Unable to edit sketcher references - sweep

Hi group! I am trying to add a new reference in sketcher. Editing the trajectory of a sweep. Occasionally, the References dialog looks normal but isn't letting me change any references. I select one of the existing references, and the Delete button is greyed out. I select a new reference but it doesn't appear in the listbox. I can't make out any rhyme or reason when this happens, other than it seems to happen often with sweep trajectories & sections. The other day I restarted ProE and it went away, but this time it didn't. Any hints? I couldn't find anything in the archives. Thanks guys (and gals of course)!

Crazy one, huh! I don't know, really. Sounds like it could be anything from video related to Intalink related. A "Read only" feature gives you warnings. However, a 'Read only' status in Intralink does not. Your sketched curve isn't part of a composite curve trajectory, is it? Your curve is a planar, 2D curve, isn't it? And it's not a curve thru points, is it? The only time I see things like this is when I've built a feature on references that are not, themselves, deletable, for example a curve thru points with only two points where none of the points is deletable.

So, something else you might try in sketcher: create alternative geometry, select it and do 'Edit>Replace' then pick the old geometry. Your new geometry should be set up, of course, the way you wanted the old stuff.

David Janes

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video related to Intalink related. A "Read only" feature gives you warnings. However, a 'Read only' status in Intralink does not. Your sketched curve isn't part of a composite curve trajectory, is it? Your curve is a planar, 2D curve, isn't it? And it's not a curve thru points, is it? The only time I see things like this is when I've built a feature on references that are not, themselves, deletable, for example a curve thru points with only two points where none of the points is deletable.

select it and do 'Edit>Replace' then pick the old geometry. Your new geometry should be set up, of course, the way you wanted the old stuff.

Thanks Dave for your hints. To further specify the problem: I'm working outside of Intralink. I've also seen this happen before with a co-worker who does use Intralink though. My trajectory curve is planar 2D, the trajectory is a simple (closed) bean shape. It's not a curve thru points. Both my trajectory & section are closed loops. I can modify the feature's sketch, just not the associated references.

I just found a work-around: the unwieldy, but working "edit references" dialog accessible from the model tree (not the one in sketcher), then pick "replace ref". It's still a bit unsatisfactory, I always like to know why something does or doesn't work...

Greetings Sepp

The only time I've run into something similar to this had to do with copied features. However, in that case ProE gave me an error message stating "The section has several dependent features...". It might not be generating an error message, but check to make sure the sketch in question doesn't have any children attached to those specific references.

The only time I've run into something similar to this had to do with copied features. However, in that case ProE gave me an error message stating "The section has several dependent features...". It might not be generating an error message, but check to make sure the sketch in question doesn't have any children attached to those specific references.

Yeah, I was trying to think along the same lines about irreplaceable references. But, when Sepp said he actually succeeded in changing the reference with Edit References, I kind of gave up on that theory. But what about deleting references that would cause the sketch to fail? Would it let you delete them? Pro/e seems to have no problem with specifying too many references and deletes unused references when the sketch is saved. So maybe the trick would be to specify the desired references first, adding before subtracting. I often, in WF2, don't specify any references because I know that the sketch will be composed of 'use edge' geometry and produce its own references. WF3 goes completely in this direction by not even asking for references to get you into sketcher and letting dimensions and contraints establish the references. It might be a good idea, in the mean time, to get used to using the most powerful tool for everything ~ variable section sweeps which can produce geometry with a single trajectory. I have a feeling the simple, limited (and limiting) sweep is on its way out.

But, what about this: the section is composed of a spline (closed, bean-shaped trajectory). Splines have two existences: the one they begin in (start and end point dimensioned [but what about when start and end point meet?]) and one that is dimensioned and constrained to the default references from each point on the spline. Could these two existences react differently to deleting references? I just created the bean-shaped, closed trajectory with a spline and had no trouble deleting and adding new references when the spline start/end points were the only thing dimensioned. So, I can't say it's the sketch, per se. What version/build of the software are you using, Sepp? I could check for bug reports. Seems like something that ought to have been reported if others are experiencing it.

David Janes

Interestingly, doing Edit References solved the secondary problem (unable to edit refs in sketcher) as well as my primary problem (actually replacing a sketcher ref). The ref I replaced was the default plane TOP, and I replaced it with a plane at an angle to it. After that, when I went into sketcher, the refs dialog let me add/ delete refs again... Interesting, no? I'm using WF2 M120, no Intralink. I don't have a choice about upgrading, it's controlled by our IT folks. My bean shaped sketch is made from tangent circle segments, not splines. One side attached to outside references, and then mirrored (still in sketcher). The reason I don't like to use VSS for everything is that you always end up with an extra feature - you can't just create the trajectory in VSS, but rather have to select it i.e. it has to be created beforehand. But maybe it's worth it after all if VSS is the more modern, better supported feature. Anyway, I can't recreate the error (waiting for the next time something will fail...), so I can't really try out any of David's and Takedown's suggestions. Really appreciate all your efforts though! Thanks, Sepp

I actually got to the bottom of this! And I thought it would be another question I would have to ask the Great Engineer that shows up along with the bright White Light at the end of my life... Anyway, I stumbled upon the same situation with a revolve (previously it was a sweep). As a reminder, I would get into sketcher, able to modify the sketch but unable to edit any of the sketcher references. Turns out the problem was a dependent mirror of my feature! Apparently, as soon as you create the mirror (which is by default dependent on the original), that nixes the ability to change the original's references. Who knew? I wonder if the same thing is true with other dependent features, e.g. copies, patterns... Anyway, for my problem the easy fix is: delete the mirror, change my feature & references, do insert mode, re-create the mirror. Thanks for all your support guys!

Ah! You know, I was going to say this, but Takedown on April 10 mentioned copied features so I thought that had been eliminated as a cause. Basically a mirrored feature is the same as a copied feature. They used to be in the same menu branch before WF.

Graminator, just for clarification, the inability to edit references happens in the original, not just the copy. The copy will give you a warning if you try to edit its sketch, but the original doesn't. It's still surprising to me that ProE would let you change the sketch on the original, but not its references.