The invention includes computer instructions that detect a cursor in a
proximity of a geometry piece of a mechanical design having multimedia
associated with the geometry piece. Once the cursor is detected, the
instructions automatically generate an icon associated with the geometry
piece for accessing the associated multimedia. As a result, CAD model
information is conveyed utilizing multimedia associated with one or more
geometry pieces of the CAD model. In one embodiment, the computer
instructions are part of a mechanical design software application. In one
embodiment, the mechanical software application including the computer
instructions is embodied in a distribution storage medium.