Dialog Parts management

In this dialog you manage the master data of your parts databases. The parts management contains both the technical and commercial parts data as well as personal data (for customers and manufacturers / suppliers) and other record types such as accessory list, drilling pattern, etc.

Overview of the main dialog elements:

The data to be managed is displayed in a tree, a list or combination display in the left-hand area of the dialog. In the tree view configuration of the displayed hierarchy is possible for the parts via the Tree configuration.

Toolbar:

You can specify the display of the data by means of the following buttons:

Button	Meaning
(Tree view)	Shows the data in a hierarchical tree structure. Individual part numbers or, if available, the designation of the part variants is displayed as the last hierarchy level.
(List view)	Shows the parts arranged one below the other in a list. A list view is not possible for record types such as accessory list, drilling pattern, etc.
(Combination)	Shows the parts in a combined view of tree and list. The parts of the node selected in the tree are displayed in the list. A combined display is not possible for record types such as accessory list, drilling pattern, etc.
	Toggles between the last selected filter scheme and the unfiltered view.

You can influence the nodes / hierarchy levels which are shown for a specific record type in the tree view in the tree configuration under [Extras] > Settings.

Displaying the Eplan Data Portal in the parts management

If you have signed into the Eplan Cloud, the icon "Data Portal" is displayed above the main node for the parts in the tree and combination view.

If you click the icon, the Eplan Data Portal is displayed as a tab in the right-hand section of the parts management in a browser window. Here you can select and download part master data.

This icon only serves to display the Eplan Data Portal. It can neither be configured via the Configure representation popup menu item nor via the tree configuration. The icon does not exist in the list view and in the combination view.

If a parts pre-filtering is set, a search in the Eplan Data Portal is not possible and the icon "Data Portal" is not displayed.

Further information on the Eplan Data Portal can be found here.

Filter:

This drop-down list displays all the available filters. A selected filter is automatically activated and is applied to both the tree and the list view. The "- Not activated -" entry deactivates the filter and causes an unfiltered display of the data. Click [...] to open the Filter dialog. Here you can create, edit, delete, copy, export, import, and manage filters.

The popup menu of the Filter drop-down list contains the following entries:

Deactivate: This popup menu item is available if a filter has been set: Resets the filter setting to the "- Not activated -" entry.
Activate <filter name>: This popup menu item is available if the filter setting is "- Not activated -": Reactivates the last active filter.

This allows you to toggle rapidly between the unfiltered representation and a representation filtered in accordance with your requirements.

By means of the filter criteria Function template in the part it is now possible to filter the parts according to function definitions and other data of the function templates (e.g. technical characteristics). As the result of such a filter only those parts are then displayed at which the property values or the function definitions of the function templates stored there match the set criteria.

Find:

Enter the text that is to be found into this field and confirm with [Enter].

By default only the most important properties (such as Part number, Type number, Manufacturer, etc.) are taken into consideration during the search. If the search is to be carried out via other properties, use the [...] button to branch to the dialog Configure search. There you can use a scheme to specify the properties and the order in which the search is to be carried out.

Otherwise the search behaves exactly like the Search in the Insert center. You can use the same operators and placeholder characters.

If nothing is found during the search, the search is continued - if possible - in the Eplan Data Portal. If the part is found there, it is displayed in the Eplan Data Portal. To this purpose, the Eplan Data Portal is opened, if necessary.
During the search in the Eplan Data Portal, operators, placeholders and the properties specified during the configuration of the search are not taken into consideration.

Popup menu:

The popup menu provides - depending on the field type (e.g. date, integer, multilingual) - the following menu items that are, depending on the situation, available for influencing the table or editing the values in the fields. You can find an overview of these popup menu items in the section Popup menu items.

In addition, the following dialog-specific popup menu items are available:

Menu item	Meaning
New	Creates a new part / record below the selected part / node.
New variant	Only available for parts. Opens the New variant dialog for the creation of a part variant.
Paste data	Opens the Paste data dialog with which you can specify which data of a copied part is to be transferred to the selected parts / variants.
List with preselection (tree only)	Reduces the number of elements displayed in order to allow for a faster orientation in the list view. If this option is activated, the list view is called with an automatic filter (selection) containing the elements that are currently selected.
Select in tree (list only)	Displays the marked object in the tree view.
Configure representation	Opens the Configure representation dialog, where you define which properties are to be displayed in the list and tree view.
Upload in eStock	Uploads the selected records into the central database eStock of the Eplan Cloud. For parts the Upload parts data dialog is first opened. Here you can specify whether the selected parts are added to an eStock collection. The data of other record types (accessory list, drilling pattern, etc.) are uploaded directly.
Open in eStock	Only available if an eStock collection is set as the data source. Opens the selected part in eStock. There you can edit the data and after editing update them in the parts management via [Extras] > Update with data from eStock.
Export	Opens the Export records dialog for the selected records, where you can determine the name and type of export file. If the current selection in the tree view contains nodes, all the records under those nodes are taken into account.
Export data	Offers the possibility via the Edit externally dialog to export the data of selected records (parts, addresses, drilling patterns, etc.) for external editing. If the current selection in the tree view contains nodes, all the records under those nodes are taken into account.
Summarize function templates	Only available for assemblies and modules with subparts. Combines the function templates of the subparts for the selected assemblies and/or modules and enters them into the Function templates tab of the assemblies or modules. The manual summary of function templates only makes sense if the Summarize function templates automatically user setting is deactivated and the summarizing does not take place automatically. Selected modules are supplemented at the uppermost position with a function template for a black box. In the case of modules from the "Prefabricated" cable product subgroup, a function template for a cable definition is added instead. The black box or the cable definition are respectively required as grouping elements and receive the part number of the module when the module is inserted.
Assign function templates	Allows you to generate still missing function templates automatically from the stored macros for the highlighted records. Note that the Undo command is not available for this functionality! Therefore always back up the parts data before major changes.
Run check (only tree, only main node "Part")	Opens the Run check dialog, in which you can run the check using the current settings or different ones. After performing a check run, a message window with the number of generated check run messages is first shown and the Messages tab is then displayed automatically. To otherwise display this tab, you have to select a main node, such as "Part", in the tree view.

The respective information on the records (e.g. parts, accessory lists, customers) which you have marked on the left-hand side are displayed on the right-hand side of the dialog. If you have selected a main node (parts, accessory list, etc.), the Info tab on the right-hand side is displayed. Which other tabs are shown to you here in addition to the Properties tab, when you select a subnode, depends on the respective record type.

[Extras]:

Menu item	Meaning
Import	Opens the Import records dialog, in which you specify the file name and type, and select how the records to be imported should be handled.
Export	Opens the Export records dialog, in which you specify the file name, file type, and extent of the export.
Edit properties externally	Offers the possibility via a sub-menu to export the data of parts, addresses drilling patterns, etc. and import them again after external editing.
Translation	Opens a submenu with options for automatic translation.
Summarize function templates	Combines the function templates of the subparts for all the assemblies and modules and enters them into the Function templates tab of the assemblies and modules. The manual summary of function templates only makes sense if the Summarize function templates automatically user setting is deactivated and the summarizing does not take place automatically. The modules are supplemented at the uppermost position with a function template for a black box. In the case of modules from the "Prefabricated" cable product subgroup, a function template for a cable definition is added instead. The black box or the cable definition are respectively required as grouping elements and receive the part number of the module when the module is inserted.
Assign function templates	Allows you to generate still missing function templates automatically from the stored macros for all records. Note that the Undo action is not available for this functionality! Therefore back up the parts data before major changes.
Optimize database	Optimizes the parts database for properties that are used in filters already defined and in the tree configurations. Which properties are optimized and which not, are displayed in the subsequent query. Note: If you only use the filters and tree structures supplied by Eplan, optimization of the parts database is not required. We recommend optimizing the parts database if the frequently used filters and tree configurations were centrally specified, standardized and distributed in your organization. Optimization also has an accelerating effect for filters and tree configurations that are defined later, if these use the previously optimized properties.
Configure properties	Opens the Configure properties dialog in which you create and configure user-defined properties for parts.
Migrate free properties	Opens the Migrate free properties dialog in which you can convert the outdated, free properties into user-defined properties for parts.
Settings	Opens the Settings: Parts (user) dialog in which you select a parts database which already exists or create a new parts database. In this dialog you also specify the general settings for working with the parts management.
Delete check run messages	Deletes the check run messages for the part master data from the parts database.
Upload all parts in eStock	Uploads all parts into the central database eStock of the Eplan Cloud. The data (manufacturer, macros, etc.) used in the parts are also uploaded.
Update with data from eStock	Only available if an eStock collection is set as the data source. Updates the data in the parts management with the modified data from eStock.
Check for changes in eStock	Only available if an eStock collection is set as the data source. Checks the data in eStock for modifications. Confirm the subsequent query with [Yes] to update the data in the parts management.
Delete local eStock data	Only available if an eStock collection is set as the data source. Deletes the downloaded parts data from eStock and rescinds the connection to an eStock collection. This may be necessary, for example, if an eStock collection no longer exists online and the local data is to be cleaned up. Or if, for example, you have created separate directories for the master data for an eStock collection and want to change these. This is not possible as long as you are connected to the eStock collection. When deleting the local eStock data, the files (macros, images, etc.) associated with the parts from eStock are not deleted. The settings for the directories and the settings for the database source are reset by disconnecting the connection to an eStock collection. In the process a suitable scheme (for example a scheme for another eStock collection) is set in the settings for the database source. If no suitable scheme is found, these settings are reset to the default settings of the installation ($(MD_PARTS)\EPLAN_parts.alk).