External Link Manager
The External Links Manager gives you the full control over all linked files in a scene.
The command has to be dragged to an empty area of the scene.
In dialog box there are three buttons with which you can either unlink a specified part or unlink all files in the entire scene (also with the possibility of unlink the children parts), or save with the name all parts.
The other four buttons allow you to: save the selected link file to another location (or rename the linked file), exchange the link with another file, open the linked file, save the selected part. These buttons are enabled only if you select an item in the tree view.
When exchanging the link with another file, a dialog box allows you to choose how to replace the element.
In the bottom of the dialog, we have three tab to view the parts, those Linked and Not Linked
Also on the Not Linked tab is a tree view for selecting parts you want to save externally, there are also two controls: one for choosing whether to save all files in a single folder, and the other whether you want the exported part to be moved (based on the element’s own anchor) to the origin of the new file.
While the icons above the grid are respectively for:
- Fill the grid, to set by rules all new part names, part numbers and file names
- Search and Replace text, to rename in bulk: part name, part number, file name and folder.
The new part number can also be assigned via the numbering tool, see here for how to use it.
And the tab Linked Files with a list of all files linked.
In the tab Linked, the command Save all to New File, open a new dialog where you can manage the save of the linked parts, setting the new name and new part number, the destination folder and the file name.
This data can be changed individually for each part/assembly, selecting the relative cell within the grid and entering the new data, or by adjusting the controls placed on the top of the window you can automate some procedures like: export all the files in the same folder, assign the file name matches the name of the part, the part name the same as the part number.
Furthermore, if the source folder contains the 2D files of relating to linked parts, you can copy and update the links to the new file and the new folder.
Besides, with the search and replace button you can rename in bulk: part name, part number, file name and folder.
