WDBLKNAM Bug

[Anonymous]

WDBLKNAM is an attribute when embedded into an Electrical or Physical Block will allow you to point to a specified Default_cat.mdb table. When using this attribute in a physical block you simply set the WDBLKNAM value to the table name you want to point to. When embedding the WDBLKNAM attribute into a schematic symbol AutoCAD Electrical code trims the first character out of the WDBLKNAM default value. So you get the incorrect table or none at all. For example if you embed the WDBLKNAM attribute into a HCR1.dwg and try to point to a table called RELAY, when you use the component insert command you get an error saying that table ELAY doesn't exist. I understand that we can work around the issue by putting an extra character at the beginning of the WDBLKNAM attribute in a schematic symbol but ultimately this is an additional unnecessary thing to remember. The WDBLKNAM in a schematic symbol should work just like that in a footprint (physical) symbol. It shouldn't trim the first character of the WDBLKNAM of an electrical symbol that points to an alternate table.

[Anonymous]

Wayne, I added this issue to the AcadE issues list. Thanks for reporting
this.

Pat Murnen
(Autodesk)

wrote in message news:4873229@discussion.autodesk.com...
WDBLKNAM is an attribute when embedded into an Electrical or Physical Block
will allow you to point to a specified Default_cat.mdb table. When using
this attribute in a physical block you simply set the WDBLKNAM value to the
table name you want to point to. When embedding the WDBLKNAM attribute into
a schematic symbol AutoCAD Electrical code trims the first character out of
the WDBLKNAM default value. So you get the incorrect table or none at all.
For example if you embed the WDBLKNAM attribute into a HCR1.dwg and try to
point to a table called RELAY, when you use the component insert command you
get an error saying that table ELAY doesn't exist. I understand that we can
work around the issue by putting an extra character at the beginning of the
WDBLKNAM attribute in a schematic symbol but ultimately this is an
additional unnecessary thing to remember. The WDBLKNAM in a schematic
symbol should work just like that in a footprint (physical) symbol. It
shouldn't trim the first character of the WDBLKNAM of an electrical symbol
that points to an alternate table.

[huyvu90]

sorry to bring an old thread back to life but are there any advantages to using WDBLKNAM  attribute to point to a table in the catalog when compared to doing it using the block's naming format?

For example, I can point a relay to table CR by naming my block HCR1XXX.  How is this different than setting WDBLKNAM to "CR" and inserting it into a block?  Does it do the same thing?

[dougmcalexander]

A symbol file name cannot contain more than 2 characters to name the family type.  So CR will be picked up from the symbol name just fine and direct the Lookup to the CR table.  Suppose you want to store power supplies in a table named PWS (The NFPA designation for a power supply).  AcadE names power supply symbols PW (truncation of PWS).  If you really must have them stored in a table named PWS, then you must use the WDBLKNAM attribute, with a value of PWS. 

The WDBLKNAM attribute value, if filled, over-rules the 2nd and 3rd character of the symbol name.  It is not needed unless you wish to direct the Catalog Lookup to a table that doesn't match the 2nd and 3rd character of the symbol's file name.

[huyvu90]

thanks for the cystal clear explaination

[dougmcalexander]

Be careful not to confuse the WDBLKNAM attribute with the WDBLKNAM field of the catalog database records.  The person who began this thread fell prey to the confusion between the WDBLKNAM "Field" in the Catalog Database and the WDBLKNAM "Attribute" within a symbol Block.  They are two completely different things.  I know it's confusing. 

The WDBLKNAM attribute in a block serves the purpose of over-riding the 2nd and 3rd character of the symbol name when performing a part number Lookup, as I explained earlier.

The WDBLKNAM field can be filled with a symbol name, minus the first character (H or V) and a Catalog Lookup will list only the records whose WDBLKNAM field contains the block name (minus H or V) entered into their WDBLKNAM field.  This is completely optional.  You can leave the field blank. 

Autodesk has pre-loaded the WDBLKNAM field for pilot lights with the entries necessary to list only green lights when you click Lookup after inserting a green pilot light.  LT1G in the WDBLKNAM field will cause the Symbol Name Filtering to return only green pilot lights.  The same is true for the other colors of pilot lights.  But you could also use the WDBLKNAM field to return a list of only your preferred part numbers for a particular type of component.  For example, enter CR1 into the WDBLKNAM field of your favorite control relays.  Enter CB1 into the WDBLKNAM field for your favorite circuit breakers, etc.

There is a complete explanation of the WDBLKNAM attribute and WDBLKNAM field on the Tips and Tricks page of my web site, www.ecadconsultant.com.

[shuhn]

Wow, I wish I had seen this stuff years ago.... but I have a question, Doug.  I understand why you put the underscore as the first character for this attribute in a schematic symbol, but I noticed that the WDBLKNAM value doesn't appear to need the underscore as the first character when it's in a footprint.  I have some power supply footprints, for instance, that have a WDBLKNAM value of PW, instead of _PW.  I don't remember doing these, and they very well could have been made with the symbol builder and automatically made this value, so it doesn't appear to matter in footprints.  Can you speak to this? 

[dougmcalexander]

You don't need an underscore in the attribute name. It has to be named WDBLKNAM or it will not work. So in your footprint simply add the attribute WDBLKNAM and enter a value of PW, to force the Lookup directly to the PW table for part numbers.

[shuhn]

I wasn't talking about putting an underscore in the attribute name.  On your website you mention putting an underscore in the default value in the attribute, ie, _PW, _TRMS.  I realize you are talking about the schematic symbol, but you also show it in the attribute value for the terminal-block style relay you built. 

[shuhn]

I understand why you need the underscore in the default attribute value on the schematic symbols.  I guess what I'm getting at is, in the footprint symbols, it doesn't appear to matter whether or not the WDBLKNAM attribute has the underscore as the first character in the default value.  ("_PW" vs "PW").  What are your thoughts on this and do you have a recommendation?

[dougmcalexander]

Even if you add a WDBLKNAM attribute to a schematic symbol it must not have an underscore. Add the attribute named WDBLKNAM and enter a value that represents the table name you wish to force the Lookup to open for a list of parts. Note that with schematic symbols the WDBLKNAM attribute isn't required unless you don't want the Lookup to use the 2nd and 3rd letters of the symbol block name to define which table to open. By default the Lookup for an HCR1 or VCR1 opens the CR table. The Lookup for an HCB1 or VCB1 opens the CB table.

The reason you need the WDBLKNAM attribute in a footprint block is because the footprint blocks can be named anything. Without the WDBLKNAM attribute the Lookup doesn't know which table to open so it shows a list of the tables, and you must decide which one to open each time you click Lookup. But note that you only really need the WDBLKNAM attribute in a footprint if you are inserting footprints before you create a schematic, and you click Lookup on the footprint to assign a part number. The WDBLKNAM attribute saves you from having to choose the table from the list. But If you are inserting footprints from the schematic list, the part number will already have been assigned in the schematic symbol.

[dougmcalexander]

The database has gone through changes in the past several years. I guess I need to modify the article on my web site. That was one of the first ones I wrote and I have been using the software since 1997. I'm sure by now that most people are using a newer release.

This underscore thing can be confusing because there is field in the catalog database named WDBLKNAM. The field has a different purpose entirely. We once, years ago, placed an underscore in place of the H or V in this field for any "favorite" part numbers that should be displayed when we click Lookup for a particular block. So this field is used for filtering a Lookup to only return specific part number records. That is how the software only shows you the green pilot lights if you click Lookup while editing an HLT1G block. But if you look at the WDBLKNAM field for a green pilot light it will contain a value of LT1G, no H or V. We once had to place an underscore in front of LT1G. This is the reason I wrote about this on my Web site.

[shuhn]

I understand the purpose of the WDBLKNAM attribute in the schematic symbols.  We won't need it for that purpose, since we add family codes and catalog tables for things we need, such as NW for network components, ie, Ethernet Switches, that don't have an appropriate family code, then name the symbols appropriately. 

Ok, so, maybe I'm just confused, Doug.  On your website, you advocate using an underscore in place of the H or V in the WDBLKNAM value, since the first character is ignored.  You show it in the attribute for the footprint of the terminal block style relay as _TRMS.  Is this only for schematic symbols, or is it not really necessary then to put in the character to be ignored?  There are a couple of things to be considered here:

1.  We typically copy components from several drawings to construct our panel drawings, and don't always pick them from the schematic list.  We usually end up linking them to the schematic, but this still seems to break the path, as it were, and the BOM reports will not populate the DESC field.

2.  We routinely create panel footprints that don't have any schematic component, such as cord grips, and, if we copy these between drawings, the DESC field again will not populate in the BOM report.

[shuhn]

I hit send on my last reply just as your next reply came through....   so, you're saying we don't need the underscore preceding the family code?

[dougmcalexander]

By Family Code I assume you mean block name. The Family Code attribute has nothing to do with Lookup. But to answer your question you should not need an underscore in an attribute value.

As for having no description in the BOM, that is usually caused by a part number assigned to a block that doesn't exactly match any part record in the catalog database table. But if your WDBLKNAM attribute is pointing to the wrong table that could cause this issue as well. Finding no record of the assigned part number in the table, the BOM will only display MFG and CAT.

[shuhn]

By family code, I wasn't referring to the attribute.  I was referring to the symbol name (HLT1, VCR1, etc), and the table name in the default_cat.

For my cord grip footprint, I definitely had the exact part number in the catalog, it just wasn't inserted from the catalog.  With no WDBLKNAM value in the footprint, it failed to retrieve the DESC for the component.  When I put a value in the attribute, it populated the DESC just fine, and it doesn't appear to matter whether I had the underscore in the value, or just the table name.  I tried it with _GH and with GH, and it appeared to work fine either way.  I'm just trying to figure out if there is one "right" way.

[dougmcalexander]

I would just type in GH without underscore.

[shuhn]

Thanks, Doug, for bearing with me through this discussion.  I regard you as the absolute authority in AutoCAD Electrical, and I have used the Tips and Tricks on your website more times than I can count.  I wish my company would pay you to come back and work with us again.  Have a good day!