2D Figures
Use a 3D figure (model) to extract 2D information to create technical illustrations for publication. You can then edit the figure using the edit group on the Home ribbon.
2D figures can be displayed in either Drawing Mode or Preview mode. In Drawing Mode, all lines are rendered as very thin lines with each pen shown in its screen color. The Drawing Mode is designed to make it clearer when editing line intersections and busy areas of the figure.
In Preview mode, the figure is displayed as it will be published, with line weights, colors and halos applied. The default for 2D figures is Preview mode.
Creating 2D Figures
When creating 2D figures, you can choose to use the parent settings defined in the 3D figure, or define a custom page setup.
You can define the following categories:
• HLR
• Size
• Border
• Caption
• Grid
For more information on creating figures, see
To Create a New Figure.
Editing 2D Figures
You can perform the following edits on 2D figures:
• Add, remove or edit lines, polylines, rectangles, ellipses, and bezier curves
• Scale elements
• Create linked and unlinked duplicates
All changes that are made to 2D figures are associative. For example, if you scale an element in a 2D figure, and then make changes to the parent 3D figure, the updated 2D figure will maintain the original modifications.
Publishing 2D Figures
Publish 2D figures for viewing in other applications. Define the publish setting in the Publish Settings dialog box.
For more information on publishing figures, see
Publishing Figures.
Out of Sync Figures
2D figures become out of sync following changes made to the parent 3D figure or the default HLR settings. The following changes made to a parent 3D figure will cause 2D figures to become out of sync:
• Hide or Unhide a part
• Load or Unload a part
• Move or Rotate a part
• Add or Delete a callout
• Add or Delete a symbol, stamp or inset
• Edit an inset
Out of sync figures are indicated in the thumbnail and the figure tree list with the 
out of sync indication. When you open an out of sync figure, it is automatically updated. An update summary is displayed with all the updates that were applied to the figure.
out of sync indication. When you open an out of sync figure, it is automatically updated. An update summary is displayed with all the updates that were applied to the figure.If an illustration contains multiple out of sync figures, you can regenerate all the out of sync figures, or select individual figures.
When publishing out of sync figures, choose one of the following options:
• Publish without regenerating
• Regenerate and publish
To regenerate a figure, click 
Regenerate 2D, and then select one of the following options:
Regenerate 2D, and then select one of the following options:• Regenerate Selected Figures—To regenerate the selected out of sync 2D figures
• Regenerate All Figures—To regenerate all out of sync 2D figures
The figure is updated.