You can edit an iAssembly two ways:
- Open the factory file and modify the table. You can modify a row, which affects only that member. Or you can add or remove a column, which affects all members.
- Auto-capture edits to a member using normal modeling commands. Without opening the factory table, you set the modeling scope to Edit Member Scope (to limit modeling edits to the active member). Any modeling edits that affect a configurable item affects the table.
Note: To edit key columns, edit the factory table.
Tips for editing iAssemblies and members
- Unlike iParts, the browser shows member names, not keys. If appropriate, right-click a member name and select List by Key. Right-click and select List by Member Name to restore the member name display.
- You can delete an iAssembly table. Right-click the table in the browser and select Delete. All references to the factory are removed and the component is converted to a standard assembly file.
- A table column is deleted if the item is deleted (such as a component, relationship, parameter, representation, or iMate).
- A column is preserved but not changed if a relationship is redefined, or a component is made nonadaptive and nonflexible for the factory. The same is true if all cells of a column are manually set to the same value.
- The column header is renamed if an object is renamed or a table component is replaced with a common ancestor.
- You can configure the match list of an iMate. Select the appropriate match list entry on the iMates tab, and click the Add arrow to add the column to the table. When modifying the match list, separate the items in the list with a semicolon as in this example: iMateA; iMateB; iMateC; iMateD.
When editing an iPart or iAssembly factory, you can use conventional modeling commands to make edits that affect the table. This technique efficiently creates a factory without requiring the table editor or Excel to modify it.
Use the Edit Scope selector to switch the modeling scope between Edit Member (the active row) and Edit Factory (all rows).
For Edit Member Scope, model edits that can be configured modify the active row of the table. If a column for a modified item is not yet in the table, it is created. A new value is set for the active row, and the original value is set for all other rows. If the item is already configured in the table, the modification only changes the cell in the current row. Other members are not updated with the change.
For Edit Factory Scope, edits to items that are already configured adjust all cells in the column to match the new value. New columns are not created for modifications to items that are not already in the table.
Note: Use caution when applying a global change to all factory members. You could inadvertently change a required value that works in the current member but causes errors in another member.