Part Lines

       Each part that is created by KCDw is created by a part line.  Without part lines, the parts would not be generated by the program.  Just like set lines, Part Lines have fields which are separated by commas (,). Part lines have 10 fields. Any line in the parts editor that starts with the word Part is a part line. The format for a part line is:

Example #1:

Part, (condition):quantity,  Name, Width,  Length,  Material, Note ,         Po1,  Po2,  Group Name,  Index

Part,  (br>0)    :1,             Rail,   br,     bw-ls-rs, #FFmat, Bevel Edge,   40,    0,           Rail, #FFIndex

       For a list of variables check the Parts List Variables help section for information and description of each KCDw variable. A variable is a letter or a combination of letters that act as an abbreviation so that they have a value. For example H is a variable that equals the height of a cabinet as it was designed. D is a variable that equals the depth of the cabinet.

       In the example above, Br is the width of the bottom rail as the cabinet was designed. This will printout on your cutlist in the place for the width.

       Bw is the width of the cabinet as measured at the bottom. LS is the left stile width. RS is right stile width. . This actually does a calculation of width minus left and right stile and will print out on your cutlist in the place for the length.

       #Ffmat is the material type. Anything that has a pound sign (#) in front of it is a defined variable.  A defined variable is set somewhere in the parts lists.  If you were to look in the a-setup.prt file in section 1 you would find that #Ffmat is equal to some type of material. The reason it is taken from the a-setup file is so that all faceframe materials can be changed by just making the one change in the a-setup file. If this wasn't the case and you wanted to change the size and type of material you would have to open every FF-file (faceframe file) and make changes to ALL of the faceframe part lines.

By putting #Ffmat in the a-setup.prt file, this allows one change to affect many different parts, we call this a substitution.  The a-setup.prt file is made up of mostly substitutions.  If we wanted to change the material type for face frame material, we can just  change the material listed after the set line for #Ffmat in the a-setup.prt file.

       The note field is located after the material where you will usually see two commas next to each other and nothing in between. This means there is no note. To add a note, simply click in between the two commas after the #Ffmat and type in your note.

       The 40 is the first printout order number one. The printout order number one decides where parts will print on a given page. It will tell the line to print towards the top or towards the bottom but it will not tell it to be grouped on a different page. A part line with a PO1 of 40 will print before a part line with a PO1 of 50. This the rail line will be above other part line on the sheet of paper.

       The 0 is the second printout order number two. The printout order number two works with the report to decide which parts will be grouped with other parts. You should make sure all of your parts are correct before you should change how they print so as not to be overwhelmed with changes.

Adding a Part

       Each part line has eight fields each are separated by commas (,). A part line will print out a part for a cabinet with a name, width, length, material and note if necessary. The parts editor works in many ways like a text editor or word processor. Simply click where you want the line to be in the file. It doesn't matter as long as the part line is started on a blank line. All part lines start with the word Part and must follow the following format:

Example#2:

Part, (condition):quantity,  Name, Width,  Length,  Material, Note ,         Po1,  Po2,  Group Name,  Index

Part,  (br>0)    :1,             Rail,   br,     bw-ls-rs, #FFmat, Bevel Edge,   40,    0,           Rail, #FFIndex

       Let's examine a situation for example, if you wanted to create a part that is a nail strip for a 36" wide x 36" deep base corner cabinets you would add the line in the Box-b-cc.prt file for more information on part files, check out the help topic, Parts List Variables.  A nail strip part line would look similar to this.

Part, (w>0);1, Nail Strip,  2,   w,  ¾" Solid Wood,  ,  50,  0

       The (w>0) tells KCDw to only give you a Nail Strip if the width is greater than 0. Naturally if the width was 0 a cabinet would not exist. The reason this is added is so that you don't always get a Nail Strip, there has to be a corner cabinet for one to print. If you place this line anywhere in the Box-b-cc.prt (it doesn't matter which section) it will give you a part that will printout this way:

Num    Width x Length    Name          Material            Note                

1        2       x    36        Nail Strip   ¾" Solid Wood     none

Also if you wanted, you could substitute ¾" Solid Wood, in the above part line with a variable from the Section 1 of the a-setup.prt file, like #Ffmat, or #NailMat, or you could create your own variable in the a-setup.prt, like #StripMat and set it equal to ¾" Solid Wood.

Conditions (If Statements)

       You have now added a part. You can use this same format in adding other more complex part lines. Any if statements need to be in parenthesis. An if statement is a condition that must be true for that line to print. For example if you wanted a part to only be used when the cabinet is finished on the left you could use   (fl=y) in parenthesis. If you wanted the part to printout when the cabinet is finished on either side you could use (fl=y)|(fr=y) . Make sure you use the symbol between the "|" if statements. It looks like an up and down line and it means "or". What it means in this case is to printout the part if it is finished on the left OR finished on the right. Refer to the explanation of variables for an in-depth guide to definitions and the help topic on if statements. After you have finished making any changes you wish to keep don't forget to save the part file.

How to Change an Existing Part

Changing the Name

1.  If the name that is printing out for your part is incorrect, you will need to open the appropriate file for that cabinet.  Please reference the help topic Parts List Files to find the proper file.

2.  Once you have opened the correct file, you will want to scroll down to the appropriate section of the file.  Use the table of contents at the top of the file to find the appropriate section.

3  Once you have scrolled down to that section, find the part line, a line that begins with the word part, from there looking a little bit to the right, you will see the name of the part.  Reference the example above to find what part of the line contains the name.  Either erase the current name, making sure to leave the commas, or add to the name as you feel appropriate.

4.  Click on the File menu item and choose Save, to save your work.

Changing the Material a Part Uses

1.  Open the a-setup.prt file.

2.  Scroll down to section 1, material type.  Find the set line for the appropriate material name for the part.  Example, if your bottom parts have the wrong material, look for #BotMat, or if your face frame material is wrong, look for the #FFMat line.

3.  Change the material listed after the equal (=) sign.

4.  Click on the File menu item and choose Save, to save your work.

Changing the Quantity of Parts

If you are getting too many or too few of a certain part, here is how to change that.

1.  To change the quantity of the parts that are printing you will need to open the appropriate file for that cabinet.  Please reference the help topic Parts List Files to find the proper file.

2.  Once you have opened the correct file, you will want to scroll down to the appropriate section of the file.  Use the table of contents at the top of the file to find the appropriate section.

3  Once you have scrolled down to that section, find the part line, a line that begins with the word part, from there looking a little bit to the right, you will see the where the quantity for that part is created.  Reference the example above to find what part of the line sets the quantity.  If there is a number listed after the colon, just change the number accordingly, making sure to leave the commas and colon where they are.  If there is a variable listed there, you may first want to check the help topic on Parts List Variables.  See the example below regarding variables as quantities.

       Instead of using fixed numbers in the quantity field on any part line you can use system variables or defined variables. The example below is using a variable for the quantity:

Part, (sw>0);sh, Shelf   ,  24,   sw,   #ShelfMat,   ,  40,   0

       'sh' is equal to the number of shelves that the cabinet was designed with. It is a system variable, that is the program knows what sh is going to be set to and it cannot be changed.  However you may use the system variable to set another variable. The example below is using a defined variable for the quantity:

Set, (sh>0);#QtyShelf=sh+1

Part, (sw>0);#QtyShelf,  Shelf,   24,    sw,  #ShelfMat,  , 40,   0

       The set variable in this situation is #QtyShelf. You have set #QtyShelf to equal something. You could have just as easily put sh+1 on the part line itself but using a set variable is useful if it will be placed on more than one part line or if there will be two or more situations where the quantity will change.

How to Change or Add a Note for a Part

       A Note is simply a few words that will print out on a part to give you some basic directions about that part, for example cut at 45 or bevel one edge, or anything you want including assembly instructions.

1.  To change or add a note you will need to open the appropriate file for that cabinet.  Please reference the help topic Parts List Files to find the proper file.

2.  Once you have opened the correct file, you will want to scroll down to the appropriate section of the file to find the Part.  Use the table of contents at the top of the file to find the appropriate section.

3  Once you have scrolled down to that section, find the part line, a line that begins with the word part, from there looking a little bit to the right, you will see the where the note for that part is created.  Reference the examples above to find what part of the line sets the note.  If there is nothing listed there, you will need to type between the commas, if there is something in that area, just backspace it out and replace it with the appropriate note.

4.  Click on the File menu item and choose Save, to save your work.

Copyright © 2007 KCDw Software