Assembly Configurations
A configuration is a named state of the open assembly. It remembers where each component stands, which components are hidden, which mates are suppressed, and the number of each Distance and Angle mate. Keep several (for example Open and Closed, or Shipping and Installed) and switch between them in one click. Assemblies need the Pro plan.
When to Use It
- Show a lid open and closed, or a cylinder pushed in and pulled out
- Keep a shipping layout with some parts hidden next to the full build
- Try a mate at two distances and go back and forth
Step by Step
- Open an assembly (see Assemblies: Start and Insert Parts).
- Set the assembly up the way the first configuration should be: move components, hide some, suppress mates or change a mate's number (see Assemblies: The Tree and Moving Parts).
- Open the Configurations window in any of these ways:
- Click the Assembly tab, then Configurations (Setup group).
- Right-click the assembly row at the top of the Model tree and choose Configurations...
- Double-click the Configurations folder in the Model tree, or right-click it and choose Configurations...
- Type a name in the box at the bottom, for example Open, and click Add (or press Enter). A message says "Configuration Open added" and how many components and mates it holds.
- Change the assembly again (move, hide, suppress) and add a second configuration, for example Closed.
- Click Switch beside a configuration to put the assembly back that way. The button of the configuration the assembly is in now reads In use.
The Window
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Switch | Puts every component back where the configuration holds it, hides or shows each one, and suppresses, brings back or renumbers each mate. Reads In use when the assembly is already that way. |
| Name box | The configuration's name. Change it and press Enter to rename it. |
| Update | Keeps the assembly as it is now in this configuration, in place of what it held. |
| x | Deletes the configuration. The assembly itself stays as it is. |
| Add | Adds a new configuration holding the assembly as it is now, under the name typed beside it. |
| x at the top | Closes the window. Esc closes it too. |
The line under each name says what the configuration holds, for example "3 components (1 hidden), 2 mates (1 suppressed)".
The Model Tree
The Configurations folder sits under Exploded Views. Its hint names the configuration in use. Open the folder to see every configuration:
- Double-click a configuration to switch to it.
- Right-click one for Switch To, Update, Configurations... and Delete.
- Rename one in the tree the same way as other rows.
Undo
Add, Switch, Update, Rename and Delete are one step each, and Ctrl+Y does a step again after Ctrl+Z.
- Undoing Add, Update, Rename or Delete changes only the list of configurations. A component you moved or hid since then stays as it is.
- Only Switch moves things, so Ctrl+Z after a switch puts every component and mate back where it was.
Saving
The configurations are saved with the assembly and come back when you open it again. An assembly can have up to 30 configurations.
Names
- 1 to 40 letters. An accented letter or an emoji counts as one. Spaces inside a name are fine; spaces at the start or end are taken off.
- No quotes, no < or >, no tabs, line breaks or hidden marks (such as direction marks or zero width spaces).
- Each name is used once, whatever its capitals: Open and OPEN are the same name.
Things That Are Refused
Each refusal says why in plain words, and nothing changes:
- An empty name, a name over 40 letters, a name with quotes, < or >, tabs or hidden marks, or a name already in use.
- A 31st configuration. Delete one first.
- Adding or updating with no components in the assembly. Insert components first.
- Switching while an exploded view is shown. Collapse it first (right-click the view, Collapse).
- Any change while a component is being dragged. Let go first.
- Any change, Switch included, on an assembly shared with you to view only.
- Any change while the assembly is still loading or updating. Try again in a moment.
- Any change without the Pro plan.
- Configurations with no assembly open. Open or start an assembly first.
Tips
- Set up the assembly first, then Add. Add never moves anything.
- After you add a mate or a component, Update each configuration that should know about it. Until then, switching leaves that mate or component as it is.
- A configuration that names a component or mate you deleted skips it and says how many were skipped.
Limits
- The parts inside a flexible subassembly, transparency, and fixed or floating are not part of a configuration. A subassembly is kept as one whole: where it stands and whether it is shown.
- Pattern copies follow their seed, so they are not listed in a configuration on their own.
- A link shared from the assembly shows it as saved, without the configurations.
- The saved assembly, configurations included, can be up to 2500 KB. A very large assembly may reach that before 30 configurations. Add and Update then say so; delete some configurations to make room.
Problems
- Switch did nothing and said it is already in use: the assembly already matches that configuration.
- A mate turned red after a switch: the mate was added after the configuration was saved and does not fit the stored placements. Update the configuration or edit the mate.
- Nothing happens on Switch: check the message line at the top of the window; it says why.