Reference Explorer

The Reference Explorer is an advanced tool for viewing references between documents. It is used by several Meridian commands to display different reference types:

Show Assembly Structure — Shows only outgoing CAD external reference types
Show Where Used — Shows only incoming CAD external reference types and custom reference types
Show Derivatives — Shows Derived From and Derived To reference types
Show Project Copies — Shows the copies made in folders of a master document with Advanced Project Workflow Module.
Copy with References — Copies a document and its references to a new document
Derive with References — Derives a document and references from a source document
Create Project Copy — Copies a master document to a folder as a project copy

The Reference Explorer is built into the Copy with References and Derive with References commands, so the Reference Explorer appears automatically when creating references. The other commands display the Reference Explorer only to show different reference types.

Note:

If a part is used in more than one sub-assembly, each occurrence of the part in the Reference Explorer tree is considered as a separate document for the purpose of selection. However, that does not affect the resulting copy operation.

PowerWeb Procedures

Use these steps for PowerWeb.

To open a document in the Reference Explorer and view its references:

Select the document for which you want to view its references.
Choose one of the following options:
- In the Document ribbon, in the Information group, select one of the first three commands listed above, depending on the reference type that you want to view.
  
  The Reference Explorer opens and shows documents that are linked to the selected document by the applicable reference type.
- From the context menu:
  1. Right-click the document, and point to Document > Information.
  2. Select one of the first three commands listed above, depending on the reference type that you want to view.
    
    The Reference Explorer opens and shows documents that are linked to the selected document by the applicable reference type.
- From the Thumbnails view:
  1. Right-click a thumbnail of a document.
  2. Point to Document > Information.
  3. Select one of the first three commands listed above, depending on the reference type that you want to view.
    
    The Reference Explorer opens and shows documents that are linked to the selected document by the applicable reference type.
Choose one or more of the following options:
- To show a different reference type, click Assembly Structure, Where Used, or Derivatives.
- To show references that were created manually, in the Assembly ribbon, in the Options group, enable Display Manual References.
- To show project copies that have already been released, superseded, or merged with the master document, in the Assembly ribbon, in the Options group, enable Display Inactive Project Copies.
- To display a sub-set of a document's properties in the right pane, select a document in the left pane.
  
  These properties are configurable by a System Administrator as described in Configure Reference Browser Properties.
- To make one of the reference documents the selected document, select the document in the left pane and click the Document icon in the view bar.
- To download the document and open it in its registered application, in the Assembly ribbon menu, click Open Document.
- To show a shortcut menu of all commands that are applicable to the selected document, right-click a document.
- To close the Reference Explorer, click Exit.

PowerUser Procedures

Use these steps for PowerUser.

To open a document in the Reference Explorer and view its references:

Select the document for which you want to view its references.
On the Document menu, select one of the first four commands listed above depending on the reference type that you want to view.

The Reference Explorer opens and shows documents that are linked to the selected document by the applicable reference type.
Select a document in the left pane to display its location in the Folders view of the vault in the right pane.

Select options from the toolbar using the descriptions in the following table or right-click a document to show a shortcut menu of commands that are applicable to the selected document.

To select or deselect an entire assembly with all parts and subassemblies related to it, hold down the Shift key while clicking either Select for copy or Use original.

Reference Explorer toolbar buttons
Option	Description
	Opens the selected document in a new viewer window.
	Compares two selected documents.
	Shows the revisions of the selected document.
	Show the property pages of the selected document.
	Refreshes the Reference Explorer to display the most recent changes.
	Shows outgoing CAD external reference types.
	Shows incoming CAD external reference types and custom reference types.
	Shows Derived From and Derived To reference types.
	Shows project copies and their master documents. Requires the Advanced Project Workflow Module.
	When creating copies, shows the assembly copy options. When viewing references, shows visibility options for manual references and inactive project copies: Display manual references — Show only references that can be created manually and are not created automatically by application links. Enabled by default. Display inactive project copies — Along with active project copies, also shows project copies that have been released as new master revisions, have been superseded by the master document, or have been merged with the master document. Enabled by default.

To make one of the reference documents the selected document, select the document in the left pane and click Go to.