Custom Interconnects... Again... - D-Tools Forum

08-21-2007, 10:05 AM

I read the threads for creating custom interconnects - i.e. make a custom category called "Interconnects", and another one for "Connectors", add your products to them, then add those as accessories to whatever products you want to use them on.

What I would like to do though, is create a XYZ Company "Custom Audio Cable" as a SKU with the actual parts needed as accessories (wire & connectors). I tried some quick tests and the only things I can forsee as issues are:

#1 I can't assign those cables as accessories to anything else. That sucks. I could just assign them to the project as needed when building the schematic for instance, but it could get confusing what cable is for what piece of equipment and the project data matrix would be much more difficult to navigate. Also I think it's possible, but more difficult not to show 100 line items for custom interconnects on reports.

#2 In addition to the real "accessory" bulk wire, the made up custom cable parent sku gets a wire # when assigned to a project because it is in the interconnect category, even though it doesn't actually exist. This could be confusing?

I guess ideally the custom cables could be assigned as accessories, but this is not possible even in SI 5 right? Any insights or recommendations on this?

JordanC · 08-21-2007, 01:53 PM

Your on my track

1. I think your going about same way I am with these. You cannot add accessories to accessories. The best suggestion I got is add the interconnects to the respective package where it belongs. For instance; you have an audio interconnect from your CD player to your Receiver. Under your AV Equipment package add; CD Player, Receiver, ZXY Custom Audio Interconnect, etc. Each Item therein can host their own accessoris. I know it will be more confusing not having these accessories attached, but it's the only thing I got so far.

2. Not only is the made up sku going into the system, so are it's accesspories. If you have labor attached to this, then your going to want it in the system. It's not going to hurt anything having it their either. I try to use as many real sku's as possible.

Hope this helps.

08-23-2007, 09:54 AM

OK, so I've been trying this out and it seems to work pretty good. My question now is if there's a way to assign a default wire length and/or Headend to each interconnect SKU, or even if there's a way to do it in the phase settings. It would really make things go much faster if I didn't have to manually assign a wire length and HeadEnd every time I add an interconnect to a project, kind of like the way packages work. What would happen if I had no HeadEnd action assigned to that phase?

Also, is there any way to change the automatic settings for the wire ID that gets generated. Right now it looks as if it automatically gets assinged the 3 letter category ID and a unique number - not very descriptive. I know that you can manually change this ID, but is there some sort of setup for the automatic ID?

**Kevin Mikelonis** · 08-23-2007, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by bfourney

OK, so I've been trying this out and it seems to work pretty good. My question now is if there's a way to assign a default wire length and/or Headend to each interconnect SKU, or even if there's a way to do it in the phase settings. It would really make things go much faster if I didn't have to manually assign a wire length and HeadEnd every time I add an interconnect to a project, kind of like the way packages work. What would happen if I had no HeadEnd action assigned to that phase?

Also, is there any way to change the automatic settings for the wire ID that gets generated. Right now it looks as if it automatically gets assinged the 3 letter category ID and a unique number - not very descriptive. I know that you can manually change this ID, but is there some sort of setup for the automatic ID?

Agreed!

SI5 has eliminated the ability to HOLD the last selected Head End selected and the ability to use predefined Wire Lengths in Packages.

In SI4 if you put all your rough wire into projects via packages, the Head End and Wire length could be pre-defined and the prompts were bypassed.

The prompts are not so bad, actually good even with packages, but not holding the predefined head end or last head end selected is causing this aggrivation you are describing.

If this action was reactivated along with the wire prompts in packages, it would be a win-win.

Back in the day, you could set your default wire length to something short like 6, 8, or 10 feet that way when the custom interconnect prompted you to define a length, it was already reasonable, and when you select RACK or something in your head end list, it would stay when the next interconnect came up in the prompt.

Since it sounds like you are tying interconnects into packages, you could really benefit from haivng the behavior that SI4 has in it.

Right now, there is no point in defining a defaullt wire length and head end for wire in a packages in SI5 since the prompt does not even look at the information. HUH?!

I see this is posted in the SI4 section, so I am unsure what path you are on, what you are describing sounds like SI5.

08-24-2007, 07:24 AM

Originally Posted by Kevin Mikelonis

Agreed!

SI5 has eliminated the ability to HOLD the last selected Head End selected and the ability to use predefined Wire Lengths in Packages.

In SI4 if you put all your rough wire into projects via packages, the Head End and Wire length could be pre-defined and the prompts were bypassed.

The prompts are not so bad, actually good even with packages, but not holding the predefined head end or last head end selected is causing this aggrivation you are describing.

I am using SI4 still, but I will be upgrading to SI5 soon. Are you saying that the way packages behave has changed in SI5?

Right now I am using a combination of packages for prewire and made up company skus with the actual parts needed as accessories for custom interconnects. Prewire packages are all well and good but the made up custom skus that aren't part of any package always prompt for a length and a headend when added. The headend is remembered after the first sku I believe, but the length always resets to the global default.

Originally Posted by Kevin Mikelonis

Back in the day, you could set your default wire length to something short like 6, 8, or 10 feet that way when the custom interconnect prompted you to define a length, it was already reasonable, and when you select RACK or something in your head end list, it would stay when the next interconnect came up in the prompt.

That is exactly what I would like to happen. Some way to assign a default length to a phase or headend, rather than a global one-size fits all default. Is that possible?

Originally Posted by Kevin Mikelonis

Since it sounds like you are tying interconnects into packages, you could really benefit from haivng the behavior that SI4 has in it.

Right now, there is no point in defining a defaullt wire length and head end for wire in a packages in SI5 since the prompt does not even look at the information. HUH?!

So SI5 prompts you for the info even in packages now?! That sounds like reverse progress to me...