Allegro Design Entry Part table file conumdrum.

Hi All,

I have a poser for you. IBM stipulate that I must work with a corporate library.

The part table file for this corporate leviathan is built automatically on a daily basis. Any changes I make to the ptf would therefore be overwritten and lost.

However, change is exaclty what I need. The corporate ptf does not contain SIGNAL_MODEL properties. I wish to embed these models into my designs at the ptf level. I am aware that these models can also be assigned at either the schematic or in the board file, but I have found that placing the model in the part table file is the quickest and cleanest method of working. It also has advantages when integrating the PI tool into a design flow.

 Is there any way that Packager XL can be instructed to merge data in different ptf's?

For example:

Corporate ptf:

PART_NUMBER = PART_NUMBER, FOOTPRINT, etc.

FRED                 = FRED,                0805,            etc  

BERT                 = BERT,                0603,             etc

JOHN                 = JOHN,                0402,             et

local.ptf:

PART_NUMBER = SIGNAL_MODEL

FRED                 = MODEL_FRED

BERT                 = MODEL_BERT

What I want Packager XL to do is to look through both the corporate.ptf and the local.ptf files.

When packaging part_number BERT, packager XL would pass to the board file:

           PART_NUMBER=BERT, FOOTPRINT=0603, SIGNAL_MODEL=MODEL_BERT, etc.

   similarly, when packaging part number  FRED, PackagerXL would pass :

           PART_NUMBER=FRED, FOOTPRINT=0805, SIGNAL_MODEL=MODEL_FRED, etc.

  but when packaging part number JOHN, then Packager XL would pass:

           PART_NUMBER=JOHN, FOOTPRINT=0402, etc

(since JOHN doesn't have a entry in the local.ptf).

So is there a method of changing PackagerXL's behaviour to act like this. If I remember correctly, it normally just fails if it finds two part table file lines with the same values onthe left of the =.

Or, alternatively, does anyone have another method of achieving this?

Thanks,

Mike Veal.