I want to create parts (like bolts) that I can use in other drawings. Is it possible to put them in the other drawings in such a way that if I have to upgrade the part it will be automatically upgraded in all the drawings where it is used? I presume that this means having some sort of reference system where the drawings just have references to the original part, not actual copies of it, but there might be other ways to accomplish this. Does MoI support this in any way?
Thanks again,
Mark

Hi Mark - sorry no MoI does not have any functions in it for having a model contain parts that maintain links to external files and automatically update like that when the external file is edited.

You'll need to use some other CAD software for that kind of task - you might try one of the "all the bells and whistles" parametric solid modeling programs like SolidWorks or SolidEdge - those systems usually have a lot of functionality around managing assemblies of parts.

MoI on the other hand is much more focused on just drawing shapes and not on that type of management.

I would like to look at adding external reference functionality into MoI in the future, but it's hard to say when it will happen - such functions often require a lot of UI within the program to work with them and a big focus for MoI is to have it streamlined and easy to use and focused on drawing things, and some kinds of things do not tend to go along with that focus so much...

One thing that you can do with MoI is to put frequently used parts into a separate file and then you can use MoI's "ImportPart" command to open that file and then it will also allow you to position the imported object right then as well. The ImportPart command is available by right-clicking on the File > Import button. But the imported geometry just becomes part of your current model, there is no update linkage for propagating changes.

- Michael