Explode Selected Objects ( Drawing Editor )

Tool summary :

• Breaks apart composite objects such as bolts, polygons, sheet items and symbols into their component lines, labels, circles, polygons or arcs.
• Unless you current drawing is a crane placement drawing , Explode can only be used on graphic objects on comment layers .
• Exploding a sheet item or a symbol breaks the link to the original drawing or symbol file and creates an embedded copy of that drawing or file.
• On a sheet with a bill of material , exploding a sheet item immediately removes the bill info associated with that sheet item in the bill of material.
• See (on this page):
  • Objects that you can explode
  • Objects that you can't explode
  • Step-by-step instructions

Also see :

• Hatching Explode (related tool for polygon cut surface hatching)

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   Objects that you can explode :

• Any composite object that is on a comment layer or on any layer in a crane placement drawing .
• Bevel symbols explode into component lines and separate rise and run labels.
• Bolts explode into component lines, including lines with dash patterns.
• Dimensions explode into component lines and separate primary and secondary labels.
• Holes explode into component lines.
• Labels with borders explode into component labels and lines or clouds.
• Members explode into lines and separate labels for piecemarks and section sizes.
• Pointers explode into lines for the shaft and the diagonals making up the arrow head.
• Polygons explode into lines -- surface hatching in not affected.
• Sheet items cannot be exploded in Site Planning, since they are never on comment layers.
• Symbols * explode into their constituent objects that are displayed on screen.
• Weld symbols explode into lines and separate labels for weld size and tail text.

* Exploding a symbol breaks the link to the symbol file and creates an embedded copy of that drawing.

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   Objects that you can't explode :

• Arcs
• Circles
• Clouds
• Construction lines/circles
• Images
• Labels without borders
• Lines
• Sheet lines
• Shorten limit line

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   Step-by-step instructions :

Explode breaks apart composite Drawing Editor objects such as bolts, polygons, sheet items and symbols into their component lines, labels, circles or arcs. The exploded object loses its characteristics as a single object of a particular type and instead becomes various objects of one or more other types. You can select more than one objects to explode at a time.

Step 1 (preselection) is optional. If you don't do step 1, in-tool selection is required -- see note 2 .

	1 (optional) : Select one or more objects to explode. The " Selected count " in this example is ' 1 ' since only one weld symbol is selected.
	2 . Invoke Explode . If you didn't do step 1, see note 2 before going to step 3.
	3 . The selected objects (one weld symbol in this example) are broken down into their component objects (five lines and two labels in this example).

Note 1: To invoke Explode , choose Edit > Explode , or use a keyboard shortcut (if one has been set up), or click the icon (if it has been placed on your toolbar).

Note 2: If you didn't do step 1 (preselection), the program activates Select Item(s) mouse bindings so that you select the objects that you want to explode. This prompting also occurs if you have made a preselection, but that preselection consists of objects you can't explode .

Select Item(s) bindings

Note 3: You can undo an Explode by using Revert or Undo . If you Save to make your changes permanent, you will no longer be able to Revert , but you can still Undo .

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