Attributes can help you work more efficiently by allowing you to enter and edit values for a symbol, object, or element. Attributes can include such items as the manufacturer, price, and other data. Attributes include user- defined properties and parameters.
A user-defined property is an attribute assigned to an element or object that defines a characteristic about that element or object. A property is usually in the form of a text notation, such as cost, weight, color, and so forth. You can change user-defined properties, but these changes have no effect on the appearance of the element or object.
A parameter is a mechanism to change a property. A parameter is an attribute assigned to an element or object, usually a numerical value representing a dimension. Parameters are usually used in symbols to resize the length or width of a symbol.
The Attribute Viewer displays the user-defined properties and parameters for a selected item. The viewer also allows you to edit the values of the properties or parameters.
User-defined properties also appear on the User tab of the Properties dialog box. Parameters appear only in the Attribute Viewer.
You cannot edit the names of attributes; you can edit only their values. The viewer displays two columns, one for the name of the attribute and one for the value. User-defined properties appear in plain text. Parameters appear in bold text.
When editing attributes, you can only work on one element or object at a time. When more than one item in the document is selected, no attributes are displayed in the Attribute Viewer.