About Breaking Dependencies
When you work with Product Development Management (PDM) systems, you must check out and check in your models. While you work on a checked out model, references may be created to objects that are not in the work space. These objects are referred to as ghost objects. Dependencies created to ghost objects are dummy dependencies. Before you save the model or check it in to the PDM system, you must break these dummy dependencies. If removing a dependency would cause the assembly to fail regeneration, the feature is frozen.
Use the Reference Viewer to investigate and break object dependencies. You can break dependencies identified by the 
icon. When you break a dependency, the object is removed from the Reference Viewer graph.
icon. When you break a dependency, the object is removed from the Reference Viewer graph.The following dependency types can be broken:
Dependency | Type of Break |
|---|---|
Data Sharing Features (DSF) | Regenerates the DSF in the component. |
Notebooks | Removes the dependency and makes the object fully independent of its declared notebook. |
Interchange assemblies | Removes the dependency and makes the object independent of the interchange assembly. |
Mirrored models | Removes the dependency when the mirrored model is created as not geometry dependent. You cannot break the dependency when the mirrored model is created as geometry dependent. |
Old assembly cuts | Removes the dependency. |
Replaced components | Removes the dependency. |
Unused substitute components | Removes the dependency. |
 | Restructuring components in assemblies from releases including and before Wildfire 4 created dependencies. These dependencies are visible in the Reference Viewer and can be removed. |