Extended data in Inventor, SolidWorks et al.

I would like to talk about rich drawing files. The reasoning is obvious, we like to connect every dot and finally control the total information flow, from design to end of life.

What I mean is attaching information like paint codes, service intervals, prices, suppliers and so on. Using extended data, xdata, is an obvious choice. One DWG or DXF holds the keys and it is one of the best reasons to choose for DWG in larger organizations.

Now, I am not trying to sell BricsCAD here (probably no buyers on this forum) but I do wonder how to embed and export xdata in two programs: Inventor and SolidWorks.

Can someone shine a light? Is "Iproperties" in Inventor and "properties" in Solidworks the only way to go? I've been searching the net without getting much information, I hope some people here have some experiences.