IMAGINiT Manufacturing Solutions Blog

What Version of Inventor Created this File?

Often I need to determine what version of Inventor created a particular file.  This is a very easy task if you remember how to open the file in Design Assistant.  Inventor users that use the Vault in daily work have probably forgotten that Design Assistant still exist since the Vault does most everything that much better.  There are a few reasons to visit Design Assistant from time to time and this is one of them.

Design Assistant can be called from two locations.  One is from the Windows Start panel, under Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor 2012.

 
The second and  best way is to right click on the file you are interested in from the Open dialog in Inventor and select Desigh Assistant.  This will automatically open the file you have highlighted in the application.

 
 One you have the file, or files, open in Design Assistant, view them either under the Properties tab or the Preview tab.  Hightlight the file you are interested in, right click and select Properties.

 On the Details tab you will find not only the Inventor version and service pack used to create the file but also the version used when it was last updated with.

 
 

 

 

Inventor iLogic (Mass to Custom iProperties)

I recently had a customer request a bit more from the code that I posted on a past blog.

In that post I used iLogic to populate a user parameter with the models mass.
           iProperties.Value("Custom","Mass") = Round(iProperties.Mass, 2)

Here I am taking that code to the next level and populating a Custom iProperty with lbs and kg.

Create a rule with this code and then assign the event trigger “Part Geometry Change” to the rule.

 
------------------------

Round_Mass_lbs = Round(iProperties.Mass, 2)

Round_Mass_kg = Round(iProperties.Mass * 0.45359237, 2) 

 iProperties.Value("Custom", "Mass") = Round_Mass_lbs & " lbs " & "(" & Round_Mass_kg & " kg)"

 

And finally here is a example of the results.

 

Inventor 2012 Marking Menu Customization

The Inventor 2012 release introduced a new way to experience the right click interface we have been so accustomed to over the years.  This new way of viewing the RMB (right click button) is known as the Marking Menu.

It was developed with many studies in psychology, learning behavior, and visual awareness.  These results of these studies state that users new to computers or drafting software seem to realize options in a radial pattern easier than a linear direction.  All of which I couldn't care less about since I have been using computers for a long time and Inventor since release 4.

While a very neat addition to the software, I found at first the radial menu very irritating much like the initial change to the Ribbon in Inventor 2010, but over time using it (after about a week for me) I grew very fond of it and actually started to see my speed increase in the software over the previous menu after acclamation to it.  But I also felt the need to customize it based on my usage of Inventor.  To that end, there are actually quite a few little items to change in the marking menu to better suit the commands you want to see there and how you want to see them.  Not to mention, you can also utilize mouse gestures with this new interface style.

First go the Customize command.

On the marking menu tab (third one over), you will find the settings for the interface.  To change the items in the radial menu, simply select the location first to modify and then find the command on the right command list.  The selection of an item on the right will automatically relink to the location selected.

You can also change the marking menu style to show only Text or Icons...

 If you prefer the original RMB you can also set the check mark box for "Use Classic Context Menu"

Now if you are curious what I meant about mouse gestures, that does not relate to Mickey Mouse giving you the hang loose, heavy metal, or other hand gestured sign, but instead refers to the quick movement of the mouse in a general direction to start a command.  In Inventor, you simply have to know where in the marking menu your command is located and then with a flick of the mouse perform a right click and a drag in the that direction and release of the right click.

Gestures and the marking menu have really sped me up with the software.  Sure we are talking seconds every hour and minutes every day, but in the end I am getting my work done faster and with less hunting for commands I use all the time.  In fact I find with the newer 2012 interface in general I am starting to forget all about my complaints with the Ribbon since more of my work is in canvas now.  Whatever way you decide to use the new interface, just at least give it a chance.

Autocad Snap - No Longer a Drawing Mode to Avoid

Many Autocad users never turn on the Snap Mode because we generally do not draw on a grid.  You must admit with Object Snaps, Polar Tracking, Temporary Tracking Points and Tracking, you probably have no use for running snaps.  I know one other characteristic of Snap Mode that really bothered me was that is was on all the time.  Of course you could press the F9 key and toggle it off when it prevented you from selecting a particular entity.

Autocad 2012 has given new functionality to the Snap Mode function that will give snap snobs like me a reason to try it again.  The big change is now Snap Mode is only effective when the command is requesting a coordinate point selection from the screen.   During commands when coordinate picks are not needed or when executing commands that do not require screen coordinates, the Snap Mode is turned off automatically!  This feature makes the selection of the diagonal line a breeze even with Snap Mode on.

 

Other enhancements include the ability to diaplay the snap grid as a X,Y grid or as a dotted grid which is used in earlier releases of Autocad.  You can specify the grid display type in three Autocad environments, Model Space, Paper Space and Block Editor.

Other enhancements include the Adaptive Grid check box.  When checked the minor grid lines disappear at higher zoom levels and re-appear at lower.  This is similar to earlier versions of Autocad but when the switch is unchecked, the minor grid lines remain visible until they cannot be displayed at the current zoom level.

The Display Grid Beyond Limits switch makes it very easy to expand your grid display without having to execute the limits command and change your template default limits.

 
The last point I wish to mention is a cosmetic or visual change to the grid.  Autocad uses the color Red for the X-Axis and Green for the Y-Axis.  If you desire to apply these colors to the grd, you can find the switch in the Options dialog, under Display, Colors.  You can also apply these colors to you cursor and Autotrack vector lines.

 

 

Autocad 2012 gives me a new respect for Snap Mode, I hope you will have a new appreciation for the tool as well.