Save As Symbol ( Drawing Editor )

Tool summary :

  • Saves a copy of your current drawing as a symbol file. Your current drawing is not affected by Save As Symbol .
  • The symbol is saved into your current Job .
  • Your current drawing can be a drawing that was created for other purposes. However, it is probably better to create an entirely new drawing. For example, create a new standard detail. A standard detail -- Job or global -- has reference points that can easily be adjusted using Verify Reference Point .
  • Like sheet items, symbols are linked graphics. If you Save As Symbol and give the new symbol a previously used name, the new symbol will replace the old symbol in all drawings -- in your current Job only -- in which the old symbol was originally placed using Symbol Add .
  • See (on this page):

Also see :

page 1 | contents | file > | symbols

   Example :

A global standard detail :

Note : Since this symbol is for erection views, the " Drawing scale " is set to '0.125' -- the default scale for erection views in an imperial Job.

Saving the drawing as a symbol :

Adding the symbol :

After the symbol has been added :

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   Step-by-step instructions :

A global standard detail was used for this procedure because global standard details are Job independent, just like symbol files can be made to be by using the Job Symbols: Copy to Global utility.

1 . Before saving the drawing as a symbol file, you may want to create a new drawing as follows:

1a : Use the " New... " button to create a blank global standard detail.

1b : On the Drawing Data window, set the " Drawing scale " to match the type of drawing you are likely to add the symbol to. For example, if the symbol is going to be added mainly to sheets or sheet outlines, you should set the scale of your current drawing to a 1:1 ratio (i.e., 10 for metric, 12 for imperial). If the symbol is going to be for an erection view, you would want to set the scale of the symbol to match (e.g., 0.125 for imperial).

1c : Add graphics and a ${Value} label.

1d : Confirm that the drawing's reference point is where you want it. To do this on a standard detail, use File > Verify Reference Point . This is the insertion point that will be used when you Symbol Add .

1e : You may want to File > Save your changes to this drawing, but doing so is not required.

2 . Invoke Save As Symbol using any one (1) of the following methods:

Method 1 : Click the Save As Symbol icon. The icon can be taken from the group named ' Objects -- Symbols ' and placed on a toolbar (classic) or the ribbon (lightning).

Method 2 : If " Drawing Editor layout style " is ' Classic ', you can use the menu system to choose File > Save as Symbol .

Method 3, 4 or 5 : Save As Symbol can also be invoked using a keyboard shortcut , the context menu , or a mode . For the ' Lightning ' layout style, configuration of the interface is done using Customize Interface .

3 . The Save As Symbol window opens.

3a : Type the " Symbol name ," then press the " OK " button. The name that you enter here appears in the title bar of the X Edit window (where X = " Symbol name "). It is also the name that you select on the Symbol Type Selection dialog when you add this symbol, and it is the name that you would select to Open the symbol file.

Warning: Typing in a " Symbol name " that already exists overwrites the old symbol file. It also overwrites all symbols that have been added to drawings using that file name. Only drawings in your current Job will be affected. This means that if your old symbol was a circle and you change the symbol file to a square, then all circles will become squares in all drawings in your current Job in which the original symbol was placed.

4 . Your current Job now contains a new symbol. Your current drawing remains unchanged.

  • When you later Symbol Add or Open the symbol file, the name you entered here will be listed on the selection dialog.
  • The name you enter here is also the name of the symbol's edit window . That window opens when you Symbols Add or Symbol Edit .
  • Since your new symbol is stored in your current Job , it can only be used in your current Job. To copy your symbol over to a global repository which can be accessed by other Jobs, you can use the Job Symbols: Copy to Global utility.

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