Report Generator > User defined attributes > Transfer data from user defined attributes to *G.DBF

Transfer of information from user defined attributes to TARGET databases created by Dynamic Online on behalf of the Report Generator is managed by the USERATT.INI configuration file located in the current symbol library.

This implies that it is possible to have different configurations for different symbol directories.

USERATT.INI has the typical INI file format.

First in the USERATT.INI, the entire functionality with transfer of data from user defined own attributes to the TARGET databases, can be turned on or off. Please note that the report generating process is a little slower when the function is turned on, than when it is turned off.

USERATT.INI defines one field in the *G.DBF TARGET database for each user defined attribute that you want to get information from to your reports. The fact that the information is placed in *G.DBF specifically, that is in the same database file as where information of item designations and standard attributes are found, implies that you can use this field in a lot of different contexts. You can for example use it in device lists, wire lists, cable lists, terminal lists, and many others, since the TARGET database files that are used for all these types of reports, all refer to *G.DBF.

In USERATT.INI you consequently connect a suitable field name to each user defined attribute. The field names must consist of capital letters A -Z, digits 0-9 and underline characters. The last character in the name must not be a digit. The maximum allowed length of the field name is 10 characters. In many cases it is a good idea to let the field name be the same as the attribute name. At least, that is an easy way of getting the configuration a bit more consistent and understandable, especially for others.

Occasions where you cannot let the field and attribute names be the same include when you have an attribute name longer than 10 characters, and when the last character in the attribute name is a digit.

You must define a field length for each field. The field length is the longest text that there is room for in the database. The maximum length that can be defined is 255 characters. However, you should keep the field lengths as low as possible since you otherwise will occupy unnecessary disk space and decrease performance. Do not add length, “just to be on the safe side”. That is a very bad practice!

Below you will find an example of how a typical USERATT.INI can look like. In the example there are two user defined attributes.

[MODE]

ACTIVE=TRUE

[FIELD1]

FIELDNAME=REFERENCE

FIELDLEN=25

ATTNAME=REFERENCE

[FIELD2]

FIELDNAME=MARK1U

FIELDLEN=40

ATTNAME=MARK1

The easiest way to edit the USERATT.INI file is to use Notepad or any other simple text editor.