Autodesk 00128-051462-9310 - AUTOCAD 2008 COMM UPG FRM 2005 DVD, User Manual

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Step 3: The RecipeSpec may have one or more Recipes defined within it, each associated with a different View setting
on the Properties palette. By selecting a View (or accepting the default) the user in effect selects the Recipe that
is responsible for creating that view of the component. When a particular Recipe is selected, the Recipe
Implementation function described in the XML RecipeSpec is called.
The three controls shown under Specifications (Hatch block, Grout fill cores, and Show mortar) are defined
by the <Controls> section of the RecipeSpec. Their values can be retrieved by the Recipe function and used to
control the basic parameters of the component.
In this example, Mortar is a subcomponent of the CMU component, as specified in its RecipeSpec. Values and
options for all mortar components are retrieved from the database and displayed on this section of the Properties
palette. The final three controls under Mortar (Left joint type, Right joint type, and Hatch mortar), are specified
in the subcomponent’s RecipeSpec, and their values can be retrieved by the subcomponent’s Recipe function.
Step 4: The Recipe Implementation then does whatever it needs to in order to create the component. It has access to
the size data in the database, the data in the RecipeSpec, and user input provided through the Properties palette.
It also has access to a host of utility functions that can help create and place the component.
The layering and hatch properties for the component come from the <Data> section of the ReceipeSpec. Specific
options for the Jig to use come from the <Options> section of the RecipeSpec.
Component Databases
A detail component database contains a size table for each available component and several related tables that support
the overall structure of the Microsoft
®
Access database. A component database has references to external files, such as
Recipe Specifications and preview image files. For this reason, it is suggested that the database and all of its external
references be located in the same tree structure of the file system. For example:
MyContent/
MyComponentDb.mdb
MajorComponentGroup1/
*.xml, *.dwg, *.png, etc. supporting this group of components
MajorComponentGroup2/
*.xml, *.dwg, *.png, etc. supporting this group of components
Such a structure makes installing or moving the content a much easier task because all of the external content can use
relative paths from the main database.
Database Schema
Several tables must be present in order for the Recipe system to function correctly. When creating a new database, you
should start with either the standard database (AecDtlComponents.mdb) or with the empty template database
(AecDtlComponents-Template.mdb).
Fingerprint Table
This table uniquely identifies a component (or keynote) database with a Global Unique IDentifier (GUID). It also
provides information that can be displayed in the user interface. All detail components placed in a drawing, and all
detail component tools used in Tool palettes record this database GUID. If your database changes location in the
directory structure, the tools and components can still find the database using the unique GUID.
The Type field should contain either the string “Component” or “Keynote” depending on which type of database you
are creating.
To obtain a GUID for your database, simply delete the existing GUID from the database you are using as a template,
and a new GUID will be generated automatically.
Groups Table
The Groups table defines the hierarchical organization of components within the database. This hierarchy determines
the order in which component groups are displayed in the tree view of the Detail Component Manager dialog box. To
set up this table, you simply need to make a Group entry for each collection of like components, and then, for each
Group, define its Parent, which is either another Group or the root node (\ - *). The following fields apply to each row
in the table:
2146 | Chapter 52 Customizing and Adding New Content for Detail Components