Feature tree
Every step of your design, in order. Change any step, roll back, reorder, switch features off, and play the build back.
- Play the buildFeature tree: ▶ Play
The feature tree, on the left of the screen, lists every step you used to build your design, in the order you made them: sketches, extrudes, holes, fillets and so on. Each step is a feature. SchoolCAD remembers how every part was made, so you can go back and change any feature, even the very first sketch, and everything after it is rebuilt. Onshape, Fusion and SOLIDWORKS work the same way.
At the top of the tree are the Origin and the Top, Front and Right planes. Click a plane, then Sketch, to draw on it. Click the eye beside a plane to hide or show it.
Changing a feature#
- Double-click the feature in the tree. (Or right-click it and choose Edit, or double-click a face on the model to open the feature that made it.)
- Make your change. A sketch opens for editing; other features open their dialog.
- Click ✓ (or ✓ Finish sketch). Everything after it is rebuilt.
While you change a feature that has others after it, Show the final result is ticked. Untick it to see the model as it was at this step. If your change would break a later feature, the dialog says so straight away, before you click ✓.
For a quick change, click the feature once instead. Its sizes show on the model: click a size and type a new one, or drag an arrow.
What the tree shows#
| You see | It means |
|---|---|
| − after a sketch | The sketch is not fully defined: some lines can still move. |
| ! | The feature has a problem. Click it to read why, then click Edit. |
| ⚠ | A warning: the feature built, but something is not right. Click it to read why. |
| ⏱ | The feature is slow to rebuild. |
| A name crossed out | The feature is switched off (suppressed). |
| Pale features | They are below the rollback bar, so they are not built at the moment. |
Point at a feature to see the faces it made outlined on the model, and a note of what it uses. When you click a feature, a coloured stripe marks the features it uses and the features that use it.
Right-click a feature#
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Edit | Opens the feature so you can change it. |
| Rename | Gives it a clear name, such as Leg holes, so your tree is easy to read. |
| Suppress (switch off) | Leaves the feature out without deleting it. Unsuppress puts it back. |
| Move up, Move down | Moves it one place in the tree. |
| Change plane (move to another face) | For a sketch: click another plane or flat face to move the sketch onto it. |
| Roll back to here, Add features after this one | Moves the rollback bar (see below). |
| Delete | Removes the feature. |
Rolling back#
The blue bar at the end of the tree is the rollback bar. Drag it up to see the model at an earlier step. New features go where the bar is, so you can add a step in the middle of your history, such as a hole you forgot before the fillets. When you are finished, click Roll to end on the bar.
Moving features#
Drag a feature up or down the tree, or select it and press Alt+↑ or Alt+↓. The model is rebuilt in the new order. SchoolCAD will not put a feature above something it uses, and says why, for example: Extrude 2 uses Sketch 2, so Extrude 2 has to stay below it. To move a feature past the rollback bar, roll to the end first.
Deleting a feature#
Select it and press Delete, or right-click it and choose Delete. The message that appears has an Undo button.
Play the build#
Click ▶ Play at the top of the feature tree to watch your design being made, one feature at a time. Click ■ Stop, or press Esc or Space, to stop. To save it as a movie for your folio, use Video.
When a later feature breaks#
Changing, moving, suppressing or deleting a feature can break a feature after it. A message names the features that broke, with Undo. Click a feature marked ! to read why. Common reasons:
- Its sketch (Sketch 2) is switched off. Unsuppress Sketch 2, or edit the feature and choose another sketch.
- Its sketch (Sketch 2) comes after this feature. Drag Sketch 2 above the feature.
- 1 dimension or constraint lost the model edge it was measured from. Edit the sketch. The lost edge shows as a red dashed line where it was: click it, then click the edge to use now, and every dimension that used it moves across.
- The face this sketch was on has gone, so the sketch stays where it was. Right-click the sketch and choose Change plane to put it on another face.