Best way to edit blocks without changing other blocks?

[Anonymous]

 Hi all. 

I have been trying to brain storm the best way to go about this. I've 5 complex products to design. They are all very similar but with minor differences. I want to have a master design, so that when I change something on it, the other 5 are changed too. This part is simple.

The second part is having the ablity to change things individually on the drawings without that change affecting the other drawings. (Or in an ideal scenario I could make it affects only a certain number of drawings, e.g the first 3.)

I know I can do this by exploding the block, but once its exploded it loses its link to the other drawings meaning I can't make those overall changes. 

Note: I want to avoid using xref's for multiple reasons including a computer that does not like them, and i'd prefer to keep everything in one drawing. However if it is the only way to do this second part then I will consider them. I'd prefer using blocks or maybe clips. Or anything! 🙂 

Hopefully there is a solution to this.

Thanks in advance 

Matt Autocad2015 -2D

[rkmcswain · Accepted solution]

I was about to write XREF, but then I see you're ruling them out. I can't fathom what "a computer does not like them" means. Xrefs have been working fine for me for 20+ years on a variety of machines.

Think of it like this. Drawing geometry is the basic element. From this point, items can be "grouped", which is simply a soft method of well, grouping items together.

Items can be grouped together into a "block". Actually everything in a DWG is a block, the main block being Model Space. You can edit your own blocks in BEDIT without exploding.

Blocks can be separate DWG filies like an XREF, and they won't update when the master updates.

Your second paragraph can be accomplished with dynamic blocks. The same block can be represented with multiple, different graphics.

HTH some....

[Kent1Cooper]

That could be done either by Blocks and nested Blocks in one drawing, or by Xrefs and nested Xrefs as separate files.  It all depends on how you want the final result to be formatted -- as a single drawing or as separate drawings for each product.

Assuming your preference for a Blocks-based approach in a single drawing:

Put all the elements that will be absolutely common to all five products into a Block definition, so that when you BEDIT or REFEDIT that Block, it will update in all five products.  Let's call that Block InAll5.

For those first three products that can be changed collectively without affecting the fourth and fifth, Insert InAll5, and draw the elements that will be common to the first 3, and include those and InAll5 [nested] in another Block definition called, say, In3.  When you BEDIT or REFEDIT those elements in the In3 Block that are not part of the InAll5 Block, it will update in those three parts without affecting the fourth or fifth or the common-to-all-5 elements.  Those first three parts can then also have additional elements which will be unique to each, so that changing those in one part will not affect any of the others.

For the fourth and fifth parts, Insert InAll5, and add additional elements that will be unique to each.

Whether you put all the Blocks/nested Blocks/indepedent elements into Block definitions for each part [called, say, Part1, Part2, etc.] is up to you.  If they are used more than once in that drawing, or if that drawing is Inserted into other drawings to bring those parts into them where any may be used more than once, then they should be Blocks rather than retaining any independent elements.

InAll5 = elements that are common to all five parts

In3 = InAll5 + elements that are common to first three parts

Part1 = In3 + elements unique to part 1

Part2 = In3 + elements unique to part 2

Part3 = In3 + elements unique to part 3

Part4 = InAll5 + elements unique to part 4

Part5 = InAll5 + elements unique to part 5

You can do the same with separate files and Xref-ing instead of Inserting Blocks, by replacing "Block" or "Block definition" above with "Xref" or "drawing", and replacing "BEDIT or REFEDIT" with "REFEDIT or open and edit".