When you retrieve documents into an authoring tool, you are retrieving the document data that was published by another authoring tool. For example, in Smart Instrumentation, you can retrieve engineering information from a published P&ID into the Smart Instrumentation database.
The authoring tools provide commands that let you select a document and retrieve it into that tool. You can use either the SmartPlant > Retrieve command to open a wizard that assists you in retrieving applicable documents, or with some authoring tools, you can configure an automatic retrieval feature.
The software trims all leading and trailing spaces from all strings and from all
values without units of measure. These spaces do not appear in the retrieved data
file.
Additionally, you can access the Web Client through the SmartPlant > Browser command. This allows you to select the document or documents that you want to retrieve from your Web Client To Do List, the tree view, or by using the Web Client search functionality. After you select the documents that you want to retrieve, you can use the Retrieve command on the Web Client SmartPlant menu to start the retrieval process.
The Retrieve command provided in the authoring tools is slightly different from the Retrieve command available in the SmartPlant Foundation Web Client. The Web Client presents a list of documents from which you can select those you want to retrieve. However, when you use the command from an authoring tool without first selecting documents, the software searches the SmartPlant Foundation project for documents to retrieve, and these are presented in a list on the Retrieve dialog.
You can retrieve a document in two ways:
As published
Retrieves only the data the authoring tool originally published with the selected revision and version of the document. Retrieving as-published data retrieves the .xml file the authoring tool published from the appropriate SmartPlant Foundation vault.
With the latest data
Retrieves the latest data associated with the selected document in the SmartPlant Foundation database. If another, more-recently published document contains updates to objects in the selected document, the software retrieves the most current data in the SmartPlant Foundation database for those shared objects. When you retrieve the latest data, SmartPlant Foundation generates an .xml file containing the published data.
When publishing or retrieving documents to a machine that doesn't have administration
rights, you must apply to the XML folder located in the Smart Instrumentation folder full read, write, and modify permissions. If the XML folder does not have
these permissions you will not be able to publish or retrieve documents.
Document Types for Retrieval
From the authoring tools, you can retrieve the plant breakdown structure (PBS) and project documents. The PBS and project documents, created in SmartPlant Foundation, are retrieved by authoring tools to provide information about the plants, areas, units, projects, and contracts that need to be created in the authoring tool so that the information is consistent across all authoring tools.
The PBS document published by SmartPlant Foundation contains information about the physical plant with a structure consisting of plants, areas, and units. The default structure is plant/area/unit, but you can define a custom hierarchy in the Schema Editor. The project breakdown structure, project list, and project definition document contain information about the project or projects and their statuses in a plant/project structure.
When using Smart Instrumentation, you must create the plant hierarchy according to the PBS information in SmartPlant
Foundation before you retrieve either the PBS or the project definition document.
You must create a plant hierarchy with at least three levels with a minimum of one
PBS item at the lowest level before you can retrieve the PBS and project definition
document.
In Smart Instrumentation, the following documents are retrievable out of the box. Your administrator can configure other documents for retrieve.
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Electrical Signal I/O Lists
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Electrical Power Element Reports
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Instrument Process Data Sheets
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Schematics
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P&IDs (includes instruments, loops, lines, equipment, and control system functions)
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After you retrieve a P&ID, you can change the unit of measure (UOM) if all conditions (minimum, maximum, and normal) are the same in the retrieved document. If you change the UOM and the conditions are not the same, the software will warn you.
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When retrieving Electrical Signal tags from Smart Electrical to Smart Instrumentation, it is recommended to define the naming convention in Smart Instrumentation to Free Segment. If you use a different naming convention for electrical signals in Smart Instrumentation, you should check that a compatible naming convention is defined in Smart Electrical.
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When retrieving pipe line data from Smart P&ID to Smart Instrumentation, where the pipe line name already exists in Smart Instrumentation, the software creates a new pipe line with a new name and adds tasks to the To Do List. If you want to retrieve the pipe line data without creating a new pipe line, you must add to the Intools.INI file under API the following string:
DisableLineNameModifications = Y. -
UOMs retrieved from Smart P&ID that have not been mapped, are converted to SI (System International) units when an Update or Create task is created.
Smart Instrumentation does not support retrieving P&ID drawings that have a bidirectional flow. When retrieving
P&ID drawings to Smart Instrumentation they must have a flow direction of End 1 Upstream or End 1 Downstream.
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Data Handling After Retrieval
The authoring tool that you use also determines how the system deals with changes in downstream data when you retrieve a document. Smart P&ID, Smart Instrumentation, Smart Electrical, and Aspen Basic Engineering analyze the impact of the newly retrieved data on the existing database, then place tasks on the authoring tools To Do List that allow you to create, delete, or modify items at the appropriate time in the design process. The To Do List gives you the opportunity to view and understand potential changes before accepting, deleting, or modifying those changes.
Design Basis
Objects that tools retrieve from other authoring tool documents can become the design basis for objects in downstream documents. Objects that become the design basis for other objects can be specific objects that get richer as they move through the lifecycle or they can be schematic or logical objects in one application that evolve into more detailed objects downstream.
Design basis is implicit based on retrieval; you do not have to define it. For example, a pump retrieved from a PFD becomes the design basis for a pump in the P&ID. When you change common properties for the pump and retrieve the changes into Smart P&ID, tasks to update the pump automatically appear in the To Do List. The same process works for logical items that are a design basis for other items, such as a P&ID tag in Smart P&ID can evolve into a control loop with associated tag numbers in Smart Instrumentation.