Mechanical structure and part references capture component property data differently.
If you use mechanical structure, you can capture component property data by editing the properties of a component. The program captures some data, such as the component name, automatically.
If you use part references, you can capture component property data when you place a part reference on an object in the drawing area. The dialog box that appears contains a Component Properties section, enabling you to enter the relevant data manually.
AutoCAD Mechanical toolset enables you to configure the dialog boxes that capture component property data. You can:
In the BOM settings dialog box, you can add component properties from the available properties list. Any property you add appears in the BOM automatically. The BOM is the database that stores the captured data.
By default, the component property name acts as the caption. You can change this behavior. For example, if you set up the component property “Material” so that you can pick up its value using a drop-down list, you can change the caption to “Select Material” instead of using the component property name “Material.””The component property name appears as a tooltip in the relevant dialog box, regardless of the caption setting.