Variants & design tables
One part, many variants — a variant overrides dimensions, and a design table edits them all as a grid.
A variant (a configuration, in SolidWorks terms) is a named version of a part — same feature history, different numbers. Model the bracket once; ship it in S / M / L.
Variants
- Open the Variants tab in the left panel — or Tools ▸ Variants — (or ask the AI: "create config Large").
- Each variant can override dimension values — extrude depths, sketch dimensions, pattern counts. Anything not overridden inherits the default.
- Double-click a variant in the tree to activate it — the whole model rebuilds with its values. Hover a row to ✎ rename; right-click for derived variants and delete.
In an assembly, every component instance picks which variant it uses — mixed sizes in one assembly are normal.
The design table
The Design Table sits under the variant tree and shows variants × parameters as a grid:
- Each row is a variant, each column a parameter.
- Edit any cell — the change applies to that variant only, and the geometry follows.
- Click a row's name to activate that variant.
CSV round-trip
- Export CSV — the grid as a spreadsheet file; edit sizes in Excel/Numbers, share it, or generate rows programmatically.
- Import CSV — new rows become variants, new columns become parameters; existing cells update. The table is the contract: what you see is exactly what imports.
When it fails
- A cell edit errors the rebuild — that value breaks the geometry in that variant only (e.g. a fillet radius too large at the small size); the other variants are untouched. Fix the value, or override fewer dimensions (Fix a rebuild error).
Related: Equations & global variables · Patterns & Mirror · Assemblies & mates