Configuration Object

This section describes how to configure objects that stores a set of desired, non-default values for other objects in a mechanism or scene.

A configuration is an object that stores a set of desired, non-default values for other objects in a mechanism or scene. Along with the preset values, each object referenced by the configuration is associated with an activation option, used to define the behavior of the referenced object.

Multiple configurations can reference the same object. The configurations can become mutually exclusive (i.e., they cannot be simultaneously active) depending on the chosen activation option for the referenced object. For example, two configurations reference the same object with the Modify option, only one configuration can be activated at a time.

To create a new configuration:

• Select Simulation from the Toolbox. Double-click Configuration.
• Alternatively, you can right-click one or more objects (using the Ctrl key) in the Explorer panel, and click Add to New Configuration. This is used to add the selected objects to a new configuration.
  • If the selected objects are not found in any active configurations, the new configuration is active by default.
  • If any of the selected objects is found in other active configurations, you are prompted to choose whether to activate the new configuration.

To add objects to existing configurations:

• Right-click one or more eligible objects in the Explorer panel, and click Add to Configuration.... In the resulting dialog box, select the desired configuration from the Configuration panel, then click the confirm button. This action does not change the active state of the configuration.
• Right-click the desired configuration in the Configuration panel, and select Add Object(s).... In the resulting dialog box, select one or more eligible objects (using the Ctrl key) from the Explorer panel, then click the confirm button.

Using Edit functions:

You can also use standard edit functions with configurations:

• Cut: Cut one or more selected configurations from the Configuration panel. Cut configurations are added to the clipboard, ready for pasting.
• Copy: Copy one or more selected configurations to the clipboard from the Configuration panel.
• Paste: Paste the cut or copied configurations from the clipboard. The pasted configurations are inactive by default and inserted at the end of the list in the Configuration panel.

Note Cut or copied configurations cannot be pasted in another document.

• Duplicate: Duplicate the selected configurations from the clipboard. The active state of the original configuration is also duplicated; If there is a conflict, a warning dialog box will appear. The duplicate configuration is inserted at the end of the list in the Configuration panel.

User Prompt

In the following instances, you are prompted with a dialog box (seen below) that requires attention:

• You activate a configuration that has objects in common with other active configurations.
• You create a new configuration that has objects in common with other active configurations.
• You add objects to an active configuration and the objects are found in other active configurations.

Clicking Continue deactivates the existing configurations that have objects in common with the new (or selected) configuration. The new (or selected) configuration becomes active. Clicking Cancel (or the X at the top-right) causes the new (or selected) configuration to remain inactive.

Configuration Panel

The Configuration panel is a table view that lists all the configurations of the current mechanism or scene. You can reorder the configurations in the panel simply by dragging and dropping them. The Configuration panel is hidden by default but automatically appears when you add a new configuration, or when you load a mechanism or scene that already has at least one configuration.

The Configuration panel has one row for each configuration, and the following columns:

• Warning column: A warning icon appears in the this column when there is an issue with the related configuration.
• Check box column: Checking the box next to a configuration in this column activates or deactivates a configuration. A message indicating that the configuration is active appears in the main viewing window.
• Name column: This column displays the name of the configurations. An asterisk after the name means there are unsaved changes to an item managed by that configuration.

Configuration Properties

Once you add a configuration, its Properties panel opens on the right-hand side of the window. From here, customize the following details of the currently selected configuration.

• Name: Displays the customizable name of the current configuration.
• Add: Clicking this button opens a dialog box where you can select one or more objects from the Explorer panel to add to this configuration.
• Remove: Select one or more objects from the Properties panel then click Remove to delete them from this configuration.
• Action on activation: From the drop-down menu next to the object in the Properties panel, select that object's behavior upon activation of the configuration.
  • Modify: While this configuration is active, any changes to this object's properties are saved. The object is always managed.
  • Add and Modify: Only when the configuration is activated does this object get added and become managed. Any changes to the object's properties are saved.
  • Remove: When the configuration is activated, this object is removed and becomes unmanaged. Any changes to the object's properties are not saved.

The compatibility table below demonstrates whether the same object present in two configurations is allowed, given its "Action on activation" setting:

Note The order in which you add objects to a configuration reflects the order in which the objects are processed, as shown by the the Execution Order column in the Properties panel.

Objects in the Explorer Panel

Depending on the Configuration properties related to an object, that object appears differently in the Explorer panel.

• When a configuration is active:
  • Its related objects have a white wrench icon next to their names.
  • If a related object has its "Action on activation" setting set to Remove in the Properties panel, it will appear grayed out and in italics in the Properties panel until that configuration is deactivated.
  • Changing properties of an object managed by this configuration results in an asterisk next to the configuration's name in the Configuration panel.
• When a configuration is not active:
  • Its related objects have a gray wrench icon next to their names.
  • If a related object has its "Action on activation" setting set to Add and Modify in the Properties panel, it will appeared grayed out and in italics in the Properties panel until that configuration is activated.
  • The asterisk (if any) indicating a change in the properties of a related object goes away upon deactivation of a configuration.

Mechanism Configuration

A configuration can reference most of the objects in a mechanism, except the following:

• Mechanism definition (the root object that appears in the Explorer panel)
• Objects in an instance of a definition (e.g., a part of an assembly instance or child node of a gallery instance)
• Role objects
• Other configuration objects

Scene Configuration

In scenes, a configuration can only reference scene-level objects, e.g., those related to the environment, or placement of mechanisms. If you wish to create configurations to control mechanism objects, that must be done at the mechanism level.

If a mechanism has its own configurations, the Configuration Status column will have a configuration icon, and the configurations appear in the Explorer panel when you expand the mechanism. Selecting the configuration from here allows you to activate or deactivate it. At the moment a mechanism is instantiated in a scene, the configurations of the mechanism instance take their active status from the mechanism definition.

Note Changing a configuration's active status in the mechanism's definition after the mechanism has been instantiated in a scene will not overwrite its activation status in the scene.