Did you know you can open and view a drawing file without having the part in session? This is a big time-saver because the drawing opens much faster. In addition, the drawing models need not be present to view and/or print the drawing. You cannot, however, modify the drawing until you bring the model into session.

Here’s how to save yourself some time.

1. Open a Drawing file.

2. Click the icon in the right-hand corner to pull down the menu shown below.

3. Select the Drawing and from the menu select Retrieve Drawing as View Only.

4. Now Open your file.

Note that this technique only works if the config option was set to save_display yes when the drawing was initially saved. Otherwise, the drawing will just appear blank. For additional information about this technique, visit www.ptc.com/cs/tpi/35337.htm.

R. Swamynathan is a senior engineer at GE Consumer Products-India Design Center in Hyderabad, India. He can be reached by email at swamynathan_r@satyam.com.