Groups With More Functions
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| Figure 1 |
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Grouping got better in Pro/E 2001 -- things we have been wanting for a long time: A way to add features to a
group, and a way to take things out. Also a way of sepressing individual features in a group.
In previous Pro/E versions you had to Ungroup then make a new group if you wanted to adjust the contents.
Now, you can Redefine the group with this new (yes, yet another) dialog box.
See Figure 1.
To add things to a Group, simply select the arrow and pick the features you want to add. Like before, the
features have to be sequential (as seen in the model tree), and they must be immediately after the existing group.
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| Figure 2 |
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To remove things, use the arrow like you are going to add something, but use the UNSEL ITEM menu option.
Since things have to be sequential, you must remove the end items first. Also, you have to pick UNSEL ITEM
again for each selection. (Pick from the model tree, it makes things much easier.)
If things don't work right, it's probably not you. Unfortunately, this new dialog box really fails the
intuitive test. It gives the impression it will do what you asked, but then fails to complete. If you
are lucky it will give you a message, but probably not.
The only rules I can see are that groups have to be sequential, and you can't remove the first group feature.
That means you can only add or remove items from the end of the group.
If you want to remove something from the middle, you will need to remove features from the end of the sequence
up to and including the feature(s) of interest, then Reorder and add back the ones you wish to keep in the group.
Some features like patterns don't seem to work at all for removal.
Another cool function they added for groups is the ability to suppress features in the middle of a group.
For more information, type "group head" in the search line of Pro/Help.
For more information on the power of groups, see our
December 2000 tip of the month.
Have a Great Day! See you next month!
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