Property Panels provide contextual access to parameters used for creating and editing features.
What's New: 2020, 2020.1, 2020.2
The property panel floats above the graphic area and, initially, appears in the upper left of the graphics area. Panels can be resized, combined with the Model browser, moved to another location, and even to a secondary monitor. Property Panels use expandable sections instead of tabs.
Value edits - use Enter to apply value edits. Use Tab to progressively move to the next field. Press CTRL+Enter to end the definition and create the feature and close the property panel. When a value is invalid the value color turns red. When a value is valid the value color is black.
Edit fields cross-highlight between the property panel and the in-canvas edit controls.
Breadcrumbs horizontally display the current or active location in the document hierarchy. They can provide access to documents, features, and sketches depending on document type.
Typically, the property panel begins in the feature definition mode. You can click the breadcrumb text to switch environments, from Feature to Sketch and back again. The breadcrumb text for the selected environment displays in blue.
You can also use the
Return to Feature
command in the ribbon to switch from sketch editing back to feature editing. The icon displays the active feature being created or edited, such as Extrude, Revolve, and so on.
Switching environments causes the current environment to commit any changes made before the switch occurs. Thus, switching to Sketch from Feature will create the defined feature before the environment changes. Switching back from Sketch to Feature causes any sketch geometry changes to be accepted before the environment change. The property panel fields update with the environment change.
The Property panel menu contains settings related to the active create or edit context. When a command is active you can choose to keep a sketch visible, show or hide presets, and so on. The menu entries are contextual, only what the command will use is displayed.
In some cases, these settings are On by default. Select the menu entry to turn the option ON/OFF. The property panel state for these settings is retained between sessions. Thus, if you want to use them later, you will need to turn them back on. The settings also differ depending on the file type, IAM or IPT. For example, Keep sketch visible on (+) is available only with Part features.
For more about sharing sketches, see To Share Sketches and Features
Tab key
You can tab from one field to another, whether in the property panel or canvas. When you tab in-canvas, the tabs are for the displayed parameters. When you tab in the property panel, tabbing occurs for those parameters listed in the panel. Cross-highlighting occurs for the related fields.
Character key
When in a dropdown list, use the character key to quickly search for and locate a list entry.
When creating or editing features you can use the edit fields in the Property panel, the in-canvas edit fields, or the feature manipulators to modify values.
The following example uses the Hole feature to illustrate the various parameter value access points.
The property panel selectors display their states using colors. The following image shows the states and ties them to an example.
Clearing Selections
When a selection is made, the selector field displays the number of items selected and an 'X' at the right end of the field. To clear the selection set, click the 'X', then, make your next selections.
Marking Menu
If the required inputs are not satisfied, the marking menu displays either a disabled OK button or a Continue button in the 3 o'clock position to alert you of the need to complete the definition.
This section populates with the more specialized options based on the feature type being created.