The main window of the Unit Assistant displays the components that make up a particular unit. Macro units can consist of other macro units, compatible units, and materials. Compatible units consist of materials. Materials and custom costs cannot be grouped to form other materials or custom costs. Private units can consist of either public or private components.

Double-clicking a unit in the Units folder opens the item in the Unit Assistant window. Clicking the plus sign of the unit displays a list of its components in the main window or Component List. The components are sorted by ID number in the default view, and the name, type (public or private), and owner of each component is shown. The category of each component is indicated by its icon. For information about the components of a design's assigned units, see Viewing the Components of Assigned Units