Every element in Plant can be named. Whether named or not every element will have a unique system-generated reference number. If a name is not specified, then a hierarchy description will be displayed in the Model Explorer or Members List (see Navigate to a Given Element). Internally Plant uses the reference number since this cannot change. A table of names against reference numbers is maintained for this purpose.

All Plant names begin with a forward slash character (/), which is considered to be part of the name. In order to save the user the effort of typing this, all of the forms the user encounters will add the forward slash for them when the user presses the Enter key after typing a name. The forward slash character is not shown in the Model Explorer or Members List. The WORLD has a special name in AVEVA E3D™, /*.