Changes made to a black symbol definition affect all instances of that symbol in the drawing. The Convert to Group command changes a selected symbol into a group of Vectorworks objects, allowing edits to be made to that object without affecting the other instances of the symbol in the drawing. This command “disassociates” the symbol instance from its definition. The edited symbol can then be turned into a new symbol if desired.
Before using this command to edit a symbol instance that has been inserted into a wall, first drag the symbol outside of the wall. This avoids converting the wall as well.
To convert a symbol to a group:
In the drawing, select the symbol instance to edit.
Select Modify > Convert > Convert to Group.
If a symbol contains multiple levels of grouped objects, other symbols, or plug-in objects, the Convert to Group Options dialog box opens. Select the desired criteria for converting the symbol.
Click to show/hide the parameters.
Use caution when converting hybrid symbols. If in Top/Plan view, the 3D component of the symbol may be lost during the conversion. Similarly, in a 3D view, the 2D screen plane portion of the symbol may be lost.
Click OK.
The symbol is converted into a group. To make changes to grouped items, select Modify > Edit Group or Ungroup.
The object can be left as a grouped object or saved as a new symbol. Any changes to the original symbol definition do not affect this instance.
Instead of repeatedly converting a symbol to a group, create a “blue” symbol which automatically converts to a group upon insertion.
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