New Features

AutoCAD

AutoCAD Features AutoCAD New Features Overview.

P&ID Drawings

Off-page connector (OPC)

Making OPC connections is now easier and more reliable.

When you connect an OPC, only lines that can be connected to are now displayed in the list. Lines that do not have an open connection, or are unassigned are no longer displayed.

You can no longer connect to an unassigned line. This prevents accidentally modifying the line tag in another drawing.

For more information, see Create Connection dialog box.

P&ID Line Groups

You can use slregoup to set the unassigned line to an existing line number (line group tag value).

The above image shows line number 101 with unassigned (?) line selected.

Use the Select Line Group dialog box to specify 101 for the selected (unassigned) line.

The unassigned line number is now in line group 101, which sets the line segment tag.

With the addition of slregoup, you can no longer specify an existing line group tag in the Assign Tag dialog box. This avoids accidentally joining (and possibly modifying) existing line groups.

Note: Pipe lines are not automatically added to existing groups if you assign identical tags. Instead, a Tag Already Assigned dialog box displays and the tag assignment is cancelled. Also, you cannot connect to an unassigned line. However, you can connect an unassigned line to an assigned line.

For more information, see About P&ID Line (SLINE) Grouping.

Line Group Tag Management

No two different schematic line groups can have the same tag because the tag identifies the group. This can prevent you from assigning an existing line number to a line segment.

If an operation attempts to assign an existing tag and cannot be interrupted, a question mark ( ? ) is added to the tag temporarily. You can later use the assigntag command or Data Manager to resolve this.

You can use the slgroupedit command to add lines to an existing line. If the default tag format is used, any lines added to the group are assigned the same Line Number.

You can use Project Setup to modify the tag format of the pipe line group or the line segment.

Isometric Improvements (Isos)

Create New Iso Style (Visual)

You can now create a new Iso Style by specifying options.

For more information, see: Create Iso Style dialog box (Visual).

Persistent Break Points (Repeatability)

You can now save the break points from the Iso drawing into the 3D model. This allows you to adjust the model and know that only certain sheets need to be updated.

The start point specifies where the line begins on sheet 1. Break points split isometric drawings into sheets.

The isometric start point and split points can be explicitly placed into the 3D model. The next time isometric drawings are created the same split points are used.

If these points are not in the 3D model, you can also save split points and the start point (optional) that are calculated for you when isometric drawings are created. Saving start points can avoid unexpected changes to the sheet order.

In previous versions, small changes in the 3D model could result in large changes in the isometric drawings.

Break points and start points can be modified in the 3D model.

For more information, see: About Iso Repeatability.

Start Points

You can specify the beginning of the line (sheet one). In previous versions, the start of the pipe line was chosen arbitrarily.

You can also save the start point used to generate isometrics into the 3D model.

Project Setup UI

Improvements to Isometric Configuration in Project Setup

Annotation enclosures now display graphics instead of text.

Additional options are available in Project Setup that previously required advanced configuration. Options that required editing the Title Block setup or isoconfig.xml are now available in Project Setup.

You no longer need to go open the title block editor to specify text height for annotations, dimensions, and symbol scale.

Formatting for iso text and title block attributes can now be specified. Previously, this required editing of isoconfig.xml.

You can specify Imperial or Metric values and formatting for annotation and BOM text in mixed-metric projects.

Iso Themes

You can now specify a different iso symbol scale for each iso theme in project setup.

Insulation Dimensions

You can now display offset lines for insulation.

Sheet and Layout Improvements

Isos have fewer crossings and make better use of space.

Improved sheet numbering. Sheets no longer generate additional sheet number suffixes. (LXAA-1-1, LXAA-1-2, LXAA-2 now generate LXAA-1, LXAA-2, and LXAA-3).

New Content Packs

Content packs are now available in the AutoCAD Plant 3D App Store under Catalogs & Specs.

New Specs and Catalogs are available on: Autodesk Exchange Apps.

File Naming Options

You can now specify properties to include in the Iso drawing filename Iso Style Setup dialog box.

Autodesk Vault Projects

New features for vault projects include:

For more information in setting up a project for vault replication see Configure Vault for Plant Projects.

New Ribbon

A new Vault Options dialog box has been added. Autodesk Vault Client has moved to a new Admin pane.

Synchronize to Vault and Refresh from Vault no longer require confirmation. Also, synchronization now displays a results dialog only if there are errors or warnings.

This new behavior works with the new synchronization balloons to make vault synchronization a less intrusive experience. When another user checks in a file to the vault, you will know within minutes and can update your workspace with one click.

There is a new message for launching Vault Client.

Project manager (Partial Workspace)

DWG files do not need to be downloaded locally.

All drawings in the project display in the tree regardless of whether they are on your local machine or not. There are new status icons that show the state of each drawing. The icons match those used in Autodesk Vault Client.

If there is no vault status icon, the file is not in the local workspace.

Text now displays in strikethrough or bold to indicate check-out status. Shown above, str-building is checked out to another user and the file is not in the local workspace. str-rack-01 is in the local workspace and is available for checkout.

You can see new vault status details in the details pane of Project Manager.

File Icon

File Status

Meaning

<No Icon>

 

No local file.

 

File is on your local workstation, but you don't have it checked out. File is read-only.

 

Checked out to you.

 

Checked out to you and modified

 

File has been updated in the vault. Synchronize-down to update.

 

Checked out to another user

  bold

Checked out to you

In general, AutoCAD Plant 3D 2015 Extension 1 has been updated to match Autodesk Vault Client 2015 status icons and text.

Get / Check Out Dialog Box

A new Get / Check Out dialog box assists in supporting related files. Now, when you download a DWG file (either Get or Check Out) that references other files, the referenced files are also downloaded.

Shown above the file combined-models is being checked-out. combined-models references (XREF) str-rack-01, ppg-piping-01, and str-building. Therefore all files are downloaded.

The new Get / Check Out dialog box also shows vault status. str-building above is checked-out by another user. ppg-piping-01 is already checked-out to you. And str-rack-01 is available for check-out.

You can specify to check out all related files by clicking the check-mark at the top of the column (in the example above, only combined-models is selected for check out).

The Get Revision dialog box has been eliminated. Now, you can specify a revision when you check-out a file. Latest is the default.

The Get Latest Related check-box specifies whether or not to always get the latest version of related files. Related-file information includes both the name of the related files and the revision of related files. If Get Latest Related is selected, the revision of related files is ignored and the latest is always downloaded. This means that the XREF files could be newer than the DWG file that you specify a revision for.

The new dialog box provides additional information about the drawing status, such as whether or not the file is already checked out (bold blue above).

The number of files downloaded, checked-out, and total download size are now displayed.

At the project level (root) you can now Check In and Get / Check Out all files for the project.

You can Get / Check Out all files for folder of the entire project.

From the Project Manager, you can now open a drawing in Read-only mode if you double-click the file name

In previous versions, you are asked whether you want to open Read-only or check-out.

Now, you open Read-only by default, and can later check out from the vault ribbon. When the drawing is Read-only, you can edit but cannot save changes. So it is possible to experiment with modifications before you decide to check out (this is not new, but in previous versions you may have been encouraged to check out before you needed to).

Plant Vault Options

There is a new plantvaultoptions command available from the ribbon.

You can specify to display the Synchronize Balloon when anything in the project changes, when files that are referenced by an open drawing change, or to disable the balloon.

Synchronization Balloon

A balloon now displays if another user checks in a file to the vault.

External Reference Support (xref)

You can now attach files directly from the vault. Non-DWG files as well as non-project files can be attached from outside the project are supported.

The xref file does not first need to be downloaded to the local workspace.

Files such as Navisworks NWD, and PDF, and image files (BMP, JPG, PNG) can be attached.

For more information using vault xrefs see To work with vault project external references (xrefs) .

SQL Server Database Name

SQL Server setup now has a Test Name button.

The default database name is now based on the host computer name and project name, allowing the database administrator to more easily identify which plant project the SQL Server database belongs to.

This applies to all SQL Server projects, not just vault projects.

Advance Steel Support

You can export structural objects to Advance Steel SMLX files. For more information, see advancesteelexport.

Pipe Routing Offsets and Tolerances

You can now specify angle and offset tolerances for piping connections. For more information, see Connections - Joint Setup.

Plant SDK (Developer)

The Plant SDK has been improved so that you can more easily manage Piping and Equipment in the 3D Model and create new P&ID components.

Developers can now create and connect equipment and sline components in P&ID drawings using new high-level APIs.

New high level API and samples to let you create and modify piping, pipe supports, and equipment. Model editing using the SDK has been simplified. For example, the PIpeRouting sample illustrates how to route piping and substitute parts.

Download the Plant SDK from the Autodesk Developer Network here: http://www.autodesk.com/developautocad.

Misc

You can now delete default Iso Styles in windows explorer. They will not be recreated by project manager.

Fixes - AutoCAD Plant 3D 2016 places a strong focus on overall quality, fixing defects across all features.

Parent topic: Getting Started