I still need help understanding the scope of variable tables, variable studios, etc.

dave_moser

My basic goal is this: I have a document with a variable studio and a number of part studios. (In this case, they are various separate trays of an insert for storing a board game.) I want to create a new document describing a new insert system for a different game. Many of the components are similar in form, but not in the specific quantity or dimensions, so instead of starting from scratch I want to copy the existing document, rename it, and make modifications as necessary. When I tried this, what I expected to happen is that the Variable Studio would be duplicated just as the Part Studios were, and could be modified as needed for the new document. Instead, no Variable Studio is present in the new document, and all of the sketches' variables are still referencing the defined in the original document. Is there a way to do the document duplication in such a way that the new document has its own, independent Variable Studio, with nothing left that is referencing the original document? Or should I just be doing this a different way?

ry_gb

Variable studios are separate entities from part studios and the main purpose for them is to be able to control multiple part studios with the same variable studio.

You can do either of two things to get the intended behavior you want:

1. On the bottom of the variable studio, you can uncheck the box that says "Insert into all part studios and assemblies". Then duplicate BOTH the part and variable studios. Insert the variable studio into the corresponding part studio (look in the variable tab inside the part studio).
2. Create all of your variables inside the part studio instead (put them in a folder to keep them tidy). When you duplicate the part studio, the variables will be independent as they're embedded inside the part studio.

Option 1 will create a bunch of tabs, which might create clutter, while option 2 might clutter up your feature tree.

I prefer Option 2 because it's less tabs overall. Both options are actually okay, though.

Edit: Something else you should look into is Configurations. It'll let you create multiple versions of the same items (with different dimensions and such) all within the same part studio.