Transcript Importing data

Importing Board Data
Last revised 08/10/2005
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Introduction
Files containing part lists may be imported to boards or assemblies.
ASENT will accept part lists in several different formats: 1) space
delimited text file, 2) Excel file, 3) Mentor Neutral File, or 4)
GENCAD file format.
The most common format is probably an Excel file. The process to
import a part list from any of these formats is pretty straight forward.
To import a part list to an assembly, right-click on your assembly
and select the ‘Import Part List’ option.
To import a part list to a board, right-click on your board and select
the ‘Import Board Data’ option.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Importing Board Data
To begin the
import process,
in this example,
we right-click on
our board and
select the Import
Board Data
option from the
drop-down menu.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Setting your default project library for imports
When ASENT begins reading your import
file it will use the following process to
recognize part numbers. When it
encounters a part number in your file it
will check your active project’s part
library first. Next it will see if the part
exists in your Default Project. If it does
not find it in either of these libraries then
it will check all projects on the server and
return a list of any matches. If the part
number is still not found in any libraries,
then it will be logged and displayed as
part of the import results report.
Here, the user sets their default project to
the COMMON project.
Hint:
Always set your default project to
the project library that most of your
parts belong to. If in doubt, use the
COMMON library.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Importing data from a file
Once you have selected the default
project library then you are ready to
continue on with the import process.
Select either the Import option or the
button to begin importing data.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
User selects Excel Worksheet
Data can be imported from a
variety of formats. Mentor
Neutral File or GenCAD
options are used when
importing CAD layout files.
The Generic file or Text File
(PRN) from Excel files are
just space delimited text
files. The simplest and most
common file to import will
be the Excel Worksheet. The
following slides go through
the steps to import a part list
from an Excel file.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Select the Excel file to import
Here, the user finds the board.xls
file that they wish to import and
clicks on the Open button.
Hint: Make sure that the
file you are importing is not
open in Excel.
BOARD.XLS
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Defining a File Format
If an existing format does not match the file that
you are importing, then a new one can easily be
created. Right-click on the Format Specs folder
and select the Add option.
Here, we enter ‘Part
List’ for the name of
this format
specification. In our
example,
BOARD.XLS has
field names on the
first line of the file,
so the data actually
starts on line 2.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Defining a File Format
To specify the fields to import
from the file, click on the
Parameters tab. Then, click on
the blank parameter line and
click on the down arrow button
to display the parameter list.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Defining a File Format
The buttons at the bottom of
the window have special
functions. The meaning of
each of these is shown
below.
Hint:
Go to first record
Insert Record
Go back one record
Go to last record
Go forward one record
Save
Delete Record
Cancel
After you enter the
first parameter and
column you can click on
the ‘+’ button, and it will
save your entry and open
up a new line so that
additional parameters can
be selected.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Defining a File Format
Select the fields from the parameter list and the column from the Excel spreadsheet that you are
importing. Here, we define our format so that it will import the Reference Designator, Part
Number, and Quantity from columns A, B and D.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Importing a Part List From BOARD.XLS
Once the import
file and the format
have been selected
then you are ready
to import your data.
The board.xls file
contains a simple
part list. Right-click
on your format and
select the Import
New Partlist option
to import your data.
This option will
overwrite any
existing part list
that currently
exists.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Importing a Part List From BOARD.XLS
A report is generated
once the import
completes. This
report lets you know
if there were any
parts that were not
recognized or any
problems importing
data.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Adding Application Data
The ‘Add
Application Data’
option is used when
you want to add
application data to
an existing part list.
For example, you
may have a part list
already defined in
the Reliability
Manager and you
may want to add
stress information
(i.e. Applied
voltage, applied
power) or thermal
results (i.e. Case
temperature,
junction
temperature)
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT
Compare Partlist
The ‘Compare
Partlist’ option
compares your
import file to your
existing part list
and identifies what
would have to be
Added, Deleted, or
Changed to make
the two match. You
are then able to
select which action
to take. This can be
useful when
appending new
parts to an existing
list.
ASENT_IMPORT.PPT