Spreadsheet - How to reference a variable in a component from within an assembly

If you are working in an assembly and wish to use a variable that is defined in a component, you can reference it using the following syntax:

component_name::variable_name

For example:

component1::hole_diameter

references the variable hole_diameter in component "component1".

Note If you use variables that depend on other variables in components, you may have problems in the following situations.

• When you use the component in an assembly that is not the original assembly created with the component, if a variable in the component references another component that does not form part of the new assembly
• When a component in an assembly is substituted with another component with a different name

For example, consider an assembly made up of two parts.



Notice that the diameter of the part on the left depends on the diameter of the part on the right (to see it, make the left-hand part the current component by double clicking it or by using the command and then display the Spreadsheet dialog box).



Although this method of defining variables is possible, it is not recommended because it creates interrelations which prevent you from using the component in other assemblies if the other assemblies do not contain a component TUBE001 which in turn contain a variable "diam".

The best way of solving this problem is to define variables at assembly level: i.e., define a variable "d" corresponding to a project specification (in this case, the diameter) and then define the variable as "::d" in both components.

In this case, the components cannot be used in an assembly which does not contain the variable. This situation is very unlikely, however, since the variable defined in the above assembly is a project specification.