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      <title>Opening Solid Edge Part Files</title>
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      <div class="title_topic3" id="xps10_pagetitle">Opening Solid Edge Part Files</div>
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      <p class="para_topic">In Solid Edge, you can distinguish different parts by the file type (e.g., block.par, block.psm, and block.asm are three distinct parts). Because NX has only one file type, these part names are mapped into NX part file names by incorporating the file type and truncating the name as necessary. For example, opening block.par, block.psm, or block.asm creates or retrieves block_par.prt, block_psm.prt, or block_asm.prt, respectively.</p>
      <p class="para_topic">If you open a .par or .psm Solid Edge part file, NX creates a corresponding NX file by extracting the Parasolid data from the Solid Edge part file, and importing this data into the newly created NX part file. If there is an existing NX file with the same name as the .par or .psm Solid Edge file, NX returns an error. The behavior is different if you open a Solid Edge *.asm file. See below.</p>
      <p class="para_topic">The NX part file that you create by opening a Solid Edge part file contains one or more unparameterized solid bodies.</p>
      <div class="title_division">About Solid Edge Assembly Part Files</div>
      <p class="para_division">Opening a Solid Edge assembly part file in NX creates a new NX assembly (and associated subassemblies and components), or updates an existing NX assembly.</p>
      <div class="title_division">Opening Solid Edge Assemblies</div>
      <p class="para_division">To open a Solid Edge assembly part file on Windows platforms, select the Solid Edge assembly in the Open Part File dialog, which displays when you select File&rarr;Open. A Solid Edge assembly file has a *.asm file extension filter.</p>
      <p class="para_division">To open a Solid Edge assembly part file on UNIX platforms, you must receive a copy of the Solid Edge part files and a bookmark description of the assembly structure from the person or department using Solid Edge. Bookmarks can be generated from Solid Edge V9.0 or later by saving the assembly as a .bkm file. After you have received the part files and the bookmark, you can open the Solid Edge assembly in NX with the following steps:</p>
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            <p class="para_item">Open the top level Solid Edge assembly part from File&rarr;Open. This will retrieve an existing NX assembly that matches the current criteria, or it will create a new empty part of the correct name.</p>
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         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Open the bookmark from File&rarr;Open. This will update the assembly structure as necessary to match the assembly structure of the Solid Edge assembly that it was generated from.</p>
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      <div class="title_division">Building or Updating Existing NX Assemblies</div>
      <p class="para_division">When opening a Solid Edge assembly, NX first looks for an existing NX part of the correct name. On Windows, NX searches the directory where the Solid Edge assembly is located. On UNIX, the current directory is searched. If the NX part exists, it is opened; otherwise, NX creates a new part.</p>
      <p class="para_division">After the assembly part is loaded or created, NX matches the assembly structure from the Solid Edge assembly to the NX assembly structure. This may cause new components to be added to the NX assembly. If the NX assembly already existed, existing components may also be moved to match their positions in the Solid Edge assembly.</p>
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                  <p class="para_note_body">  Even though components may be added or moved automatically in the NX assembly, they will never automatically be deleted.</p>
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      <p class="para_division">The current NX load options are used when NX is searching for NX part files that match Solid Edge components being added. If NX cannot find an existing part file, it locates the appropriate Solid Edge part, converts it to an NX part, and adds it to the assembly.</p>
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                  <p class="para_note_body">  On Windows, the Solid Edge part is looked for in exactly the same directory location as its saved Solid Edge location. On UNIX, the load options are followed to locate the Solid Edge part.</p>
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      <div class="title_division">Manually Removing Unnecessary Components</div>
      <p class="para_division">Occasionally, NX will not be able to match the NX components that correspond to the Solid Edge assembly. This will often be the case if the NX components have been renamed, or if the Solid Edge assembly structure has changed significantly since it was last used to update the NX assembly. In these cases, additional unnecessary components may get added to the NX assembly, which you must remove manually.</p>
      <p class="para_division">To help you identify which components were added or removed, a report is provided after the Solid Edge assembly has been opened. If no changes were made to the NX assembly, the report does not appear.</p>
      <div class="title_division">Limitations When Opening Solid Edge Parts</div>
      <p class="para_division">Limitations that may cause problems, arising from the different ways that NX and Solid Edge name parts, include:</p>
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         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Solid Edge distinguishes between two parts that have the same name, but are in different directory locations. NX makes no such distinction. Therefore, when NX opens a Solid Edge assembly, it will only work with the first component it finds. If you plan to interoperate between NX and Solid Edge, we recommend that you give the Solid Edge components unique names.</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Solid Edge allows some names for part files that are not allowed in NX (e.g., a part file with a &quot;&amp;&quot; character in its name, such as nut&amp;bolt.asm). If you plan to interoperate between NX and Solid Edge, you should make sure that the names you select are allowed in both. (Valid characters for a file name are dependent on the operating system.)</p>
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         <li>
            <p class="para_item">It is not possible to open pre-V5.0 Solid Edge assemblies in NX. These must first be refiled in Solid Edge V5.0 or later.</p>
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