This page describes how to create Composite text attributes in dRofus. Using the Composite text attributes feature; you can string two or more attributes together. Composite text attributes are available for Rooms, Items, Occurrences, and Products and allow you to concatenate values in existing attributes into a new text value in a separate attribute.
To create composite text attributes, you need superuser access to the database, as the setup is done in the Administration settings. Please refer to Project Administrator.
Currently, this feature can not be exported to xml or PDF, but is available in Excel Exports and Revit/ArchiCAD Add-On configurations.
Combining existing attributes to composite text for Items, Occurrences, or Products
Setup
You need superuser access to your dRofus database to create composite text attributes. Go to Edit Item Composite Text Attributes to learn how.
In our example, we have the following settings;
We have named the attribute "Name - BIM ID" and placed it in the 'General' group in the item property panel. We have typed in a Tooltip and included it in the property panel. We have added "Name" and "BIM ID" as fields and decided that the fields ({0} & {1}) should be combined with a hyphen (see the 'Composite text' option).
The result in the item property panel will look like this;
The group is highlighted in blue. Then the values in 'BIM ID' and 'Name' (highlighted in orange) have been combined in a composite text attribute in our new attribute ' Name - BIM ID' (highlighted in yellow)
Combining existing attributes with URL to create composite text
In the next example, we will describe how you can create a full URL by combining an existing attribute with part of a URL. The part URL will be a static value, while the dRofus attribute will be another static value that, in combination, will create a dynamic URL. In this example, we will use composite text for products. This process can create online URLs or links to products in external product databases.
Setup
The setup will follow the same pattern as above; however, instead of adding two existing attributes, we want to combine one attribute with a static URL.;
In the 'Fields' option, we have simply pasted the static part of the URL to IKEA's product (highlighted in yellow). Then we added the product number from dRofus to complete my composite text attribute. The idea is that this combination will automatically create a valid URL to the product specifications.
The result in the product property panel will look like this:
In the 'Product URL' attribute, we have used composite text to create a full URL by combining an existing dRofus attribute with a static part of an URL.
To Edit Product Composite Text Attributes
To Edit Occurrences Composite Text Attributes
Several formats are available, and there is no limit to how complex you might want to go in combination. Go to Calculated Attributes Formats.