Symbols
Inserting a symbol
Goal: place a valve symbol – ball valve, valve, backflow preventer, pump … – in a pipe; the pipe gets a gap there.
- Symbols page: check the length (default 150 mm – the gap from connector to connector, in total) and click a symbol in the list (it gets a frame).
- Click Insert below the list – or double-click the symbol as a shortcut.
- Click the pipe. It is highlighted.
- Drag the symbol along the pipe into place and click. The pipe is interrupted there, the line drawing sits in it in the color and on the layer of the system (1, 2).
- Then the next pipe right away; Enter = finish. Each symbol is its own undo step.
At the cursor
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Mirror (command line) | turns the symbol in turn: normal, mirrored (branch to the other side), reversed (flow direction), both |
Options
| Symbol | How it sits |
|---|---|
| two connectors (ball valve, valve …) | in a gap of the pipe; the pipe must be longer than the symbol |
| three connectors ("with branch", three-way valve) | in the gap, the third connector as a branch; "Mirror" puts it on the other side |
| one connector ("at a pipe end": outlet, gauge) | at the open end of a pipe – click the pipe near the end where it is to hang |
| no connectors | cannot be inserted; define the connectors in the symbol wizard first |
With the check box Show properties before inserting (above the list, off by default) the property fields dialog box comes first; the values go to every symbol of this sequence, Esc at the cursor returns to the dialog box.
The symbol list
The list shows all symbols of the symbol library that have a 2D line drawing – the supplied valves (the same as in Piping 3D) and custom symbols from the symbol wizard. At the top of the list:
| Field | Effect |
|---|---|
| Search | filters by name; empty = all |
| Show | All, Standard (supplied) or Custom |
| Sort | Library, Name or Recently used |
The tooltip of a tile names the symbol, whether it has a branch, hangs at a pipe end or has no connectors yet, and for custom symbols the folder.
Moving a symbol
Goal: slide an inserted symbol along its pipe to another location.
- Click the symbol: it has a grip in the middle. Drag the grip – the symbol glides along the pipe, the gap moves with it.
- Or click Move in the tools at the bottom and click the symbol: the same, with A for an exact distance.
- It cannot go further than just before the next node or the next part – the command line says so.
The GstarCAD MOVE command acts on a symbol alone like its grip: lengthwise along the pipe; sideways the whole alignment moves along. If you move a pipe with a symbol, it takes the symbol and the pipe behind it along. If only one of the two pipes of a symbol is moved, the symbol follows it and the other pipe follows.
Deleting a symbol
Goal: remove a symbol and close the pipe again.
- Symbols page › Delete symbol.
- Click the symbols – each one goes, and the gap in the pipe closes; the two halves become one pipe again.
- Enter = finish.
The same happens when you remove the symbol with the GstarCAD ERASE command. If the pipes at the gap no longer fit together (one was rotated in the meantime), the gap stays – the command line says so.
Custom symbols with the symbol wizard
Goal: turn a drawn DWG into your own 2D symbol that then appears in the list.
- Open a new drawing and draw the line drawing of the symbol: lines, circles, arcs, hatches – horizontal or vertical in the pipe direction.
- Symbols page › Symbol wizard: 2 connectors (in-line, for example a ball valve) or Symbol wizard: 3 connectors (with branch, for example a three-way valve).
- In the dialog box choose Name and Folder (your own folders only – the supplied symbols stay unchanged), optionally Properties … (description, manufacturer, article number – every inserted symbol brings them along); OK.
- The insertion help shows the clicks. Click the inlet (1), then the outlet on the same line (2) – horizontal or vertical to the first, the center lies between them. For a symbol with a branch also the branch (3).
- The symbol is saved and then appears in the list of the Symbols page. Esc cancels – nothing is changed.
Symbol folder
Symbol folder first opens the folders of the symbol library (add or remove your own folders, also network drives), then your own folder in Windows Explorer. There is one DWG per symbol – you can copy them, for example to colleagues. The supplied symbols are in the program folder and are never changed.