Creating projects

Project administrator can create a new project. This creates the main site for the project. The main site contains the master project database and the master library database of the project.

Prerequisites

Optionally, a .cx file that contains the required project template. You can export an existing project as CX with Manage Project > Export, as described in Exporting project data to CX. CX export can also be done when archiving or closing (deleting) a project.
To enable integration with CADMATIC Hull, the COS server must have HCA support enabled. For instructions on adding HCA support, see Adding HCA support to existing COS servers.

Do the following:

In the CADMATIC desktop, browse to the projects folder, and then select Object > Create Project.

The Create New Project wizard opens.
Specify which COS server and library to use.
- COS Server – Select the COS server where the master project database is to be hosted. This defines the main site for this project, and later you can replicate the database to the workstations of the main site as well as to any satellite sites that connect to this main site.
  
  If the required server is not listed, click Connect. You are prompted to define the address and port of the server to connect to.
- Library – Select whether the project should use a library that already exists on the selected COS server or have a new library created for it.

Click Next. One of the following occurs:

If you selected to use an existing library, the Project Properties Setup page opens – go to step 4.
If you selected to create a new library, the Library Properties Setup page opens.

Define the library properties.
- Library Name – Enter a descriptive, unique name for the new library.
  
  Important: The same library database (and its replicas, if satellite sites participate in this project) will be used during the entire project life-cycle. You cannot change the library later.
Click Next. The Project Properties Setup page opens.
Define the project properties.
- Root Directory – Select a root directory for the project. If you are creating a Hull project, the path should either be a mapped drive or a direct UNC path.
  
  Note: The following characters are not allowed in the project path: ' ^ # & $ , ~
- Project Name – Enter a name for the project. The project database and the shared site directory will use this name. Also consider that the project database will be replicated to satellite sites that participate in this project.
  
  The .pms extension is automatically added to the name.
- Description (optional) – You can enter a description for this project.
- Optional Modules – Select the optional modules.
  - P&I Diagram – Select this to enable the project to connect to the SQL Server used by the P&ID application.
  - Hull – Select this to enable the project to connect to CADMATIC Hull.
- P&I Diagram - 3D Model Integration – Select this to enable the integration between P&ID and Plant Modeller. (You can also change this setting later, in Manage Project, as described in SQL Settings.)
Click Next. The Configuration Setup page opens.
Select from where to take the initial setup (configurations, Pipelines, Systems) for the new project.

Note: If you previously chose to create a new library, the new library will contain the data required by the objects in the template setup.
- Base Setup – Use the standard CADMATIC setup provided with the software.
  
  The base setup only contains a small number of configuration objects. You can get a more comprehensive setup by using an actual project as a template.
- Live Project – Import the setup from an existing project in your COS network. You are prompted to select the COS server and project from which to import the data.
- .CX File – Import the setup from a .cx file in the file system.
Click Next. Depending on what you have selected so far, one of the following occurs:
- If you selected to get the base setup from a live project, the Export Objects wizard opens—see Exporting a project. The setup you export is then used by the project wizard.
- If you enabled P&ID support, the Connection settings for the Diagram Database Server page opens—go to step 6.
- If you enabled Hull support, the Hull settings page opens—go to step 7.
- If you did not enable P&ID or Hull support, the eShare Integration Setup page opens—go to step 8.
Define SQL database connection settings for P&ID. For details, see SQL Settings.

You can also change these settings later, in Manage Project.

Click Next.

Define settings for CADMATIC Hull.
- Configure Hull Data – Click Configure to define the Hull data.
- Hull Data Source – Select the source of Hull project data. The data can be copied manually or automatically, an external .cx file can be used, or a predefined project can be used. Click OK.
  
  Note: If a .cx file was chosen as the initial project creation setup source, for a project that already includes Hull data, the option Hull project data that is manually added to the Hull folder should be chosen as the Hull data source. While processing Hull data the system will detect the presence of the data and use it.
- Hull Data Configuration – Click Confirm to verify that Hull project data is present in the folder defined.
  
  Note: The Confirm option is available only if the Hull project data that is manually added to the Hull folder option was selected as the Hull data source.
  
  If you have defined a wrong path for the Hull data or no valid Hull data is found, you need to move the Hull data in the folder to fix the problem.
Click Next. The eShare Integration Setup page opens.
If your site is using eShare and the project should be able to export data to eShare, select the option eShare Integration Enabled and specify the following settings.
- Project name – The name of the project in eShare.
- Address – The protocol (HTTP or HTTPS), the name (or IP address), and the port of the eShare server.
Click Next. The Ready to create the new project page opens.
Click Create. The Importing Objects wizard opens.
The base setup of a new project contains attributes that are typically needed in projects, and these can usually be automatically mapped to the target server's schema. However, the project template file might also contain completely new attributes or new choices for enumerated attributes.

If the wizard reports that there are user attributes that need to be mapped to the target server's schema, click Map Attributes. The Map Attributes from Foreign Schema dialog opens.

Modify the mappings as necessary. You can do the following:
- View attribute properties.
- Map a source attribute to an existing target attribute.
- Map a source attribute to a new target attribute.
- Discard a source attribute (attribute will not be imported).
- Restore default mappings.
- Select to save the mappings in the database, so that the mappings can be applied the next time you import a similar CX.
Then, click OK.
Click Next. A list of objects to be imported opens.

You can see how many objects of each type there are, whether they will be imported to the library or the project, and whether they will come in as new objects or update existing data.
- To see the objects of a given object type, select the row and click Show Details.
- If you do not want any objects to be imported to the library, select the option Import All to Project.
- Click Import All to start the import.
When the import is completed, review the import report and then click Finish. The Project Space dialog opens.
Define the X, Y, and Z dimensions of the project space within which all individual work areas of the designers must be. The set area must include all the objects currently in the project.
- If you click Use, the project space is defined as the minimum bounding box around the objects currently in the project.
- If the project template was a CX file, the default dimensions cover all 3D objects in the new project.
- If the project template was a live project, the default dimensions are copied from that project, if possible. If the live project does not have dimensions defined, then the default dimensions cover all 3D objects in the new project.
You can also change these settings later, in Manage Project.

Click Done. The Project Created page opens.
Click Finish. The What Next? dialog opens.
Review the information and then click Continue.

Now it is possible to create a workspace and design areas.