2.3 The Action Toolbar

The toolbar allows quick access to commonly used Pumpsim™ functions.

Fig. 2.3.1: The quick-access toolbar.

File and Utility Functions

Fig. 2.3.2: The first segment of the toolbar, the file and utility functions.

New File

Creates a new file. The current file will be cleared.

Open File

Open the file dialog to load a new file.

Save File

Saves the existing file. If no name has yet been set, a Save File dialog will be displayed.

Reset Display

Reset the graphics card if the display becomes corrupted.

Undo

Reverses the last action performed in Pumpsim™.

Show All

Automatically turns on all hidden pipes to ensure all pipes in the model can be seen.

Snapshot

Takes a static image of the screen in a form which may be saved, copied or remain on the screen for further comparison with other windows. Snapshots are static only and do not change.

Find

Searches for specific items within a site model. Pressing the ‘searchlight’ icon directly, repeats the previous find action. Pressing the submenu arrow next to the icon, activates the find submenu as shown below.

Some examples include:

Name – Find the name of a pipe name or node. Entering any part of the name will find pipes containing the name part.
Number – Find a pipe with the specified index or unique number
Pumps – Find pumps, pumps that are turned off, or pumps that are performing outside of their rated pump curves.
Fixed – Find fixed flows or pressures.
Errors – Find model errors defined during the previous simulation.

Lock

The lock function controls how the Pumpsim™ cursor attaches to other pipes or graphics objects. When editing, this is often desirable to ensure pipes attach correctly to other pipes or reference graphics while drawing or editing, however it may become problematic particularly in graphically crowded environments.

Fig 2.3.3: Lockable parts of the model, available from the lock icon on the toolbar.

Individual graphical locks can be turned off using the function below. Note that ALL LOCKS CAN BE TURNED OFF temporarily by pressing the CTRL key while editing (moving or drawing) pipes.

Hint: You may wish to carefully move pipe ends or joins, however the move keeps connecting the ends to other nearby (or far away) pipes in the same view direction. To disable this behaviour and allow fine control over moves, simply hold the CTRL key down while moving to prevent the pipes locking on to other objects.

Pipe Solids

Locks on to the closest pipe when adding, moving or copying new pipes. De-selecting this option will allow pipes and nodes to be finely moved without locking on to a nearby node or pipe, or to travel through each other without connecting.

Hint: The lock target can be de-selected when arranging pipes which are closer together. The lock function when selected will normally lock on to the closest available pipe, ensuring a positive join between the pipe.

Warning: If the lock target function is turned off, pipes may not join into each other precisely (even if they appear close or overlap), resulting in no exit or entry errors. The ‘lock target’ function should always be selected when you intend to join into other pipes or nodes. You can check whether pipes truly join into each other by turn on the NODE display.

Transparencies

Allows transparent (non-active) pipes to be locked on to, selected or edited. Transparent pipes are normally treated as invisible by the program and by default cannot be selected or changed. Enabling this function will allow the pipes to be selected or edited the same as any other pipe.

References

Locks the mouse cursor onto a referenced graphic surface or wireframe. Pumpsim™ will preferentially search for pipes when moving the mouse cursor to new locations. If no pipe is found, if this option is enabled the program will search for a reference graphic (imported graphics) to lock on to.

Hint: This function is very useful for tracing or moving pipes on to imported referenced graphic locations. By using the referenced graphics as a guide, pipes can be accurately placed within a model. To force the program to use the referenced graphics only, and not lock on to other pipes, turn the Lock Target options OFF.

Vertical

Forces new pipes, or moved or copied pipes to be drawn exactly vertically when the vertical movement function is chosen (with the SHIFT key or the RIGHT MOUSE button) while drawing. When this function is not selected, pipes can be moved both vertically and parallel to the plane of the viewing screen while being drawn.

Hint: Pipes drawn or moved with the Lock Vertical function activated can still be angled. Simply release the SHIFT key or RIGHT mouse button while drawing and moving when you are at the desired elevation and the pipe end can continue to be moved horizontally at the new elevation.

Intersections

Checks whether new pipes intersect existing pipes, and inserts a node if they do. The function works by searching surrounding pipes for intersections or crossing paths that are close. Turn this function OFF if you require a pipe to cross another without joining (for example an overcast pipe) or pipes are required to be drawn very close together without being joined.

Perspective View

Sets the viewing system to orthogonal or perspective. Orthogonal removes the effect of perspective, making objects in the distance appear the same size as close objects. This mode may be of assistance when viewing sections or plan views, where the perspective appearance would otherwise distort the true scale of objects at different distances. The mode has the disadvantage of a more cluttered and complex display.

Perspective view is more suited to general editing and viewing, where objects in the distance are obscured by perspective scale, creating a less cluttered display.

Perspective On

Fig 2.3.4: A pipe system depicted with the perspective on, making parts of the model more distant and others closer depending on the perspective of the user.

Perspective Off

Fig. 2.3.5: A pipe system depicted with the perspective off (orthogonal view), making all parts of the model appear the same distance from the user's point of view.

Hint: When performing true PLAN or SECTION views, ensure that ORTHOGONAL mode is chosen to prevent perspective errors in these views. In plan or section view, pipes at a different plan or section depth will be shown at a different scale in perspective view. You can quickly change between views by pressing the ‘P’ key on the keyboard.

Flow Animation

Providing the model is designed true to scale, the progress of flow can be tracked at the same speed as expected flow in the underground site when set to x1 speed.

Fig. 2.3.6: Flow animation speed control.

The animate toolbar button has a number of sub menu items:

x1 – Animate flows in true real time. Arrows travel at the same scale speed as calculated velocity.
x5 – Arrows travel at five (5) times the scale speed of calculated velocity.
x10 – Arrows travel at ten (10) times the scale speed of calculated velocity.
STOP – Stops flow animation. Flow animation in large model can consume significant processing power and slow model response and rotation. It is recommended flow animation be turned off when not needed on larger models.

Hint: Clicking the main flow animation icon will cycle the flow speeds through all available ranges.

Drawing Functions

Fig. 2.3.7 The drawing function of the toolbar.

View

Places the program in view mode.

Left Mouse Drag – Draw a window to zoom into part of a model. The front most pipe in the view window will define the point of focus for the zoomed in area. To zoom into am area behind other pipes, ensure the zoom window does not contain any portion of the front pipes.
Left Mouse Single Click – Centre the view on the pipe. Centres the view on a pipe so the screen can be rotated around the point clicked.
Left Mouse Double Click – Edit the pipe. Left clicking the mouse on top of a pipe will show the Edit Box for that pipe.
Middle Mouse Drag – Press and hold to pan the screen horizontal around the current Edit Plane. Click to centre the Edit Plane and rotation point about a specific pipe or point on the Edit Plane.
Right Mouse Click – IN ALL MODES, right mouse click will rotate the model graphics about the point of focus. Hold and move the mouse vertically to tilt the model. Hold and move the mouse horizontally to spin the model.

Add

Places the program into draw (add) mode to allow creation of new pipes or measure between pipes. The function has several sub-functions available by clicking the small arrow at the right.

In normal (free draw) mode, pipes that are constructed from other pipes will adopt the attributes of the joined pipe (such as size and wall friction factors types).

Pipes that are NOT constructed starting from other pipes will adopt the default set in the Settings menu.

Left Mouse Click – Edit the pipe. Left clicking the mouse on top of a pipe will show the Edit Box for that pipe.
Left Mouse Drag – Constructs a new pipe from where the mouse is initially pressed, to the point where the mouse button is released. To manually control the coordinates of the pipe being constructed, select the sub-menu functions of the add button as shown below.

Fig. 2.3.8: The draw mode menu.

Draw Single – Allows the mouse to draw both ends of a single pipe. pipes can be drawn vertically by hold the SHIFT key down.
Draw Continuous – Allows the mouse to continuously draw joined pipes until either the ESCAPE button is pressed, or the pipe joins into another pipe. Pipes can be drawn vertically by hold the SHIFT key down.
Draw Gradient – Allows the mouse to continuously draw joined pipes at a predefined gradient until either the ESCAPE button is pressed, or the pipe joins into another pipe. The defined gradient is request when activating the function and can be entered as a percentage (eg 10%), degrees (eg 12.5) or a ratio of horizontal to vertical distance (eg 1:10).
Draw Coordinates – Shows the coordinate entry box after the pipe is drawn to allow manual entry of pipe end coordinates.
Copy Parallel – A tool for quickly building another pipe section parallel to the selected section. Pipes need to be selected before clicking.
Construct Ramp – A tool for quickly building spiral ramps. After selecting the tool, draw the initial direction of the ramp, and the ramp builder toolbox will show, allowing gradients, ramp bends, straights and heights to be established. A ramp can be previewed to try different factors before clicking BUILD to commit the ramp design to the model.

Fig. 2.3.9: The ramp builder window.

Convert Centreline – Allows the selective direct conversion of DXF reference lines to pipes. If imported DXF centrelines are shown as a reference layer on screen (instead of automatically being converted to pipes on import), then this function can be used to select or fence the reference lines that are to be converted to pipes.

Note that each reference line can only be selected once, as the program will not duplicate multiple selected lines.

Convert Any – If centre lines are not available, this is an experimental feature which agglomerates groups of reference graphics to try and establish a pipe path which could be constructed. Examples may include survey string data showing wall, floors and backs, or 3D solids of actual site development or shafts. Note that the results from this function are very approximate and will likely require significant manipulation with the MOVE and DELETE tool function after being done to create a workable model.
Measure – Allows the mouse to measure distances between two points. Click on the start point of where the measurement will start, and drag the mouse to the end point. The measurement will display in the bottom left Status Bar area of the screen.

Edit

Place the program into Edit mode.

Left Mouse Click – Edit pipe or node. Left clicking the mouse on top of an object will show the Edit Box for that object.

Note that if several object are selected, only the pipes and channel edit box will show.

Left Mouse Drag – Selects the pipes within the fence box being drawn. Selected pipes can then be edited by clicking on any of the selected pipes.

Hint: Selecting multiple pipes permits attributes for a large number of pipes to be changed simultaneously. This can greatly speed up creating a model.

Info

Allows the user to see detailed information about a specific element or a group of elements.

Group selected – Run the summary for this pipe group.
Single object – Show the info box.

Select

Selects a group of pipes. Selected pipes are considered as a group by a number of other Pumpsim™ functions including Edit, Delete, Move, Copy and Filter. These options will apply changes to all selected pipes simultaneously.

Left Mouse Click – Selects or de-selects the pipe under the current mouse cursor.
Left Mouse Drag – Fences a number of pipes for multiple selection.
<Escape> – De-selects all currently selected pipes
<SHIFT> – De-selects fenced pipes
<CTRL> – Individually selects or de-selects pipes, ignoring the group setting or other group selection options.

Fig. 2.3.10: The select menu allows the user to select a certain group of model parts.

Multi-Select Options

Permits groups of pipes to be automatically selected, based on either an initial pipe selection, or subsequent selections with the mouse. The selection mode will remain set, until it is reverted back to the single pipe select option, or the <escape> key is pressed twice.

For example, to select all pipes of the same size, either select a single initial pipe with the select button, and then select the multi-select option “Same Size”. OR select the “Same Size” option first, and then click on a pipe. All pipes of the same size as the initial selection will be selected. Once selected, the pipes can be edited, deleted, moved etc.

Delete

Deletes a pipe or pipes from a model.

Left Mouse Click – Delete the object. Left clicking the mouse on top of an object will delete the object beneath the mouse cursor. If multiple objects have been selected, it will delete all selected objects.
Left Mouse Drag – Selects the objects within the fence box being drawn. Selected objects can then be deleted by clicking on any of the selected objects.

Deletion Options

Fig. 2.3.11: The delete menu.

Delete pipe only – will delete only the pipe but not fittings.
Delete node only – will delete will delete fitting but not pipes.
Delete outside fence – will delete all objects not inside the fenced area. This can be useful to remove errant objects which may be located a long way from the main model.
Delete references – removes DXF graphics within the fence area.
Delete references outside fence – remove DXF graphics not within the fenced area.

Move

Moves the selected objects, pipe ends or icons to a new location by clicking and dragging the LEFT MOUSE BUTTON. Unless the SHIFT key is held, the move will always be done at the same horizontal elevation. A ‘true vertical’ line is displayed showing where the move point is in relation to other pipes.

To move a pipe end (and all other attached pipe ends), click on or close to the end node of a pipe.
To move a pipe end away from other pipes, click slightly back from the pipe end node. The pipe should ‘break’ away from other connected pipes.
To move a entire pipe (both ends), first select the pipe with the select button, or fence the pipe to be moved, and then drag the selected pipe(s) to the new location.

Multiple objects can be moved by first selecting the objects and then dragging any one of the selected objects to the new location. Moving a fitting will move all the attached pipes.

Left Mouse Click – Opens the coordinate entry dialog box to allow the move to be specified as a coordinate or offset from the current position.
Left Mouse Drag + Shift – Drags the pipe or node to a new location in the vertical plane, adjacent to the viewing screen. The Edit Plane is moved with the dragged pipe to indicate where the elevation is in relation to other pipes.

Copy

Copies the selected objects or icons to a different location. The original pipes or icons remain in place.

Left Mouse Click – Opens the coordinate entry dialog box to allow the copy to be specified as a coordinate or offset from the current position.
Left Mouse Drag – Drags the copied pipes or icons to a new location. If the ICON is being copied, it will show on pipes under the mouse cursor. When moving pipes, a ‘true vertical’ line is displayed showing where the move point is in relation to other pipes. To copy an icon (such as a pump, heat source or resistance) along a pipe, simply grab the icon with the left mouse button and drag the icon to another pipe.
Left Mouse Drag + Shift – Drags the copied pipes to a new location in the vertical plane, adjacent to the viewing screen. The Edit Plane is moved with the dragged pipe(s) to indicate where the elevation is in relation to other pipes.

Block

Blocks or unblocks a pipe with the highest resistance available (as defined in the Settings menu). This will restrict nearly all flow through the pipe.

Warning: Ensure that pumps or fixed flows are not present in pipes leading to or from blocked pipes. This will create a simulation error, as flow will be unable to travel through the blocked pipe without unreasonable pressure or heat build-up.

Reverse

Reverses the direction of the selected node. The direction of the pipe, and the flow within the pipe is reversed. Clicking a node will reverse the attached pipes.

Insert Node

Inserts a node or junction within an existing pipe. The pipe is split into two pipes as a result. This node can then be moved or joined into by other pipes.

Hint: Drawing a pipe into the middle of another pipe will automatically create a new node or junction into the joined pipe.

Filter

Applies a filter to selected pipes to simplify or bind together pipes. See the TOOLS > FILTER section for more detail, or more control is required on how the filtering is applied.

Tank