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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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!