The eCatalog of 3D Family 2009 products has been changed from the previous 2007 version. The new eCatalog is dynamic and can be reorganized based on the component attributes. It can also display both local and remote simulation models. The default view of the tree can be customized using the "View" -menu inside the "Browse" section.
To organize the component tree choose values for "Primary Grouping" and "Secondary Grouping" in the "Group Components" menu. The sub menus shows the attributes that can be found on the components in the eCat folders. If you choose, for example, "Industry" as the primary grouping attribute and "Manufacturer" as the secondary grouping attribute, the "Components" tree is organized to show first different industries and under them different manufacturers that have components from each specific industry.
You can list components by selecting a node from the component tree. If you select the rootmost "Components" node, all the known components are listed in the "Models" section. When selecting a node further down in the tree hierarchy the amount of the listed component diminishes. For example, if an industry is selected and industry is selected as primary grouping attribute the "Models" section lists all components from that industry. Selecting a manufacturer under the industry lists only components that are from the specific industry and the selected manufacturer.
The layout section of the eCat tree is statically organized by industry. The reason for this is that the layouts do not contain other attribute information. The "Component Packages" and "Other Documents" sections list the component packages and non-simulation files respectively.
Other nodes in the eCat tree include "Model Lists", "Local File System", "Remote Models" and "Web Sites". The model list node hosts a couple of prebuilt lists and a different number of user created lists. The model lists can be used for customized categarization of simulation models and as quick access lists. Component package generation is done by first creating a model list and choosing to create a package using that list.
Local file system node shows the folder structure of the local eCat paths. Selecting the root lists all the local models in the "Models" view. However, the subnodes list only the contents of the selected folder if the search filter is empty. If a non-empty filter is entered also the contents of the sub folders are shown.
Remote models node contains the the configured remote model sources as sub items. By selecting the root node all the remote models can be listed. Selecting a sub node lists the components on that specific remote model source.
Web sites node can contain links to supporting web sites. The clicked web site is opened to the lower half of the eCat tab. You can add new sites by dragging and dropping links from browsed into the node or via context menu.