Notes Manager Database Format

The Notes Manager, in version 11 and later, can use a database from an outside source, provided that it has been formatted appropriately. Data files must be in one of two formats: a version 11 or later format, or the format used by the Notes Manager in versions of VectorWorks previous to version 11. The format used by previous versions may be somewhat simpler to use, and is automatically converted to the current format by the Notes Manager.

Formatting by Previous Version

The database format must adhere to the following requirements to be recognized as a database from versions of the Notes Manager prior to 11.

The first line must contain only a numeric value

The rest of the file must contain notes with the following data separated by tabs:

a numeric value

a dash

the section name

the description

the note text

Additional tabs or carriage returns are not allowed within each field

There can be no blank lines before the end of the file

This format is illustrated by the following example.

 

3
00	-	Section 1	Description 1	This is keynote 1.
00	-	Section 1	Description 2	This is keynote 2.
00	-	Section 1	Description 3	This is keynote 3.

Formatting by Current Version

The database format must adhere to the following requirements to be recognized as a database from version 11 and later Notes Manager.

The first line must contain the word “NotesManager11DataFile”

The second line must contain the database ID (unique for all databases used)

The rest of the file must contain notes with the following data separated by tabs:

a note ID (unique for all notes in the file)

the section name

the description

the note text

After the notes, an optional section can identify which description was last selected in each section

Additional tabs or carriage returns are not allowed within each field

There can be no blank lines before the end of the file

The database and note IDs are in the format of “ID_#”, where “#” represents any numeric value with not more than 14 digits and no decimal point. Notes Manager does not change these IDs after creation, but when new notes are added, it uses IDs similar to those shown in the following example.

 

Notes Manager11DataFile
ID_04030110200020	General Project Notes	Scope of Work	Project located at ‘ADDRESS’,’CITY’,’STATE’, county of ‘COUNTY’.
ID_04030110200021	General Project Notes	Accessibility Compliance	Project complies with accessibility standards.
ID_04030110200022	General Project Notes	Involved Parties	“Owner” refers to ‘OWNER ID’ or its authorized representatives.
0	End of Notes
General Project Notes	Scope of Work