Bentley HVAC General FAQ

Index:

1. What is Bentley HVAC, formerly HVAC for TriForma?
2. How do I create my own fittings?
3. How can I create inline devices?
4. How do I add my own information to the piping schedules and materials?
5. How do I add my custom HVAC Materials and Sizes to make them available for use?
6. Can I place the route label at the same time as placing the route?
7. When I create a detail, can it be exported to a different DGN file, so that all my details are on one drawing?
8. When I use HVAC for TriForma it creates a \projdata\ directory in the directory where the design file I am working on is stored. Why is that, and can I prevent that?
9. How do I place a route at an elevation that is not included in the dropdown list?
10. How do I get rid of unwanted entries that I have in my Route Settings menus such as duct width or elevation (see Q5 & Q9)?
11. When I move a device that is connected to a route, the hookup does not move with it. Why?
12. Can I connect a diffuser that is directly under a duct?
13. Can I set up my HVAC preferences so that others can use the same settings and route symbology?
14. What is the *.t3d file that is created by HVAC for TriForma in v07.00.00.XX and greater?
15. Sometimes there are elements in my design file that I can't delete. How do I remove them?

Question 1: What is Bentley HVAC?

Answer: Bentley HVAC is a comprehensive mechanical engineering product for design and drawing production. Bentley HVAC creates documents, sections, and elevations in 2D or 3D.

Question 2: How do I create my own fittings?

Answer: The cells for the fittings are normal MicroStation cells and should be created in the pipefit.cel or hvacfit.cel library. These libraries are stored in the ...\htf\cell\engcell\ directory. There are two files within the ...\htf\data\engdata\ directory: pspecfit.cfg and hspecfit.cfg. These two text files contain the definitions for user-defined fittings. Follow the file format shown below with tabs separating the columns.

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Question 3: How can I create inline devices?

Answer: First, create the cell representing the device in the p-inline.cel (piping) or h-inline.cel (HVAC) cell library. These libraries are stored in the ...\htf\cell\engcell\ directory. Then you must edit the appropriate inline device configuration file (p-inline.cfg or h-inline.cfg) located in the ...\htf\data\engdata\ directory file for the new device to show up in Bentley HVAC. Follow the inline device configuration file format shown below with tabs separating the columns.

Question 4: How do I add my own information to the piping schedules and materials?

Answer: The file ...\htf\data\engdata\schedule.dat is an ASCII file which stores the pipe material and schedule name. Follow the file format shown below with commas (,) and tabs separating the columns.

All the schedule information for that particular material must be on the next line:

• Commas must follow directly after each input, and then a tab.
• The materials follow a numbering sequence, while the schedules follow their own numbering sequence, which should continue with the last schedule number in the last material (this will be evident when editing schedule.dat).
• The # sign is the comment character.

• Commas must follow directly after each input, and then a tab.

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Question 5: How do I add my custom HVAC materials and sizes to make them available for use?

Answer: These values can be edited directly into their respective field in the Route Settings dialog box. Once you enter a new/unique value, it will be be saved as an entry for future use. These values are stored in the cboxdef.rsc file. The template for this file is stored in the ...\htf\dataseed\cboxdef.rsc file. The file that is modified during use is stored in the ...\projdata\ directory (see Question 8 for details concerning the ...\projdata\ directory).

Question 6: Can I place the route label at the same time as placing the route?

Answer: Yes. When using the Route command, click the Route-Control settings button on the Route menu. Turn on Auto-Label and begin routing again.

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Question 7: When I create a detail, can it be exported to a different DGN file, so that all my details are on one drawing?

Answer: No, but you can place your details in the model *.dgn, then window in on the detail and create a saved view. When composing your detail sheet, reference the details from the model DGN by selecting the desired detail's corresponding Saved View.

Question 8: When I use Bentley HVAC it creates a \projdata\ directory in the directory where my current design file is stored. Why does this happen, and can I prevent it?

Answer: Bentley HVAC creates the \projdata directory (and corresponding subdirectories) because it is designed to look for its project resources in the directory where the design file is located, and if the resources aren't there, it copies them from the ...\htf\dataseed\ directory. So in essence, each time you are in a design file that is in a different directory, you are using different resources (fitting, device, route definitions etc...). To configure HVAC Bentley HVAC so that it always uses the same resources regardless of the directory the design file is in, you must define the variable HTF_RSC_PATH. By default this variable is defined in the ...\program\htf\config\appl\htf.cfg file. This variable needs to point to the \projdata directory where your resources are stored. This directory may reside on the network if you want to share resources among users.

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Question 9: How do I place a route at an elevation that is not included in the drop-down list?

Answer: Simply type in the elevation you want in the elevation box on the Route Settings dialog box and Bentley HVAC will place your route at that elevation. That elevation is added to the list for future use. These elevation values are stored in the ...\htf\data\engdata\cboxdef.rsc file.

Question 10: How do I get rid of unwanted entries in my Route Settings menus, such as duct width or elevation? (See Question 5 and Question 9)

Answer: Use the key-in HVAC EDIT RESOURCE or PIPE EDIT RESOURCE. In the Edit String List dialog box select the category from which you want to remove entries. Select the desired entry and click the Delete button. These values are stored in the cboxdef.rsc file. The template for this file is stored in the ...\htf\dataseed\cboxdef.rsc file. The file that is modified during use is stored in the ...\projdata\ directory (see Question 8 for details concerning the ...\projdata\ directory).

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Question 11: When I move a device that is connected to a route, the hookup does not move with it. Why?

Answer: This will not happen automatically—you need to delete the hookup, use the Move Component tool to reposition the device, then use the Hookup tool to reconnect the device.

Question 12: Can I connect a diffuser that is directly under a duct?

Answer: Yes. Be sure that you are connecting a device that has a vertical up connection point defined.

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Question 13: Can I set up my HVAC preferences so that others can use the same settings and route symbology?

Answer: See Question 8.

Question 14: What is the *.t3d file that is created by Bentley HVAC in v07.00.00.XX and greater?

Answer: This file is created when you specify HVAC Bentley HVAC to model your file in 3D. Bentley HVAC will create all the 3D geometry in this file and then reference it into your active DGN file.

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Question 15: Sometimes there are elements in my design file that I can't delete. How do I remove them?

Answer: This may be a situation where there are objects remaining in the *.t3d file after you have removed them from your active file. You can try reprocessing the 3D display by using the HVAC for TriForma Modeling Options (Batch 3D Display mode) located on the Utilities toolbox within the HVAC for TriForma main toolframe.