• Advanced topics.

  • Creating a library of components.

  • Using component subassemblies to create complex assemblies.

  • Exporting analysis results to Microsoft Office.

  • XML output

Advanced topics

Creating a library of components

Because copying component definitions and assemblies across databases is a simple drag-n-drop or copy-n-paste operation, creating and using a library of components and assemblies in CSI is a simple task. A library of components is a regular Control Simulator database that is designated as a central repository for component definitions and assemblies that are commonly used by a user or a group of users.

To create a library of components, simply create a new CSI database and save it to a location that is readily available to all the users that need to have access to the component library, such as a shared network directory. Then add components just as you would for a project database. To use a component definition, open both the library database and the project database and copy component definitions by dragging-n-dropping components and assemblies from the library to the project

library as needed. (For more information on copying component and assembly definitions across databases see Working with assemblies)

Using component subassemblies to create complex assemblies

CSI provides a method for grouping components as subassemblies that can be inserted into assemblies for creating higher order assemblies. The technique explained here can also be used to create sequences of components that are considered “standard” in your organization. For example: If Pump XYZ can be represented with a pressure source component followed by a restriction component, you can group the two components into a subassembly and later insert the subassembly into another assembly rather than having to enter the insert the individual components again creating logical links between them.

Exporting analysis results to Microsoft Office

CSI provides various methods for exporting data to the Microsoft Office suite for further analysis and report generation. These are explained below:

·         Press the output button (see the context-sensitive toolbar) on the main toolbar. The resulting dialog allows the user to send any or all of the three files that are generated during an assembly analysis. Simply select the desired application to send the file to. Both header and summary file are better suited for Microsoft Word whereas the output file is better suited for Microsoft Excel.

Note: The header, summary and output files are temporary files that get rewritten every time an analysis is run; hence, this option applies only to the assembly analyzed last.

·         Open the assembly for which results are to be exported to and press the Chart button. The chart window opens. Click the Numeric tab and press the export to Excel button.

·         Open the assembly for which results are to be exported to and press the Chart button. The chart window opens. Change chart settings as desired (pen color, pen width, etc.) and select the Copy option under the edit menu or press Ctrl+C. This operation places two sets of data onto the Windows clipboard: The chart image as a windows metafile and the numeric data that generated said chart. Open the target document in the desired application (Word or Excel) and select paste. The numeric data gets pasted by default. To paste the windows metafile image, select paste special and select image in the resulting dialog box. The format in which this operation copies data to Excel varies from that in the first and second option in that the former creates one column for time information and one column for each of the existing parameters and the latter creates a series of time-parameter columns.

Table as output by option 1:

Table as output by option 2:

XML output

XML stands for extensible markup language. XML is designed ‘to make it easy and straightforward to use SGML on the Web: easy to define document types, easy to author and manage SGML-defined documents, and easy to transmit and share them across the Web.’

Just prior to calling the computation engine DLL, CSI generates an XML formatted file that shows the hierarchy of the total assembly as it is to be treated during analysis. This file can be viewed using an Internet browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. The file will show the dependency of components (logical links and branching) of all the assembly components.

A full explanation of XML is beyond the scope of this manual. For more information about XML, visit http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml