Component Definition vs Instance
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What is the difference between them? Googling, I find info that tells me when I edit the definition all instances edit with it, but when I edit an instance, it makes that instance unique. Is that old behavior? Because when I edit an instance, it certainly does change all other instances and the definitions. So are these all really just copies and it doesn't matter which one is the original? Thanks!
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Perhaps a simple way of putting it is, the definition is what it is and the instance is which specific copy.
So the definition might be Door Knob.
And various instances would be Front door, Back door, Side door and so on.
Edit any instance will edit the rest.
Make unique will change the definition but not the instance name. So you can make the back door unique and edit it without changing the front door. -
Box, I don’t think anyone could make it any clearer.
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The term "definition" is the easier of the two. Like the definition of a word, it is what the Component "means". That is, what geometry goes into being that component. "Instance" is less clear to those who aren't computer programmers. It is the equivalent to "use" of a word. That is, a single place in which the defined word is inserted into a sentence. In SketchUp and "instance" of a "definition" is placed in a model.
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Thanks! So my takeaway is that they all ARE copies of each other and there’s really no difference in behavior between the definition (original) and the instances (copies).
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Maybe think about the example Box gave. You might use the same interior door on every doorway throughout a house such as this one:
They all have the same definition which includes the Definition Name of TS6080 TruStile. One has an instance name of Bedroom 1 Door, another Bedroom 2 Door, and a third, Bathrom door.
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