To find a part in an Advance Steel model, open the Model Browser (Home tab > Advance Steel Tool Palette > Selection > Model Browser), find the part’s name or mark in the list, and click it. Advance Steel highlights it in the model. Click Isolate to show only that part, and Show All to bring everything back.
You need this when the model has thousands of parts and you’re looking for one plate or one beam, especially in an old project you don’t remember. Below are the steps with screenshots, plus what the mark columns mean, tips for big models, and what to check when the part just won’t show up.
How do I open the Model Browser in Advance Steel?
- Go to the Home tab on the ribbon.
- Open the Advance Steel Tool Palette.
- In the Tool Palette, click the Selection tab on the left.
- Click Model Browser.
How do I find a part by name or mark?
The Model Browser lists every part in the model. Find the part name you need in the list and Advance Steel highlights it in the model:
How do I sort by main part, single part or preliminary part?
You can also sort the list by part type, which helps a lot in a big model:
- Main Part: usually the main member of an assembly (the assembly mark).
- Single Part: the single part number used on shop drawings.
- Preliminary Part: the preliminary number given before final numbering.
Pick the sort order in the drop-down at the top right of the Model Browser, or click the Main Part, Single Part or Preliminary Part column header to sort the table by that column.
How do I isolate the part I found?
When you’ve found the part, click Isolate to show only that part in the view. Click Show All to bring the rest of the model back.
Single Part Isolated
Here’s the part I was looking for, found and isolated:
What do main part, single part and preliminary part marks mean?
These come from numbering, so it helps to know where they come from:
- A single part mark is the number of one piece of steel: one plate, one angle, one beam. Identical pieces get the same single part mark. That’s what’s on single-part shop drawings and plate DXF files.
- A main part is the main member of an assembly, like the beam that the clips and plates are welded to. Its mark is the assembly mark that the erector sees on the erection drawing.
- A preliminary mark is a temporary number some workflows use before final numbering.
If the model hasn’t been numbered yet, the mark columns are empty and you’ll have to find parts by section or by clicking around. Run numbering first. I explain the whole process in numbering the structural model in Advance Steel.
How do I find a part from a shop drawing mark?
Take the mark from the drawing (the assembly mark for an assembly drawing, the part mark for a single-part drawing). In the Model Browser, sort by Main Part for an assembly mark or Single Part for a part mark, then scroll to it. Because identical parts share a mark, you may see several rows with the same mark. Click each one to see where they are in the model.
Tips for finding parts in a big model
- Sort before you scroll. Clicking a column header puts all the marks in order, which is much faster than reading an unsorted list.
- Isolate, then work. Once the part is isolated, you can check it, measure it or edit it without the rest of the model in the way. Just remember to click Show All when you’re done.
- Zoom to it. If the part is highlighted but too small to see, use AutoCAD’s Zoom > Object and pick it, or isolate it and zoom extents.
- Check the section too. If two parts look alike, the section and length columns tell them apart.
Why can’t I find my part in the Model Browser?
The mark column is empty. The model hasn’t been numbered, or the part was added after the last numbering. Run numbering again.
The mark changed. If someone renumbered the model, the mark on an old drawing may now belong to a different part, or not exist. Check the drawing revision against the model.
The part is there but I can’t see it in the model. It may be hidden, or on a layer that’s turned off or frozen. Click Show All and check your layers.
It’s in another file. On big jobs the model is sometimes split into several drawings. Make sure you have the right one open.
