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assembly copy

MichalLukac
4-Participant

assembly copy

Hello.

I have assembly with subassemblies and need to create a copy of one of the subassemblies. The top assembly is open.

When I open the subbassembly and use save a backup and point to the backup directory it saves all the assembly include all the parts.

It's ok but the opened subassembly and parts in the session points afterwards to the files in the backup dir. It means when I continue to work with the subassembly (or assembly) the changes are saved to backup dir. and not to the working dir.

(note from help: "If you make changes to a model after backing it up and then save the model, the changes are always saved in the backup directory.")

To continue working I have to erase the top asm from the session and open again....

Is it possible to do this without reopening asm?

thanks for help

michal


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1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

Michal,

Several years ago (maybe around Rev20, or original WildFire not 100% sure) this functionality of the Backup command changed to what it is now, and I agree that it is a pain.   There isn't a single time that I can remember when I actually wanted my directory references to change with my Backup copies.   Anyway...

I don't have a proper fix, instead,  here is my work around...

Pull all your original geometry from your Working Dir.  Open your sub-assembly from in-session.  Backup to your Backup Dir.  Then, Backup again to your Working Dir.

This will reset all your paths back to your Working Dir as they should be.

Side Note:   This method will not work very well for those of you that use parts from Library directories like Kenneth Farley mentioned.

Good Luck

Bernie

Bernie Gruman

Owner / Designer / Builder

www.GrumanCreations.com

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6

Unfortunately, saving a backup saves every single component in the assembly, including those that might be "library" parts (like screws, washers, etc.) The only "fix" I've used is manually deleting the offending duplicate parts.

The way I avoid the naming conflicts is to manually copy the assembly I want to another directory. I then exit Creo, start fresh, and work only in the new directory, renaming everything I want. Once the naming is complete, I move the copied assembly to the directory I want it in, and start the rest of the work.

MichalLukac
4-Participant
(To:KenFarley)

thanks for reply

It is ok for me to backup all the parts bacause I use the whole subassembly model in external program for analysis. But the annoying thing is that aftar backup I have to reopen the top assembly.

I can use Save as.. but then during saving I have to rename all the subasm parts to save all of them to backup directory...

I ran across this by accident. If you work with large assemblies, and make new top level models with only minimal part changes, this is for you.

Open the assembly to be copied, and supress everything., Everything  up to the default datum planes. Then "save as". This will create a copy of the assembly without going through the "rename/replace" dialog. Close the original assembly and clear memory. Open new assembly and resume everything. You can now replace, remove , add or restructure. (Great for family table  assemblies.)

Michal,

Several years ago (maybe around Rev20, or original WildFire not 100% sure) this functionality of the Backup command changed to what it is now, and I agree that it is a pain.   There isn't a single time that I can remember when I actually wanted my directory references to change with my Backup copies.   Anyway...

I don't have a proper fix, instead,  here is my work around...

Pull all your original geometry from your Working Dir.  Open your sub-assembly from in-session.  Backup to your Backup Dir.  Then, Backup again to your Working Dir.

This will reset all your paths back to your Working Dir as they should be.

Side Note:   This method will not work very well for those of you that use parts from Library directories like Kenneth Farley mentioned.

Good Luck

Bernie

Bernie Gruman

Owner / Designer / Builder

www.GrumanCreations.com

The backup command takes the object being saved and all the files it needs and saves them in the directory specified.  It's quite handy for making stand alone packages of assemblies as a result, because you know everything needed will be there. That means, if you are using backup on your sub-assy and the top level assy is going into the backup directory too, your sub-assy is dependent on your main assy.

Backup, as you've found, also makes the copy in the backup directory the working copy.  The easiest way around this, assuming that you want to keep working on the original, is to backup twice.  First, backup to the backup folder, then backup again back to your working directory.  If your original assy consists of parts from various other directories, this won't work, you'll have to backup, erase from memory then re-retrieve the original.

The backup command also forces you to keep the same names, there is no opportunity to change names.

To make a copy of just the sub assy, use the File > Save As > Save A Copy command.  This will only bring the sub-assy, regardless of any dependencies on the top level assy.  Keep in mind that your copy will carry those same dependencies to the original top level assy, however.  Save a copy forces you to use a new name for the sub-assy, but the components inside can be the same name or a new name, depending on their parent child relationships.

--
Doug Schaefer | Experienced Mechanical Design Engineer
LinkedIn

ok, thanks for all replies..

It seems itsn't possible to do it with just one click...

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