Recently, I designed my first global variable driven series of parts.  I wrote a simple .txt file and linked each part to it.

This was a giant leap forward for me (I had not done much with global variables up to this point) and I could immediately see the many benefits of SolidWorks "automation".

However, I could also see some areas that I need to work on.  For example, if I edited the text file after it was already linked to a part file (added a variable, renamed one, etc.), I then had to go into each part file and "relink" the text file, which is tedious and, well, quite boring.

Is there a way to avoid having to do this, to have each part auto query the .txt file and see if there have been any changes?

Also, the .txt file seems a bit old school, for lack of a better term.  Is there a way to share global variables between parts in a more "GUI" type way?

Thanks for any help, as always.