First Time Setup

This guide walks you through the one-time configuration required before AseptSoft can analyze your P&ID drawings. The setup teaches AseptSoft how to interpret your specific drawing standards — which symbols represent valves, where to find tag text, and how pipes connect.

You are not alone. The AseptSoft team provides full setup support. Contact us at any time for a remote session where we configure your environment together. Most setups take under an hour with our assistance.

📋 Before You Begin

Prerequisites

What You Will Need to Know

Before starting, gather this information about your P&ID drawing standards:

• Block definition names for your valves, instruments, sources, and connectors

• Tag conventions — How tags are written (as text near symbols? As block attributes? On which layers?)

• Pipe drawing conventions — Do pipes use Lines, Polylines, or PnP Line Segments? Are there visual gaps at instrument locations?

• Special symbols — Are there composite symbols (block valves), off-page connectors, or area markers?

1️⃣ Step 1: Open Your Project

🏭 Plant 3D

1. Open AutoCAD Plant 3D

2. Open your Plant 3D project through the Project Manager

3. AseptSoft automatically detects the project and creates its storage structure in the project's Related Files directory

4. Open at least one P&ID drawing from the project

📐 AutoCAD Standard

1. Open AutoCAD

2. Open your P&ID drawing(s) from a single directory — this directory becomes the virtual project root

3. AseptSoft automatically creates its storage in that directory when you first activate a module

For details on how projects work on each platform, see Host Project Definition.

2️⃣ Step 2: Classify Your Block Definitions

This is the most important step. You need to tell AseptSoft what each block definition in your drawings represents.

🔍 Opening the Classification Window

1. Navigate to the AseptSoft ribbon tab

2. Click the Classification command

3. The Unified Classification Window opens, showing all block definition names found in the current environment

🔧 Classifying Valves (Control Type)

For each valve symbol in your library:

1. Select the block definition from the Class dropdown (type to search)

2. Set Behaviour to Control

3. Set Fluid Mode — typically Clamp for standard valves that touch the pipe, or Non Touching for valves that hover near the pipe

4. Configure Tag identification:

   • Set Tag-Build to the appropriate token:

     • $text() — if the tag is a standalone text entity near the valve

     • $property(TAG) — if the tag is a block attribute inside the valve symbol

     • $seekinblock(TagBlock) — if the tag is in a nested block reference

   • Set Tag-Layers to the layer name(s) where tag text is drawn (comma-separated)

   • Set Tag-Distance to the maximum search radius

   • Set Tag-Distance Method to Center or Closest

5. Set Control Type (Valve, Tank, Pump, or Heat Exchanger)

6. Add included classes if multiple block definition names represent the same type of valve

📊 Classifying Instruments

For each instrument symbol:

1. Select the block definition and set Behaviour to Instrument

2. Set Fluid Mode — typically Non Touching (instruments have a gap to the pipe) or leave empty if the instrument does not participate in flow

3. Configure Tag identification (same as valves)

4. Configure Phenomenon identification — set Phenomenon-Build to the token that resolves the measured variable (P, T, F, L, etc.)

5. Configure InstrumentType identification — set InstrumentType-Build if your drawings encode the instrument type (transmitter, indicator, switch, etc.)

🌊 Classifying Sources

For each fluid source symbol:

1. Select the block definition and set Behaviour to Source

2. Configure Fluid identification — set Fluid-Build to the token that determines the fluid type (Water, Steam, WFI, etc.)

3. Sources emit fluid into the graph — make sure the source symbol is geometrically connected to the pipe network

🔗 Classifying Off-Page Connectors

For each off-page connector symbol:

1. Select the block definition and set Behaviour to Off-Page Connector

2. Configure Bind identification — set Bind-Build to the token that extracts the pairing identifier

3. Set Bind Method:

   • Match — find the OPC with the exact same bind value

   • Point — mutual tag pointing (each OPC's bind value is the other's tag)

   • One Way — unidirectional tag pointing

🧱 Classifying Block Valves

If your library includes composite valve assemblies (e.g., a control valve + actuator + positioner as a single block):

1. Select the block definition and set Behaviour to Block Valve

2. The internal flow graph must be defined in the Symbol Editor — see Block Valve

3. Block Valves use the Symbol Style's Internal Fluid Map to determine their attachment points and internal connectivity

🚫 Excluding Irrelevant Blocks

For blocks that should never be classified (title blocks, revision clouds, non-process annotations):

1. Select the block definition and set Behaviour to Excluded

2. AseptSoft will permanently ignore these blocks

For a detailed reference of all classification options, see P&ID Components Classification.

3️⃣ Step 3: Configure Mapping Settings

Mapping settings control how AseptSoft detects geometric connections between entities. The default values work well for most drawings, but you may need to adjust them.

🎛️ Accessing Mapping Settings

1. In the AseptSoft ribbon, open the Mapping Settings panel

2. You can enable/disable individual mappers and adjust their tolerances

Key Settings to Check

🏭 Plant 3D: Inline Assets on Line

In Plant 3D, the Inline Assets on Line mapper is always active and mandatory. It uses the Plant 3D data model to connect assets to their host PnP Line Segments. No configuration is needed.

For a detailed explanation of every mapper, see Fluidstream Mapping Strategies.

4️⃣ Step 4: Create a Module and Activate

Once classification is configured:

1. Create an AseptSoft Module — this is the working container for your process design

2. Activate the PID — AseptSoft reads the drawing, classifies all blocks, resolves tokens, and builds the flow graph

3. Verify the results:

   • Check that valves appear in the Module Data table with correct tags

   • Check that instruments are recognized with correct phenomena

   • Check that sources emit the correct fluids

   • Run a fluidstream simulation to verify pipe connectivity

🔎 Troubleshooting Activation

5️⃣ Step 5: Fine-Tune and Save

After verifying the initial results:

1. Adjust classification for any blocks that were missed or incorrectly classified

2. Adjust mapping tolerances if connectivity is not correct

3. Save the environment — your classification definitions are stored in the environment database and can be reused across projects

4. Share the environment — copy the .aseptenv file to the project's Environments folder so team members get the same configuration

🔄 Environment Portability

Environments are fully portable:

• Place the .aseptenv file in the project's Environments folder

• When team members open the project, AseptSoft automatically copies the environment to their local machine

• Updates to the environment can be pushed by placing updated files in the EnvironmentUpdates folder

🏭 Plant 3D-Specific Setup

In addition to the common steps above, Plant 3D requires:

📋 Selection Lists Setup

AseptSoft automatically creates the following in the Plant 3D data model:

• Picklists: "AseptSoft Controls", "AseptSoft Fluids", "AseptSoft Sources"

• Columns: AseptSoftControl, AseptSoftCurrentPercent, SourceContent

These appear in the Plant 3D Data Manager. You can add new valve types, fluid types, or source types through:

• The AseptSoft Classification Window (they sync back to Plant 3D)

• The Plant 3D Data Manager directly (add entries to the picklists)

🔄 Project Database Synchronization

When a drawing is activated in Plant 3D, AseptSoft synchronizes the PnP data model with any changes made to AseptSoft properties. This ensures consistency between the Plant 3D Data Manager and AseptSoft's internal state.

📐 AutoCAD Standard-Specific Setup

When using AutoCAD Standard (without Plant 3D), keep these points in mind:

• No native project system — AseptSoft creates a virtual project from the directory of your first saved drawing

• Per-PID classification — Each drawing loads its own classification definitions from the environment

• Token-based classification only — There are no Plant 3D picklists; all classification uses the token system

• All drawings in one folder — Place all P&ID drawings for a given plant in the same directory

🆘 Getting Help

• Remote setup session — Contact the AseptSoft team for a screen-sharing session where we configure your environment together

• Setup templates — We maintain pre-configured environments for common P&ID standards (ISA, ISO, DIN)

• Email support — Send your drawing samples and we'll prepare a classification environment for you

🔗 Related Pages

• AseptSoft Workflow — The overall workflow from setup to export

• AseptSoft Project Workflow — The detailed project design workflow

• P&ID Components Classification — Detailed classification reference

• Host Project Definition — How projects work on each platform

• Fluidstream Mapping Strategies — All connectivity mapping strategies explained

• Block Valve — Composite symbols with internal flow graphs

• File System — Where settings and data are stored