Inventor 2019.1 Updates - Did You See It?

With Inventor 2020 and Inventor 2019.4 update on the very near horizon, let's take a moment and remember the awesome updates we received in Inventor 2019.1 and 2019.2.  What about 2019.3 you ask?  Well, that one was all stability and performance updates with no new features or shiny buttons.  Some users still don't have 2019.1 installed and its been out for a long time.  Sometimes updates get missed, it happens.  So let's take a look at what was added in 2019.1 and get some of the Inventor updates installed while you wait for 2020!

Frame Generator wish list bonanza!  The Frame Generator tools received a lot of love in 2019 and you can see that through 2019.1 and 2019.2 as well as the released changes coming to 2020.

Insert Command: Previously, the frame Standard always defaulted to ANSI. The last used Standard is now retained.When you inserted frame members, there was no preview until you selected a frame member Size value. A default Size value is now enabled when you start the command.

Shaded Preview: The preview for Insert, Change, Reuse, and Change/Reuse is changed from wireframe to a shaded preview.

Change / Reuse: The skeleton sketch edges are visible when you use the Change and Change/Reuse edit commands.

Change Member Selection: Previously, window selection was not available when you used the Change command. Window selection is now enabled, and you can select multiple members at the same time using the Multi-Select option.

Preview Operation: You can now preview the following operations before committing the change

• Miter
• Notch
• Trim to Frame
• Lengthen/Shorten

Copy Properties: You can now copy information from existing frame members when you use the Insert and Change member commands. Select the eye dropper in the dialog to enable copy properties and then select a member. You can choose to copy Only Frame Member information, Only Orientation, or both.

Revamped Content Center Editor Toolbar: The toolbar in the Content Center Editor was refreshed to improve icon contrast and at-a-glance legibility.

Content Center Performance and Productivity Improvements

• Quickly open libraries from a remote Vault Server: A new Content Center cache mechanism implemented in Inventor 2019 is further enhanced to improve the performance of opening Content Center libraries from a remote Vault server.
• Migration improvement: Previously the Configure Libraries Update Tool migrated library template (.ipt) files. Now when you use the Update Tool to migrate the content of legacy libraries into the current Inventor version, the library template (.ipt) files won't be migrated. A library template (.ipt) file is now migrated when you place an instance of a library part using that template.
• Search enhancements:
  • Quick Search The Quick Search field in the Place from Content Center dialog box now becomes immediately activated when you place Content Center part placement. This allows you to instantly enter information in the search field without having to select the search field again.  In addition, you can now clear the search field by clicking the clear button located on the right side of the search field. When you clear the search field, the Editor navigates back to the previously selected category in the Category tree.
  • Advanced Search The Look In field now automatically populates with the category selected under Category View. Also, the category corresponding to the selection in under Category View is automatically selected in the Choose Categories dialog box.  In addition, the Search Now button is automatically enabled when accessing the Advanced Search dialog box. Quickly execute your search by pressing ENTER after specifying your search criteria. The Search Result field displays information relevant to the active search.
  • Locate parts and family tables from graphics window 2 new Content Center context menu options streamline locating parts and family tables in the Content Center Editor dialog box: In an assembly file, right-click on a part, and select the appropriate option:
    • Component  Find in Editor: The Content Center Editor dialog box opens to the location of the part in the Content Center library.
    • Component Edit/View Family Table: The Family Table Editor dialog box opens with the family member selected. Here you can view a read-only family table or view and edit a read-write family table.

iLogic also got a log of improvements with the 2019 release including the ability to names to object elements for very discreet coding.  To go along with that...

iLogic now provides a type of PRINT statement that can be used in rules. This new functionality, called iLogic Logging, uses new iLogic functions to send log messages to a new Inventor panel and also to a log file. In addition, there's a new automatic rule tracing mechanism.

Rule tracing helps you to visualize when and why a rule is run.Rule Tracing: Rule-tracing is a new iLogic feature that helps you to visualize when and why a rule is run. Rule Tracing automatically logs messages when a rule is entered and when it is exited, as well as what triggers the rule to run. Simply set the active log level to Trace to see these messages. Set the active log level back to turn them off.

Several Translators received an update after 2019 was released.

• Solidworks: Mesh data can now be imported. In the dialog Object Filters section, check the Meshes option to include meshes from the selected file.
• STEP: Transparency is now supported. Components set as transparent continue to remain transparent when saved as a STEP file, and components set as transparent in a STEP file continue to remain transparent when imported.
• AnyCAD: Performance has been improved when importing non-native Inventor CAD files and is most notable when importing files that have a complex assembly structure.

Lastly, some general enhancemets for 2019.1...

Highlight New for Ribbon based commands: When you turn on Highlight New, off by default, colored badges highlight the new or updated commands. This makes it easier for you to quickly explore new or updated commands you use in your workflows.

How can you use this feature? Imagine you were using an earlier version, for example 2018.2, and are moving to 2019. You select 2018 from the list and all new or updated commands after 2018.2 display a badge. That would be 2018.3, 2019, and 2019.1.  Additionally, when you use F1 to get to a Help page, where applicable, at the top of the page you will see links to the What's New topic explaining the change to the feature or command.

Value Fields Display Parameter Names in Tooltips:  Value fields now display the parameter name in the tooltip. When you pause the cursor over the parameter name displays with the value. Here are some examples comparing prior releases (left image) with 2019.1 (right image):Model Section Views:  Half Section View is used most often in Parts and Assembly models. Therefore, with this update, the Section View command will default to Half Section for the first use in an Inventor session.

Property Panel Improvements: Continuing into Inventor 2020, Property Panels have become more and more prevalent, but it all started with the Hole and Measure tools in 2019.

• Breadcrumb: You can edit the Feature and Sketch names from within the property panel. Click the breadcrumb text you want to edit to activate it. Click again to enter edit mode and modify the text. Press Enter to complete the change. The browser node name is updated when you click OK to complete the hole.
• Presets: Presets now store tolerance information for the value fields. You can access the Tolerance dialog from the field flyout menu. To revert to no tolerance value, set the Tolerance Type to Default and save the preset. When a value has a tolerance, the value edit control displays a colored background under the flyout arrow and on the flyout menu.
• Hole Panel Menu: The Hole command has new entries in the Panel menu:
  • Pre-select sketch center points - checking this option causes all unused sketch center points, in the active sketch, to automatically be selected for use by the Hole command, populating each center point with a hole.
  • Automatically share sketch - when using the Hole command, if unused sketch center points exist when you click Apply, the sketch is automatically shared for use with creating the next Hole. If you do not use the sketch for the next hole or click Cancel or Esc, the sketch will be unshared. You can share a sketch manually by right-clicking the sketch browser node and clicking Share Sketch. Automatically share sketches is in the Part environment only.
• Value Edit Feedback: For the Hole command, when a value is invalid, for example, the specified thread length is larger than hole depth, the value color turns red and the tooltip reports the value is invalid when you're entering the value. This allows you to immediately correct the value or locate another value that needs editing for this one to become valid. When a value is valid, the value color is black.

Lets get to the Autodesk App or your Autodesk account and get the updates so we can start using these updates before 2020 comes out!  Next we will revisit 2019.2.