# Reference object properties

When you select a reference object and open the Property Panel, there will be fewer properties shown than there are for its base object. Only the object's common properties, and a State property, if the object has states, will appear in the property panel. If you change these values on the base object, the value of the reference object will not be changed.

All the properties that the base object has but are not visible in the Property Panel for the reference object, are properties that receive their values from the base object.

The reference object also has several properties that the base object does not have. These are the Link properties that determine which information the reference object will receive from the base object. These properties are LinkAnimation, LinkBaseObject, LinkConnections, and LinkSize.

The Link properties are:

LinkAnimation - determines whether separate animation or expressions can be set up for the reference object.

LinkBaseObject - specifies the name and global object display of the base object. This property is read-only and cannot be changed.

LinkConnections - determines whether separate connections can be set up for the reference object. Reference objects that do not support connections will not have the LinkConnections property.

LinkSize - determines whether you can resize the reference object.

The Link properties are given default values when the reference object is created. The default values for LinkAnimation, LinkConnections, and LinkSize can be changed when you copy or drag a global object into a standard display in the Displays folder, or edited later.

You can edit these properties for a given reference object in the Property Panel.

You can also change the default values that are assigned to a reference object when it is created. If you change the default settings for the Link properties, the list of properties available in the Property Panel for the reference object may change.

In addition, you can break the links between the reference object to its base object. When you do this, the object becomes a standard graphic object.

## To edit the Link properties for a reference object

1. Right-click the reference object and select Property Panel.
2. In the Property Panel, click a property and then click its down arrow to display the options available for it.
3. Click an option to select it.

## To change the default values for Link properties

1. In the Graphics editor, select Global Object Defaults from the Edit menu, or from a global object's (right-click) context menu.
2. In the Global Object Defaults dialog box, specify the new default values.
3. Press Apply or OK.

The new default values will be applied to all new reference objects, as they are created.

## To break the links between a reference object and its base object

- Right-click the reference object and select Break Link.

This removes the Link properties from the reference object, making it a standard graphic object.

Tip: | If you delete, rename, or overwrite (using Save As) a global object display, the links between any base objects on the display and their reference objects, will be broken. You can restore the links by recreating the global object display and object(s) with the same names. When a reference object's LinkBaseObject property points to a base object that no longer exists, the reference object is replaced by a red X on a white background.

## See also

Create global objects

Edit a base object

Global object parameters

Set up common properties

Set global object defaults