Catalog command

Command: AFM_CATALOG

How to access this command: From the Ribbon, select ARCHIBUS/Asset/Catalog, or run the command from the command line.

Purpose: Reregisters selected assets with the database, revalidates their data, and refreshes their asset text.

Updates existing records or creates new records in the appropriate asset tables for selected asset symbols, using the asset symbols' extended entity data and drawing-driven data.

Cataloging does the following:

Registers an asset symbol's extended entity data and drawing-driven data in the database, which updates the existing record or creates a new record.
Reads the values displayed as asset text from the linked record and redraws the asset symbol and asset text, updating asset text as necessary.
Moves an asset symbol from a prototype asset layer to the asset symbol layer.

If there are discrepancies between the information in the drawing and the information in the database, the Catalog command presumes that the drawing is correct and updates the record with drawing-driven data.

When to Catalog

The drawing tools automatically catalog asset symbols when you edit or create them. However, there are a few situations in which you may need to explicitly catalog asset symbols:

If you delete a record in an asset table without loading the drawing, you produce a widowed asset symbol. If you wish, use this command to re-create the record in the corresponding asset table.
If you make database changes to an asset record without having the drawing loaded, the asset symbols' asset text and the linked records no longer match. When you want to ensure that your drawings' asset text is accurate, run the Catalog command, which reads the asset symbols' database records and redisplays the asset text with the database values.
If you use the DOS Copy command to copy a project drawing, the copied drawing will contain asset symbols that do not link to records in a database. Cataloging uses the primary keys stored in the asset symbols' extended entity data to create records and then links the records to the asset symbols.
If you edit asset symbols using AutoCAD only, without the ARCHIBUS Smart Client Extension for AutoCAD or the DWG Editor, all asset symbol changes you make are not recorded in the database. Cataloging updates the database's drawing-driven values, such as the Area and Length fields.
Cataloging is useful when you need to inform the database of structural changes you make to a drawing. For example, if you rename a drawing, you must update the Drawing Name fields for all of the drawing's asset symbols with the new file name.
If you use the System Administration/ARCHIBUS System Administration/Add-In Manager/ Edit Asset Text Fields task to change the fields to be displayed as asset text, you must regenerate the asset text in order for existing asset symbols to reflect your changes. Cataloging regenerates asset text for asset symbols.
If you edit an asset symbol's assignments from the Web and these fields are active as asset text in the drawing, you need to catalog the drawing in the ARCHIBUS Smart Client Extension for AutoCAD or the DWG Editor in order to update the asset text with changes made in Web Central. For example, suppose you change a room’s division and department assignment in Web Central using tasks such as "Assign Divisions and Departments to Rooms" When you click Save, Web Central assigns the room to a new division and department, and updates the ARCHIBUS database accordingly. In Web Central, the highlight pattern for the Flash drawing changes to that of the new department or division, as do the room labels. However, when you view this drawing in Auto CAD using the ARCHIBUS Smart Client Extension for AutoCAD or the DWG Editor, if the drawing displays the division and department as asset text, you will see that the drawing displays the previous values. Running the Catalog command updates the asset text to display the assignments that were made in Web Central.