Assigning Units Manually
Compatible units, macro units, materials, and custom costs can be manually assigned to a work location or a feature in two ways:
- by using a drag-and-drop operation. Dragging an item from the Units Catalog to a work location or feature listed in the Design Workspace assigns it to that element of the design.
- by typing the item's ID. Clicking the Assign command on the shortcut menu creates a new row in the Design Workspace where you can type an item's ID (or its name, if the item is a custom cost). Matching items are generated as you type, and from the list of matched items you can select the item you want to assign by clicking it.
An assigned unit is displayed in the Design Workspace in the folder of the work location or feature. Typically compatible units, macro units, and materials are assigned to features whereas custom costs are assigned to work locations. If the assigned unit is a macro unit and it has been configured to explode upon assignment, the compatible units and materials that make up the macro unit will be displayed in the Design Workspace (see also Viewing Unit Components and Viewing the Components of Assigned Units).
A unit assigned to a work location will acquire its life-cycle status from the work location's life cycle, which is driven by the Life-Cycle Status global attribute of the active job default. For more information about global attributes, see Job Defaults. A unit assigned to a feature will inherit its life-cycle status from the feature's current life cycle.
Except for retired units, there are no rules governing what kind of unit can be assigned to a particular feature or work location. For information about retired units and their constraints, see Retired Units.
For information about modifying assigned units, see Changing the Properties of Assigned Compatible Units. For information about automatic unit assignment, see Assigning Units Automatically.