CATIA Import Options

The CATIA V4/V5/V6 readers use the ct_reader.ini file with the following available options:

@AttributesAsMetadata

Value	Description
on	Import all generic attributes (global and related to single entities) as metadata. <name>
off	Do not import generic attributes.
part	Import just the global attributes (the attributes related to the part as a whole) as metadata. <name>
entity	Import just the entity attributes (the attributes related to single entities) as metadata. <name>
%attribute1%attribute2%attribute3	Import specified generic attributes as metadata. The attribute names are listed, separated by a character that you choose, and inserted as the first element of the string. The example uses '%' as a separator. You can choose another character as a separator, in case one of the listed attribute names contains '%'. Engineering Solutions will recognize it as it is the first character of the string. <name>

@AvoidThirdPartyConversion

Value	Description
on	Avoid using the conversion functions provided by third party (default).
off	Use the conversion functions provided by third party.

@CleanupTol

Value

Description

double

A negative value (default) means to use the auto cleanup tolerance. A value greater than the calculated auto cleanup tolerance means to use that specific tolerance.

Refer to the CAD Cleanup Tolerance section.

@ColorsAsMetadata

Value	Description
integer	Read color attributes of geometric entities as metadata with integer values. COLOR_RGB
on	Same as integer.
off	Do not read color attributes (default).

@DensityAsMetadata

Value

Description

Read density value as metadata (default).

DENSITY

off

Do not read density value.

@DisableSurfaceRelimination (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
on	Disable the third party algorithm for performing base surface trimming during import. This option should be used in conjunction with @ShrinkSurfaces.
off	Do not disable the third party algorithm (default).

@DoNotMergeEdges

Value	Description
on	Preserve the original geometry edges, instead of merging them together during the import cleanup phase.
off	Merge edges together during the import cleanup phase (default).

@FullNameAsMetadata (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value

Description

Generate the full CAD name, as retrieved from the CAD part, as metadata. This consists of assembly name/part name/feature name/entity name.

FULL_IDENTIFIER

off

Do not generate full name metadata (default).

@ImportBlanked

Value	Description
on	Import entities that are hidden, blanked, or no show.
off	Do not import entities that are hidden, blanked, or no show (default).

@ImportForVisualizationOnly

Value

Description

Import the model for visualization purposes only.

This skips many of the import steps (cleanup, stitching, solid creation, and so on) to provide a faster import. The resulting model may not be suitable for other uses.

off

Import the model in the normal fashion (default).

@ImportFreeCurves

Value	Description
on	Import free curves (wireframe entities) into the model (default).
off	Do not import free curves.

@ImportFreePoints

Value	Description
on	Import free points into the model (default).
off	Do not import free points.

@ImportPublicationData (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
on	Create regions from the geometry referenced in publications.
off	Do not create regions from the geometry referenced in publications (default).

@InfinitePlaneSizeFactor (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value

Description

double

A factor > 0 for sizing of infinite planes. The factor is a percentage of the model size.

The default is 0.05.

@MaterialName

Value	Description
string	Name of the CAD attribute containing the material name info of the current part. Default is "Material"; meaningful only if @AttributesAsMetadata = "part". It only generates temporary data used by the ExtAPI cadassm tool.

@MetadataPrefix

Value

Description

string

The string is prefixed to all metadata names. No prefix is used by default.

See CAD Metadata Naming for more details.

@OriginalIdAsMetadata

Value

Description

Import original CAD entity IDs as metadata.

ORIGINAL_ID

off

Do not import original CAD entity IDs as metadata (default).

@PartNumber

Value	Description
string	Name of the CAD attribute containing the part number info of the current part. Default is "PartNumber"; meaningful only if @AttributesAsMetadata = "part". It only generates temporary data used by the ExtAPI cadassm tool.

@PlyContourGapTolerance (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
double	Acceptable gap between curves of a ply contour (default 0.3). Meaningful if @ReadCompositeData is enabled.

@ReadCompositeData (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
on	Import CatiaV5 composite data.
off	Do not import CatiaV5 composite data (default).

@ReadHiddenPlyBaseSurfaces (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
on	Read hidden ply base surfaces. Meaningful if @ReadCompositeData is enabled.
off	Do not read hidden ply base surfaces (default).

@RemoveTinySegInCompositeCurves (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
on	Remove small segments present in composite curves and closes the gap by modifying the adjacent segments, while minimizing the distortion.
off	Do not remove small segments present in composite curves.

@ScaleFactor

Value

Description

double

Defines the model scaling factor during import.

Default is 1.0.

@ShrinkSurfaces

Value	Description
on	For trimmed surfaces, shrink the corresponding base surfaces to only enclose the extents of the external trimming contour, plus a narrow frame.
off	Do not modify the base surfaces (default).

@SkipCreationOfSolid

Value	Description
on	Read surfaces, but do not create solid entities.
off	Create solid entities (default).

@SplitComponentsByBody (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value

Description

Create one HM component per third party body. There might be one or more third party bodies per third party component.

This option cannot be used when @ReadCompositeData is enabled, or in conjunction with @SplitComponentsByPart.

off

Do not consider the division of third party components into third party bodies while creating HM components (default).

@SplitComponentsByPart (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
on	Create one component per CATIA part. There may be one or more prototypes per part. This option cannot be used when @ReadCompositeData is enabled, or in conjunction with @SplitComponentsByBody.
off	Create one component per prototype (default).

@StitchingAcrossBodies

Value	Description
on	Stitch surfaces belonging to different components.
off	Do not stitch surfaces belonging to different components (default).

@TagsAsMetadata

Value	Description
on	Create entity name as metadata (default). TAG
FromBody	Take entity from its parent body and create as metadata. TAG
off	Do not read tags.

@ThicknessName

Value	Description
string	Name of the CAD attribute containing the thickness info of the current part. Default is "Thickness"; meaningful only if @AttributesAsMetadata = "part". It only generates temporary data used by the ExtAPI cadassm tool.

@TrimPlySurfaces (CATIA V4/V5 only)

Value	Description
on	Trim ply surfaces when a ply points to one surface only. Meaningful if @ReadCompositeData is enabled.
off	Do not trim ply surfaces (default).

@UID

Value	Description
string	Name of the CAD attribute containing the UID info of the current part. Default is "UID"; meaningful only if @AttributesAsMetadata = "part". It only generates temporary data used by the ExtAPI cadassm tool.

There is also the possibility to specify a default search path for files referenced by assemblies via the CT_DefaultPartPath environment variable.

By default, the referenced files will be read from the locations referenced in the assembly files.

If a referenced file cannot be found:

•	If the CT_DefaultPartPath environment variable is not defined, an attempt will be made to locate the file in the directory where the assembly exists.

•	If the CT_DefaultPartPath environment variable is defined, an attempt will be made to locate the file in the directories defined by the environment variable, following the order the directories are given (directories separated by semi-colons).

See Also: