Selecting Objects Page 1 of 5

Selecting Objects
A single left click on any object will select that object.
Selecting multiple objects can be accomplished by:
l Holding the shift or control key and left clicking on objects

l Dragging the cursor over the objects, creating a selection area.

¡ Dragging left-to-right creates a selection area that will only select objects entirely bounded by the area.

¡ Dragging right-to-left creates a selection area that selects any objects completely or partially inside the area.

l Using Select Flow Path

l Using Select All from the Edit Menu, right-clicking on Workspace to open context menu, or keyboard shortcut (Ctrl-A)

l Using Select Special

l By selecting a Group

l Using Select Last Selection from the Edit Menu or with F12 to reselect the previously selected objects

Finding Workspace Objects

Workspace Find
The Find window utility helps you find a particular pipe or junction by its ID number and name. The Find utility becomes more useful for models that expand over multiple
Workspace pages.
You can access the Find utility by selecting Find on the View menu, by clicking the binocular button on the Toolbar, or by pressing the CTRL+ F keys on the keyboard. After you
double click on the pipe or junction you are searching for in the Find utility or when you click the Find button, the Workspace is moved so that the pipe or junction is located near
the center of the screen. Additionally, the pipe or junction you are searching for is selected in the Selected Items color specified in the User Options window in the Tools menu. By
default, this color is red.
Workspace Search
The Search window utility helps you search for a particular pipe or junction by its ID number, name, or notes you have inputted in the properties window. The Search utility
becomes more useful for models that expand over multiple Workspace pages.
You can access the Search on the Common Toolbar. The search feature will list all objects related to your search term beneath itself in a list of search results. You can hover
over each search results to see a preview of input and output (if the model has been run). Clicking on or pressing enter while the object is highlighted in the search results will
select the object in the workspace and center the focus of the workspace on the object.
Find From Model Data or Output
Objects can be quickly located on the Workspace by right-clicking on a cell in Model Data or row header in Output and selecting "Find on Workspace..." the view will change to
show the Workspace, with the object of interest selected.

Jump Feature
By clicking the Jump button in a Properties Window, you can move directly to the Properties Window of another a pipe or junction that you specify.
The Jump button is located in the upper right corner of the Properties Window.
Editing
Select
ObjectsFlow Path
A flow path is a sequence of pipes and junctions where there is no branching or flow sources or sinks.
The pipes and/or junctions in a flow path may all be easily selected using the Select Flow Path item on the Edit menu, Toolbar or the right-click context menu.
If a junction is selected which has multiple flow paths attached to it (e.g., a branch with 3 or more pipes) then objects in each of the connected flow paths will be selected. This
feature is very useful in duplicating or deleting sequences of pipes and junctions. It can also be used to quickly define groups for graphing or for selected Output or Model Data
listings.

Select Special
Select Special is a tool for selecting or deselecting objects based on certain criteria. It can be opened from all windows/menus that give you the option to choose what pipes
and/or junctions are selected. These windows/menus include the Output Control window, the Model Data window, the Visual Report Control window, the Select Graph Data
window, the Edit menu, right clicking on the Workspace, or pressing F6 on the keyboard.
Once Select Special is open, all pipe names and numbers and junction names and numbers are shown in numerical order under Pipe Selections and Junction Selections,
respectively. At the top of the Select Special window is the Selection Type option. This option allows you to choose what criteria you would like to use to select certain pipes and
junctions. You can choose from the following criteria to select certain pipes and/or junctions.
l Selected on Workspace

l Closed in Model

l Special Conditions Set

l Number Range

l Junction Type

l Pipe Input Parameters

l Undefined Objects

Defining
l User-Colored Pipes

Objects
l Used as Goal or Variable

l Variable Fluid Properties

l Pipe Output Properties (Only available when output is available)

l Junction Output Properties (Only available when output is available)

Choosing certain Selection Types will prompt a second or sometimes third option below the Selection Type to allow you to further specify the type of pipe or junction you want.
For example, selecting Junction Type in the Selection Type box will prompt the Junction Type box to appear. The Junction Type box will allow you to specify what type of
junctions you would like to select.
By default, the Selection Type is Selected on Workspace and any pipes or junctions selected on the Workspace are selected in the Select Special window with a black check
mark next to the box corresponding to the pipe or junction.
Once you have fully specified the Selection Type, you must click Select Pipes and/or Select Junctions to automatically select the corresponding objects.
The selected pipes and junctions under Pipe Selections and Junction Selections do not automatically become unselected when you switch from one Selection Type to another.
Therefore, you must first choose Deselect Pipes and/or Deselect Junctions located above the Pipe Selections and Junction Selections boxes, respectively. For example, if you
select all of the pipes on the Workspace prior to opening the Select Special window, all of the pipes will be selected in the Select Special window when you open it. If you then
choose Junction Type as the Selection Type and then specify All Junctions as the Junction Type, all junctions will be selected under Junction Selections, but all pipes previously
selected will also remain selected. In this example, if you would like only junctions to be selected with none of the selected pipes on the Workspace to be selected in the Select
Special window, first click the Deselect Pipes button, which is located above the Pipe Selections list.
Options to select all pipes/junctions, to deselect all pipes/junctions, and to invert the selected pipes/junctions are located below both Pipe Selections and Junction Selections
boxes. Inverting the pipes/junctions deselects all currently selected pipes/junctions and selects all currently deselected pipes/junctions. This feature is helpful if you want to select
all pipes/junctions that DO NOT fit a certain criteria. For example, if you want to select all open objects in the model, you could specify Closed in Model in the Selection Type box,
then click Select Pipes and Select Junctions. All pipes and junctions that are closed in the model will be selected. Because you want to select all open pipes and junctions in the
model but only the closed pipes and junctions are selected, you would simply click Invert below both the Pipe Selections and Junction Selections lists to deselect all closed pipes

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and junctions and select all open pipes and junctions.

Groups
Groups of pipes and junctions can be named for later recall. This is done using the Group tools on the Edit menu. The easiest way to create a named Group is as follows:
1. First select the the pipes and junctions you want in the group
2. Choose Groups -> Create from the Edit menu or Toolbar.
3. You will be prompted for a name for the group. Enter a meaningful name and click OK.
4. The Group Manager then opens. The selection of pipes and junctions in the Group will match those currently selected on the Workspace. If you want to modify the selections
once more, you can do it here.
You can include Subgroups inside of your Groups. Subgroups are existing Groups. If a Group contains one or more Subgroups and the Group is selected on the Workspace,
then all pipes and junctions in the Group and Subgroup(s) will be selected. Additionally, if you include a Subgroup in your Group and then later change the contents of the
Subgroup, the Group that contains the Subgroup will also be changed.
After you have created a Group, you can then quickly reselect that Group of pipes or junctions on the Workspace by choosing Group -> Select from the Edit menu or Toolbar and
choosing the name of the Group.
The Group Manager can be opened by choosing Group -> Manager from the Edit menu or Toolbar. The Group Manager allows you to modify, create, delete or rename Groups.
Another place that Groups can be selected from is in the Select Special window.
Related Topics
l Fluid Groups

l Graph Results Window

l Goal Seek & Control

Bookmarks
Use the Bookmark tools on the View menu to set Bookmarks and to display different bookmarked pipes or junctions.
Bookmarks can be added on the Workspace in relation to individual pipes or junctions. You can quickly navigate around the Workspace by moving from Bookmark to Bookmark.

2D Freeform Grid
The standard grid in AFT Fathom, enabled by default in the Arrange > Pipe Drawing Mode menu.
This Pipe Drawing Mode allows placing pipes or junctions anywhere on the Workspace, with pipes at any angle.

Figure 1: 2D Freeform with Snap to Grid off

Figure 2: 2D Freeform with Snap to Grid on

Snap to Grid
Toggled from Arrange > Snap to Grid.
All junctions, pipe endpoints, and pipe verticies will be snapped to the grid intersection points when Snap to Grid is on. Turning Snap to Grid on in an existing model will optionally
attempt to move all existing junctions to the grid points.

2D Orthogonal
The 2D Orthogonal Pipe Drawing Mode forces all pipes drawn in the model to be either horizontal or vertical. This is enabled in the Arrange > Pipe Drawing Mode menu.

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In 2D Orthogonal mode, vertices are automatically inserted into pipes to enforce drawing only along the horizontal and vertical.

Figure 1: Model in 2D Orthogonal mode with Snap to Grid on

Tips for Using the Orthogonal Drawing Feature
Orthogonal drawing can create some confusion for the user because segments from different pipes may overlap each other and hence become indistinguishable.
l Use the Add/Remove Segments button to add new vertices

l Use a fine grid and snap to grid features

l If you have a junction with several connecting pipes that interfere, enlarge the junction to 150% or 200% of normal size

Isometric
AFT Fathom allows the user to place pipe or junction objects anywhere in the Workspace.
In order to make building clean looking models easier, objects are snapped to the 2D Freeform grid by default. However, it may be convenient or desired to demonstrate the three
dimensional nature of a system. A typical 2D grid has two sets of gridlines representing the x and y axes. An isometric grid has three sets of gridlines that are offset by 60°,
representing the x, y, and z axes.
Enable the isometric grid by selecting Pipe Drawing Mode > Isometric from the Arrange menu. There will be a prompt about converting non-isometric pipes - this is a required
Highlight
step, but may result in some unintended object placement. It is best practice to set the grid type before building a model and retain that type of grid if possible. Snap to Grid is
Required
forced on for isometric grids. It is also very helpful to show the Grid (Arrange > Show Grid) when building an isometric model.
Input

Figure 1: 2D (left) and isometric (right) grids

When drawing on the isometric grid, pipes are automatically segmented to lie on the gridlines as shown below. Dragging one of the handles on the pipe shows a preview line of
where the pipe will be placed if adjustment needs to be made.
The placement of the preview line can be cycled through all possibilities by pressing the arrow keys or by scrolling the mouse scroll wheel.
Holding the alt key while dragging a pipe endpoint will retain the existing vertex and automatically add a new segment to the pipe - the placement of the line can be controlled with
the arrow keys or scroll wheel as before.

Inspecting
Objects

Figure 2: Automatic layout of isometric pipes

Placing junctions onto the Workspace follows the usual rules - however, the visual appearance of the icon is more complex than in an orthogonal grid. Due to the increased
number of axes, the correct icon and rotation must be selected to obtain visual consistency.
Note: It may be easiest to make use of the Rotate button in the Customize Icon window to find the appropriate icon. With many possibilities to choose from finding the proper
rotation can be difficult.

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Figure 3: Icon rotations in isometric space

Toolbox
The bundle of tools at the left of the Workspace window that allows you to create pipes and junctions. The toolbox can be docked to the left, right, or floated within the workspace
by clicking on the arrows on the top of the toolbox.

Workspace
Pan

Figure 1: Toolbox items

Creating Pipes - the Pipe Drawing Tool

The tool in the upper left corner of the Toolbox is the Pipe Drawing tool. With this tool you can draw new pipes on the Workspace, starting and ending at any desired location.
To draw a pipe, click the Pipe Drawing tool. The mouse pointer will change to a crosshair when you move it over the Workspace. Position the cursor at the pipe’s starting point,
hold down the left mouse button while dragging the cursor to the pipe end point, then release the mouse button.
The length of the line on the Workspace has no relationship to the physical length of the pipe. The Workspace pipe is merely an abstract representation of a pipe, however, each
pipe drawn must have a visible length on the Workspace. If the pipe drawn does not have a visible length, AFT Fathom eliminates the line immediately after you release the
mouse.
When a single pipe is selected, two black squares (or more if the pipe is segmented), called handles, appear. When the cursor is placed over a pipe handle it changes to a
crosshair and the pipe handle can be moved or stretched by dragging with the left mouse button.
Another way to create new pipes is to duplicate existing pipes with the Duplicate or the Copy and Paste features found on the Edit menu. When a new pipe is derived from a
previous pipe, the new pipe retains the input associated with the original pipe.
Each pipe must be connected to two junctions. There are no exceptions to this rule.

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Pipe ID Numbers
When a new pipe is created, it is assigned a default ID number. When the pipe is displayed on the Workspace, the ID number is preceded by the letter "P" to indicate that it is for
a pipe. An arrow near the ID number indicates the reference flow direction for the pipe. From the Pipe Properties Window, you can change the ID number to any desired number
greater than zero and up to 99,999, but the number must be unique to the pipe and cannot be replicated in any other pipes on the Workspace. The pipe number does remain
with the pipe in descendant scenarios in the Scenario Manager. The reference positive flow direction can be reversed by choosing Reverse Direction from the Edit menu or by
selecting the reverse direction button on the Toolbar.
Tip: The pipe or junction ID number text can be dragged to a new location to improve visibility. The new location is saved with the model. If you want the text of one or more
pipes and/or junctions returned to the default location, select those pipes/junctions on the Workspace and choose Reset Label Locations from the Arrange menu. From this
box, click the Reset Labels For Currently Selected Pipes and Junctions. If you want all pipe and junction text returned to the default locations, choose Reset Label Locations
from the Reset Label Locations box on the Arrange menu.
Pipe Segments
A pipe can be segmented or "bent" into numerous sections. This only affects the visual representation and does not affect the calculated results. It does not add an "elbow" to the
model or the resulting pressure drop effects of an elbow. This feature is useful in graphically bending the pipe around another part of the model or graphically showing that there
are embedded elbows as fittings & losses.
You can add a segment to a pipe in several ways. The easiest way to add a pipe segment is to first select the pipe, then click on the +/- image on the Add/Remove Segment icon
from the Toolbar. A segment will automatically be added. One or more segments can be added by clicking on the down-facing arrow on the Add/Remove Segment icon from the
Toolbar, and then choosing the number of segments to be added. Alternatively, you can first select the pipe, then select Pipe Segments in the Arrange menu. A dropdown list will
appear that allows you to choose Add a Segment or Add Multiple Segments.
The easiest way to remove a segment is to first select the pipe, then click on the down-facing arrow on the Add/Remove Segment icon from the Toolbar. A drop down list will
appear that will allow you to choose Remove Segment. If you wish to remove all segments, click Remove All Segments. Alternatively, you can first select the pipe from which you
want to delete one or more segments, then select Pipe Segments in the Arrange menu. A dropdown list will appear that allows you to remove one or all segments by clicking on
either Remove Segment if you want to remove one segment, or by clicking on Remove All Segments if you want to delete all segments.
Keyboard Shortucts
If you hold the SHIFT key down while selecting the tool and drawing on the Workspace, you can draw pipes that are perfectly horizontal or vertical. This may improve the
aesthetics of your model.
To draw multiple pipes more quickly, hold down the CTRL key before selecting the pipe drawing tool and while drawing each pipe. This keeps the Pipe Drawing tool active, so
you don't have to select it for each pipe. Alternatively, you can double-click the Pipe Drawing tool to keep it active. You can then continue to draw pipes until you click the Pipe
Drawing tool a second time.

Creating Junctions
Below the pipe drawing and the annotation tools on the Toolbox are junctions, which allow you to model a large variety of pipe system components. To add a junction to a model,
drag the desired icon from the Toolbox and drop it anywhere on the Workspace.
As you move the mouse pointer over the Toolbox, a tooltip identifies the type of junction under the mouse pointer.
When you duplicate a junction using the Duplicate, Copy, or Paste features on the Edit menu, the new junction retains the input associated with the original junction.
Junction ID Numbers
Junctions are shown on the Workspace with default ID numbers, which you can change in the Junction Properties Window. The letter "J" precedes the ID number to signify that it
is for a junction. From the junction’s Properties window, you can change the ID number to any desired number greater than zero and up to 99,999, but the number must be
unique to the junction and cannot be replicated in any other junctions on the Workspace. The junction number remains with the junction in descendant scenarios as long as the
junction type is not changed.
Identical ID numbers can be assigned to both a pipe and a junction because the "P" or "J" will distinguish the two.
Unlike pipes, junctions do not have reference positive flow directions. Junctions for which the flow direction is important (such as control valves) derive the flow direction from the
flow direction of the connecting pipes.
Related Topics
l Keyboard Shortcuts for Workspace

Connecting Objects
During construction of a new model, objects can be placed anywhere on the Workspace. In order to assemble a model that is ready to submit to the Solver, you must connect the
objects properly.
Remember that connectivity only exists between junctions and pipes. There are no junctions that connect to junctions, and no pipes that connect to pipes.
AFT Fathom will attempt to automatically connect pipes and junctions when they are moved. This eliminates unnecessary opening of the pipe and junction Properties windows. If
Fathom cannot make the connection automatically, then the following three steps may be required to establish a connection between a junction and a pipe:
1. Graphically connect the objects on the Workspace. The pipe endpoint must terminate within the boundaries of a junction icon.
2. After the pipe is graphically connected to two junctions, double-click the pipe to open its Properties Window, then click OK to accept the connected junctions as determined by
AFT Fathom. It is most efficient to do this when you are entering the pipe's data in its Properties Window.
3. Open the Properties Window of the corresponding junction and accept the pipe connectivity determination. In most junctions, this pipe connectivity determination will be
located in the upper right hand corner of the Properties Window. In a few junctions, such as the Assign Pressure Junction and Reservoir Junction, the pipe connectivity will be
shown under the tab containing Loss Coefficients. You can do this as you enter the junction's data in its Properties Window.
If the model seems to not be connected properly, you can also use the Extended Model Check feature on the View menu.
When you accept AFT Fathom's connectivity interpretation, the connection advances from a graphical connection to a model connection.
The model connectivity you establish on the Workspace is retained only as long as you maintain the graphical objects in their current visual relationship to each other. If you
move a pipe or a junction and break the graphical connection, AFT Fathom disconnects the two objects. However, if you move a group of connected objects, their model
connectivity is maintained.

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