Patent ID: 7999827

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, comprising: performing operations in a programmable processor of a computer, the operations comprising: receiving in the computer a first user input defining a block including one or more graphical entities, where receiving the first user input defining a block includes receiving one or more user inputs interacting with a display device of the computer and manipulating a graphical representation of the block displayed on the display device; generating a master block definition for the block in a memory of the computer based on the first user input, the master block definition including at least one allowable manipulation to a geometry of the block when instantiated, where each of a plurality of block instantiations of the block can be manipulated differently according to the allowable manipulation; and receiving in the computer a second user input to include a first block instantiation of the block defined by the master block definition in a computer-aided design (CAD), the second user input including an allowable manipulation to the geometry of the first block instantiation and comprising a manipulation of a graphical representation of the first block instantiation; and modifying a geometry of only the first block instantiation based on the second user input.