An element can be associated with, or "locked" to, an element template. When an element is associated with a template, its properties match those specified in the template. At some point the properties in the template may change, in which case you would want to update all elements that were associated with that template. The associated elements can be updated in one of several ways, depending on whether their template was created and stored in the open DGN file or came from a DGN library:

• If the template is one that was created and stored in the open DGN file, the associated elements will be resymbolized automatically when properties in their template are modified. As soon as you change the template in the Element Templates dialog, elements in the open DGN file associated with that template are updated.
• If the template is one that was copied from a DGN library, you can update all associated elements by using a menu item on the Utilities menu in the Element Templates dialog.
• If the template is from a DGN library, you can use the Standards Checker to check and update associated elements.

If you had used a template while placing elements and had manually changed the elements' symbology so that it no longer matches the local template, you can update the elements so that they match the template again. A menu item on the Utilities menu in the Element Templates dialog allows you to update only the selected elements that are associated with local templates. If an element that is not associated with a template happens to be selected when this update occurs, its symbology will not change.

The following procedures show you how to update a template created in the open DGN file and resymbolize its associated elements automatically, update all elements associated with a DGN library template that has changed, and update selected elements associated with a local template.