Part III: Working with Assemblies
Creating folders in the FeatureManager
You can add folders to the assembly FeatureManager in one of two ways:l (^) Add existing components to a new folder
l Create an empty new folder
Add To New Folder tool
To use the Add To New Folder tool, right-click a component or mate (or selection of components
or mates) and select Add To New Folder from the menu. This moves the component or mate into
the folder. Folders do not affect the assembly in any functional way; they are simply for organization,
to speed browsing and selection.
Create new folder
To simply create a new folder without putting anything into it right away, right-click either the
Mates area or the components list, and select Create New Folder from the menu.
Adding items to existing folders
To move an item into an existing folder, just drag the item (component or mate) onto the folder. If
the folder is expanded, showing its contents, then you can also drag the item as if you were reordering a
feature in the FeatureManager of a part, and drop it in the list of items where you would like it.
If you are dragging a part or assembly and trying to put it immediately after an assembly, a cursor
like the one shown in the center in Figure 12.11, may appear. This cursor means that the part is
going to become part of the assembly. If this is not what you are trying to do, then hold down the
Alt key while dragging; the part is placed into the folder immediately after the assembly, instead of
being made a part of the assembly. The third image in Figure 12.11 shows the cursor with the Alt
key pressed.
Reordering items in the tree
There are times when you may want to reorder items in the assembly tree. For example, you may
want to place items close to one another in the tree, or you may be preparing to put items that are
next to one another into a single folder. You may want to reorganize components for the BOM
display.
You can reorder mates simply by dragging them. Mates display in the order in which they are
created, but the order is not significant. They can be reordered however you like.
Components also display in the order in which they are added to the assembly, and you can
reorder them in any way you like.