Welcome to the SOLIDWORKS Web Help

To display the Balloon PropertyManager, do one of the following:

Click Balloon (Annotation toolbar), or click Insert > Annotations > Balloon.
Select an existing balloon.
Right-click a balloon and select Properties.

In the graphics area, click an assembly component and then click to place the balloon. You can insert multiple balloons without closing the PropertyManager.

The PropertyManager controls the following properties:

Flag Note Bank

Select Flag Note Bank to include a flag note in the balloon. Then, select a flag note from the Flag Note Bank.

Balloon	Flag note number.
Zone	Flag note zone location.
Sheet	Flag note sheet.
Note	Flag note text.

Style

Defines the balloon style.

Item Numbers

When the drawing contains a bill of materials, use Item Numbers to set the balloon sequence.

	Start at	Sets initial value.
	Increment	Sets increment value.
	Do not change item numbers	Keeps bill of materials item numbers as is.
	Follow assembly order	Sets balloons and bill of materials to follow the assembly order in the FeatureManager design tree.
	Order sequentially	Orders balloons and bill of materials items sequentially, starting with Start at and incrementing by Increment.
	First item	When Order sequentially is selected, choose an item to be used as the first item.

Balloon Settings

Style

From the list, select a style for the shape and border of the balloon. The style None displays the balloon text with no border.

If you select Circular Split Line, the Lower text box is available for you to insert data for the lower half of the balloons. By using the Circular Split Line style, the component's item number and quantity is displayed in the balloon. You can change the data to text, custom properties, or component references.

Size

From the list, select a size (a specified number of characters), Tight fit (which adjusts automatically to the text), or User Defined (where you can set the balloon size below).

Balloon text

Select the type of text for the balloon.

Text	(Not available for auto balloons). Allows you to enter custom text in the balloon.
Item Number	Shows the item number from the Bill of Materials.
Quantity	Shows quantity of this item in the assembly.
Custom Properties	Allows you to select a custom property. Click Link to Property to select custom properties from any model in the drawing.
Component Reference	Shows the text for Component Reference, which is a unique designator for each instance of a component and is specified in the Component Properties dialog box.
Spool reference	In a routing assembly containing piping spools, shows the Spool reference number.
Part Number (BOM)	Shows the same information that is in the Part Number column of the BOM. If the BOM field is linked to the model, updates to the field in the BOM display in the balloon.
File Name	Shows the file name of the associated part without the file extension.
Cut List Properties	Allows you to select a cut list property.

Lower text

If you select the Circular Split Line style, this box is available to specify the text for the lower section. You have the same options as in the Balloon text section.

Balloon text source

In assemblies, specifies where the balloon gets its numbering from:

Assembly Structure	Uses the numbering according to the component order in the FeatureManager design tree.
Bill of Materials <n>	Uses the order displayed in the selected bill of materials.

Quantity

Lets you set a quantity outside of the balloons in a drawing if there is more than one instance of a component in an assembly. The quantity updates parametrically.

Placement	Displays the quantity to the Left , Right , Top , or Bottom of the balloons.
Denotation	Lets you set a label for the quantity. User Defined lets you enter a custom label.
Distance	Controls the distance between a balloon's border and its quantity.
Quantity value	Displays the quantity to appear in the balloon (read-only).
Override value	Lets you override a balloon's quantity. For example, you might insert a balloon in a drawing view that shows only two components, but the total number of assembly components is five. In one view a balloon can display a "2", and in the other view it can display a "3."