QUESTION

I found an object in the Home Designer Library Browser that I would like to make changes to and save for future use.  How can I do this?

ANSWER

Placing a symbol from the Library Browser, modifying it, and adding it back to the Library Browser is easy to accomplish in Home Designer software. 

Please note that this functionality is not available in Home Designer Essentials version 2012 and prior.

To place a library object in a plan

1. Select View> Library Browser   to display the Library Browser. 
   
   
   
2. You can either browse to find an object or use the Search feature search by keyword.  
   
    
   
   

   In Home Designer Suite, Home Designer Architectural, and Home Designer Pro, version 9 and newer, you can add items imported from outside sources into the Library, too. For more information on importing symbols, see the Related Articles section below. 

   
   
   
3. Once you have selected the object, click to place it in the plan.

Once the original object is placed in our plan, you can make modifications to it.

 

To customize an object from the Library

1. Use the Select Objects  tool to select the newly placed object, and click on the Open Object  edit tool to display its Specification dialog.
   
   
   
2. On the General section, make any necessary changes to the object's Height, Width, Depth, and Floor to Bottom values.  
   
    
   
   You can also choose the Reverse Symbol checkbox to reverse the orientation of some objects. 
   
   
   
3. Next, select the Materials section where you can specify material assignments for the components that make up that object. When a new material is assigned, the appearance of the preview image on the right side of the dialog updates. 

   
   
   
   The tree list on the left side lists the components of the selected object that can be assigned materials. Some objects may only have a single component while more complex objects may have many.
   
   Some components contain additional sub-components, which display separately in the components tree list.
   

4. Click OK when you have finished making adjustments to apply the changes to your object.

You can now add your customized object back to the Library for future use.

It's a good idea to begin by organizing folders in the User Libraries for this purpose, before adding your object to the Library Browser.

 

To create new folders in Library Browser

1. Your Library Browser should still be open, but if you have closed it, select View> Library Browser  to display the Library Browser again.

2. Right click on User Catalog and select New> Folder.  
   
   In version 9, right-click on User Libraries.

3. Once the new folder is created, give it a descriptive name.  For the purposes of our example, you will call it Shop Accessories.

4. Now that you have created this folder in our User Libraries, you could also create sub-folders within it by following this same process, such as for Cabinetry, Power Tools, Hand Tools, etc. 

Since you have now created an organized place in the Library Browser to put our edited modified symbol, let's add it to the Library.

 

To add an object to the library

1. In your plan view, use the Select Objects  tool to select the edited object, then click the Add to Library  edit button.
   
2. The object is added to the User Catalog in the Library Browser with the name of Clock.  Click and drag to move the item into your Shop Accessories folder.
   
   In version 9 programs, it is added to the Import category.  You can then click and drag it to move it into your Shop Accessories folder User Libraries.
   
3. Let's right-click on it and select Rename to give it a more descriptive name such as Red Clock.
   
4. Now your edited object is ready to be used in future plans, without placing the original symbol and modifying it each time.
   

If you have modified several items, and would like to add them all to the Library Browser at once, you can also group select them, and click on the Add to Library  edit button to add each individual one as its own object into the Library Browser.