About Shapes

Shapes are graphical representations of artifacts. They are placed as instances into diagrams and remain linked to the catalog shape from which they were created. Shapes placed as instances retain inherited catalog shape properties such as color and layer from the catalog shape. You can subsequently configure the inherited parameters for each instance. When artifact parameters are changed on the instance level, the changes may cause changes to each linked shape such as labels or layer. When individual shape properties are changed, the changes are applied only to the shape and do not affect the artifact.

Shapes are specific to a diagram type. Shapes of different diagram types can represent the same artifact. For example, a pump can have an electrical representation in a wiring diagram and a piping representation P&ID diagram. The wiring-diagram shape and the P&ID-diagram shape can have common parameters because they have the same block artifact.

You create geometry for a shape in the Catalog Explorer, but the geometry of a fibershape is automatically created. You can edit the fibershape line style in the Shape tab and add labels in the Label tab of the Fiber Properties dialog box.

Click

in the Catalog Explorer to update instances of shapes to reflect changes made to the catalog item shape. As an instance in a design, an object can be assigned a parent, assigned a different parent, or orphaned.