Editing a 2D Component Instance

You can edit 2D component instances in a number of ways.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin:
  • Open a 3D shape representation containing a layout.
  • Instantiate a 2D component (in the Front view, for example) as described in Instantiating a 2D Component.

Add a Leader to a 2D Component Instance

You can add a leader to a 2D component instance.

  1. Right-click the 2D component instance and select Add Leader.
  2. Select the element to which you want the 2D component instance to be associated, or click in empty space if you do not want the 2D component to be associated with an element.

Modify Text in 2D Component Instances

You can modify text in a 2D component instance.

Before you begin:

In your layout, double-click the 2D component reference in the tree (2D component.1). This activates the detail sheet and the view which contains the 2D component reference. Add a text to the 2D component reference.

  1. Right-click the 2D component reference text.
  2. From the context menu, select Modifiable in instance. This makes the text modifiable in existing instances as well as in newly-created instances.
  3. Instantiating a 2D Component (in the Front view, for example). There should now be two instances in your Front view.
  4. If you now double-click the text in the first 2D component instance, you are able to modify it. You can then repeat this operation for the text in the 2D component instance you have just created.

Important:
  • Attribute links may be added in the text content.
  • Once a text becomes modifiable, it is not possible to make it non-modifiable.
  • For 2D component instances created with a catalog, if a text becomes modifiable in the catalog, you have to synchronize the external reference to make the 2D component instance text modifiable too.
  • If you create a 2D component reference (called MYREF for example) containing a 2D component instance with a modifiable text, the text will not be modifiable in instances of MYREF.
Tip: If you want to use as symbols 2D components with text, activate both the Apply Scale property for the text (in Edit > Properties > Text section) and the Apply scale at creation to compensate view scale setting (in Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Mechanical Systems > Drafting > Annotation and Dress-up section): the size of both the 2D component and its text will then be independent from the view scale.
Important: Remember that if the Allow direct manipulation check box is cleared in Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Mechanical Systems > Drafting > Annotation and Dress-upsection, you cannot manipulate the component. In particular, you cannot modify the text strings in 2D component instances.

Replace the Reference of a 2D Component Instance

You can replace the reference of a 2D component instance.

Before you begin:

Create a 2D component reference (this time defining two rectangles, for example) so that your detail sheet now contains two 2D component reference .

  1. Activate Sheet.1.
  2. Right-click the existing 2D component instance in the Front view, and select 2D component.X (instance) object > Replace Reference.
  3. In the tree, select the 2D component reference you just created (2D component.2).
    Important: You could also select another instance to take its reference into account.

    The reference of the 2D component instance is replaced, and the instance is modified accordingly.

    Important:
    • You cannot use a catalog to replace a 2D component instance reference. To bypass this, use an instance created with this catalog.
    • When replacing the reference of a 2D component instance, any existing text in the original 2D component instance is also replaced, even if this existing text had been previously modified. For more information, see Editing a 2D Component Instance.