To implement this process, the engineer will need to physically change the RefDes after it is placed in the schematic.
Of course, to eliminate the holes left by deleting the components in the schematic (C21 and R15 in our example), the CAD designer will need to perform a RefDes renumber on the board, and then back-annotate this information to the schematic, which will keep the PCB and schematic in sync.
Newly added parts are assigned the next higher reference designator above the highest RefDes already used in the design.