Plant 3D Database Management

Select the entire row using the field on the far left (not just a data cell) and activate the Zoom button (magnifying glass) – the program then zooms to the object. Other functions: hide empty columns, filter by selection, Refresh (synchronizes drawing and data). You can drag and drop property values into the drawing as annotations. If the Data Manager has "disappeared", it is often auto-hidden at the edge of the screen.

1. In the Data Manager, select the required node, e.g. Equipment, and click Export – "active node only" produces exactly one table; with child nodes, several sheets are created. 2. Change the values in Excel; do not change the column with the internal ID (PnPID), as it is used for matching. If the sheet is protected: Review > Unprotect Sheet. 3. Save the file and close Excel, otherwise it is locked. 4. In the Data Manager, select the same node and click Import. Changed values are highlighted and can be accepted individually or with "Accept All".

In Project Setup, under the Data Manager configuration, choose "Create View" and define the name and scope (project or drawing). Use "New Level" to build the grouping: first filter the object type (e.g. nozzles), then add further levels by fields such as equipment tag, line tag, manufacturer or a yes/no field "ordered". You will then find the view in the Data Manager under the custom project or drawing views. After changes, reload with the Refresh icon.

1. Start Report Creator via Windows Start > All apps > AutoCAD Plant 3D folder. 2. Open the project (Project.xml) and choose the scope (entire project or individual folders). 3. Select the report – add company-specific report templates via a custom path. 4. Use Edit to adjust the query and layout. Note: Report Creator lists are for output only; to write values back, use export/import in the Data Manager.

Start the Report Creator from the Windows Start menu (Plant 3D program group, or search for "Report"). Under Project, open your project's Project.xml and select the required list under the report configuration, e.g. valve list or equipment list. Use Preview to check the result and Export to create the file. Besides PDF, formats such as Excel, CSV or RTF are available; for print-ready lists, PDF is the most reliable. Under Settings, you define whether the report templates are stored in the project or in a central folder – this should be consistent across the team.

Start the Report Creator (e.g. type "Report" in the command line). For project-specific reports, copy the report templates from the Plant 3D program data folder to a reports folder in the project and point the Report Creator to the project. Then create a report based on a template (e.g. equipment list), select only pumps in the query, set a filter (field = value) and click "Test result". In the report layout, add or remove fields and adjust headings; output e.g. as PDF.