Exporting customized steel shapes to SDNF format

Problem Description

How can I successfully export custom steel shapes to SDNF format in OpenBuildings Designer? 

Solution

Please follow the below mentioned steps to successfully export your custom steel shapes to SDNF format.

1. First, we will assume you have created some custom shapes in an .mdb file (in this case Australia.mdb file is used) found in this location: “C:\Program Files\Bentley\OpenBuildings CONNECT Edition\OpenBuildingsDesigner\Default\appl\Shapes”.

2. After launching OpenBuildings Designer place some beams and/or columns using the custom shapes.
   
   
3. Next, open the SDNF export tool from backstage (File > Export > Structural > SDNF) and click on the “Edit Mapping Table” button.

4. After the Exchange Table dialog is opened, select the shape from the dropdown list (in this case AS_PFC was selected). Then you will have to select the “Update mapping table” option in order to update all the custom shapes in the shapes library.

5. After updating all of the shapes, save the mapping table and in the list of available shapes you can see that the custom versions have been added. Then, click on the green tick to accept the changes.

6. Finally, you can see that the file is exported to SDNF format successfully.