Deleting a pattern in sketch

[nadovich]

if I create a circular pattern in a sketch, which creates many copies of an object, how do I delete the pattern and the copies without having to delete all the copies manually? I tried deleting the pattern constraint by right clicking the little pattern constraint icon and choosing delete, but the copies all remain.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

Unfortunately, this is currently not possible.

günther

[TheCADWhisperer]

@nadovich 

Can you File>Export your *.f3d file to your local drive and then Attach it here to a Reply?

[jhackney1972]

If you follow the process I outline in the attached video, you can get rid of all the sketch elements in your Pattern in one click.  If your sketch contains more entities than just the pattern, you can deselect them using the Ctrl (Command) key and a left click or create the selection set using a window select.

[g-andresen]

Hi John,

Even if your contribution leads to a solution, it is not logical that the removal of a pattern only leads to the removal of a symbol, but not the associated instances.

Maybe this is a question for @Phil.E 

günther

[Phil.E]

As far as I know, this is as design. How is a designer going to create independent patterned instances if the instances disappear when the pattern logic is removed? The pattern is a small bit of logic that helps you parametrically edit the result of itself. Once deleted, the items remain but the parametric logic is removed. The logic is separate from the geometry. This is sort of like turning off design history. You wouldn't expect removal of the parametric timeline to also remove everything created by the parametric timeline. 

Whether this is useful for customers, well, you're making a case here that sometimes you may wish to delete a pattern entirely. This would be similar to deleting a timeline group node. In that case, you get a choice to delete the group structure and keep the contents, or delete everything in the group. I'll let the experience designers for sketch know of this request. Thanks!

[g-andresen]

Hi,

Unfortunately, I don't understand your analogies, which is why I don't want to comment on them.

Perhaps  @nadovich would like to comment.

On the topic, however, I would like to say that I used the described behavior to motivate users to create patterns from features and not from sketches.

günther

[g-andresen]

Hi,

In the screencast I show 2 workarounds, whereby I leave the interpretation to you.

günther

[Phil.E]

Those are excellent workarounds. Thanks for taking the time to post them!