Wildfire and datums on the fly

Hi All

A simple Q as I am newish to wildfire. In 2001 the 'on the fly' datum was
straight forward to create and subsequently modify. In Wildfire the only
way I can see to do it is to move the plane selection window down so I can
grab the 'make datum' icon off the standard icon list down the RHS. This,
although a little clumsy works. However when I modify the component (edit
definition) I do not see the dimensions for the datum plane created on the
fly. To get to them I need to go to the model tree and expand the details
for the feature created off the datum plane. This seems a backwards step to
me. Have I missed some critical aspect??

I hope this makes sense to you readers and thanks for any advice

 

: Hi All
:
: A simple Q as I am newish to wildfire. In 2001 the 'on the fly' datum was
: straight forward to create and subsequently modify. In Wildfire the only
: way I can see to do it is to move the plane selection window down so I can
: grab the 'make datum' icon off the standard icon list down the RHS. This,
: although a little clumsy works. However when I modify the component (edit
: definition) I do not see the dimensions for the datum plane created on the
: fly. To get to them I need to go to the model tree and expand the details
: for the feature created off the datum plane.

Yes, this is a little weird, compared to the way it was. It has the advantage,
though, of making this hybrid datum on the fly reusable. The whole business (datum
and sketch) are merged into an AUTO_GROUP. The datum is hidden, though it can be
unhidden and referenced, as I'm sure you've discovered. That means it can be used
for future features. All the feature dimensions, including those of the datum on
the fly, are shown when you highlight the AUTO_GROUP and click Edit.

David Janes