To have an overview what the attributes are, and how they fit into the entire database please refer to the Attribute_Overview chapter.

In this papers only the handler functions are explained in full details.

 

Handler Functions

All of the attribute handler functions begins with the ACAPI_Attribute_ prefix. This function family gives support to query the attribute database, to modify the existing items, and also to create new instances. Refer to the functions below to have details on these topics.

ACAPI_Attribute_GetNum
ACAPI_Attribute_Search
ACAPI_Attribute_Get
ACAPI_Attribute_GetDef
ACAPI_Attribute_GetDefExt
ACAPI_Attribute_Create
ACAPI_Attribute_CreateExt
ACAPI_Attribute_Delete
ACAPI_Attribute_DeleteMore
ACAPI_Attribute_Modify
ACAPI_Attribute_ModifyExt

Controlling the user data assigned to an attribute:

ACAPI_Attribute_GetUserData
ACAPI_Attribute_SetUserData

Controlling the classifications and properties assigned to an attribute:

ACAPI_Attribute_GetClassificationItems  
ACAPI_Attribute_GetClassificationInSystem  
ACAPI_Attribute_AddClassificationItem  
ACAPI_Attribute_RemoveClassificationItem  
ACAPI_Attribute_IsClassificationItemVisible  
ACAPI_Attribute_GetPropertyDefinitions  
ACAPI_Attribute_GetPropertyValue  
ACAPI_Attribute_GetPropertyValues  
ACAPI_Attribute_GetPropertyValuesByGuid  
ACAPI_Attribute_SetProperty  
ACAPI_Attribute_SetProperties  
ACAPI_Attribute_IsPropertyDefinitionValueEditable  
ACAPI_Attribute_IsPropertyDefinitionAvailable  
ACAPI_Attribute_IsPropertyDefinitionVisible  
ACAPI_Attribute_GetAttributesFromProject  

Handling attribute folders:

ACAPI_Attribute_GetFolder  
ACAPI_Attribute_CreateFolder  
ACAPI_Attribute_DeleteFolder  
ACAPI_Attribute_RenameFolder  
ACAPI_Attribute_GetFolderContent  
ACAPI_Attribute_Move  

Controlling attribute user interface controls:

ACAPI_Interface_CreateAttributePicker  
ACAPI_Attribute_CreateAttributeFolderPicker  

General Error Codes

APIERR_BADID	invalid reference; the attribute type is invalid or the operation cannot apply that type
APIERR_BADINDEX	invalid reference; the supplied attribute index is out of range
APIERR_DELETED	invalid reference; the attribute does not exist in the database (deleted)
APIERR_NOTMINE	permission denied; the attribute is out of the users workspace

 

Notes

There are certain rules which effect the attribute operations; i.e. they may be refused for some reason. The most important rules are:

• certain attribute types have a fixed number of instances (e.g. pens),
• certain attribute types must have at least one instance (e.g. line types),
• any type of modification is allowed only in the case when the target attribute instance is in the user’s workspace