How a Template is Accessed via a Specification

When a designer selects a catalogue component via a Specification (SPEC), the specification Selectors (SELEs) are searched in turn, using a question/answer sequence, until a Specification Component (SPCO) is found which matches all of the specified design criteria. The catalogue component selected is the one to which the Catalogue Reference attribute (CATREF) of that SPCO points.

Following exactly the same principle, a SPCO can refer instead to a design template by setting its Template Reference attribute (TMPREF) to point to a TMPL.

The only differences are:

• The catalogue component is stored in the Catalogue database, whereas the design template is stored in the Design database.

• When a catalogue component is selected, only the CATREF setting (or, more strictly, the SPRE setting) is stored in the design data. When a design template is selected, an instance of the design template is copied by the application into the design data, adding new elements into the design members list.

This can be illustrated as follows, using the selection of our kickplate template for addition to a panel (in the form of a panel fitting) as an example:

The SPREF of the PFIT leads to a SPCO which has its TMPREF pointing to the TMPL. This causes an instance of the TMPL to be copied below the PFIT, leading to: