Color is used in Solid Edge as a communication tool to help you see and manipulate elements more easily. Colors are assigned in Solid Edge based on an element's status or type. For example, the colors assigned to driving dimensions and driven dimensions are different to indicate that they act differently in the design.
An element's color can change temporarily when you change the status of an element. For example, if you select an element, the element's color changes to the Selected color to make it apparent that the element is selected for a later operation. When you complete the operation, the element will return to its original color.
The use of color in Solid Edge differs in a number of ways from traditional CAD software. Many CAD software packages allow you to assign any color to any element. Also, color assignments are usually specific to a particular file or document. This has disadvantages when documents are shared by multiple users in an organization and no consistent standards for color usage have been defined or enforced.
Assigning and using colors in Solid Edge is easy. Because colors in Solid Edge are assigned based on an element's status or type, you do not have to ensure that the proper color is active before you place elements. Also, because you can set the colors for the various categories with one command; you can easily ensure that the complete set of colors work well with one another.
In every document, you see the same color scheme, whether you created the document or received it from someone else. This saves you time because you do not have to reset color schemes for each document or become familiar with the color schemes of other users.
The color scheme is not a property of individual documents. The color scheme is controlled by color options that you set in Solid Edge. This way, when you open a document created by someone else, you see the familiar color scheme that you set in Solid Edge, not the colors someone set in the document on another computer. This is beneficial especially when you work in a large group. All users in the group can use the same color standards by setting the same color options in Solid Edge. Then, when you receive a document from another organization, you can open the document and see the colors according to your group's standards, not the standards of another organization.
You can change the color assignments for each color category in Solid Edge using the Options command. Because color is used for communication in Solid Edge, you should choose colors that are compatible with each other.
To assist you, Solid Edge provides various Color schemes that you can choose, which automatically set the colors for various elements in the document. For example, the Solid Edge Default color scheme ensures that the various color categories complement and contrast with each other. For example, the default Highlight color contrasts well with the Selected color and the Background color. The Solid Edge Classic and Solid Edge 2000 color schemes are also available.
In Draft documents, you can choose to use the AutoCAD Model color scheme, which sets the Sheet color to black.
To learn how to set the color scheme, see the Help topic, Set a Color Scheme for Solid Edge.
If you mix up your color scheme and want to fix it, you can click Default for each color category to quickly return to the default color scheme.
In the 3D model, you can also control whether you can display unique colors for individual parts, faces on parts, and parts in assemblies using the Color Manager command. You can set the display mode to use the colors defined on the Colors tab on the Options dialog box or you can set the display mode to use the colors of the individual parts.
When you set the Use Individual Part Styles option on the Color Manager dialog box, you can display colors you assigned using the Part Painter command when working with parts, or the Face Style option on the Select Tool command bar in the assembly. For more information on assigning individual part colors, see the topic entitled Using Color Manager and Part Painter.
In the 3D model, the Sketch Relationship Colors command displays the color for an element based on the relationship status of the element. For example, an element that is fully constrained displays in a different color than an element that is not fully constrained. This allows to determine if your profiles and sketches need more relationships applied. You can use the Colors tab on the Options dialog box to set the colors for:
Fully defined relationships
Under defined relationships
Over defined relationships
Inconsistent relationships