Opening a component from a CAD file or CAD system
You can open an MCAD component, a part or an assembly, from:
• A CAD file, in CAD-Independent mode.
• A CAD system, in Direct Integration mode.
To open a part in CAD-Independent mode
1 Select File > Open CAD file... The Open CAD file browser opens.
2 Browse to the directory that contains the desired part CAD file.
If the directory contains CAD files with the same name and same file type extension, but different numeric extensions that follow the file type extension, only the latest file will appear in the Open CAD file list box. For example, if the directory contains files cadfile.prt.1, cadfile.prt.2, and cadfile.prt.3, numbered chronologically, only cadfile.prt.3 will appear in the Open CAD file list box.
3 Select the part CAD file.
4 If you want to open the default (typically “Initial”) scenario, proceed to the next step and open the file. If you want to open a different, existing scenario, first type its name in the “Scenario name:” field at the bottom of the Open CAD File dialog. If you want to create a new scenario for the component, enter it in the “Scenario name:” field. Note that the “Scenario name:” field cannot be blank. For more information about scenarios, see Working with scenarios on page 1.
5 Click Open. The part opens in aPriori Desktop.
When you open a component, the official scenario for the component opens by default. To open a different scenario, you must manually select it from the list of the component scenarios on the Component tab of the navigation pane. For more information, see Working with scenarios on page 1.
To open an assembly in CAD-Independent mode
1 Select File > Open CAD file... The Open CAD file window opens.
2 Select an assembly file using the same procedure described above and click Open. aPriori locates all the part files that belong to the assembly. If all the part files are found, the assembly opens in aPriori Desktop.
The assembly components are listed in the Assembly Costs Tab and you can navigate the full assembly structure there. To open a component from the list, double-click it or select an action from the right-click menu. If the component has never been costed before, the Cost Guide is displayed (see Initial costing: The Cost Guide on page 1.)
A component opened from the list of components of a file-connected assembly, also becomes file-connected.
If the CAD file is moved to a different location or deleted while you are working with a component opened from this file, the component becomes file-disconnected. The 
icon in the aPriori tool bar becomes greyed out.
icon in the aPriori tool bar becomes greyed out.To open a component (part or assembly) in Direct Integration mode
1 Open the component in your CAD application.
Note: In Direct Integration mode, the scenario, the default scenario name specified in User Preferences is automatically used for newly opened and costed components.
2 Cost the component in aPriori. For more information, see Initial costing: The Cost Guide on page 1.
The 
icon on the component scenario tab in aPriori Desktop indicates that this component is active in the CAD application.
icon on the component scenario tab in aPriori Desktop indicates that this component is active in the CAD application.