Bulk Costing Using the UI

You can use import components using the Bulk Costing UI options:

In addition, see Create a new row from an existing row and Open an existing bulk cost group.

Step 1: Import Components into a Bulk Cost Group

First, you can import all your components into a Bulk Cost Group.

  1. Collect all the components you want to analyze together in a single directory, or in sub-directories under a top-level directory.

  2. Select Tools > Bulk Costing & Analysis to display the Bulk Costing & Analysis window:

  3. Click File > New Bulk Cost Group to display the New Bulk Cost Group window:

  4. Enter general inputs:

    • Name: the group name - if left blank, it uses the directory name selected in Components Directory.

    • Components Directory: Select the directory containing the components to import.

    • Inputs File (optional): Select a spreadsheet of cost inputs, such as components and production information. See Supply Bulk Costing Data from a Spreadsheet and Editing bulk costing inputs.

      • Only cost components in spreadsheet: appears only if you have specified an Inputs File. By default, aPro imports and costs all components in the Components Directory. Select this option to only import and cost components in the Inputs File , ignoring other components in the Components Directory,

    • Rollup Name (optional): the name for the roll-up created from the results of this bulk load. If left blank, no roll-up will be created.
      • Output Report File (optional): appears only if you have specified a Rollup Name, allowing you to optionally specify an Excel file Spreadsheet Report. The name of the file must end in .xls or xlsx. 
  5. Enter Scenario Default values to apply for all components - see Scenario support fields for full details on these fields
    • Part Process Group: The default process group to assign to part components.
    • Part Digital Factory: The default Digital Factory used to cost non-parent components.
    • PCB Process Group: The default process group to assign to PCB parts.

    • PCB Digital Factory: The default Digital Factory used to cost PCBs.

    • Assembly Process Group: The default default process group to assign to assemblies.

    • Assembly Digital Factory: The default Digital Factory to use for costing assemblies. This makes it easier to cost products that are assembled in one location using parts produced in other locations.

    • Description: text that might be helpful to identify or explain the purpose of this Bulk Cost Group.

    • Scenario Name: name of the scenario to create.

    • Processing Rule if Scenario Exists: controls the action if a scenario exists - set to

    • Update : update this scenario with any new cost information entered in this screen, retaining existing inputs.

  6. Click OK. The components in the directory selected are imported, then displayed in the Bulk Costing & Analysis window:

    Note: These components have not yet been costed.

  7. Click the Save button to save the bulk cost group.

You can now edit these components in bulk.

Step 2: Edit Bulk Cost Group Components

After you import components into a Bulk Cost Group, you can quickly enter or edit values in the Bulk Costing & Analysis window, both for multiple selected components and for individual components.

  1. Edit details in the table displayed:

    Editable fields are highlighted, read-only fields are grayed.
    For more information, see Bulk Costing Data Fields.

    Note: If you specified an Inputs File on the New Bulk Cost Group, all entries defined in that spreadsheet are by default read-only in the Bulk Costing & Analysis window. To edit an entry, you must first select its checkbox under the Ignore Excel Inputs column. This column is not displayed if you did not specify an Inputs File.

  2. Enter input values for these fields, in one of the following ways:
    • To edit individual component information, select the field to edit, then enter the desired value.

    • To edit multiple component information, select multiple parts, then right-click and select the appropriate menu option corresponding to the group of data that to edit, such as Edit Production Info...:

      In the Cost Object Window, you can then edit information - for example, to make all components from the same material:

      Tip: You can save this table as a bulk loader file, so you can return to it, and make changes later if required.

    • To edit data in a spreadsheet, select Edit > Copy Entire Table, paste the information into Microsoft Excel, then edit values in Excel. When done, copy the data in Excel, then in aP Pro select Edit > Paste to paste these values back.

      Components must be in the same order in the Bulking Costing Tool and Excel when copying data from Excel into aPriori.

    • To use inputs from an external spreadsheet, see Supply Bulk Costing Data from a Spreadsheet.

  3. To temporarily remove a component from the costing operation, click its Ignore checkbox. You can also remove a component permanently if the bulk cost group has been recently created but not yet saved, by deleting its file from the Components Directory and clicking File > Refresh.

    Note: A component is not removed from the Bulk Costing & Analysis UI even after you remove its CAD file from the Components Directory, if it is defined in a user inputs file, or it the bulk cost group was opened from a loader.xml file.

  4. Click the Save button to save your edits.

  5. Click Cost, to cost all the components with the edits you made. See Costing a bulk cost group.

Tip: To add entries for component files added to the components directory, select File > Refresh Files

Create a new row from an existing row

You can quickly create a new row in the Bulk Costing & Analysis UI using an existing row as a starting point:

  1. Select the existing row.

  1. Click Create from this row... from either the Edit menu or the right-click context menu.

    This menu item is enabled only if:

    1. One row is selected

    1. A user inputs file is not provided for this row.

    1. The component row is CA-connected (“Components Directory” is populated), such that Bulk Costing knows where the CAD file is located.

All inputs of the selected row will be copied to the new row except for the scenario name and the setting of the "official" field.

Note: aPriori disables the Create From This Row menu item if the CAD file for the selected row is not CAD-connected. The new scenario will fail to cost if there are no GCDs for the new scenario, that is, the Bulk Costing Child process will not copy the scenario).

Open an existing bulk cost group

  1. Select File > Open Loader File from the aPriori Bulk Costing & Analysis menu bar to display the Open Loader File window.

  1. Navigate to the desired loader file (loader file filenames end loader.xml), select it, and click Open.

  2. This displays a pre-populated instance of the New Bulk Cost Group window, allowing you to adjust the values provided by the loader file.

  3. When you finish making any edits, click OK to display the Bulk Costing & Analysis window with the saved Bulk Cost Group.