State

A State defines a named condition that an Engineering Item (valve, pump, tank, etc.) can be in. Each state carries a color for visual representation on the P&ID and a fluid response that determines how it affects fluid flow.

💡 In pharmaceutical terms: States are how you tell AseptSoft what position each Engineering Item is in during a given process step. For example, during a CIP rinse, your inlet valve might be in the "Open" state (green, allowing caustic to flow) while the product valve is "Closed" (red, blocking flow).

📋 Properties

💧 Fluid Response Types

The fluid response determines what happens to fluid flow when an Engineering Item is set to this state:

⚠️ Conflict resolution: When multiple fluid responses overlap, the system resolves them using priority: Generate > Change Into > Allow > Unknown > Block.

📐 Percentage-Based States

When percentage-based blending is enabled, a state supports smooth visual transitions between two appearances:

• At 100% — the state uses its own Color and Fluid Response.

• At 0% — the state uses its Zero Color and Zero Fluid Response (or inherits from the referenced Zero State).

• At any value in between — the color is blended proportionally.

🏭 Pharma example: A modulating control valve (e.g., a steam regulation valve during SIP) might be at 65% open. The P&ID shows a blended color between the "Open" color and the "Closed" color to visually represent the partial position.

How the Zero State Works

The Zero State reference points to another State whose color is used as the 0% baseline color. If a separate Zero Color is also defined on this state, the system uses it as a fallback if the referenced state is not found.

The fluid response at any percentage is determined by comparing the two responses (current state and zero state) and using the higher-priority response.

🌟 Highlightable states

Any state can be marked Highlightable in active phase. When it is, every valve in that state in the currently active step gets a coloured highlight in the drawing using the catalog's State Master recipe. The highlight automatically takes the state's own colour and percentage — no per-state work needed.

A Reset button on the Custom row deletes the fork (the state falls back to the Master). Master edits propagate everywhere; Custom forks stay independent.

💡 The state's colour and percentage flow into the recipe automatically via the {State.Color}, {State.Name} and {State.PercentSuffix} placeholder tokens. See the Highlighters page for the full token list.

🧮 Custom in-phase attributes

Some states need values that vary per phase — a Pulsating state with an Open delay and a Closed delay, a Sterilization state with a Setpoint temperature, a CIP state with a Chemical concentration. Define the attribute keys once on the state, and AseptSoft surfaces them everywhere they're useful.

Defining the keys

In the State editor, add an entry to the Custom Attributes collection for each value the state needs to carry per phase. Each entry is a key (e.g. Open delay) with an optional unit (e.g. s).

Where users enter values

Where the values show up

• In the highlight on the drawing — reference {Attribute.<key>} tokens in the State Master/Custom recipe's text.

• In the Module Word/Excel functional specification.

• In the round-trip Excel cells.

Step duplication preserves attribute values

Duplicating a step (the common "Step 4 is mostly like Step 3 except…" workflow) carries every per-step attribute value across all the (valve × state) pairs both steps share. The new step's highlights look correct from the moment it's created.

🔧 Usages (Type Compatibility)

The Usages property defines which Engineering Item types are compatible with this state. A state can be assigned to multiple types. When assigning states to Engineering Items, only compatible states appear based on the item's type.

💡 Tip: If a state should apply to all Engineering Item types in your module, make sure to add each type to the Usages list. If you forget one, that type will not see this state in the selection list.

📖 How To: Create and Assign States

1. Open Module Data — Navigate to the Data panel in the Module Ribbon and open the Module Data window.

2. Go to the States tab — Select the States section.

3. Create a new State — Click "Create new" and give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Open", "Closed", "CIP Drain").

4. Set the color — Choose a color that will make this state visually distinct on the P&ID.

5. Choose the fluid response — Select the appropriate behavior:

   • "Allow fluid to pass" for open items.

   • "Block fluid" for closed items.

   • "Generate a new fluid stream" for fluid sources.

   • "Change into an existing fluid stream" for transformation points.

6. Set type compatibility — In the Usages section, select which Engineering Item types this state applies to.

7. Enable percentage-based blending (optional) — If this is a modulating state, enable the percentage option and set the zero state reference.

8. Mark Highlightable (optional) — Tick Highlightable in active phase if you want every valve in this state to wear an in-drawing highlight.

9. Add custom attribute keys (optional) — If the state needs per-phase values (delays, setpoints), add them under Custom Attributes.

10. Use it in Process Design — Assign this state to Engineering Items in your Process Steps.

🏭 Example: CIP Module States

Below is a typical set of states for a pharmaceutical CIP (Cleaning in Place) module:

🏭 Why "Transition"? In pharma processes, Engineering Items do not switch instantly. The "Transition" state represents the brief period while an item is moving between positions. During this state, the fluid response is "Unknown" because the position is indeterminate.

🏭 Why Pulsating is Highlightable with attributes: pulsating valves carry per-phase delays that vary by line size. Attribute keys Open delay and Closed delay let each (valve × phase) cell carry its own values, the highlight reads them from the cell, and the matrix or the Excel sidecar lets you bulk-edit them.

🔗 Related Pages

• 💧 Fluid — Fluid flow states used in "Change Into" and "Generate" responses.

• 📋 Module Data — All module data types.

• Engineering Item — Components that states are assigned to.

• Highlighters — Master / Custom highlight recipes for Highlightable states.

• Fluidstream Simulations — Visualizing fluid flow based on state assignments.

• 📐 Process Design — Creating processes and assigning states to steps.