When you select Structure as the Representation option for the assembly models in the Import New Model dialog box, the structure-level details of the assembly components, such as the assembly nodes, meta data, and model parameters are initially imported to Creo.

When you select Graphic as the Representation option in the Import New Model dialog box, the product structures of the assemblies are imported with the visualization data of individual part components.

Whether you import assemblies as product structure or graphic representations, Creo applies the custom start part and template files only to the top-level Translated Image Model (TIM) assemblies and the TIM sub-assemblies, not to the TIM part components. The template files are applied to the TIM part components only when you update the TIM parts to their master representations.

Import features are not created in the TIM part components for the product structure and graphic representations of the TIM assemblies. The structure and the graphic representations also do not allow the creation of model geometry until you upgrade the TIM assemblies to their master representation though both representations import fully-functional assemblies with content. However, both representations allow you to assemble new components in the TIM assemblies. The representation of the newly added components, especially when the components are added after an Associative Topology Bus (ATB) update, depends on the representation of the TIM assemblies into which they are assembled. The information regarding the assembly representation as structure, graphic, or master and the level of detail are stored as ATB information at the component level.

Although no import features and model geometry are created when you selectively import the product structure or the visualization data of assemblies, the TIM assemblies have content and are fully functional. Therefore, after the initial import of the assemblies as TIMs, you can use the Read Graphics and the Read Master ATB commands to switch from the product structure representation of the TIM assemblies to their graphic representation and from the graphic to their master representation, respectively.