Would an assembly file saved off of an existing file share the same parts?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I'm getting close to finishing my 1st actual projects that I've modeled using Inventor and I want to basically save a copy of one assembly file so that I can make a second derivative file which is basically the same assembly with the exception of a few parts being different.  My concern is how that will link up the .ipt files to it.

Will Assembly A and Assembly B use the same part files as a reference? 

OR

Instead of sharing common files would assembly B create a new copy of each part in it, similar to the way a mirrored part in an assembly is saved as "_MIR:1" then "_MIR:2" and so forth for each instance?

If I delete a part from Assembly B or Replace it with another part file, will the assembly file cause an error because it's looking for the replaced part?

I just want to make sure that what I'm doing here won't wreak havoc on my files if I proceed with it!

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Yes a simple copy of an assembly will still be pointing to the orginal files.

Here's the method to use ( if you're not trying to copy IDW's):

click Copy button

Select your top level from the browser:

click the buttons to configure the copy to copy, reuse or exclude parts as you see fit:

(hover over the buttons at the top of the dialog to see what each one means)

click the "Open in New Window" to make a copy of the top level, also, set name and file location for all files to be copied