Video: https://youtu.be/RRYY2KeGyHA
Instructions from the video:
In today’s tooltip, we will review “Find and Replace” a very handy tool that lets you replace old inventory with new skus you want to use instead.
Select File>Catalogs>Element Manager. To go to the Element Manager, the master list of all the elements in the catalog. It is here that you can make mass changes to the catalog and update the existing inventory. For our example today, we will replace all instances of 6mil Poly Vapour Barrier with 4mil Poly Vapour Barrier instead.
First, go to the parts list. Parts are elements that do not have a 3D representation, but that you need to order when you draw 3D elements like walls or floors or ceilings. In the Parts category, select the Thermal and Moisture folder. Here find the Poly Vapour Barrier options. Select the 6 mil Poly Vapor Barrier part and right click to select Find and Replace.
The Find and Replace dialog box appears. It will list all the assemblies where you have added the 6 mil Poly Vapour Barrier and therefore will appear in a material list. At the bottom of the dialog box, it gives the opportunity to replace it with something else. Select the button to the right. It pulls up a dialog box where you can select an alternative product to replace the 6 mil poly. Select the 4 mil Ploy Vapour Barrier and click OK.
Now in the Find and Replace dialog box, it lists at the bottom that you will be replacing the 6 mil poly with the 4 mil Poly Vapor Barrier. Select Replace All.
A dialog box appears warning that it will do a replacement of the product and asks If you want to continue. Select Yes. It then hunts through the catalog and the assemblies for all references of the 6mil poly and replaces it with the 4 Mil Poly Vapour barrier. When finished a dialog box appears stating it is successful.
Let us look at another example that uses walls in the catalog. Select a wall, and then click on the trim tab. This wall uses 3/8”x5” MDF s4s Baseboard trim. But what if you no longer stock that trim and want to get it out of all your wall descriptions? Each wall has two faces and if you have several walls, this could be a time-consuming procedure. So, let us use Find and Replace.
Scroll up to the trim category and look at the Baseboards folder. Find the 3/8”x5” MDF baseboard trim. Right click and select Find and Replace.
Now you see the long list of all the walls that trim was associated with. Select the Replace button to go to the catalog and select the alternative trim selection and click OK. Select Replace all. It again warns that it will replace the trim in the walls with this new trim. Select Yes. They are all replaced, and the dialog box appears to tell me it is successful.
Let us look at the walls to ensure it is done. Scroll down to the list of walls and select one and then click on the Trim tab. Sure enough, you have the new trim.
Find and Replace is an efficient way to update skus in your catalog with new inventory or select new items. I hope that makes your work easier.