Managing Geometrical Sets

Geometrical sets enable to gather various features in a same set or sub-set and organize the specification tree when it becomes too complex or too long. You can put any element you wish in the geometrical set, it does not have to be structured in a logical way. The order of these elements is not meaningful as their access as well as their visualization is managed independently and without any rule.
This task shows how to manage geometrical sets within the specification tree. This involves:

You will find other useful information in the Managing Groups and Hiding/Showing chapters.
  • You can insert and manipulate geometrical sets in the specification tree in much the same way as you manage files in folders. For instance, you can copy/paste elements from a geometrical set to a target geometrical set.
  • These management functions have no impact on the part geometry.
  • When loading the Generative Shape Design workbench, a Geometrical Set automatically becomes the current body. 
    This also means that only the results of the Hybrid Body, i.e. the result of all the operations performed on geometry, is visible and not any intermediate state of the Hybrid Body.
  • You can define the Generative Shape Design feature that is to be seen when working with another application, such as Generative Structural Analysis for example.
  • When opening a document, features are visualized depending on their order in the specification tree. After a modification, the order is no longer respected; therefore the visualization may be different.

To do this, while in the Generative Shape Design workbench: 

  1. Choose Tools > External View... from the menu bar.
    The External View dialog box is displayed.

    .
  2. Select the element belonging to a Geometrical Set that should always been seen as the current element when working with an external application.
  3. Click OK in the dialog box.
    The selected element will be the visible element in other applications, even if other elements are created later in the .CATPart document, chronologically speaking.
    To check whether an external view element has already been specified, choose the Tool > External View... menu item again. The dialog box will display the name of the currently selected element. This also allows you to change elements through the selection of another element. Note that you cannot deselect an external view element and that only one element can be selected at the same time.
Open any .CATPart document containing Geometrical Sets.
You can also open the GeometricalSets2.CATPart document.

Inserting a Geometrical Set

  1. In the specification tree, select an element as the location of the new geometrical set. 
    This element will be considered as a child of the new geometrical set and can be a geometrical set or a feature.

  2. Select Insert > Geometrical Set from the menu bar.

    • The Insert Geometrical Set dialog box is displayed.
    • The Features list displays the elements to be contained in the new geometrical set.

  3. Enter the name of the new geometrical set.

  4. Use the Father drop-down list to choose the body where the new geometrical set is to be inserted. All destinations present in the document are listed allowing you to select one to be the father without scanning the specification tree. They can be:

    • geometrical sets

    • parts

    • Bodies (not hybrid)

  5. Select additional entities that are to be included in the new geometrical set.

     
    If all selected entities belong to the same geometrical set, the father of the new geometrical set is automatically set to the father of these entities.

  6. Click OK to create the geometrical set at the desired location.

    The result is immediate. CATIA displays this new Geometrical Set.x, incrementing its name in relation to the pre-existing bodies, in the specification tree. It is created after the last current geometrical set and is underlined, indicating that it is the active geometrical set. The next created element is created within this geometrical set.
    • You can check the Create a Geometrical Set when creating a new part option in Tools > Options > Infrastructure > Part Infrastructure > Part Document tab if you wish to create a geometrical set as soon as you create a new part. For more information about this option, please refer to the Customizing section of the Part Design User's Guide.
    • The state of a geometrical set is kept in your data model.
      For instance, if the geometrical set was expanded when closing the model, it is still expanded when re-opening it; except if it has more than 40 children: in this case, it is automatically collapsed.

    You cannot create a geometrical set within an ordered geometrical set and vice versa.

Removing a Geometrical Set
Two methods are available:
  1. If you want to delete the geometrical set and all its contents:

  • Right-click the geometrical set then select the Delete contextual command.
 
  1. If you want to delete the geometrical set but keep its contents:
    This is only possible when the father location of the geometrical set is another geometrical set. This is not possible when the father location is a root geometrical set.

  • Right-click the desired geometrical set then select the Geometrical Set.x object > Remove Geometrical Set contextual command.

    The geometrical set is removed and its constituent entities are included in the father geometrical set.
    You cannot delete a feature within a geometrical set created on the fly. Indeed this geometrical set is considered as private and can only be deleted globally.
 

Moving a Geometrical Set to a New Body
You can move a whole branch, i.e. a whole body and its contents, at a time.
Here we moved GeometricalSet.3 last in GeometricalSet.1.

  1. From the specification tree, select the geometrical set then choose the Geometrical Set.object > Change Geometrical Set...  item from the contextual menu.

    The Change Geometrical Set dialog box is displayed, listing all the possible destinations.
     

  2. Select the Destination body where the geometrical set is to be located.

    Here we selected GeometricalSet.2.

    You can do so by selecting the body in the specification tree, or using the drop-down list from the dialog box.

    By default, if you select a body, the geometrical set is positioned last within the new body. However, you can select any element in the new body, before which the moved geometrical set will be located.

  3. Click OK to move the geometrical set to the new body.

    The geometrical set is moved to its new location in the specification tree, but geometry remains unchanged.

Moving Elements of a Geometrical Set to a New Body

  1. From the specification tree, select the element(s) (here Extrude.2) then choose the Extrude.2 object > Change Geometrical Set...  item from the contextual menu.

    Multi-selection of elements of different types is supported. The Change Geometrical Set contextual menu appears on right-clicking any of the selected elements. The action is applied to all the selected elements.
    The Change Geometrical Set dialog box is displayed, listing all the possible destinations.
     

  2. Select the Destination body where the geometrical set is to be located.

    Here we selected GeometricalSet.3.

    You can do so by selecting the body in the specification tree, or using the drop-down list from the dialog box.

      If the Inside check box is:
    • Selected: The element is moved to the geometrical set whose name is displayed in the Destination field. It is located at the last position in the geometrical set.
    • Cleared: The name of the selected geometrical set is displayed in the Before field and the name of its parent geometrical set is displayed in the Destination field. The element is moved inside the parent geometrical set. It is positioned just before the geometrical set whose name appears in the Before field.

    The Inside check box must be selected or cleared before selecting a set.

    By default, if you select a body, the geometrical set is positioned last within the new body. However, you can select any element in the new body, before which the moved elements will be located.

     

  3. Select the element above which the one you already selected is to be inserted.

    You can directly select this positioning element. In this case the Destination field is automatically updated with the body to which this second element belongs.

  4. Click OK to move the elements to the new body.

    The element selected first is moved to its new location in the specification tree, but geometry remains unchanged.
    • Check the Move unshared parents option to move all parents of the first selected element to its new location, provided these parents are not shared by any other element of the initial body.
      In this case, all the unshared parents are highlighted prior to the move.
    • Check the Move all parents option to move all parents of the first selected element to its new location, regardless of whether these parents are used (shared) by any other element of the initial body.
      In this case, all the parent elements are highlighted prior to the move.
    • Contextual parents cannot be moved.
    • You cannot move some elements of a multi-output alone to another body: only the whole multi-output can be moved.
    • You cannot move external references to another body.
    • Multi-selection of elements of different types is supported. The Change Geometrical Set contextual menu appears on right-clicking any of the selected elements. The action is applied to all the selected elements.

Sorting the Contents of a Geometrical Set
You may need to sort the contents of a Geometrical Set, when the geometric elements no longer appear in the logical creation order. In that case, use the Auto-sort capability to reorder the Geometrical Set contents in the specification tree (geometry itself is not affected). 
The Geometrical Set.1 contains two extruded surfaces based on point-point lines. The specification tree looks like this:
 

  1. Right-click Geometrical Set.1 from the specification and choose the Geometrical Set.1 object > AutoSort command.

    Instantly, the contents of the Geometrical Set are reorganized to show the logical creation process.

    The geometry remains unchanged.

Reordering Elements within a Geometrical Set
  This capability enables you to reorder elements inside the same geometrical set.

  1. Right-click Geometrical Set.1 from the specification tree and choose the Geometrical Set.1 object > Reorder Children command.
    The Reorder Children dialog box is displayed.

  2. Select an element and use the arrows to move an element up or down.

  3. Select an element, click , and select a destination element in the list.
    The selected element is moved above or below the destination element, according to its position with respect to the destination element.

  • You can also select multiple elements and move them simultaneously.
  • When the first element of the list is reordered upward, it becomes the last element. Similarly, when the last element of the list is reordered downward, it becomes the first element. This behavior is unavailable when multiple elements are selected.
 

Dragging and Dropping Elements
  This capability allows you to drag an element from one location and drop it to another location to reorder elements.
  After the Drag/Drop operation, you will notice the following:
  • If you drag a parent node from one location and drop it to another, the child feature's location is also updated.
  • If you drag a parent node from one location and drop it under another, its same name is retained. The name of the child features too remain the same.
  • If multi-selected elements are dragged from one location and dropped to another, only the first feature of the multi-selection is dropped.
  • You can drag a feature from one solid and drop it on another solid in the same body.
  • You can drag a feature from one solid and drop it on another solid in the different bodies.
 

Replacing Features
  This capability is only available on shape features.
Refer to the Replacing or Moving Elements chapter in the Part Design User's Guide.
  To manage this capability, the Do replace only for elements situated after the In Work Object option is available in Tools > Options... > Part Infrastructure > General tab. It allows you to make the Replace option possible only for features located below the feature in Work Object and in the same branch.