Pipe Catalog Made Easy

Module: Pipe

Maintain large and complex pipe catalogs, and import pipe data from any source using ShipConstructor's XML import/export interface and custom Excel spreadsheet file.

The Excel file, called FlatSheet.xls, is found in “C:\Program Files\ShipConstructor2005\Utilities\XMLImport”. It features macros for the XML write functions. There is a Help tab and a worksheet for each fitting type.

The ShipConstructor pipe catalog editor interface is very sophisticated, providing a lot of error checking to ensure an error free pipe catalog. However, for bulk-loading thousands of pipe items or for making small changes to thousands of fittings in existing ShipConstructor catalogs, an Excel spreadsheet is the natural solution.

Catalog Maintenance

Your naming conventions, carefully designed months ago, may not live up to your current requirements anymore. Just export your pipe library to the ShipConstructor Excel spreadsheet and make your modifications, such as renaming based on size, material, etc. by creating a formula and pasting it into the name cells.

Importing from Outside Sources

Most programs can export the data to text files that can be imported into a generic Excel spreadsheet first. You can then easily populate the ShipConstructor spreadsheet using copy-and-paste.

You may also need to import from printed catalogs. A scanner and optical character recognition software (OCR) quickly converts printed catalogs into tabular data, which can be easily copied into the ShipConstructor pipe catalog spreadsheet. Then use formulas to create names and descriptions to your company's standards and import the catalogs to ShipConstructor.

- Mr. Rolf G. Oetter, President & CEO