Drawing Manager > Features and functions > Drawing frame and mask > Mask file details

The field descriptive lines (one line per field) begin with ten characters that specify the field name in the Drawing Manager database and then continue with other functionality linked to the field in question.

In the end of each line, you may have a language code. A line ending with a language code will be used only when the language to which the code refers is selected in cadett ELSA. That way, you can have multiple language versions for the same field. In ELSA390.MSK for example, this feature is used. Each line is present in three language versions, one each for English, German and Swedish.

Please note that the field descriptive lines are sensitive to positions. Spaces are used to place correct information in the correct place. TABs are not allowed. A TAB in the mask file will have disastrous consequences. Such a mask file will simply not work.

The table below describes the field descriptive lines, position by position, from left to right.

Position

Length

Internal name

Explanation

Field name

Field name in the *Z.DBF database file (the table of contents)

The field name must be unique within the same language and it must also be a valid xBase field name. The maximum length is 10 characters. The first character must be a letter. Only capital letters A-Z, digits 0-9, dash ("-"), and underline ("_") are allowed.

Len

Field length

Allowed values are integers from 1 to 74. It specifies the number of characters that can be stored in the database for the field in question.

Y coordinate (row) in the detailed view for the prompt

The rows are counted from 1 (uppermost row). 2 therefore corresponds to the second row counted from the top and downwards.

Recommended values are from 1 to 15, but it is possible to use greater values if desired. That might however result in an inappropriately high detailed view.

X coordinate (position) in the detailed view for the prompt

The positions are counted from 1 (the first character position to the left).

Recommended values are from 1 to 72, but it is possible to use greater values if desired. That might however result in an inappropriately wide detailed view.

Type

Database field type

The table below describes all allowed values.

X	Alphanumerical field (arbitrary text)
N	Numerical field (digits)
G	Upper case
L	Boolean values (only True or False)

Decimals

Number of decimal digits

This value is used with numerical fields to specify the number of decimal digits. For non-numerical fields it is normally set to 0.

Views

Detailed views for field display

Up to eight detailed views in parallel are supported. You can specify for each field in which of these views the field should be displayed. The eight view are binary weighted. The sum of the values that are stated in the table below, determines which views the field will be displayed in.

Example:

1 = displayed in view 1

2 = displayed in view 2

3 = 1+2 = displayed in view 1 and 2

View	Binary weighted code
1	1
2	2
3	4
4	8
5	16
6	32
7	64
8	128

A common way of utilising this feature is to place the revision notes in a separate view.

Prompt

Prompt in detailed view and survey header

The specified prompt must end with a hash sign (”#”), which specifies where the display of the actual field should begin in the detailed view..

Trailing dots and colon (”.” and ”:”) are omitted in the header of the survey.

Function

Binary weighted function code

The function code primarily determines how and if the content in the field should be transferred between the title field and the Drawing Manager.

The values that are listed in the table below are summed to obtain the desired total functionality.

Code	Explanation
1	Reserved value that is not in use
2	The field is constant and cannot be edited by the user.
4	Reserved value that is not in use
8	Reserved value that is not in use
16	The value of the field will be transferred from the Drawing Manager to the title field (DBF -> DXF).
32	The value of the field will be transferred from the title field to the Drawing Manager (DXF -> DBF).
64	The field value is stored in a TEXT in the title field. This option is currently not supported.
128	The field value is stored in an ATTRIBUTE in the title field.
256	The field value is transferred to the title field only if the attribute already contains a value.
512	The field is global, meaning that it is displayed in all detailed views.
1024	The field is displayed in the survey even if it not displayed in any of the detailed views. (This option is used for activation of user defined file types).
2048	The field is initialised from the title field instead from the Drawing Manager, which is the normal case, meaning that the initial value is retrieved from the title field.

AutoCAD Y

Attribute Y coordinate

Y coordinate in AutoCAD for the insertion point of the attribute or text where the information from the field is stored in the title field. (TEXT is currently not supported).

If you use block and attribute name to specify the link, the coordinates may be left unspecified.

If both coordinates and block/attribute name are specified, the coordinates will be used only if the block/attribute name link fails, meaning if no attribute with the specified block and attribute names is found.

AutoCAD X

Attribute X coordinate

X coordinate in AutoCAD for the insertion point of the attribute or text where the information from the field is stored in the title field. (TEXT is currently not supported).

If you use block and attribute name to specify the link, the coordinates may be left unspecified.

Please note that the Y coordinate is specified to the left of the X coordinate, instead of the opposite order, which is more common.

AutoCAD Height

AutoCAD text height

Text height in AutoCAD for a TEXT object in which the information from the field is stored in the title field. This setting does not affect attributes in any way.

Since text objects are currently not supported, this setting does not matter at all.

AutoCAD Style

AutoCAD text style

Text style in AutoCAD for a TEXT object in which the information from the filed is stored in the title field. This setting does not affect attributes in any way.

Since text objects are currently not supported, this setting does not matter at all.

112

AutoCAD Angle

AutoCAD text rotation

Rotation in AutoCAD for the TEXT object in which the information from the field is stored in the title field. This setting does not affect attributes in any way.

Since text objects are currently not supported, this setting does not matter at all.

120

AutoCAD Layer

AutoCAD text layer

Layer in AutoCAD for the TEXT object in which the information from the field is stored in the title field. This setting does not affect attributes in any way.

Since text objects are currently not supported, this setting does not matter at all.

133

AutoCAD Alignment

AutoCAD text justification

Text justification in AutoCAD for the TEXT object in which the information from the field is stored in the title field. This setting does not affect attributes in any way.

Since text objects are currently not supported, this setting does not matter at all.

The codes listed in the table below are however defined, even if they are not in use.

Code	Explanation	AutoCAD text justification
0	Start point defined	Left
1	Centre point defined	Center
2	End point defined	Right
3	Fixed ratio between height and width, start and end points defined	Aligned
4	Middle point defined	Middle
5	Fixed height, start and end points defined	Fit

Codes 3 and 5 require additional X and Y coordinates.

135

Tool tip

Help text (tool tip)

A help text (tool tip)may be specified here. The text is displayed in the detailed view when the cursor is hovering over the prompt, and is very useful to provide an additional explanation beyond the prompt text.

166

Default value

Default value for the field

Here you can specify a default value for the field. It can be either a fixed value or a variable.

Detailed information about available variables is found in the Variables for default values sub-topic.

197

AutoCAD Y2

Additional AutoCAD Y coordinate

Additional Y coordinate for TEXT objects with justification Aligned or Fit. For justifications Aligned and Fit, both start and end coordinates are specified.

Since text objects are currently not supported, this setting does not matter at all.

205

AutoCAD X2

Additional AutoCAD X coordinate

Additional X coordinate for TEXT objects with justification Aligned or Fit. For justifications Aligned and Fit, both start and end coordinates are specified.

Please note that the Y coordinate is placed to the left of the X coordinate, which is the opposite way compared to the normal case.

Since text objects are currently not supported, this setting does not matter at all.

213

AutoCAD Block

AutoCAD Block name

Here you specify the block name of the block which contains the attribute in which the content of the field in questions is stored in the title field. The block name is always used in combination with an attribute tag, which is specified after it.

Please refer to the next row in this table.

If the block name would be longer than eight characters, you specify the first eight characters of the block name here. Please note however that in worst case, that might lead to ambiguity. Therefore it is advisable to select block names that are no longer than eight characters.

If it is not possible to avoid ambiguity with block name and tag, you can use coordinates instead.

222

AutoCAD Tag

AutoCAD attribute tag

Attribute name (tag) for the attribute in which information from the field is stored in the title field. The tag is always used in combination with a block name.

Please refer to the previous row in this table.

If the tag would be longer than 15 characters, the first 15 characters of the tag are entered here. Please note however that in worst case, that might lead to ambiguity. Therefore it is advisable to select tags that are no longer than 15 characters.

If it is not possible to avoid ambiguity with block name and tag, you can use coordinates instead.

238

Language

Language code

Here, the language code for the entire line is specified. Supported languages are listed in the table below.

Language code	Language
GB	English
D	German
S	Swedish

If the language code is left out, the line in question will be used for the language that is active when the mask file is read by the Drawing Manager, meaning when the Drawing Manager is first initialised in a project.

Field descriptive lines

Field descriptive lines