About the Catalog Database Structure

The AutoCAD Electrical toolset catalog database structure is similar for Microsoft® Access and Microsoft® SQL™ Server databases.

Catalog Tables

Important: The fields must remain in this order in the database records.

Field Name

Width

Description

CATALOG

60

Catalog number

MANUFACTURER

24

Manufacturer code

DESCRIPTION

150

Generic description

TYPE

100

Generic type (field name varies based on table name)

RATING

100

Generic rating (field name varies based on table name)

MISCELLANEOUS1

100

First miscellaneous text field (header cell is based on the component family)

MISCELLANEOUS2

100

Second miscellaneous text field (header cell is based on the component family)

ASSEMBLYCODE

60

Code to flag that this item has subassembly items. Spaces are allowed.

Use a semi-colon, ";", to separate multiple codes. To define a quantity for a subassembly item, prefix the code with the quantity followed by a comma, ",".

For example, an ASSEMBLYCODE value of: 2,NOBLOCK;3,NCBLOCK, would add the following:

  • 2 of the subassembly item with the code name "NOBLOCK" in the ASSEMBLYLIST field
  • 3 of the subassembly item with the code name of "NCBLOCK" in the ASSEMBLYLIST field

ASSEMBLYLIST

60

Code to flag as a subassembly item of a main item. The value must match the ASSEMBLYCODE value of the main catalog item exactly.

ASSEMBLYQUANTITY

8

Subassembly quantity (blank = quantity of 1).

USER1

100

Field #1 for other information

USER2

100

Field #2 for other information

USER3

100

Field #3 for other information

TEXTVALUE

255

Optional user-defined miscellaneous attribute values

WEBLINK

255

Associate a .pdf file or Web URL to a component

WDBLKNAM

60

Filter value based on the block name. The filter value is used by the Catalog Browser in lookup mode to display only records that are relevant for the selected component.

SYMBOL2D

Memo

Schematic symbols associated to the catalog value that can be inserted from the Catalog Browser. Multiple symbol names are separated by a comma.

SYMBOL3D

Memo

3D parts associated to the catalog value that can be inserted from the Catalog Browser in Inventor using the AutoCAD Electrical toolset add-in. Multiple part names are separated by a comma.

RECNUM

AutoNumber

Identifies a record in the database

Note: Do not modify.

TEXTVALUE

A TEXTVALUE field is available in each catalog database table. This field can be used to assign text values to specific attributes on the component at the time the catalog is assigned. The format for the text data in this field is:

<attribute tag name1>=<text value>;<attribute tag name2>=<text value>

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

When a catalog is assigned, the attributes are updated with the data pulled from the TEXTVALUE field for the catalog record.

WEBLINK

Sometimes, you want to see more information about your component than can be held in the catalog database. For example, suppose you want to see a picture of the item or get its specifications. Use the WEBLINK field to achieve the result you need. When a catalog is assigned, the associated WEBLINK value is written to the component.

If you surf on a parent component that has a WEBLINK value, it displays in the surf selection dialog box along with the other related component references.

Note: Picking on a child component to initialize in the Surf dialog box does not display a WEBLINK referenced by a related parent. Pick the parent carrying the catalog assignment.

Double-clicking the WEBLINK reference launches your browser or appropriate application. If the WEBLINK value for the selected part is a URL, your browser launches and displays it. If it is an image file, PDF, spreadsheet, or some other document type, the application associated with that file extension launches and displays the contents of the file.

Note: For PDF display, you can include the page number to display upon document open. Add "#page=" and the page number after the PDF file name in the WEBLINK field value, for example, C:\\rockwell\\700series.pdf#page=13.

WDBLKNAM

Use the WDBLKNAM field to filter your search results in the Catalog Browser. When you perform a catalog lookup on a symbol and the Filter by WDBLKNAM value option is selected, the only records that display have one of the following:

  • A value in the WDBLKNAM field that matches the block name of the symbol.
  • A blank WDBLKNAM value.

If the first character of the symbol name is "H" or "V", it is ignored in the WDBLKNAM match. For example, a catalog lookup on an on-delay coil (HTD1N.dwg or VTD1N.dwg) displays all blank WDBLKNAM entries and all entries that include “TD1N” somewhere in the WDBLKNAM field.

If the Filter by WDBLKNAM value option is not selected, the search ignores the WDBLKNAM field and returns all catalog information matching the search parameters.

Note: The WDBLKNAM field is ignored when inserting a component from the Catalog Browser.

Pin List Tables

_PINLIST is the default pin list data table. AutoCAD Electrical toolset also contains manufacturer-specific pin list tables that have the same format as the _PINLIST table. The naming convention for manufacturer-specific tables is _PINLIST_{manufacturer}, for example _PINLIST_AB or _PINLIST_AROMAT. AutoCAD Electrical toolset first searches manufacturer-specific tables; if not found, it then searches the default _PINLIST table.

When a catalog assignment is made to a component, it looks to the pin list table for a matching entry and pulls out and assigns the values when a match is found.

Field Name

Width

Description

RECNUM

AutoNumber

Identifies a record in the database

Note: Do not modify.

MANUFACTURER

24

Manufacturer code

CATALOG

60

Catalog number

ASSEMBLYCODE

60

Internal assembly code (must be consistent with the catalog lookup files)

COILPINS

255

Terminal pin numbers for coils (separate multiple pins with commas)

PINLIST

Memo

Contact type and pin numbers

PEER_COILPINS

Memo

Terminal pin numbers for peer coil

PEER_PINLIST

Memo

Contact type and pin numbers

Terminal Properties Tables

_TERMPROPS is the default terminal properties data table. AutoCAD Electrical toolset also contains manufacturer-specific tables that have the same format as the _TERMPROPS table. The naming convention for manufacturer-specific tables is _TERMPROPS_{manufacturer}, for example _TERMPROPS_AB or _TERMPROPS_AROMAT. AutoCAD Electrical toolset first searches manufacturer-specific tables; if not found, it then searches the default _TERMPROPS table.

When a catalog assignment is made to a terminal, it looks to the terminal properties table for a matching entry and pulls out and assigns the properties when a match is found.

Field Name

Width

Description

RECNUM

AutoNumber

Identifies a record in the database

Note: Do not modify.

MANUFACTURER

24

Manufacturer code

CATALOG

60

Catalog number

ASSEMBLYCODE

60

Internal assembly code (must be consistent with the catalog lookup files)

LEVELS

8

Number of levels for the terminal

LEVELDESCRIPTION

Memo

Levels description/level definition

TPINL

255

Pin label definition for the left side of the terminal

TPINR

255

Pin label definition for the right side of the terminal

WIRESPERCONNECTION

255

Definition of the wiring constraints

INTERNALJUMPER

255

Levels within a multi-tier terminal that are jumpered together. A comma (,) is used as a delimiter between each level within a jumper definition. A semicolon (;) is used as a delimiter between jumper definitions within a terminal.

 

For example, if all levels of a four-level terminal are jumpered together, the value is “1,2,3,4”. If levels 1 and 2 are jumpered together, and 3 and 4 are jumpered together, the value is “1,2;3,4”.

Note: When dealing with a multi-tier terminal, a comma (,) is used as a delimiter for the LevelDescription, WiresPerConnection, TPINR, and TPINL fields. For example, the LevelDescription may be “UPPER,LOWER” and the WiresPerConnection may be “2,2.”

Cable Conductor Database “_W0_CBLWIRES” Table

When you assign a catalog value to a cable marker, the program extracts the cable colors from the cable conductor database table. Each time you insert a child cable marker, the program assigns the next color from the list to that cable marker. The catalog information for the cable is found in the W0 table. The associated conductor information, if defined for that catalog, is found in the _W0_CBLWIRES table.

To edit the conductor list information for a cable, use the Catalog Browser and edit the W0 table. Select the CONDUCTORLIST field to update the conductor list information for that cable. Click to open the Conductor List dialog box where you can enter the color and gauge for each conductor. The conductor list information is written to the _W0_CBLWIRES table for the cable when you save the changes.

The records in the cable conductor database table are structured as follows:

Field Name

Width

Description

CATALOG

60

Catalog number of cable

MANUFACTURER

24

Manufacturer code

CONDUCTOR

24

Conductor color or ID code

GAUGE

24

Conductor gauge description

RECNUM

AutoNumber

Auto number field (used internally)

For a given cable part number, there is a record for each conductor within that cable. For example, a 15-conductor Belden type 8486 cable has 15 records; one for each conductor in that cable type. The Manufacturer and Catalog fields for all 15 records are marked "BELDEN" and "8486." The Conductor field carries each unique color ID of the conductor.

Schema Version Table (Applies Only to SQL Server)

Data Model is the catalog database version table. This table is only applicable for an SQL Server database and provides the version information of the AutoCAD Electrical toolset catalog database.

The records in the schema version database table are structured as follows:

Field Name

Width

Description

VERSION

60

Provides the catalog database version

RECNUM

AutoNumber

Auto number field (used internally)