Sequence Editor

The sequence editor is used to create and edit the sequences.

Contents Of This Page:

Use the following links to navigate faster to a section of the Sequence editor options help you are looking for.

Required Settings
Format Data Blob Colors
Optional Settings
Rolling Back the Sequence
Use Case Examples
Risks While Rolling Back the Sequences

Required settings:

Sequence name	Defines the name of the sequence.
Min value	Defines the minimum value of the sequence. The value equals with the Next value by default.
Max value	Defines the last code available for the sequence. Once the maximum value is reached, no more codes can be generated until the sequence is modified.
Next value	Defines the value of the first code generated from the sequence.
Increment by	Determines how much the sequence increments when the user generates the next value from the sequence.
Format data	Specifies the format string for the sequence and how the code will be generated. Zeros (0) will be added in front of the number if the current document number is shorter than the formated style.

TIP: Right-click on the Format data box or click the # button to select the numbering format.

Format Data Blob Colors:

The Format data box in the sequence editor is used to specify the formatting of the code retrieved from the sequence. In the Format data box in the sequence editor you can use the pre-defined formattings for the sequence to define the amount of digits the sequence code is presented with. The following colors are used to identify the blobs in the sequence data formatting:

	Pre-defined function
	Invalid item

If you get the invalid item blob into the Format data box, please ensure that the item selected in the format data exist.

Optional settings:

Use project specific sequence numbering	The sequence starts from the first number in each project where the sequence is used. Select this option to use the project specific document codes starting from the first value with each project. If this option is not selected, the sequence is used globally and the new numbers are generated continously with all projects.
Rollback value after associated file is deleted	The value that was in use by a document referenced in an assembly is rolled back for new use when the document used to have the code earlier, is deleted from inside the assembly where it was referenced in. This option works also project specific way so, if the project specific numbering is in use, the sequence number is rolled back only in the project where the deleted document was assigned to. NOTE: While having the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option selected on the sequence, please consider the risks mentioned later in this page about the special file treatment methods related to usage of this option.
Next value generated based on value of property	Select Property from the Next value generated based on value of property box to determine the desired Property which value the code generation from the selected sequence depends on.

Rolling Back the Sequence:

The sequence number is rolled back to release the code from the deleted file for the later usage when the file is being deleted in the following use cases:

A sub-assembly is deleted from inside the upper level assembly. See example.
A part is deleted from inside the assembly. See example.
The Search feature. When using the CUSTOMTOOLS Search feature you can delete the desired files in the Search Results dialog box by using the File Operations, Delete File command. In that case the sequence code is released from the deleted file when the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option in the sequence used, is selected.
The Print/Convert feature. When using the CUSTOMTOOLS Print/Convert feature you can delete the desired files in the Batch Operations dialog box by using the File Operations, Delete File command. In that case the sequence code is released from the deleted file when the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option in the sequence used, is selected.
The Where Used feature. When using the CUSTOMTOOLS Where Used feature you can delete the desired files in the Where Used dialog box by using the File Operations, Delete File command. In that case the sequence code is released from the deleted file when the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option in the sequence used, is selected.
The Export feature. When using the CUSTOMTOOLS Export feature you can delete the desired files in the Export dialog box by using the File Operations, Delete File command. In that case the sequence code is released from the deleted file when the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option in the sequence used, is selected.

Use Case Examples:

Case 1: A sub-assembly is deleted from inside the upper level assembly

When you delete a whole sub-assembly from the parent assembly, all sequence numbers used by the sub-assembly and its' components are released for the later use with the new components created into the same assembly.

Case 2: A part is deleted from inside the assembly

When you delete a part from the assembly, the number reserved by the part from the sequence having the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option selected is also released so that the number used by the part will be available for the other parts you create later inside an assembly the old part was deleted from.

NOTE: Any sequence number does not roll back for later use when the files are deleted for example using the Delete File command available in File Operations menu in the CUSTOMTOOLS Commands bar. This apply to all dialog boxes and use cases when the Delete File command is used from the CUSTOMTOOLS Commands bar.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To roll back the sequence values properly in the CUSTOMTOOLS system, the files that the sequence values were used in, are also being deleted from the disk. Please see the following risk descriptions for more detailed information.

Risks While Rolling Back the Sequences:

While you have the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option selected for a sequence and you delete components using the SOLIDWORKS Feature Manager Design Tree, you get propted to delete the selected component and all of its sub-components and the referenced drawings. A prompt which appear while deleting a sub-assembly from the assembly's structure have the following options to choose the action from.

Please refer to the following table to notice the risks related to the usage of the Rollback value after associated file is deleted option.

Option	Description	Risks
Yes	The sub-assembly with its components and referenced drawings are deleted from the structure and also from the disk.	The SOLIDWORKS part (.sldprt)* and assembly (.sldasm)* files including their referenced drawings (.slddrw)* are being deleted from the disk as well as they are being removed from the model structure. A way the files are being deleted from the disk also depends on the Delete files permanently option located in the CUSTOMTOOLS General User Options. If the Delete files permanently option is selected, the files are deleted without moving them to the Windows Recycle Bin.
No	Nothing is deleted from the disk.	The selected component gets removed only from the model structure it is being removed from. No files are about to get deleted from the disk by using this option.
Just Assembly	Just the assembly file is being deleted.	The selected assembly file (.sldasm)* and its drawing files (.slddrw)* are deleted from the disk as well as they are removed from the model structure. A way the files are deleted from the disk also depends on the Delete files permanently option located in the CUSTOMTOOLS General User Options. If the Delete files permanently option is selected, the files are deleted without moving them to the Windows Recycle Bin. Part files referencing to the deleted assembly are not deleted from the disk.

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