Multi-story Hotlinks

How to link multistory (hotlinked) modules in one step to a central file

Written by Ákos Pfemeter

Creating hotlinks the 'normal' way requires you to do it story by story. However there is another working method, which enables you to do it in one step (this is very useful for instance, when working on a skyscraper of say 80 stories). Say you have a mother file and a module that contains your skyscraper. By completing the following steps your module will be placed and linked to the mother file:

1. Save the file that contains the skyscraper as a module file (*.mod)
2. Merge this module into the mother file
3. Define a selection area around the building with the marquee tool using the 'all floors' construction method (bold marquee)
4. Go to 'File Menu/Hotlinked Modules/Save Selection as Module' command
5. Check in the 'Change the hotlink to the saved file' option

   

6. Overwrite the original module file by saving the selection. (The upcoming dialog warns you that 'the file already exists do you want to overwrite it?' Just click 'yes.')

With these steps your module is hotlinked to the mother file (and you've saved 79 steps for the sample skyscraper).

Page last updated: Thursday, September 16, 2004