INTRODUCTION:

I am wondering if there is any easy way to substitute one prop with another.  I have two scenarios that I may involve different answers, but are so closely related I felt it was sensible to put them in the same post.

SCENARIO 1:

Suppose I have my character working with a prop, such as a shovel.  I have dummy props for prop/hand interaction and all that good stuff.  I do all my animation including hours of careful keyframing.

Then later I decide a pitch fork would be better than a shovel.  Same size prop with same fundamental geometry.  Same avatar actions.  Just a different prop.

Is there an easy way to swap the shovel with the pitchfork without having to re-do all the keyframing animation work?  I assume the props would have to be "similar" to each other.

What about physics?  What if I had Chuck throwing a baseball, but decided it would be better to throw an apple or tomato that is the same size?

SCENARIO 2:

Now supposed I start a project with a rudimentary prop, and my project went so well I now have time to create a better, more detailed prop.  (I have 3DXchange if you want to include that in the scenario.)

For example, I might start with a basic wooden chair, but I'd like to replace with with an ornate throne.  The critical dimensions are the same - seat height, arm rests in same place, etc.

You can assume this is a prop I made, so can I "overwrite" my crude prop file with my detailed prop file, and will it magically appear the next time I open my project file?

I'm thinking this would be nice if I'm making a project and need props to get started, and I could refine them by making higher-quality versions of them later on.

---

iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD