Import Allegion SpeXtra Files Into AVAproject

AVAproject users can now import files created by Allegion's SpeXtra specification writing software, directly into their projects.

Allegion is synonymous with some of the most recognizable brand names in the architectural industry. Brands like Schlage, LCN, Von Duprin and so many others; their products can be found on openings throughout the world. As part of their marketing effort, Allegion maintains an army of specification writers; all of them eager to assist, by providing door and hardware specs to many of the industry's leading architects. Specifications are created using a piece of proprietary internal software called SpeXtra. Although the software itself is used exclusively by Allegion, they do provide exported data (in the form of .XML files) for use by their distributor partners. AVAware created an outstanding import tool; a single-pass process that is able to read SpeXtra-created XML files, and convert them to AVAproject format in a matter of seconds. Information can either be imported into an existing project or an entirely new one. Users need only select the XML file provided by Allegion, and AVAproject does the rest. Hardware sets, openings and other related information is brought into a standard project. The following is a brief list of some of the special features of the import process: Hardware sets complete with product details and notes are brought into AVAproject as Hardware Groups, and automatically linked to their associated openings in the Openings Schedules. Openings are brought in complete with individual leaf sizes and thicknesses, handing, opening numbers, "to & froms" and other miscellaneous data. Multiple "areas" are also supported by the import; openings are arranged in separate openings schedules, arranged by "area" designations. A comprehensive hardware list of the various hardware products used throughout the hardware sets is created, with "Short Codes" automatically assigned to them. A Usage column in the Hardware List provides an instant reference to which sets each item appears in. Product information such as dates, numbers, contacts and other miscellaneous details are harvested from the import file and placed into their corresponding AVAproject fields. Absolutely no effort was spared in the creation of the import module. Every possible detail has been meticulously extracted from the SpeXtra file and preserved in its AVAproject counterpart. AVAware even went so far as to pre-load AVAproject with a comprehensive list of over 450 manufacturer names, along with their corresponding Allegion "3-character" codes. This list was also cross-referenced to AVAware's own catalog library; this ensured that manufacturer names associated with imported data would be perfectly consistent with products drawn from AVAware catalogs. "Short names" (the abbreviated version of manufacturer names used in AVAware reports) were even created for all the names that didn't already appear in the library. AVAproject provides an extremely robust and comprehensive import module for SpeXtra files. Beginning with the final release of AVAproject in 2015 (Rev. 15.4), the SpeXtra import is included as a standard feature for users with active support plans.

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