Working Within the Prompts Tab

Working Within the Prompts Tab

The Prompts tab is where all the prompts that are visible within the Product Prompts are located. The Prompts tab also contains hidden prompts. Hidden prompts begin after the first blank row in the Defined Name column.

Prompt is another term for a defined name. Defined names are cells, or cell ranges, that have been renamed for ease of reference. Clicking on the cell that says “Width” in the Defined Name column will display A1 in the drop-down window. Clicking the cell value for width will display “Width” in the drop-down window. This is because the cells in the Value column have been defined to match the name entered in the Defined Name column. It makes reading and writing formulas much easier (i.e., =Width*Height*Depth vs. =B1*B2*B3).


To define a prompt, click on the Value cell for the prompt, right-click, and select Define Name. Multiple defined names can be added at once; however, the selection cannot contain blank rows.

Prompt properties are applied linearly, across the row, until the Tab Index column. The properties for the columns Use Last Value and Calculator Index are also applicable to the row in which the prompt is located. The properties are as follows:
  1. Control Type – Changes the behavior of the prompt when accessed through the Product Prompts interface.
  2. Help Text – Allows you to provide a description or help text for the prompt.
  3. Validation Code – Allows you to enter the smallest and largest values acceptable, as well as a divisor. Values are separated by the pipe symbol. For example, 12|42|6 means the prompt value must be between 12 and 42 in increments of 6.
  4. Combo Box Value – Allows you to list the available values, separated by the pipe symbol, that can be selected through the prompt. The prompt control type must be set to 5.
  5. Number/Dimension – Allows you to determine if the value entered in the prompt is a number (“N”) or a dimension (blank).
  6. Color – Allows you to set the color for the text of the prompt within the Product Prompts interface. The color number (1-9) must be entered here. See the color chart below.
  7. Mirrored Value – Allows you to set the value for the prompt that will be used when the product is mirrored. For example, the prompt “Left Fin End” would have the formula =Right_Fin_End in the mirrored value column.
  8. Picture – Allows you to specify an image file to be used as a preview for the prompt.
  9. Hide Prompt – A value of 1 turns off the visibility of the prompt.
  10. Hide on Reports – A value of 1 will make the prompt hidden from being accessible in reports.
  11. Tab Index – Allows you to specify on which tab the prompt will appear. This is a numeric value based on the location of the tab in the Tab List. The top tab is 0 (or blank), while the following tabs are numbered sequentially.
  12. Use Last Value – Allows you to specify whether or not to accept the last value used for the same prompt based on the product group code. More information on this is available online at the Microvellum Help Center.
  13. Calculator Index – Allows you to specify which calculator from the Calculator List will be used with the prompt. The first calculator listed has an index number of 0. All other calculators below the first are numbered sequentially, starting at 1.

The table below describes the prompt control types.

Control Type
Value
Description
Text Box/Value Input
1 (or blank)
Allows a text or numeric value. 
1st Radio Button
2
1st radio button in a group of multiple buttons. 
2nd or Greater Radio Button
3
2nd or greater radio button in a group of multiple buttons. 
Check Box
4
Check box. 
Combo Box
5
Combination drop down list. 
Hidden
6
Makes the prompt hidden. 
Material Selection
7
Allows a material selection from the sheet stock, solid stock, or buyout stock from the M! workbook.
Edgeband Selection
8
Allows a material selection from the edgebanding library from the E! workbook.
Hardware Selection
9
Allows a material selection from the hardware library from the H! workbook.
Locked Prompt
<#>0
When any of the prompt values listed above are followed by "0" they become locked. 

The table below lists the color codes.

Text Color
Color Value
Red
1
Yellow
2
Green
3
Cyan
4
Blue
5
Magenta
6
White
7
Black
8 (or blank)
Gray
9

The Tab List, Warning Message, and Calculator List columns are not tied to the prompt row. Values in these columns must be entered, starting in the first row and continue down without a blank row. A blank row between cells will result in the values after the blank row to not be applied or visible.

Also contained in the Prompts tab are metafile instructions (Microvellum’s custom Flatshot Tokens), supplemental drawing instructions for 2D plan views, 2D elevations, 2D cross-sections, 2D elevation sections, and 2D plan sections. It also contains virtual routing instructions, face frame drawing instructions, and activity tokens.


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