Smart Instrumentation requires each drawing block to belong to a specific block type. This is because blocks in Smart Instrumentation function according to the block type they are assigned to. For example, if a block belongs to the Loop Block type, you can only assign this block to a loop; if a block belongs to an Instrument Block type, you can only assign this block to a specific instrument of the loop but not to the loop itself.
You organize blocks according to block types in the Drawing Block Types folder of the Domain Explorer. At this level, the software displays all the block types that exist in the current domain and allows you to add general and instrument block types and manage block type properties. All block types that appear in the current <plant> also appear in all <plants> that exist in the domain.
The following drawing block types are available in the Drawing Block Types folder of the Domain Explorer:
Loop Block
A shipped block type that allows you to define, edit or duplicate a block that you
can associate with a loop number. The Loop Block folder is the only folder of the Domain Explorer where you can define and manage loop blocks. Loop blocks are shown as 
. After defining a loop block, you can assign it directly to a loop number in the
Loops folder of the Domain Explorer. When generating a CAD loop drawing using a loop block, the generation is based on
a single template block file that can include references to all tags in the loop.
For more details, see Loop Blocks.
Instrument Block
A user-defined block type that allows you to define, edit, or duplicate a block that
you can associate with an instrument. Instrument blocks are shown as 
. Blocks that you assign to instruments appear at the instrument level in the Loops folder of the Domain Explorer. When generating a CAD loop drawing using instrument blocks, the generation is based
on template CAD blocks that contain macros specific to each instrument tag of the
loop. This requires assignment of individual drawing block files to instruments whose
data you want to display in the loop drawing (one block file per instrument). In the
generated drawing, the software displays the instrument blocks according to their
insertion points that you defined. The macros the blocks contain retrieve data from
Smart Instrumentation for all the associated instruments. You can create as many instrument block types
as you require. After defining instrument blocks, you can choose a block assignment
method to associate your blocks with specific instruments; therefore, you must define
at least one instrument block type before you can add a new block (apart from the
default general block types and the Loop Block type).
Border
A shipped block type that allows you to define a border block for use in all loop
drawings or hook-up drawings. You can also modify properties of an existing loop or
hook-up drawing border block. Border blocks are shown as 
. After defining border blocks, you can assign one border block to all loop drawings
or hook-up drawings using the Default General Blocks dialog.
Logo
A shipped block type that allows you to define a logo block for use in all loop drawings
or hook-up drawings. You can also modify properties of an existing loop or hook-up
drawing logo block. Logo blocks are shown as . After defining logo blocks, you can assign one logo block to all loop drawings or
hook-up drawings using the Default General Blocks dialog.
User-Defined General Block
A user-defined block type that allows you to define, edit, or duplicate a block that
you want to use in all loop drawings in addition to the border and logo blocks. This
block does not contain any macros. User- defined general blocks are shown as . You can assign any number of user-defined general blocks to loop instruments using
the Automatic block assignment method. The software automatically displays all the
assigned user-defined general blocks in every CAD loop drawing that you generate,
regardless of the CAD application you use. User-defined general blocks cannot be assigned
to hook-up drawings.
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The software always places in the drawing one block belonging to the Logo type and one block belonging to the Border type regardless of whether you add user-defined general blocks in the drawing. For a complete list of the shipped logo and border blocks, see Shipped Block Files.
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You can specify the coordinates of user-defined general blocks to prevent overlapping with other drawing elements, such as the border or the logo.
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In hook-up drawings, you can only use the blocks created in the default Border and Logo general block types.