Catalog information is carried on a parent or stand-alone component. Each component can carry up to 10 different catalog assignments allowing for subassemblies. You can define exactly where AutoCAD Electrical should look to get this catalog information, allowing great flexibility in how you keep your catalog information. There are a number of ways to assign your catalog information to a component:
Use the Component Insert/Edit dialog box
The AutoCAD Electrical Insert/Edit dialog is the common dialog you see whether you insert a new component or edit an existing one. Click Catalog lookup to view the component's catalog database file. This is where you can search the database for a specific catalog item to assign to the selected component.
Use a project-specific catalog file
You can set up a project catalog file with all of the project's component types in it. The file must reside in the project's subdirectory. The file may be called either default_cat.mdb or<project>_cat.mdb. AutoCAD Electrical references this file first before looking in the user subdirectory or the catalogs subdirectory (as defined in wd.env).
Use a miscellaneous catalog file
You can set up a general catalog table within the .mdb file with all component types in it. AutoCAD Electrical will reference this table, if it exists. The table name is MISC_CAT. If found, this catalog information will display in the dialog for component catalog number selection. In the Insert/Edit dialog box, Catalog Data section, click Lookup. In the Parts Catalog dialog box, click Miscellaneous.
During your editing session, AutoCAD Electrical remembers the last MFG / CAT / ASSYCODE assignment you make for each component inserted into your wiring diagram. When you insert another component of that type, AutoCAD Electrical presents the previous component's catalog assignment as the default (assuming a previous one was made during the current editing session).
Perform a drawing or project-wide search
In the Insert/Edit dialog box, Catalog Data section, click Project to instruct AutoCAD Electrical to do a drawing-wide or project-wide listing of similar components with their catalog assignments.
Pull information from another project
AutoCAD Electrical quickly scans a previous project, finds the instance of that component, and returns the catalog information to you. This is accomplished without leaving your active drawing. In the Insert/Edit dialog box, click Project. In the Find: Catalog Assignments dialog box, select Other project and click OK. AutoCAD Electrical processes the project you select. It quickly scans each listed drawing for the target component type and returns a dialog list of what it found. You can then make your catalog assignment by picking from this dialog list.
You can pull catalog assignments from a generic ASCII file created by a word processor or output from a spreadsheet or database program. In the Insert/Edit dialog box, Catalog Data section, click Project. In the Find: Catalog Assignments dialog box, select External file, and click OK.
Pull from your own external database application
AutoCAD Electrical provides a means to bypass its internal catalog part number look-up and temporarily pass control to your custom catalog part number selection application. In the Insert/Edit dialog box, Catalog Data section, click Lookup. But instead of immediately accessing the appropriate catalog look-up table, AutoCAD Electrical passes control to your application. You make the MFG/CAT/ASSYCODE selection in your own database program. Your application formats your selection and passes it back to AutoCAD Electrical.
Add multiple BOM catalog numbers to a component
You can add up to 10 additional part numbers to any schematic or panel component on the fly. These multiple BOM part numbers appear as sub-assembly part numbers to the main catalog part number in the various BOM and component reports. In the Insert/Edit dialog box, click Multiple Catalog to display a dialog for adding the extra catalog part numbers.
