PlantTools now support AutoCAD Plant 3D 2025.

PlantTools support AutoCAD Plant 3D 2020 - 2025 now.

Updated DevExpress controls and tools to version 23.2.4 in all PlantTools.
 

When retrieving information from the registry about the installed version we disregard ACAD versions which the installed PT don’t support.

E.g. a customer has 2025 installed, but the installed PTs support only 2019-2024.
 

if PlantTools download/check out, check in, or remove one of its configuration files we now show a progress panel with the file name and path to see which file is handled.

PlantTools for Collaboration projects are available only for AutoCAD Plant 3D 2023 or higher. This is due to the fact, that the API PlantTools rely on were improved in 2023.

Some functions may still work, but it is not supported. Make sure you install Plant 3D 2023 or higher.

When opening a project with link configurations we check the following:

1.Ignore external columns if it contains spaces and Plant 3D prior 2024 is used.

2.Ignore external columns start with SQL keywords.
SQL Keywords we checke are: "ADD", "ALL", "ALTER", "AND", "ANY", "AS", "ASC", "BACKUP", "BETWEEN", "CASE", "CHECK", "COLUMN", "CONSTRAINT", "CREATE", "DATABASE", "DEFAULT", "DELETE", "DESC", "DISTINCT", "DROP", "EXEC", "EXISTS", "FOREIGN", "FROM", "FULL", "GROUP", "HAVING", "IN", "INDEX", "INNER", "INSERT", "IS", "JOIN", "LEFT", "LIKE", "LIMIT", "NOT", "OR", "ORDER", "OUTER", "PRIMARY", "PROCEDURE", "RIGHT", "ROWNUM", "SELECT", "SET", "TABLE", "TOP", "TRUNCATE", "UNION", "UNIQUE", "UPDATE", "VALUES", "VIEW", "WHERE" (see https://www.w3schools.com/sql/sql_ref_keywords.asp)

In those cases the columns will be ignored but not removed from the link configuration.
 

When creating new link configurations with the Wizard of PlantLink we check the following:

1.Ignore external columns if it contains spaces and Plant 3D prior 2024 is used.

2.Ignore external columns start with SQL keywords.
SQL Keywords we checke are: "ADD", "ALL", "ALTER", "AND", "ANY", "AS", "ASC", "BACKUP", "BETWEEN", "CASE", "CHECK", "COLUMN", "CONSTRAINT", "CREATE", "DATABASE", "DEFAULT", "DELETE", "DESC", "DISTINCT", "DROP", "EXEC", "EXISTS", "FOREIGN", "FROM", "FULL", "GROUP", "HAVING", "IN", "INDEX", "INNER", "INSERT", "IS", "JOIN", "LEFT", "LIKE", "LIMIT", "NOT", "OR", "ORDER", "OUTER", "PRIMARY", "PROCEDURE", "RIGHT", "ROWNUM", "SELECT", "SET", "TABLE", "TOP", "TRUNCATE", "UNION", "UNIQUE", "UPDATE", "VALUES", "VIEW", "WHERE" (see https://www.w3schools.com/sql/sql_ref_keywords.asp)

In those cases the columns will be ignored but not removed from the link configuration.
 

With PlantTools version 6.0.0.2267 (first support for Plant 3D 2023) we linked the PlantTools files (located under [PROJECT]\ACPlantTools) into the MISC.dcf database so the PlantTools files appear under the Related Files folder in Project Manager. However, this cause a problem with Vault projects when we started to check in/out/download the PlantTools files for Collaboration projects in later versions.

Now the PlantTools files are still linked into the MISC.dcf, but they are not checked in/out/downloaded anymore if current project is using Vault.

You can now just copy PlantTools files from another project or template project into your Vault project and open the project in Plant 3D again. Alternatively, you can follow the Workflow with Vault and PlantTools.
 

When opening a project with link configurations, then the links weren't activate right away after opening the project. Only when you opened the PlantLink Main Dialog and close it again were the link configurations active.
 

When creating a new project using the Project Manager function, then Plant 3D will create a second ACPlantTools folder.

We provide a function which removes the unneeded ACPlantTools folder. Use the following command:

AQAPTRemoveDuplicateACPlantToolsFolder
 

We forgot to update the new digital certificate in the Setup.exe and Update.exe. This is necessary to let Windows and AutoCAD know, that our files are trustworthy.
 

For Collaboration projects we need to know which PlantTools settings files still need to be downloaded in case they don't yet exist locally.
 

We watch PlantTools folder and configuration files in order to recognize changes (made by another user) in those folders and files. If files change, we need to invalidate the cached PlantTools settings in the Plant 3D session to ensure, the PlantTools use the latest settings.
 

To add an existing configuration file you can now use the Import button. This will will then be copied into the appropriate PlantTools folder, will be added to the collection file and if it is a Collaboration project, the configuration will also be checked in.

When using the Refresh button we check if all configuration files are also listed in the Collection file and if not, we added the missing configuration files.

Now the configuration files which are not in the Collection file will be deleted.

In case you want to add a existing configuration file you can now use the Import button.

The LinkConfiguration.Collection.xml was saved even if no changes were made (added or removed PlantLink Configurations).
 

PlantTools now support AutoCAD Plant 3D 2024.

PlantTools support AutoCAD Plant 3D 2019 - 2024 now.
 

We updated DevExpress controls and tools to the latest version 22.2.5 in all PlantTools.
 

The Log files are written into the %programdata%\ACPlant Consult\PlantTools\Log folder.

Existing log files will be moved from the old folder to the new folder.

For convenience there is a folder junction in the old location %appdata%\ACPlant Consult\PlantTools\Log

When using the External data viewer of PlantLink an error appeared when the dialog gets closed. This happens if the PlantExpressTools PropertiesPalette is open.

Full integration of PlantLink and its configuration files for Collaboration projects.
 

As part of the strategy to move all PlantTools settings into PlantProjectSetup, we started moving the common settings Language, DevExpress Skin, Update Check, and Proxy Settings into PlantProjectSetup and make it accessible through all Desktop PlantTools (PC, PDM, PR) and Plugins (PCD, PDM Plugin, PET, PL, PS, PSD).

Details can be found under: PlantProjectSetup
 

As part of the move of the common PlantTools settings (Language, DevExpress Skin, Proxy Settings) we also updated the Update Installer.

Details can be found under: Update Installer
 

Making sure, that the PlantTools ribbons in AutoCAD Plant 3D use the current language.
 

The AutoCAD language code for French Plant 3D wasn't supported in PlantTools. This effected all PlantTools.
 

The SymbolsPaletteCustomClasses.xml which is used for the PlantExpressTools SymbolsPalette was created by every PlantTool Plugin (PlantClashDetection, PlantDataManager. PlantLink, PlantSpecDriven, PlantSync) and not just be PlantExpressTools.
 

Link Configuration names can be edited/changed in the Wizard itself.

Allow the execution of SQL Scripts when a project is loaded. This helps with the creation of views often used for PlantLink. And avoids the manual execution of SQL Scripts when a project has just been created.

It is also important when using Collaboration projects, because the views used by PlantLink do not exit when the project is first downloaded to the local work folder.

Details under: Execute SQL Scripts on Project Load
 

Some files had a wrong path to the Development Express DLLs in the PlantToolsCommon project, which potentially could could error for some controls. However, that apparently never became an issue.
 

When substituting a line segment it may trigger PlantLink to assign new data to the line segment. However, if the line segment isn't fully visible in the drawing area, Plant 3D crashes, because PlantLink tries to high light and zoom on the line segment and this sometimes fails.
 

When creating an extended links it didn't show active in the main form.

Unneeded rows were left over from the removal of previous available options.

When using expressions like below, then the expression which was to be used to calculate the layer name didn't work anymore.

To avoid issues with different build versions of PlantTools, we now force users to update all installed PlantTools to avoid any issues with shared files between PlantTools.

After installing one PlantTool and not updating others you will see the following dialog which allows you to individually download PlantTools or to download all available updates at once (green arrow).

The updates will be downloaded and stored in the download folder.

After closing the desktop PlantTools (PlantCenter, PlantDataManager, PlantReporter) or closing Plant 3D the downloaded updates will be installed automatically.
 

When opening a project where the MISC database doesn't exist you get an error.

This applies typically to old projects where the MISC database didn't exists from project creation on. Only when you added files or folders under 'Related Files' was the MISC database created.

The Plugins like PlantClashDetection, PlantDataManager, PlantExpressTools, PlantLink, PlantSpecDriven and PlantSync will create the file on project load.

PlantDataManager and PlantReporter show the following dialog as an info. The project will be loaded anyway.

If you extend the dialog you get information on how to create the MISC database.

PlantTools now support AutoCAD Plant 3D 2023.

PlantTools support AutoCAD Plant 3D 2018 - 2023 now.
 

We updated DevExpress controls and tools to the latest version 21.2.6 in all PlantTools.
 

The ACPAssetOwnership table in the ProcessPower.dcf (P&ID Database) isn't needed anymore and therefore will be removed. The relationships stored in that table between Placed Objects and Not-Placed Objects used in PlantSpecDriven as already stored
 

For example, Raster-Design uses relative URIs for the ribbons which caused a FATAL ERROR when hovering over a button in the Raster-Design ribbon.
 

Because of duplicate PnPIDs in ACPProcessPower and ProcessPower databases the migration failed.
 

While migrating ACPProcessPower into ProcessPower it could happen that both databases contain the same PnPID. If this PnPID is used inside relationships it happened that the wrong PnPId (the one from ProcessPower and not the one from ACPProcessPower) got converted.

This resulted in a silent exception and therefore wasn't obvious to the user.
 

The ACPRelationships table can contain owner PnPIDs where the PnPID doesn’t exist (anymore). Those relationships will be ignored, but written into the log file if you see the following dialog:

Not-Place Objects that are not linked to a drawing were ignored while migration of the NPOs from the ACPProcessPower to the ProcessPower database, if this object does not have a relationship.
 

With version 5.0 all PlantTools will be updated to that version. Because of shared resources and code is mandatory that all PlantTools on a machine are updated. If this is not the case the following dialog will appear and lists all the installed PlantTools on a machine and which ones require an update.

The PlantTools with the red arrow require an update. The dialog will appear until all PlantTools are updated to the required version.

The language of PlantTools can be set globally now. In the Plugins (PlantClashDetection, PlantDataManager Plugin, PlantExpressTools, PlantLink, PlantSpecDriven, PlantSync) you can select AutoCAD, English, or German. AutoCAD tells the PlantTools to use the AutoCAD language. If you change the setting, the PlantTools Plugins will change the language of the user interfaces and ribbons instantly.

If you select English or German in the Plugins, the Desktop Apps (PlantCenter, PlantDataManager, PlantReporter, MigrationTools and PlantProjectCreate will use this language.

If you select a language in one of the Desktop App Settings, all Desktop Apps will use this language and not the AutoCAD language.

The ACPProcessPower.dcf database hosted the Not-Placed Objects (NPOs) which were created by PlantSpecDriven or PlantDataManager, and also used by PlantReporter.

The NPOs will now be stored in the ProcessPower.dcf (P&ID database) directly. This applies to SQL Server projects as well.

The advantage is, that when using Vault or ACC/BIM projects, those NPOs will also be check in/out.

The first time you open a project PDM, PDM-Plugin, PET, PL, PR, or PSD will migrated an existing ACPProjectPower.dcf and its content into PID's ProcessPower.dcf.

If you are updating any of the following PlantTools (PlantDataManager, PlantExpressTools, PlantLink, PlantReporter, PlantSpecDriven) you MUST make sure, that the other PlantTools you have installed are also updated to version 5.0.0.x.
 

If PlantLink is setup to support loops (after if you have instruments connected to instruments) then a dialog appeared when the maximum number of loops is reached. This dialog can be suppressed now.

In the PlantLink Settings Dialog you can again enable the dialog.

When having multiple PlantTools Plugins (PlantClashDetection, PlantDataManager Plugin, PlantExpressTools, PlantLink, PlantSpecDriven, PlantSync) installed and they are set for different languages then Plant 3D crashed if the tooltips for the PlantTools ribbon buttons are supposed to be shown.
 

When creating a new link configuration and clicking on Next to jump from the link page to the mapping page and AutoCAD error dialog appears.

When opening a drawing one of the two error messages appeared.

This was an unexpected return value to out code which creates the GUIDs for the PET_GUID property when opening a drawing.
 

Link configurations can be deactivated for being use in PlantDataManager.

At the last page of the link configuration wizard you can deactivate the use of a link configuration. This can be done in PlantDataManager as well as PlantLink. This setting will be stored in the lcf file for this link configuration.

Up until now, only the PlantExpressTools Change Log function created an additional property "PET_GUID". Since more and more PlantTools and functions require this property, the property will now be created on project load if it doesn't exist yet.

It will be created for all 'Base Classes' like Pipe Line Group, Signal Line Group, Engineering Items, and Non Engineering Items. It will now also be created for 3D (P3d Line Group, Piping and Equipment, Steel Structure, and Pulled Pipe Bend.

The PET_GUID will be filled (if empty) on drawing load.

The PET_GUID will also be filled right away as soon as an object is created. In addition of filling the PET_GUID with a new value if PET_GUID is empty, there are two rules which apply:

1.Copying (copy, array, mirror, CTRL+C/CTRL+V, using grips for copying, and more)
The copied objects will get a new PET_GUID because not two objects can have the same GUID.

2.Move (move, using grips for moving, rotate, CTRL+X/CTRL+V, and more)
The moved objects will keep their GUID.

The two rules apply also when copying and moving between drawings.
 

When enabling or disabling link configurations in PlantLink the deactivation or activation wasn't used instantly in Plant 3D.

When having only PlantLink installed, then the following error appears multiple times when closing Plant 3D.

When installing PlantCenter, PlantDataManager, PlantReporter on a PC a a dialog informed the user about denied access when starting the PlantTools from the Desktop. PlantClashDetection, PlantLink, PlantSync, PlantSpecDriven had to be activated everytime Plant 3D was started, because the registration information couldn't be written either. This happened only when installing the PlantTool for the first time or after uninstalling previous installations. desktop shortcut.

When installing PlantClashDetection, PlantLink or PlantSync on a PC the setup asked whether to create a desktop shortcut or not. This happened only when installing the PlantTool for the first time or after uninstalling previous installations. However, non of these PlantTools need a desktop shortcut.
 

If the link configuration used an Oracle provider, an error appeared when opening the project.
 

This change was already included in Version 4.0.0.1441 (24.04.2021)

PlantLink  adapts the path in the UDL file if possible. If the UDL files and the data source (e.g. an MS Access DB, *.accdb) reside in the same folder, the path to the data source in the UDL file doesn't require a path.

The main reason for this adaptation of the UDL files is, that when we will support Vault and BIM360, we do not want:

1.Absolute paths

2.Using [PP] or [PN] in the paths

Here are some examples.

UDL and ACCDB are in the same folder

Before:

Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0;Data Source= D:\Projects\Demo Project\PSD Demo XREFs 2018\ACPlantTools\PlantExpressTools\SelectionLists\mw.accdb;Persist Security Info=False

After:

Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0;Data Source=mw.accdb;Persist Security Info=False

UDL file in the SelectionLists folder and ACCDB under Related Files

Before:

Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0;Data Source=D:\Projects\Demo Project\PSD Demo XREFs 2018\Related Files\mw.accdb;Persist Security Info=False

After:

Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0;Data Source=..\..\..\Related Files\mw.accdb;Persist Security Info=False

UDL file using Variables (i.e. [PP] or [PN])

Before:

Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0;Data Source=[PP]\Related Files\mw.accdb;Persist Security Info=False

After:

Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0;Data Source=..\..\..\Related Files\mw.accdb;Persist Security Info=False
 

When using the "Test Connection" button in the "Data Link Properties" dialog from within the PL Wizard, the dialog searches in the Documents folder instead the folder the file actually resides.

The database will be searched for in the documents folder.

When switching between work spaces Plant 3D gets very slow all of a sudden. Also the memory consumption increases. For example when switching between "3D Piping" and "PID ISO" 10 times. In Task Manager you can see "Not responding". Eventually Plant will react and you can close it.

It looks like this:

If PCD, PDM Plugin, PET, PL, PS and PSD cannot acquire a network license when Plant 3D starts, the performance became very slow. This was due to the fact, that these PlantTools Plugins checked for a network license multiple times a second.

If no network license was available you get the next two dialogs.

Now these PlantTools check just on startup.

When using spaces in columns of external tables, the extended links don't work.
 

At some point the extended link type in PlantLink stopped working.

Extended Links can be used only with UDL files (typically for SQL Server or MS Access).

The properties of extended links are appearing now again in Data Manager, Properties Palette, PlantExpressTools Properties Palette, PlantDataManager's Data Grid and Properties Palette.

The properties of extended links also appear in Project Setup, although they are not really existing properties defined for the class.

Remark: The fields in the linked data source must not have spaces in the field names, because this isn't supported by Plant 3D for this type of data link.
 

The last PlantLink version 4.0.1.1610 didn't start updating after closing Plant 3D.
 

We now support AutoCAD Plant 3D 2022.

The new "Project Compare" is included in PlantProjectManager also.
 

PlantTools trigger the "Update License" check of the network license in auxaliaLicenseServer service on your server.

auxaliaLicenseServer is checking the license every 15 min to ensure, that your license information (e.g. number of license, expiration dates) are updated automatically without your need for involvement.

There is no need to keep the auxaliaLicenseManager open.

If a PlantTools is started and it finds an older CADSTUDIOLicenseManager or auxaliaLicenseManager installed on the server, the following dialog shows up.

You can decide when you want to be reminded again. The maximum is 2 weeks. After that, you will have a maximum of another week, then another 4 days and so on. That gives you a grace period of 4 weeks till auxaliaLicenseManager must be updated. If you don't do this, you will be reminded every time the PlantTools is asking for a license.
 

When using "Assign Data" the external data viewer showed ALL records of the view/table not just the one which match the property values for the linked fields.

Now you will find an additional setting in the link configuration wizard where you control the behavior when using 'Assign Data'. It is enabled by default.

In case you want to have the old behavior you disable it. Then you always will see all records from the table/view.

When using 'Assign Tag' you can still change the behavior with the Tri-State checkbox. This still allows you to see all records.

We updated DevExpress controls and tools to the latest version 20.2.6 in all PlantTools.
 

We discontinue the support for AutoCAD P&ID 2016/2017 and AutoCAD Plant 3D 2016/2017.

Typically we only removed only one version when adding the newest AutoCAD Plant 3D version, but since hardly any customer is using AutoCAD P&ID 2017 or AutoCAD Plant 3D 2017 anymore we decided to cut off the two oldest versions. Another argument was, that there is no migration needed between 2018 and 2022 which makes it more convenient for customers t use those newer versions.
 

PlantTools will run run 14 days in trial period before they stop working.

Several dialogs informing about anything related to licensing (expiration dates, rental dates, issues with activation and more) have been improved to make it clearer what the dialog is all about.
 

We started to put more information in our Message Boxes to give you more background details to reduce support questions or the need to look into the online documentation.

Also, all dialog boxes have a number which helps with support.

When using F1 in PlantCenter, PlantDataManager, PlantReporter, MigrationTool, PlantCenter or any button in the PlantTools or PlantExpressTools ribbon we open our own browser window.

The first line in the tooltips for the 4 update buttons showed the wrong text. This has been fixed and the description text now show more details.