Otis Singleton
AutoCAD Electrical is a toolset that allows users to expand and modify tables to meet their specific needs. The catalog database is a collection of tables that store relevant information for the AutoCAD Electrical toolset. While the process of adding tables and categories to the catalog browser is well-documented, there is little information available on how to remove catalog tables. It is important to note that tables with a leading underscore character are not used to carry catalog information but are used for other functions in the AutoCAD Electrical toolset.
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What You'll Learn
Restart AutoCAD Electrical to view new tables
When you're adding a new table to the catalog database in AutoCAD Electrical, the table name and description are added to the _FAMILY_DESCRIPTION table in the catalog database. This table is used by the Catalog Browser and Symbol Builder to show the description for a catalog table or symbol category.
To view your new table in the Catalog Browser, you need to exit and restart AutoCAD Electrical. Once you've restarted, your new category will appear in the Catalog Browser, and you can start adding catalog data to the table.
Simply select the table and click to enter edit mode. You can then begin typing in the boxes to add your data. Most of the fields are straightforward, but there are a few that require additional explanation, which you can find in the help topic "To Work With Editing the Catalog Database Records."
It's important to note that subassembly catalog items must be in the same database table as the main catalog item. Additionally, you can use the TEXTVALUE field to assign values to attributes when the catalog is assigned to a component.
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Use the 'Add Table to Catalog Database' command
To use the "Add Table to Catalog Database" command, first, make sure you are working on an active project with the main catalog database that you want to edit. Go to the Project tab and select the Other Tools panel. In the panel, you will find an arrow with a drop-down menu. In the menu, click on the Add Table to Catalog Database command or type "AEADDCATALOGTABLE" from the command line.
Once you activate this command, a pop-up window will appear asking you to select the catalog database you want to edit. If you want to modify the main default catalog database, select the file default_cat.mdb. Click on the database you wish to modify and click OK. A new window will appear displaying all the available tables found inside the catalog browser.
To see the changes reflected in the catalog browser, switch the active project or restart the software. This will force the software to reload all the files. You will then be able to see your custom-created tables inside your database, ready to be populated.
The catalog information is furnished with the default AutoCAD Electrical toolset installation. The information is in tables in a Microsoft Access database file (.mdb). You can expand and modify these tables to meet your specific needs.
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Edit the catalog database with a database program
The catalog information in AutoCAD Electrical is in tables in a Microsoft Access database file (.mdb). You can edit the catalog database with a database program that can read and write in the Access file format. The default catalog database is called default_cat.mdb.
To add a new table to the catalog database, expand the Other Tools panel on the Project tab. Then, select your catalog database .mdb file. After clicking OK, the table is added to the database with all the correct fields, including field order, length, and type. The table name and description are also added to the _FAMILY_DESCRIPTION table in the catalog database.
If you want to update existing components after editing the catalog record, run Project tab > Other Tools panel > Component Update from Catalog. The information you enter in these fields will be used to populate the terminal pin values on the parent (COILPINS) and child (PINLIST) symbols. When you edit these values in the Catalog Browser, the information is written back to the correct _PINLIST table in the catalog database.
You can also use the TEXTVALUE field to assign values to attributes when the catalog is assigned to a component. For example, a catalog entry that annotates the attributes RATING1 and RATING2 with "ON DELAY" and "5-30 sec" respectively, contains the following TEXTVALUE: RATING1="ON DELAY", RATING2="5-30 sec". These values are assigned to the component when the catalog is assigned.
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Assign catalog information to a component
The catalog information is furnished with the default AutoCAD Electrical toolset installation. The information is in tables in a Microsoft Access database file (.mdb). You can expand and modify these tables to meet your specific needs. To add a new table to the catalog database, expand the Other Tools panel on the Project tab and select your catalog database .mdb file. The default catalog database is called default_cat.mdb.
Each primary or stand-alone component type can have an associated table in your catalog database. You can assign catalog information to a component using any of these methods: Insert a component from the Catalog Browser by selecting a catalog value; insert a component from the Icon Menu and click Lookup on the Insert/Edit dialog; or edit a component and click Lookup on the Insert/Edit dialog.
You can use the TEXTVALUE field to assign values to attributes when the catalog is assigned to a component. For example, a catalog entry that annotates the attributes RATING1 and RATING2 with "ON DELAY" and "5-30 sec" respectively, contains the following TEXTVALUE: RATING1, RATING2, ON DELAY, 5-30 sec. These values are assigned to the component when the catalog is assigned. If you edit the catalog record and want to update existing components, run Project tab > Other Tools panel > Component Update from Catalog.
The information you enter in these fields is used to populate the terminal pin values on the parent (COILPINS) and child (PINLIST) symbols. When you edit these values in the Catalog Browser, the information is written back to the correct _PINLIST table in the catalog database. Enter the list of pins separated by a comma. The pin values are assigned in the order listed to the TERM# attributes on the component. For example, if the value is "K1,K2", "K1" is assigned to the TERM01 attribute, and "K2" is assigned to the TERM02 attribute.
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Set up sub-assemblies in the catalog
When setting up sub-assemblies in the catalog, note that subassembly catalog items must be in the same database table as the main catalog item. You can use the TEXTVALUE field to assign values to attributes when the catalog is assigned to a component.
To set up sub-assemblies in the catalog, you must first determine which items can be combined into a dynamic sub-assembly. In the CADmep model insert, position and orient the items in relation to each other. Once the individual items are precisely positioned, use the SAVEASSUBASSEMBLY command to combine these multiple items into one sub-assembly.
Define the required insertion point of the sub-assembly using a coordinate value, for example, @0,0,0. Apply the sub-assembly to the appropriate service or service template.
Once a sub-assembly is created, it can be edited by right-clicking on it to display the Edit Sub Assembly dialog.
Note that the software considers the Assembly Code field as a unique identifier. You can enter the same catalog number more than once, as long as the Assembly Code field has a unique entry. If the Assembly Code field is left blank, that is also an acceptable entry.
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