How to remove or customize the “Member” prefix from Long Description (Size) for Structure Members in Plant 3D
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Hello,
I am using AutoCAD Plant 3D 2025 (Structural module), and I am facing a limitation regarding the customization of structural component descriptions — specifically, the Long Description (Size) field for objects in the Structure Member class.
Problem:
Plant 3D automatically inserts the “Member” prefix in every Long Description for these elements.
The example below shows the resulting description. Here, "Threaded Rod" is translated into Portuguese (PT-BR) as "Barra Roscada":
--> Member Barra Roscada M8 x 1000
However, in the database, Structural Catalog.acat, in the ShapeSizeDescription field, the value is simply:
--> Barra Roscada M8 x 1000
That is, “Member” is not stored in any field or table — not in project properties, .dcf, .xml, or via Spec Editor.
I have performed SQL queries across all relevant tables (ShapeData, StructureMember, SteelStructure, PnPProperties, etc.), and found no literal “Member” value saved anywhere in the project data.
It appears that this prefix is being added at runtime by Plant 3D, most likely by internal logic in the Structure Member class.
There is no visible configuration to edit or remove this prefix, unlike with piping components, where descriptions can be templated.
My questions:
Is there any native method, hidden setting, XML/project setup tweak, or catalog/spec modification that allows customization or suppression of the “Member” prefix for these descriptions?
If not possible via the user interface, is it feasible to intercept or override this value using the Plant 3D API/.NET, customizing how Long Description is generated?
Has Autodesk acknowledged this behavior as a limitation, and is there any roadmap or feature request to make Structure Member description templates customizable as with other components?
TLDR:
My objective is to permanently remove the “Member” prefix from Plant 3D’s generated descriptions for Structure Members, to meet technical documentation and BIM standards.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can share experience, insight, or advanced approaches (programming, workarounds, etc.)!