Store Beam Information in Models

Learn how you can store custom data in your model and share it with others.

This is useful for cases where there are two or more collaborators (from different companies) on an Advance Steel project which contains custom data. Usually, when sharing a project externally, sharing the entire set of customized Advance Steel databases that the company uses would not be the preferred approach. However, by storing information inside the DWG, only the information related to the respective model will be shared, without the need of exchanging multiple files together with the project. This functionality allows you to transfer custom parameters, such as a custom profile section or a custom material used in the project, without transferring the entire customized AstorProfiles or AstorAddin databases. Receivers of the model will instantly be able to view and use custom beam properties inside Advance Steel models.

Also, when using the Advance Steel Object Enabler to open an Advance Steel model that has properties attached to it, the custom beam sections and other parameters will be automatically available for viewing, similarly to the standard ones.

The parameters that can be stored inside an Advance Steel model are:

• Beam section
• Compound beam type
• Material
• Coating
• Model Role
• Approval status
• Approval comment

Only parameters that are used inside the respective Advance Steel model will be stored in the DWG, not all the entries in the installation databases.

To store used data in the current DWG file:

1. In the Tools tab Tools panel, click (Store used data).
2. The table entries that correspond to the used parameters will be appended to the respective DWG.
3. A list of the database tables that are now stored with the DWG will be shown in the command line:
   
   
   
4. Save the DWG file to finalize the process.

Following this workflow, you can share the model with other users and all the beam information used inside the model will be automatically available.

Important notes:

• The Store used data command is only applied to the DWG where it is used, not to all open DWGs.
• If new information is added inside the model after already having used the Store used data command, you need to use the command again in order to also store the new entries.
• In order to ensure that unwanted information is not stored in the model, after using the Store used data command, it is recommended to use the ASTORDWGLOGDATA command. This will list information about the stored data in the command line as text. It will also create some LOG files in the folder corresponding to the model where this information is also displayed in detail. The ASTORDWGLOGDATA command is not on the ribbon. To use it, you must type it in the command line.

To delete stored data from the current DWG file:

1. In the Tools tab Tools panel, click (Delete stored data).
2. All the data related to beam properties will be removed from the model, restoring the model to a state where it would need database access to correctly show the beam information.
3. Save the DWG file to finalize the process.

Note: The Delete stored data command is only applied to the DWG where it is used, not to all open DWGs.

Reuse model information in DWGs

If a model stores information about mentioned parameters inside it, this information can be reused for new elements, inside that DWG or in other DWGs.

To reuse stored custom beam information (custom sections, materials, approval statuses, etc.) for new beams in the same model, it is enough to look for those entries in the Advance Steel properties controls. The entries should be available in the list for selection. Another method of reusing the entries is to copy the beam where these are used and modify it according to the requirements. The Match Properties command can also transfer stored parameters from one element to another.

To reuse stored custom beam information (custom sections, materials, approval statuses, etc.) in a different model, you need to copy a beam with that section from the original model where it was stored. You can then use the methods described above to apply the custom parameters to any beam.

Once a beam was copied from the source model, all the stored parameters from the source model will be available in the destination model. If you use the Store used data command in the destination model, the model will only store the used parameters, not all the parameters coming from the source model.

Important notes:

• Once applied, the Store used data command includes all used beam information used in the current DWG. This means that both custom entries (added by the user in the databases) and the standard entries (available by default in the Advance Steel installation) will be stored inside the DWG.
• Once a beam is copied to a new DWG from a model where parameters are stored, all these parameters are automatically stored inside the destination model; if you use the Store used data command, the model will only keep storing the used parameters. If you need to remove these parameters from the model, use the Delete stored data command.
• You can use the Advance Steel search filter for the parameters that are stored inside the DWG, even if those parameters are not in the installation database.
• Stored parameters are fully available in detail labels, detail titles, BOM on drawing and external BOMs if the correspondent tokens are used.
• The material, coating, model role, approval status and approval comment parameters are also stored if they are applied to other elements besides beams.