Create Feature Variant

Drawing > Save/Reference > Part... > Create feature variant

Use this function to save the active 3-D part as a feature variant in the VAA format.

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

• A corresponding feature log must exist.
• At least one variable must exist in the Feature log (e.g. for height, length width etc.).

If this is not the case, the saving of the variant will fail, and HiCAD will display the following message:

No variables exist for variant!

If the requirements are fulfilled, you can save the part to a selected folder as a VAA file.

The created variant initially only contains one sub-type of the active part, i.e. the variant initially has one data record. If you want to add further sub-types (data records), use the Variant Editor for this.

 

The HiCAD directory PlantParts (FILEGRUP.DAT directory "6" is the default directory for the saving of feature variants. This directory is for Plant Engineering parts only. Therefore, please do not save any general variants to this folder, as their structure differs from that of Plant Engineering VAA files.

 

Please note:

• In contrast to the previously used VAD format, variants in the VAA format consist of only one file and can also be stored in the Vault Server.
• As mentioned above, an expansion of .VAA files is usually done with the help of the Variant Editor. However, some users prefer a saving of parts and variant to their own user catalogues. In such cases it would also be possible to specify further sub-types with the help of the Catalogue Editor. The procedure is explained in the Online Help topic Save Part as Variant With Catalogue Entry.
• When creating the feature variant, a graphical preview for the Variant Editor will be automatically created, provided that the shaded representation has not been activated.
• Names of variables can have a length of up to 255 characters.

Create Feature Variant (3-D) • Variant Editor • Referencing Functions (3-D) • Variants - Example (3-D)