Controlling the Creation of External References

You can control whether or not external references are created between items in a product.

An external reference is a relationship between two items in a product. You can specify to have the app create external references when external geometry is used in defining a feature or sketch.

When you use the geometry of one item while defining another item:

  • If Create External References is selected, external references are created.
  • If Create External References is not selected, external references are not created.

Context:

The following are examples of how external references are created if Create External References is selected.

  • If, while creating a sketch, you use Convert Entities to convert a model edge into a sketch entity, then the sketch has an external reference to the model edge. Later, if you change length of the model edge, then the sketch updates to change the length of the sketch entity.
  • If, while creating an extrude feature, you use an Up To Geometry end condition to make the extrude extend to a face on another feature, then the extrude has an external reference to that face. Later, if you change the location of that face, then the extrude updates to extend to the new face location.

From the Assembly section of the action bar, select or clear Create External References .
In the design tree, indicates items that have external references.

Note: You can view a list of the external references in a product by clicking External References Manager from the Assembly section of the action bar.