What's New | AseptSoft Documentation

Stay up to date with the latest improvements to AseptSoft. This page highlights recent changes, with links to the full documentation for each feature.

🗓️ May 2026

🖍️ Annotation overhaul — Highlighters and Descriptions

Previously, the highlight system was a thin "draw geometry, mark as highlight" tool, and there was no first-class way to attach a description to an entity that travelled with it across surfaces. State-driven visual feedback was hard-coded; per-step values like Open delay on a Pulsating valve had to live in custom tracker text.

Now, two coordinated systems give you a full annotation layer over the P&ID.

Capability	What's new
🎨 Highlighter Designer	Catalog of reusable highlight recipes grouped by category. Author a recipe once, AseptSoft applies it everywhere it should.
✏️ User-defined highlighters	Add a free-form recipe under a new User-defined category, then place it on the drawing with the Highlight in Phase command. Pick a recipe, choose phase scope (current step / all steps), drag a rectangle in corners mode or pick an entity in entity mode. Switch recipes mid-loop with `sWitch`.
🌟 State-driven highlights	Tick Highlightable in active phase on any state — every valve in that state in the active step gets the master highlight automatically, with the state's own colour and percentage. Fork a per-state custom recipe with one click.
🧮 Custom in-step attributes	Define attribute keys like Open delay / Closed delay on a state. Edit the per-(valve × step × state) values from the valve hover popup, the Valve × Step matrix's right-click menu, or an Excel sidecar workbook (round-trips on import). Step duplication preserves every attribute value.
🔍 Manage Placed Highlights	Modeless cross-PID list of every user-placed highlight. Locate flashes the placement on the drawing — switching PIDs automatically when needed.
📝 Four-scope Descriptions	Free-form notes at four levels: Instance (this entity), Plant3D Class (every centrifugal pump), Block Definition (every reference of a block, with visibility-state distinction), Class Group (e.g. all flow meters). Most-specific wins; popups always show the resolved description with a chip indicating its scope.
🖱️ Description editing in popups	Description line directly under the tag in valve, instrument, and OPC popups. Click to edit, Enter to save, Esc to cancel — closing the popup saves automatically. Right-click jumps to the Overview window.
🚶 Edit Descriptions command	Walks the drawing in scope-aware mode (white / sky-blue / purple / amber outlines per scope). Every entity that has a description at the active scope shows up as outlined with a one-line label; click to edit.
📋 Descriptions Overview window	Four tabs (Instances · Plant3D Classes · Block Definitions · Class Groups) with selection-reactivity (pick an entity in AutoCAD, the right row lights up), candidates lists for "what hasn't been described yet", and Jump to entity on the Instances tab.
🤝 Excel hand-off	Every Equipment row in the AseptSoft Excel export carries a Description and Block Definition column populated from the resolved scope.

👉 Full documentation: Highlighters · Descriptions · State

🛠️ Fluid Map Overrides — per-drawing manual control

Previously, when the automatic fluid map disagreed with how a drawing actually flowed, the only options were to edit the drawing to match the heuristics or live with the result. There was no way to force-include a specific entity, ban a phantom edge, or mark a single entity as intermittent.

Now, Override Fluid Map opens an interactive editor that lets you author drawing-specific exceptions on top of the automatic mapping. Overrides are saved with the drawing, never modify the drawing itself, and stay synced with the project's normal save/load lifecycle.

Capability	What it does
🟧 Entities sub-loop	Include an entity that the automatic rules would have skipped, Exclude one that would normally be in. Drawn with orange / red bounding-box outlines and labels.
🟠 Connections sub-loop	Add manual edges between two entities, Forbid automatic edges that shouldn't exist. The Forbid cycle picker highlights one candidate at a time in bright yellow with the impact line ("forbidding it disconnects 4 entities") so you understand consequences before committing.
🟡 Intermittent sub-loop	Mark entities so curves immediately adjacent to them render with the intermittent linetype on the next simulation.
⚡ Toggle Intermittent	Focused subset of the editor for the most common workflow — every pick flips the picked entity. One mental model, one click per entity. New ribbon button next to Override Fluid Map.
🛡️ WipeAll asks first	Every wipe action gates on a destructive-default Yes/No confirmation, so a stray Enter never erases a session of work.
✅ Live validate	Type `Validate` to re-run the simulation immediately and see the effect without leaving the editor.
🎚️ Render linetype	Pick which configured intermittent linetype AseptSoft uses when it paints a curve intermittent (e.g. around a force-marked entity).

👉 Full documentation: Fluid Map Overrides · Fluidstream Simulations

🪪 Licensing experience overhaul

Previously, browser-based PKCE login was the only option, AutoCAD reserved a seat eagerly at startup whether you used AseptSoft or not, server-side seat revocations left you in a silent limp-mode where commands just stopped working, and the "Too Many Devices" dialog gave a generic message that made resolution a guessing game.

Now, the licensing layer is significantly more honest about state and friendlier to recovery.

Capability	What's new
🪪 Direct credentials login	New primary path — type email/password into the in-window fields and press Enter. The browser-based PKCE flow remains as a secondary option for SSO/MFA tenants.
🟢 QAT seat indicator	An always-visible AseptSoft logo button on the AutoCAD Quick Access Toolbar tints gray (logged out) / blue (logged in, no seat) / green (holding a seat). One-click context-aware action: activate AseptSoft for the current drawing if needed, release the seat, or open the change-account dialog.
🐢 Lazy seat reservation	Auto-Reserve Seat is now OFF by default. Your identity warms up silently in the background; a seat is consumed only when you actually invoke something that needs one. Frequent non-AseptSoft AutoCAD work no longer takes a seat from the pool.
❤️ Heartbeat with silent recovery	Every five minutes AseptSoft re-checks your seat with the server. If revoked, the next editing action attempts a silent re-acquire — you keep working without interruption. Save commands are never gated, so work is never lost.
🛑 "Too Many Devices" lists holders	The dialog now shows, for every organization you belong to, who's currently holding seats — display name, email, device, activation timestamp. You can ask the specific colleague or your admin instead of guessing.
💬 Chooser explains every failure	The "Your AseptSoft subscription" chooser stays open and tells you exactly why a login attempt failed (cancelled / network / no subscription / server error) instead of silently closing.
🛡️ Anti-ping-pong throttle	At most 5 seat releases per 10-minute rolling window across every release path (QAT button, command line, AutoCAD quit). Closes the loophole where two people share one seat by releasing after every operation.
🚧 Subscription wall on every editing surface	Every command, popup action, and matrix edit that persistently changes project data now gates on a valid seat. Read-only operations (navigation, selection, filtering, undo/redo, search, fluidstream simulation, layer toggles) remain free.

👉 Full documentation: Login and Subscription

📤 Word + Excel from one configuration

Previously, the Export to Word ribbon button produced a Word document; getting the same content as a spreadsheet meant re-running a different export with separate configuration.

Now, the same window — renamed Export Module Data — has a Format selector at the bottom: Word (default ON), Excel (default OFF). Tick either, both, or neither.

Behaviour	Detail
📋 Same configuration, both files	Identical data types, field filtering, column ordering, comment, metadata. Both files come out side-by-side in `[Export Folder]/Word/[Custom Name]/`.
🛡️ Custom Excel sheets are preserved	Worksheets you authored alongside the generated tables (analysis, pivots, custom reports) survive every re-export untouched.
📍 Tab order is preserved	Custom sheet positions stay exactly where you placed them in the workbook tab order.
📑 Document Properties sheet	Excel's first sheet mirrors the Word document's metadata (Module, Version, Exported By, Export Date, Comment).

👉 Full documentation: Export Module Data to Word and Excel

📄 PDF Export auto-switches from Model

Previously, exporting a P&ID currently on the Model tab produced an unusable model-space plot. You had to manually switch to a paper-space layout before clicking Export.

Now, AseptSoft auto-switches to the right paper-space layout. Resolution order: single layout → per-PID override → match against the global preferred-layouts list (seeded with AseptSoft) → optional one-time prompt with an "Add to preferred" checkbox.

Setting	Effect
✅ Enable layout-aware export	Master toggle.
💬 Ask during export	When AseptSoft can't auto-resolve, prompt once per PID per export.
📋 Preferred Layouts	Reorderable global priority list.
🎯 Per-PID Overrides	Force a specific PID to a specific layout.

👉 Full documentation: Export Processes to PDF

☁️ Environment Updates: always-visible push button + Cloud Scope pill

Previously, the per-row push-to-cloud icon was hidden whenever you didn't have permission to push — leaving you wondering whether the feature was missing or your role was. There was also no on-screen indication of which cloud organization (tenant) the window was operating against.

Now, the push icon is always shown when a cloud manifest exists. When you can't push, the icon is greyed with a small red ! badge — hover for the precise reason (no role, not logged in, server unreachable, etc.). Manually-assigned roles via the 10Duke admin UI are recognised, not just programmatically created ones.

The Environments section header carries a new indigo pill — for example, ☁ Cloud scope: Jacobs — derived from your local manifest. On a machine configured for Jacobs vs Abcd, you can visually confirm the target before clicking, and support can ask "what does the scope pill say?" instead of hunting through manifests.

👉 Full documentation: Environment Updates

📦 Auto-update recognises both deployment formats

Previously, AseptSoft installed via the Autodesk bundle.exe (per-user, no admin) was reported as "not managed by auto-update" even when a valid version.json was present on disk — the updater simply didn't know to look there.

Now, both MSI (Program Files, admin rights, Add/Remove Programs entry) and bundle.exe (per-user under %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins, no admin rights) installations are recognised as managed. When neither is recognised, the Software Updates window offers a side-by-side switch panel — pick MSI for IT-managed fleet deployments or bundle.exe for individual users without admin rights. Each option is explained in one line so the trade-off is visible without reading documentation.

👉 Full documentation: Software Updates

✨ Smaller polish

Area	What changed
🔢 Header Block	"Step" terminology replaces "Phase" everywhere. Step Number now renders as `2 / 5` (current of total) — same separator as Page Number. Empty separator collapses both to the bare current number. (Header Block)
✏️ Condition form	Hover the red live-validation message to reveal a dismiss button — turn it off once and only the green ✓ keeps surfacing for valid expressions. A new ⋯ button opens a Custom Expressions library so site-specific tokens (batch IDs, custom verbs) get first-class syntax colouring, validation, and autocomplete. (Build Condition Field)
🤫 Hover popups during commands	Valve, instrument, and OPC popups never appear while AutoCAD is busy with a command or prompt — picking points, selecting entities, typing keywords. They behave as a true idle-time feature now.
📦 Variables and Parameters	Both forms now share a Short code (XX) field with auto-fill from the phenomenon (Pressure → `PT`, Temperature → `TT`, …). Picking Variable vs Parameter becomes a pure semantic decision. (Variable)
🌊 Fluid recognition	Compound names like `CIP Waste`, `NH3 System`, `Antifoam Distribution` now resolve via their abbreviation prefix and land on the correct Liquid/Gas toggle automatically — no more manual flips for industry-standard names. (Fluidstream Simulations)
🎨 Tag colouring with valve state	New PID setting Color Tag Sources With Valve State. When ON, the valve's TAG block inherits the state colour the same way the valve body does — useful at zoom levels where the body symbol is small. (Fluidstream Simulations)
🪟 Module close on locked DWG	When the DWG file is locked (antivirus, network share, permissions), AseptSoft still saves your AseptSoft work and tells you the DWG itself wasn't updated — instead of leaving you in a half-closed state. (AseptSoft Project Workflow)
🛡️ Special layers visible on open	The eight AseptSoft-managed layers (trackers, notes, annotations, fluid-flow visuals, end-connections, temporary highlights, block-valve overlays) are forced visible whenever a module opens, so the module never looks broken because a layer was off in a previous session.
🧮 HasState / HasFluid in conditions	Two new boolean expression variables let you distinguish "no state set" from "state not equal to X" inside symbol-flow conditions. (Fluidstream Simulations)
🔘 Very Reactive — two modes	Per-class Bounding Box (default) and Visible Geometry (stricter overlap test) modes. Switch a class to Visible Geometry when bbox-based connections produce false matches. (P&ID Components Classification)
💧 Fluid transformation on hub points	Internal Hub Points in a Symbol Editor style can carry an ordered list of fluid-transform rules (Always / Only these / All except / Condition) so a symbol can re-label fluid as it crosses the hub. (Symbol Editor)

🗓️ April 2026

🧩 Interactive Create Equipment Module

Previously, the Create Equipment Module command was a one-shot flow: select some valves, type a name, and the module was created immediately with a 1:1 valve-to-item template. There was no review step, no way to add a second module without restarting, no conflict checking against existing modules, and no way to adjust the template or item names before committing.

Now, the command opens the same rich review window used for Excel imports, letting you configure and confirm multiple Equipment Modules in a single interactive session.

Capability	What It Does
✏️ Editable names	Each Equipment Module's name is a text box focused automatically on open, with all text selected. Just type to rename; press Enter to accept.
➕ Add another EM	A dedicated button closes the window, prompts for a fresh drawing selection, and reopens the window with the new module added — your edits on the first module are preserved. Repeat as many times as needed.
🛡️ Valve exclusivity	Valves already belonging to an existing Equipment Module — or to another module being created in the same session — are detected automatically. A dialog lists the conflicts and lets you proceed with the remaining valves only.
🧠 Smart defaults	A new Configuration Template is auto-proposed with one item per selected valve, item names matching valve names — so the old one-click behavior still works: select, Enter, done.
🎨 Template picker	Want to attach the selection to an existing template instead? Pick from the dropdown. Or switch suggestion modes (reuse new templates across EMs, one per EM, etc.).
🔄 Gallery refresh	New modules appear in the Equipment Modules ribbon gallery immediately after creation — no restart or manual refresh needed.

The Excel import window gained the same editable-name behavior: worksheet names are now editable before committing, and press-Enter-to-import works anywhere.

Valve exclusivity is now enforced project-wide and across all entry points — Create from Selection, Add another EM, and Excel Import all refuse to assign a valve that already belongs to another module, with a clear dialog explaining which module owns which valve.

👉 Full documentation: Equipment Module · Import Equipment Modules from Excel

☁️ Environment Updates with Backup, Rollback & Cloud Push

Previously, when you opened a project, AseptSoft silently overwrote your local environment files if newer versions were found — either in the project's portability folder or (in a recent change) from the cloud. You had no control, no notification, and no rollback path. Environment push to the cloud required FTP credentials and manual file management.

Now, the Environment Update Options window gives you full control over both update sources and the complete history of every environment on your machine. Every overwrite is backed up. Every cloud push goes through secure, role-based authentication — no FTP credentials required.

Capability	What It Does
⚙️ Per-source update policies	Choose Auto Update / Always Ask / Manual Only independently for Project source and Cloud source.
🔔 Rich notifications	Non-blocking success cards when auto-updates complete; modal prompts in Always Ask mode with Update Now / Skip This Version / Not Now choices.
📊 Full environment table	See local, project, and cloud versions side by side for every environment, with reveal-in-explorer and copy-link icons.
🕒 Complete backup history	Every overwrite is backed up with version, timestamp, reason, and source — click Activate on any historical version to roll back.
🏷️ Detach & reattach	Running a historical version is a first-class state — automatic updates pause, and you get a daily reminder to reattach if a newer version is available.
☁️ One-click cloud push	Upload environments to the cloud directly from the UI — no FTP, no credentials. Authorization is automatic via your 10Duke organization role.
📥 Missing environment bootstrap	Environments present in the cloud but absent locally are downloaded automatically on project open, regardless of your update policy — ensuring new team members receive the full set without intervention.
🔐 Role-based push empowerment	The push icon appears only if you have OrgAdmin or EnvironmentAdmin in your organization. Missing EnvironmentAdmin roles are auto-created on first attempt — your admin just has to assign them.
🗂️ Server-side history	Each cloud push backs up the previous cloud version under `history/{env}/v{n}.aseptsoftclassdb` on the server — centralized rollback for the whole team.

Prepare for Portability now integrates fully with cloud push: in one command, it bumps every used environment, backs up each, copies to the portability folder, and pushes to the cloud — guaranteeing local, project, and cloud all end at the same version number. The AutoCAD command line reports each step with ✅/⚠/❌ status.

👉 Full documentation: Environment Updates

🤖 AI Assistant (Beta)

AseptSoft now includes an AI-powered copilot that lets you work through natural language conversation. Instead of navigating ribbons and dialogs, you can ask the assistant to create processes, configure equipment, manage automation data, export documents, and more — all from a chat window.

What You Can Do	Examples
📋 Process & algorithm design	"Create a CIP process with 5 steps", "Add a transition condition to Step 3"
⚙️ States & data management	"Set the inlet valve to Open in Pre-Rinse", "Create a high-pressure alarm"
🏭 Equipment modules	"Create an EM from valves V-101 through V-105", "Apply the CIP configuration"
📤 Export & navigation	"Export to Word", "Navigate to the Drain step"
💧 Fluid simulation	"Enable fluid flow", "Highlight upstream from V-201"

The assistant shows each action as a collapsible tool card with human-readable descriptions (valve names, step names — not database IDs). Read operations execute automatically; delete operations require confirmation. Choose between multiple AI models from the header dropdown.

⚠️ Beta — The AI Assistant is actively being expanded. Further capabilities will be added in future updates.

👉 Full documentation: AI Assistant

🔒 Valve Interlocks with Conditional Rules

Previously, interlocks were defined as ISA-88 cause-and-effect logic (cause condition → protective effect → safe actions). This approach focused on runtime behavior but did not capture which physical valve combinations are permitted or forbidden.

Now, valve interlocks define which combinations of valve positions are allowed or forbidden in the plant — directly from the P&ID. Two rule types are available:

Rule Type	Meaning	Icon
🔴 Forbidden	These specific valve combinations must never occur. Everything else is allowed.	Red ban icon
🟢 Only Allowed	Only these specific combinations are permitted. Everything else is forbidden.	Green check icon

Creating interlocks is straightforward: select 2 or more valves in the drawing, choose Forbidden or OnlyAllowed, set each valve's state — done. The Module Data window provides a full master-detail panel for managing all interlock sets, with valve filtering, grouping, and inline editing.

Conditional interlocks let you attach reusable conditions (e.g., "CIP Active", "Temperature > 70°C") to individual configurations — so a rule is only enforced when its condition is true. Conditions are created with syntax-highlighted expressions, shared across configurations, and editable from multiple places.

Additional capabilities include:

🔍 Interlock overlay — visualize interlocked valves on the drawing with colored circles and connecting lines.
🧭 Configuration path finder — find the shortest step-by-step transition between two valve configurations, never passing through a forbidden state.
⚠️ Reachability analysis — detect disconnected configuration "islands" and process violations.
🔧 Mechanical interlock designer — generate physical key/lock/hub specifications.
📤 Export — four modes (Raw, All Forbidden, All Allowed, Mechanical Design) to Excel and Word.

👉 Full documentation: Valve Interlocks

🎨 Header Block Designer

Previously, displaying project data in the drawing title block required placing individual Targeted Trackers one by one, with no way to track algorithm conditions or store custom per-step annotations.

Now, the Header Block Designer lets you build a complete, auto-updating title block as a single AutoCAD block — with a visual designer, live preview, and reusable presets. The block automatically populates with project data and updates as you navigate between steps and conditions.

Feature	What It Does
📝 Data fields	Drag-and-drop configurable: Process, Step, User, Date, Version, Page Number, and more.
🧮 Algorithm tracking	Compact GRAFCET notation showing condition types, expressions, actions, and transitions.
✏️ Custom per-phase fields	User-editable text that stores different values per step (e.g., batch numbers, equipment status, operator comments).
🔢 Aggregations	Count, join, filter, min/max across conditions — active condition, all in phase, all in process, or cross-process.
🎨 Block appearance	Text height, color, spacing, justification, border style, corner radius, label layout.
👁️ Live preview	See exactly how the block will look as you configure it.
💾 Presets	Save, clone, rename configurations — shared across modules.

The block uses a two-zone layout: a main zone for project information (process, step, user, date, custom fields) and a separate algorithm zone below for dynamic condition tracking with GRAFCET symbols.

👉 Full documentation: Header Block

📤 Export Enhancements

Word Export: Process Matrix, Equipment Modules & Algorithm

Previously, the Word export included module-level data (States, Fluids, Parameters, Variables, Alarms, Interlocks, Control Loops, Dialogs). Process-specific data like the valve phase matrix or algorithm conditions required separate Excel exports.

Now, the Word export dialog includes three additional data types for a more complete Functional Design Specification (FDS):

Data Type	What It Exports
📋 Processes	Valve-vs-phase matrix showing which control modules have which states in each step — with Equipment Module grouping, valve type filtering, state nicknaming, and skip-empty option.
🏭 Equipment Module Configurations	Overview table (all EMs with their templates, control modules, linked valves) plus per-EM detail tables showing item states across configurations.
🧮 Algorithm	Compact mode: two-column table with GRAFCET notation. Full mode: detailed per-field condition table. Choose via radio buttons.

A shared left sidebar centralizes process and PID selection — choose once, and all relevant data types follow those selections.

👉 Full documentation: Export Module Data to Word and Excel

PDF Export: Cover Pages

Previously, adding cover pages or appendices to exported PDFs required manual post-processing in an external PDF editor.

Now, the PDF Export dialog includes a Cover Pages section where you can attach a prefix PDF (prepended before the export) and a suffix PDF (appended after). Page counts are displayed, and an option lets page number trackers account for prefix pages in their numbering.

👉 Full documentation: Export Processes to PDF

🗓️ March 2026

Export Module Data to Word (.docx)

Previously, module data (States, Fluids, Parameters, Variables, Alarms, Interlocks, Control Loops, Dialogs) could only be exported to Excel or shared via templates. To create a formatted functional specification document, you had to manually copy data from Excel into Word.

Now, AseptSoft includes a dedicated Word export that generates a professional, ready-to-share .docx document directly from the Module Ribbon. The export dialog lets you:

Choose which data types to include or exclude.
Reorder and filter individual fields per table by dragging them.
Transpose tables (swap rows and columns).
Group data by category (e.g., group Parameters by Phenomenon).
Add an export comment embedded in the document properties.

The exported document includes a title page, document metadata, and one formatted table per data type — with blue headers, clean borders, and actual color previews in color columns. Like all AseptSoft exports, it is cumulative — re-exporting updates the data while preserving your manual edits and formatting.

👉 Full documentation: Export Module Data to Word and Excel

🖱️ Valve Hover Inspector

Previously, inspecting a valve's state required selecting it and opening the Status Editor or Live Edit panel. Checking how a valve behaves across multiple process steps meant navigating step by step.

Now, simply hover your mouse over any valve on the P&ID drawing to see a rich, interactive popup showing:

What You See	What You Can Do
Current state name, color, and percentage	Instantly understand the valve's current configuration.
FLOW / BLOCK badge	Know immediately whether fluid passes through.
States gallery (all compatible states)	Click any state to apply it in one click.
Percentage slider (for modulating valves)	Drag to set exact opening percentage.
Steps timeline across the entire process	See how the valve behaves in every step at a glance.
Equipment module memberships	Apply a module configuration to all grouped valves at once.

The feature supports three modes: Auto (always on), Ctrl+Hover (shows only when holding Ctrl/Alt), or Disabled. Colored bullet overlays appear at each valve position, giving a bird's-eye view of all valve states across the drawing.

👉 Full documentation: Valve Hover Inspector

🔀 Off-Page Connector Hover and Connectivity Bullets

Previously, checking whether Off-Page Connectors were correctly paired required running a simulation or manually comparing Tag/Bind values across drawings. There was no visual indicator of connection status.

Now, AseptSoft displays colored connectivity bullets at each OPC's position:

Bullet	Meaning
🟢 Green	OPC is connected — has a valid pair.
🔴 Red	OPC is unconnected — no matching pair found.

Hovering over any OPC bullet shows a popup with full connectivity details — the current OPC's Tag, Bind, and PID, plus the partner's information if connected. For connected OPCs, a Navigate to Pair button lets you jump directly to the paired connector on the destination P&ID in one click.

For unconnected OPCs, the popup lists all other unconnected OPCs across open PIDs, helping you identify potential matches or spot misspelled Tag/Bind values.

The feature uses the same three modes as the Valve Hover Inspector: Auto, Ctrl+Hover, or Disabled.

👉 Full documentation: Off-Page Connector