User-defined Functional Descriptions

Functional descriptions are strings (up to 75 character long). They may be fixed strings but can also contain predefined parameters that may be replaced by actual values fetched from the part that the tag is fixed to. FD:s can be assigned to RSOs. panels and to physical parts in panels, that means, to plates, stiffeners, welded flanges, pillars, brackets, doubling plates and clips.

Each single FD consists of two parts: The FD string and an functional code associated with that string. The code is an integer (in the range 0 -32767) that must be unique for a certain FD, that means, there is a one-to-one relation between the string and the code. FD:s are stored in model objects via the code which thus is the "handle" by which the FD string is accessed.

An FD with code 0 is the default FD. This default FD is applied everywhere where no explicitly defined FD exists. An undefined FD (that means, a code without any corresponding string) may be possible to use in some cases. Such an FD may be defined at a later stage, but if it is asked for before being defined an error message may be issued (depending on the function where it is asked for).