simpler Properties table like interface while still giving you access to the XML code when you need
it. Please try it out, and let us know your thoughts!

Introduction to the Iso Style Editor


Let’s run through the main areas of the interface to get you started.

The main interface is split into two main areas – The Tree/Structure panel on the left, and the Editor
Pane on the right where you make changes to properties and other settings.

The Tree/Structure Panel (Left)


Here you can navigate the XML file, as well as quickly search for just about anything in the file.

The Editor Pane (Right)


Here is where you can toggle and edit settings.

Table View
We have tried to simplify editing as much as possible in the Table View, so pesky XML such as
“blahblahblah = “true” can be edited as one click checkboxes in Table View. Comments from the XML
will also get shown in the relevant section of the table and can be toggled on or off as needed.

Code View
We also know that sometimes you may want to get your hands dirty in the XML directly - in Code View
you can do just that.


Bite Size Code – we keep the chunks of code relevant to the selected area of the XML in the left hand
tree, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally editing an adjacent code section that is unrelated.

Colour Coded Code will help guide your XML formatting, and we have gone a step further to put some
safeguards in place to prevent catastrophic mistakes.

Code Validations will notify you if something is broken, and we’ll do our best to let you know if you are
about to go back to Table View or Save with errors/broken code

Forgot a pointy bracket?


Added new lines and need some confirmation that everything still works?

Navigating the Iso Style Editor


Make your way through the XML faster with a few of the handy functions below.

Search
The search field above the Tree Panel will help you find anything in the XML.

BOLD - If something you are searching for is found WITHIN a node, it will be bolded to help guide you to
it from the Tree Panel.

YELLOW HIGHLIGHT – Exact matches to your search term will appear in yellow highlight whether they
are in the Tree Panel or the Editor Pane.


Section Views & Breadcrumbs
The IsoConfig XML is deep…no, it’s not thinking about philosophical struggles, it’s deep - it has a ZILLION
(rough estimate) levels to navigate down through. One thing we really tried to tackle with this editor
was to make it much easier to navigate these levels without requiring you to constantly rely on the tree
view.

Section Views – let you get a bird’s eye view of your settings without having to drill down on
EVERY.SINGLE.TREE.NODE.


Click on the top level THEMES node, and you can quickly scan all themes in the table. Clicking on a
Section Header row(blue-grey rows) will take you to a view of just that theme. Any of the blue
hyperlinked sections indicate further nested sections that you can jump down into for further edits.

Some property values also have hyperlinked text - Hovering on a FILTER will show the Filter’s criteria in a
tooltip, and clicking on it will take you to that Filter if you need to edit it. Other Filters are available in
the dropdown menu if you need to change it to another existing filter.

Breadcrumbs above the table offer a quick way to climb back up to a higher level.

Here I have drilled down into Locating Dimensions for the Fitting to Fitting Theme, and I can see all of
the Anchor Points (piping objects that will get dimensioned and how), as well as Exclusions (Piping
objects that get ignored).

Hovering on the three dots at the beginning of the breadcrumbs will show a tooltip letting you know
where you can jump back up to.



Main Concepts and Breaking new ground with the Iso Style Editor
You can make Iso Styles control numerous aspects of your Iso output, but the primary mechanism is
through use of the powerful combination of Iso Styles and Filters.

Copy/Paste/Delete
An easy way to make a new Filter or Theme is to find one similar to what you want in the Tree Panel,
and to right click it and choose COPY, and then select the parent node such as Filters and PASTE.


Filters
The Filter section is a massive list of filters that are used to help you isolate specific types of piping based
on your criteria that you can then use with things like Filters to dimension/annotate/etc differently than
other piping.

(Advanced note: Filters follow Microsoft’s XML Operators formatting found here.)

Themes
Themes rely on Filters to identify piping, and then can specify if and how that piping gets dimensioned,
annotated, layered or even if it shows up on the BOM or not.

The Fitting to Fitting Theme (for example) uses Filters to identify what Fitting to Fitting piping starts
with, contains, and ends with.

THANK YOU!!!

Try things out and most importantly let us know in the forums your thoughts, suggestions and anything
that needs improving.

Thank you for your participation from all of us here at Autodesk!

- Autodesk BIM Systems Engineering/Plant team

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