When part number searching is turned on (default), searches for part number matches occur when you enter part numbers in the Parts Table in either the System file or a Prediction Parts Library file. For more information, see, see Prediction Parts Library Files.

When you enter a value for Part Number and press Tab, the part number search begins. Options under Parts Library Search in the Options window control how searches are performed and which Libraries are searched. For more information, see Parts Library Search User Options.

If an exact match is found, the data for this part is retrieved and shown in part-related panes. If an exact match is not found, the search algorithm systematically removes a portion of the entered part number and begins the search again. For more information, see the Encoded Part Number Searches.

To limit part number searches to only exact matches, Exact Part Number Search must be selected for Search method. For more information, see Exact Part Number Searches.

If multiple part number matches are found, the data for the first match is retrieved and shown in part-related panes by default. This data includes the part category, subcategory, and all parameter values for the calculation model selected at the assembly level. The files that you can enable for searching include supplied libraries, user libraries (which consist of the custom Prediction Parts Library and Correlation Library files that you have created), and Resistor/Capacitor decoding libraries. By default, all of them are enabled for searching.

If you know the entire part number, entering it is likely to result in a single match. In such cases, the data for this part is retrieved and shown in part-related panes. If you are unsure of the entire part number, it is best to enter only the portion of which you are certain. When you do not enter spaces or extraneous characters, many more part number matches are likely to be found.

If Display All Matching Part Numbers is selected for both Multiple part match handling and Multiple correlated part match handling, all matches found in enabled library files are shown so that you can select the part for which to retrieve and display data. For more information, see Multiple Match Handling.

Prediction Correlation Library files provide for mapping in-house part numbers to part numbers in Prediction Parts Library files. You can insert parts in Prediction Correlation Library files only if part number searching is turned on. Otherwise, you are unable to search for corresponding part numbers in these files. For more information, see Prediction Correlation Library Files.

When you enter an in-house part number that maps to a library part number, your selection for Correlated part number field determines whether that in-house part number is saved to one of the following text fields in the Parts Table: Alternate Part Number, CAGE Code, Logistics Control Number (LCN), None, or User-Defined Text. The default selection is Alternate Part Number. If None is selected, the in-house part number is not saved.

For more information, see Part Number Search How-Tos.