Replace Symbol Definition

To delete a symbol definition, select Symbol Manager on the Symbols menu, choose a symbol, then click Replace.

The REPLACE SYMBOL command redirects all symbol references pointing to one definition to use a new definition instead. This command is particularly helpful when symbol references must be updated to reflect changes to the definition.

Before using the RENAME SYMBOL command, the target symbol definition must already exist in the drawing.

To use the RENSYM command, select [Insert > Rename Symbols] from the menu, or type RENSYM at the command prompt.

The Rename to New Symbol dialog box appears. Select the symbol references you want to change by selecting the corresponding definition. (Remember that you are not actually changing the symbol definition; you are simply redirecting the symbol reference from one definition to another. In this step, you are choosing the "from" symbol definition.)
In the same dialog box, select the new symbol definition ( the "to" definition).
displays an alert box informing you that this operation cannot be undone (the UNDO command will have no effect). Choose Yes if it is OK to continue.

updates all selected symbol references with the new symbol definition.

EXAMPLE: Suppose you have a symbol of an office chair in your drawing named CHAIR01, and that there are twelve references in your drawing (meaning you can see twelve chairs). Now you want to change these chairs to a new style, keeping their positions and orientations as they are. The new style is defined in the symbol CHAIR04. Use the RENSYM command, selecting CHAIR01 in the first selection dialog box, then selecting CHAIR04 in the second dialog box. All twelve references that previously showed CHAIR01 now display CHAIR04.

In the above example, CHAIR04 must have already been defined in the drawing. This could have been done by previously inserting a CHAIR04 symbol from the Symbol Catalog. Or you could have drawn the CHAIR04 from scratch. You might have also EXPLODEd a CHAIR01 reference, edited it (e.g., by adding a chair back), then used the DEFINE SYMBOL command to create the CHAIR04 symbol, taking care to select the same symbol origin.

Note: Any symbol references you EXPLODE to their base entities will not be updated. Exploding disassociates the entities from the original symbol definition.

Note: References to symbol definitions that are nested under a different definition will not be affected by RENSYM.

For more help understanding symbol definitions and references, please see Symbol commands.

Text equivalent: RENSYM