A component in the PCB layout can represent one or more 3D component representations. For example, it can have a through hole, surface mount, bent +90, bent –90, or a single part could be used as a capacitor or a resistor but have different part numbers.

To support multiple configurations in the hint.map file and single parts with multiple part numbers, the package name in the PCB layout must be named so that it can be related to an instance of a Family Table. Each component that uses a specific .prt file is represented as an instance in the family table with a unique part number to differentiate them.

Family tables use an IDX file which is a family table instance accelerator file and is normally saved in the working directory.