18_Change Once, Update Everywhere: Bulk Editing Assemblies with Select Similar (4:09)

Overview

When one assembly needs a change, the same change usually applies everywhere that assembly appears. Select Similar finds every matching assembly on the current sheet or across the whole project so you can edit them all at once. In this video the narrator selects duplex receptacle assemblies by type and then by label, changes their properties, and adds a loose part to every selected assembly build. It is for anyone detailing assemblies who would otherwise edit them one at a time, sheet by sheet.

What you'll learn

• Open Select Similar from the right-click menu
• Choose between the current sheet and the entire project
• Select assemblies by a shared property such as Assembly Type, Label, or Height
• Edit properties such as elevation and work package for the whole selection
• Read Variable in the Panel and Circuit fields
• Change parts on every selected assembly
• Refresh the view so tags and symbols show your changes

Before You Begin

Place your assemblies on the sheet or sheets first. Find one assembly with the property you want to match; you will use it as the starting point for Select Similar.

Part 1 — Open Select Similar

1. Click one example of the assembly you need to change.
2. Right-click anywhere on the screen.
3. Select Select Similar from the drop-down menu.
4. Choose the scope: the current sheet, or the entire project.
5. Choose the property to match.
6. Change the elevation if the assemblies need to move up or down.
7. Add a work package, or change any other parameter the selection needs.
8. Open the parts list for the selection.
9. Change a part, such as the bracket, mud ring, cover, or box.
10. Add any loose parts. In the video, the narrator adds an FM4 first line of support to each assembly build as a loose part.
11. Click Close. The change applies to every selected assembly.
12. Find the Refresh button at the bottom center of the screen.
13. Click Refresh to update the tags and symbols on the sheet.

Note: Unlike Bluebeam, you do not need to right-click on the object itself. A right-click anywhere on the screen opens the menu.

Part 2 — Choose the Scope and the Property to Match

Best practice: Assembly Type and Label are the selections you will use most. Select by Label when you need one specific assembly build rather than every assembly of that type.

Part 3 — Edit Properties for the Whole Selection

Property edits apply to all selected assemblies.

Note: Panel and Circuit show Variable when the selected assemblies have different values in those fields. You can set a single panel and circuit for the whole selection here, but do so only if all selected assemblies belong on that panel and circuit.

Part 4 — Change Parts on the Selected Assemblies

Parts list changes also apply to every selected assembly.

Note: The narrator also mentions strip length as a parts change you can make here, but does not show it.

Part 5 — Refresh the View

Some changes, such as a label change, do not show on the sheet right away.

Select Similar works on more than duplex receptacles. Use it for junction boxes, devices, in-wall assemblies, and counters, so you are not searching every sheet for each instance.

Quick Reference

Troubleshooting