Design errors sometimes occur if your changes interfere with, or are inconsistent with other features.
If problems occur during an operation, a message dialog box displays an error list. Design failures display in red underlined text. If you select a design failure message in the list, the location of the failure highlights in the graphics window.
An error tracking and recovery system helps you detect and correct design problems as you work.
The Design Doctor helps to correct design errors as you work. The Design Doctor is aware of the environment, and displays only errors appropriate in the current context.
When there are unresolved errors in a model, a red cross is selectable on the Quick Access toolbar. You can click the red cross to open Design Doctor and work on any of the errors in the model.
When you work in an assembly, the errors in all components are available.
If you delete a component that contains a dependent assembly feature, the assembly feature goes sick, and the dependent assembly sketches remain in the browser. In the Design Doctor, you can replace the deleted component with a new component using the Redefine command.
Sketches form the basis of most model features. For example, you can use a closed sketch region to create a solid extrusion (or cut) in your model. Unclosed sketch geometry is often used to extrude a surface. Finding an error in a sketch requires that you understand the relationships among all of the pieces of sketch geometry. Also, be aware of how you plan to use the sketch to create subsequent model features.
If your sketch includes imported geometry that another designer created, it is often more challenging to identify design errors. Using imported sketches sometimes results in unexpected behavior due to the way the geometry was created in the exporting system. Common issues include:
The Sketch Doctor can help you find problems with open regions. Issues involving incorrect angles or dimensions require closer scrutiny.
If the changes you apply to a model interfere with or are inconsistent with other features, the command message dialog box displays. The dialog box lists the problems with the operation.
If the error is simple (fillet radius is too large for the selected edge), the list displays a single set of nested failure messages. There is one message for each step in the failed operation. If there are several errors in the attempted operation, a set of nested failure messages appears for each error.
A red cross icon and a light bulb icon mark the root cause for each error that displays in red underlined text. You can click the red text to highlight the error location in the graphics window. To fix the problem, click the red cross and use Design Doctor.
If you can fix the problem, bypass Design Doctor, and edit the entries that caused the error. If you disregard the error temporarily and continue with your design, the operation is added to the browser and marked with an error or warning symbol. When you pause the cursor over the browser node, the feature displays in the graphics window in its last successful state.
The error tracking system and Design Doctor make it easy to correct design errors as you work. However, you can also accept design errors and correct them later. You can edit other features to resolve the error, try other design options, or work with the errors at another time.
Features with errors are also marked in the browser. To correct a single error, you can right-click it, and select Recover. When fixing several errors, it is a good practice to work from the top of the list or browser to the bottom. Features with dependencies appear below the features on which they depend.