How does the ITEM attribute work?

[matthew.heath39VNU]

Does the ITEM attribute in the symbol control where that symbol's database info shows up in the BOM?  

Or, can the BOM be generated and automatically fill the ITEM attribute?  

And can the ITEM attribute in the symbol then be used to automatically fill in another attribute in a balloon symbol?

Ideally, I'd like to not have to fill in the ITEM attribute manually.

Thanks

Matt

[TRLitsey · Accepted solution]

Hi there,

Yes the item number on the component is the Line Item number on the BOM and it is the item Balloon number.  Take a look at the screen shot.  The highlighted tools may help you out.

Good luck

[rhesusminus · Accepted solution]

You don't have to manually insert the Item-number. There's a tool for that:

[jseefdrumr · Accepted solution]

ITEM is the attribute that holds a symbol's item number assignment. It controls nothing. It is a result of how you've assigned item numbers across the project.

You don't have to fill in the item attribute manually, so long as ACADE has a format of item sequencing that fits in with your standards. (See Trond's post)

However, if you are using a system whereby the item numbers are assigned before you do any drawings, you may end up with problems. Seriously, your best bet there would be to change things so that you can accept the way ACADE does it automatically. These options can be seen under Project Properties, in the 'components' tab. If you are faced with item numbers that are assigned before you ever start to draw, then I'm fairly certain that you won't be able to avoid having to type each one in each and every time.

Generally the workflow is to draw the schematic, draw the footprint layouts, and then run the item resequence command so that the item numbers get assigned. Using the ACADE workflows result in item numbers that can be updated (depending on your version) even after adding new components to the project.

Hope this helps,
Jim