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Working with components

 

Components are shown in the Structure tree on the Structure panel. All the objects in the Structure treeClosed are contained within a top-level design component (Design1 in the figure below.) This top-level component is created automatically when you first save your design.

You must create any other components yourself. Once you have created a component, the icon changes to show that the top-level design is now an assembly.

 

To create a component

You can do any of the following in the Structure treeClosed to create a component:

An annotation plane with dimensions cannot be moved to a component because the references would be lost.

To activate a component

Activating a component allows you to work with the objects within that component.

Right-click the component the Structure treeClosed and select Activate ComponentClosed from the context menu.

If the component is lightweight, it is also loaded. As you design, any new objects you create are created within this component.

You can right-click on an object in the design window and select Load ComponentClosed.

To cut, copy, and paste a component

Cut:

  1. Select the component.
  2. Click the Cut tool in the Clipboard group on the DesignClosed tab or press Ctrl+X.

Copy:

  1. Select the component.

  2. Click the Copy tool in the Clipboard group on the DesignClosed tab or press Ctrl+C.

Paste:

  1. Copy or Cut a component.

  2. Activate the component into which you want to Paste the component.

  3. Click the Paste tool in the Clipboard group on the DesignClosed tab or press Ctrl+V.

You can also use Ctrl+drag to Copy and Paste:

  1. Select a component in the Structure Tree.

  2. Ctrl+drag the component over other components in the tree.

  3. When the destination component highlights, release the mouse and Ctrl key.

Copied components are Dependent by default. There are two ways to make copied components Independent.

 

 

To mirror a component

  1. Click on the MirrorClosed tool in the DesignClosed tab Insert group.
  2. Select a mirror plane.
  3. Select the component to mirror.

To sort objects within a component

Right-click the component and select Sort > Sort A to Z or Sort >Z to A from the context menu.

To rename a component

Components have a part name and a component name. The part name is displayed in the Structure treeClosed next to the component icon. The component name is shown in parentheses next to the part name.

To change a component's part name, right-click the component in the Structure treeClosed and select Rename from the context menu.

To change a component's component name, select the component in the Structure treeClosed and modify the ComponentClosed Name value in the Name section of the Properties panelClosed.

To change the top-level component's display name, select the top-level component in the Structure treeClosed and modify the Display Name in the Name section of the Properties panelClosed.

To delete a component

Right-click a component and select Delete Empty Components from the context menu to delete any empty subcomponents within the component. If the component itself is empty, or contains only empty sub components, it is also deleted.


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