Project: HiCAD Basics

Part Structure Representation in the ICN

The middle window of the ICN displays the part structure of the active drawing – separately for 2-D and 3-D parts. It provides you with information on the assemblies, main parts and sub-parts, part types etc. that exist in the current drawing. The first entry in the part structure is always the name of the current drawing. If you right-click this name, the context menu for drawings is displayed.

The display is in a tree-like structure, as is standard in Windows, starting from the name of the drawing file. For each part, a graphic symbol for the accordting part type and the article number or rather the part type if the article number is not assigned yet. Furthermore, further attributes are represented in the 3-D Part structure. The item numbers and the part type are shown by default

In order to browse through the part structure, use the mouse wheel, the scroll bar or ↑, ↓, Page Up, Page Down, Home and End. keys.

The export of data in the ICN can be modified by different HDB-Files in the sys directory. However, this should only be modified by the administrator. In addition, the export is being affected by parameter configuration which was selected during installation (or later).

2-D/3-D Part structure

By clicking on thesymbol, the structure display will unfold, i.e. the subordinate part of a part is being shown. Accordingly, those can be hidden by clicking on the symbol.

The Part structure is represented in tabular form by default. The ISD default settings are the following columns:

• Designation
  contains a graphic symbol for the part type and the article number or rather the part type if the article number is not assigned yet
  
• Item number and
• Comment:
  contains the attribute Benennung1 or - in case if the attribute is not assigned - the part type.

By clicking on the column header, the sorting of the table can be changed, for instance by ascending article numbers.

For the Part structure, the following functions are available in the toolbar of the ICN window:

	Opens the Find part(s) dialogue window
	Cuts the active part (or part list) and puts it on the clipboard
	Copies the current part (or part list) to the clipboard
	Inserts the content of the clipboard
	Copies the active part (or part list) to the HiCAD Clipboard
	Pastes the content of the HiCAD Clipboard
	Collapses the part structure and displays only the first level
	Displays the first two levels of the part structure
	Displays the first three levels of the part structure
	Expands the entire part structure and displays all levels
	Displays the part structure unsorted, i.e. an undertaken sorting will be revoked.
	Here you can turn on/off the tabular representation of the part structure (2-D and 3-D), show itemisation text in addition to the item number (only 3-D), show up to three user columns (3-D only) and switch representation between HiCAD and (if available) HELiOS attributes   Multi-column structure By deactivating the checkbox, the tabular representation can be turned off. In this case, item number and part type are being indicated in curly brackets.   Show itemisation text If this checkbox is active, the itemisation text is displayed behind the item number (if available), for example   Invalid Item numbers Here you can define how invalid, i.e. not current, item numbers are to be marked: with an asterisk * or by a colour representation. Select the desired colour in the list box. You can also change the font styles and variants by activating the buttons below. The fonts and variants boldface, italics and strikethrough are available as well as combinations of these. Please note that item numbers with no current status are only marked accordingly the parameter Set change mark when changing parts is active in the Configuration Management under Compatibility > Itemisation up to HiCAD 2017 > Updating.     Display user columns The ICN representation of up to three user columns is supported for the 3-D part structure. The representation can be switched on/off by activating/deactivating the checkbox. The attributes displayed in the three user columns can be configured individually. The user columns are defined in the HDB files ICN3D_USERn.HDB (for use without HELiOS) or ICN3D_USERn_DB.HDB (for use with HELiOS). n is the number of the user column. The files are located in the HiCAD sys directory. The following user columns are predefined by ISD: User column Attribute File without HELiOS File with HELiOS 1. %06 Total number ICN3D_USER1.HDB ICN3D_USER1_DB.HDB 2. §01 Weight ICN3D_USER2.HDB ICN3D_USER2_DB.HDB 3. $02 Designation 2 ICN3D_USER3.HDB ICN3D_USER3_DB.HDB For instance, the number of the shipping item, that is, the item number of the uncut installation profiles (attribute %PI), plays an important role in installation planning. However, the item number (attribute %02) is important for substructures. By defining corresponding user columns, you can display both item numbers in different columns. To change the default setting of a user column, click on the corresponding HDB file, e.g. the file ICN3D_USER1_DB.HDB for the first user column:   The row highlighted in red defines the contents of the first user column. The ISD default setting is the attribute %06, i.e. the total number. You can also enter the line more than once and mark the other lines as comments by placing the character # at the beginning of the line. In the file shown above, this is already applied for the attribute %PI, i.e. for the number of the shipping item. For example, you could delete the comment character in the %PI line and place it before the %06 line instead. The shipping item number would then be displayed in the ICN in the first user column. See also HDX- und HDB-Dateien and Übersicht der HiCAD-Attribute   Display HELiOS Attributes Parts administered by HELiOS can be displayed instead of HiCAD Attributes by activating the checkbox. This means that instead of the attributes given in the files ICN3D_COMMENT.HDB resp. ICN2D_COMMENT.HDB ICN3D_DESIGNATION.HDB resp. ICN2D_DESIGNATION.HDB ICN3D_MULTIATTRVIEW.HDB resp. ICN2D_MULTIATTRVIEW.HDB the attributes from the files ICN3D_COMMENT_DB.HDB resp. ICN2D_COMMENT_DB.HDB ICN3D_DESIGNATION_DB.HDB resp. ICN2D_DESIGNATION_DB.HDB ICN3D_MULTIATTRVIEW_DB.HDB resp. ICN2D_MULTIATTRVIEW_DB.HDB are being used. In this case, the button Refresh is additionally available to update the HELiOS Attributes. Please note that HELiOS Attributes are updated automatically when ticking the checkbox for the first time. This may take a moment when working with complex drawings.

HDB files for part structure

The representation of the part structure can be adjusted by following system files in the HiCAD sys directory. For the 3-D part structure these are as follows:

• ICN3D_COMMENT.HDB
  This files determines the content of the column Comment. The settings predefined by ISD are the export of the attribute Designation1 (Attribute $01) or - if not assigned - Part type($05).

• ICN3D_DESIGNATION.HDB
  This files determines the content of the column Designation. The settings predefined by ISD are the export of the attribute Article No. (Attribute $BB) or - if not aissgned - Part name (Attribut $TN).

ICN3D_MULTIATTRVIEW.HDB

This file determines which attributes are to be exported if the multi-column structure is deactivated. The default settings predefined by ISD are:

• Export of Article no. ($BB) or Name of part ($TN),
• Export of Designation 1($01) or Part type ($05) and
• Export of Item No.(Attribut %02).

Accordingly, following files are available for database attributes:

• ICN3D_COMMENT_DB.HDB
• ICN3D_DESIGNATION_DB.HDB und
• ICN3D_MULTIATTRVIEW_DB.HDB

For the 2-D part structure following HDB files are available analogously: 

• ICN2D_COMMENT.HDB,
• ICN2D_COMMENT_DB.HDB,
• ICN2D_DESIGNATION.HDB,
• ICN2D_DESIGNATION_DB.HDB,
• ICN2D_MULTIATTRVIEW.HDB and
• ICN2D_MULTIATTRVIEW_DB.HDB

When saving HDB files, please make sure that ANSI is selected as character encoding.

Please note:

• Adjustments of HDB files should only be carried out by experienced admins.
• New and processed 3-D parts of the current drawing are marked with in the ICN. When you next save the drawing, this marking is removed again. When exiting HiCAD or closing a drawing, you should therefore note whether there are parts marked with in the part structure. This indicates that the current version of the drawing has not been saved yet.
• If the Reference number (Designation) attribute has been assigned to a part, the article number is displayed in the part structure, instead of the part name. This is always the case for assemblies, steel engineering parts and sheets, as the article number is assigned automatically here.

• The part structure can be processed directly in the ICN by means of Drag & Drop:

• Place the mouse pointer in the ICN on the part to be moved.
• Hold down the left mouse button and drag the part to the new position within the part structure. Point the mouse pointer to the part to which you want the selection (together with subordinate parts) to be assigned. Then release the mouse button.
• The Part attributes dialogue window can be opened now by double-clicking on a part name with the left mouse button.

ICN • Meaning of the ICN Symbols • Colour Display of the ICN Structural Display • Drawing and Parts • Context Menu of the Drawing • System Attributes