Custom Parameters
From Aligni Wiki
Aligni is pre-configured with several parameters available for every part in your database. These parameters are:
- Part Number
- Type
- Manufacturer
- Manufacturer Part Number
- Description
- Comment
- Value
- Use-As Units
- Is Manufacturered?
- Unit Inventory Price
- RoHS Compliant
- Active?
- Committed?
These parameters are common to every part, but may not be enough to describe some parts adequately. For this, Aligni has Custom Part Parameters. You can define a list of custom parameters as well as the type of data that is stored in each parameter then associate those parameters with the parttypes in your database.
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Configuring Custom Parameters
You can configure custom parameters by clicking on the Custom Parameters link from the Part Index page. Click New Custom Parameter to create a new one.
The Name specifies how the parameter is displayed on the part details page. The XML Name specifies the name of the XML tag used during XML export operations (including site backup). Parameter types are explained in the next section.
Parameter Types
There are five basic parameter types currently supported:
- String - A simple text string such as "TSSOP-56" or "CC-0603.sldprt"
- Boolean - True or false, presented as a checkbox.
- Option - Discrete options from a user-configurable set of options.
- Number - Floating point number such as "5.0" or "-0.32".
- SI Number - Floating point number with an optional SI Prefix such as "5.0" or "3.2 k".
If you choose the String type, you can optionally select Use Autocomplete? to have Aligni show you a list of existing strings in that parameter when you begin to type. This feature is useful if you want to provide users with the flexibility to enter any string, but still encourage some consistency by showing them common values for the parameter.
Associating to Part Types
Once a new parameter has been created, you need to associate it with your existing part types. This way, you can be selective about which custom parameters are available for particular part types. You may change these associations at any time.
Specifying Options
If you have selected the Option parameter type, you need to list out the options that will be available for the parameter. You can list as many as you like. They will be presented to the user in a drop-down list.
