IMAGINiT Manufacturing Solutions Blog

Blank Parts in Inventor or Virtual Components

Let’s start by talking about Virtual components. Virtual Components are a method Inventor uses to represent non-CAD parts in a design. Non-CAD parts could be purchased items such as, Glues, Paints, Grease, Loctite, and many more items needed to make a products Bill of Materials complete. They are not defined by any geometry. Virtual components are “Geometry-less” and “File-less” components.

 The benefits from using Virtual Components are as follows:

1. They act as a place holder for iProperties.
2. They become part of your assembly appearing in the assembly browser.
3. They can be populated with iProperties which appear in Bill of Materials.
4. They can be stored in Assembly Folders for easy management.

See the two images below for examples:

Virtual Components are created using the Create Component command from within an assembly file. They appear as a transparent and purplish colored component in the browser as shown below.

There is no Part (ipt) or Drawing (idw, dwg) files associated with virtual components. As mentioned, they are “Geometry-less” and “File-less” components. They exist only within the assembly (iam) file where they are created. Virtual components can be shared from assembly to assembly using the Windows Copy & Paste. This way as a “File-less” component, we can share iProperties that have already been added and used in previous designs.

Another way to share Virtual components with iProperties already populated is to add them to your Assembly (iam) template used when starting a new assembly file. Just delete the Virtual components you will not need when using that template. Much easier than re-creating them or finding an assembly to Copy & Paste from. See the image below.

Three disadvantages to Virtual Components are:

1. They cannot exist in Vault, since they are “File-less”.
2. We cannot create a drawing that purchasing may request, since they are “File-less”.
3. We cannot use Vault to get “Where-Used” or “Used” information, since they are “File-less”.

This is where “Blank Parts” comes in. To start, Blank Parts provide all the benefits of a Virtual Component, PLUS MORE, since they ARE NOT “File-less”. A blank part is just like any other Inventor Part that you have created except it contains no model features, so they are for all intensive purposes, “Blank”. Well almost blank.

1. We add iProperties to them.
2. We add a point to the single Sketch in the Part.

The point is generated using the “Project Geometry” command and picking the Common Origin in your blank part file. Beyond that, they are Blank. Blank parts solve all 3 problems left vacant by Virtual Components. Because they ARE NOT “File-less”, they (1) can be stored as library parts inside of Vault, (2) can have drawings created from them for purchasing or other purposes and (3) Vault can provide “Where Used” and “Used” information. See the image below which shows “Sketch1” as the only geometry used to define a Blank part for “Loctite 603.ipt”.

So why the point you may be wondering. It’s simple. If there is no geometry in the part, Inventor cannot create an empty drawing view which links the IPT and IDW together. If a drawing is not needed, then NO sketch with a point is required in the Part, it can be 100% blank, except for iProperties that we populate for Bills of Material purposes.

Because we have a linked drawing due to the empty drawing view we create, we can <Right-Click> over that view name in the browser and Open the Blank Part file, just like any other Part and Drawing you have created. Without the point existing in the Blank part, this would not be possible.

Let’s talk a bit more about Blank Parts and how they work with Vault. Because we create an empty drawing view from the Blank Part, Vault is now able to show us Parent / Child relationships between both files as shown in the image at the right. We see the “Where Used” relationship highlighted in this example:

Now we have our design, including non-CAD files, fully managed by Vault.

Suggestion: As you are Placing a Blank Part into your Assembly, be sure to <Right-Click> and pick “Place Grounded at Origin”. If you randomly pick a point in space to place the Blank Part, you will have random points appearing in your assembly as shown in the second image below.

Should you discover that you have random points in your assembly because of randomly placing Blank Parts into your assembly, this is easily remedied.

1. From that assembly, make sure all Blank Parts are not grounded.
2. Select all your Blank Parts.
3. Pick the “Ground and Root” command located in the Assembly tab > Productivity Tools panel. This command will constrain all selected components to the common origin of your assembly.

Another suggestion would be to store all your Blank Parts in an Assembly Folder. Maybe name it “Blank Parts”, or something that you prefer. See the image below showing a folder containing 4 Blank Parts in the Assembly Browser.

I hope this helps you with integrating non-CAD parts into your everyday design workflow.

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Inventor Task Scheduler Tips

The Inventor Task Scheduler is intended to perform automated tasks and acts as a batch processor in Inventor and other applications. The tips provided here are intended to help you use it more efficiently.

Tips

Inventor Project Files

Not all of the tasks available to you have the ability to support Inventor Project files that are configured for Vault.  To keep your processes flexible, set up two Inventor Project files. These Project files should have identical settings with the exception of “Type”. Set one project file to Single User and the other to Vault.

Multiple Processes

By default, the Inventor Task Scheduler is configured to run one process at a time for each task. To speed things up, particularly for large jobs such as Migrations or Updates, you can increase the number of Inventor processes to run at the same time.

In the Task Scheduler main menu, click Settings Multiple Processes. 

       

In the Multi-Process dialog, do the following and then click OK: 

• • Select Activate Multiple Processes.
  • Specify the number of processes you want to run. The number can be from 1 to 16, regardless of the number of processors (CPUs) available.
  • Select Abort When Physical Memory Is Reached.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: Maximum Combined Memory Usage designates the maximum memory that all the Inventor processes, at any given time, are allowed to consume. Set this value smaller than the physical memory value to avoid swapping. If the combined virtual memory exceeds the value entered, no additional processes start.

Diagnosing Errors

When configuring a task, there is an option to specify the location and file name of the log file.  The default location is: “C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor YYYY\Task Scheduler Logs & Reports\”.

When running a task, there are occasions where errors may occur, and that information is stored in the log file.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The log file contains entries for all of the files processed. To simplify the process of identifying only the files with errors use “Export to Excel”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When using “Export to Excel” only the errors in the log file will be exported. Each error type will be organized on individual Sheets.

 

Inserting iProperties into Annotations

During a follow up call with a client, I was asked "When creating documents to define our designs we can easily create associated relationships between the modeled geometry and the dimensions, what about using the iProperties in our drawing annotations to create similar automated associations?" I generally cover this workflow during training sessions, however, after drinking from the "fire hose" of new stuff it is easy for the student to forget. 

The Text editor in Inventor allows us to insert the iProperties from different sources. With this technique, your annotations will update in the drawing if the information in the model files change.

For our example, we will add the following Inventor iProperties to add information to our standard note.  (This same methodology can be used with other iProperties or custom iProperties.)

• Material
• MASS
• Vendor

1. From the Drawing Annotations Panel Start the Text tool and begin creating your note. In the “Type” window select “Properties - Model” for your source.

 2. From the “Properties” drop down, select “Material” from the list.

 3. Insert the selected property by clicking on the “Add Text Parameter” button.

 4. Your selected property will be shown in the editor window.

Repeat the process to insert the MASS and the Vendor iProperties.

For the MASS iProperty change the source to “Physical Properties – Model”

Mass Property

Vendor Property

Results

The note you created will be linked to the property from the 1^st model inserted into your drawing.

TIP: Create a Sketch Block of your general notes in your drawing templates using the above workflows.

 

 

 

Content Center Part 1: Basic Configuration

Overview

In this series we will explore the fundamentals of Content Center, starting with part 1, which covers its basic setup and configuration.

Content Center is not difficult to manage, but there are several important points which must be understood to use it correctly.  Not observing these points can lead to considerable problems, especially in a collaborative environment.  The goal of this document is to convey a clear understanding of how to get Content Center working correctly.  First, a quick overview for those of you who may be new to Inventor, or who have never used Content Center…

Content Center is a set of libraries containing industry standard Inventor components, grouped by categories and their controlling standard. The overall collection contains millions of parts, with major libraries including ANSI, DIN, and other popular standards. Within those libraries are categories for things like fasteners, structural shapes, shaft parts, and others. Finally, the categories contain part families for individual components in their various sizes. The libraries don’t contain Inventor part files; that would take up a huge amount of disk space. Instead they contain numerical information in a standard database format. This reduces the size of the libraries, but even then, with so many parts they are still large. The 2020 ANSI library, for instance, is over 1.5 gigabytes in size. The Inventor part files themselves are created the first time a component is used. The part file is written to the hard drive as a library component at that point. After that, if the component gets used again, the created file is referenced, just like any other Inventor component.

Figure 1: A view of the Place from Content Center dialog box showing part libraries, standards, categories and families.

Content Center also has the capability to use custom, user generated libraries, and to generate standard non-library components from the Content Center data. I’ll address both those features in this series.

That’s the eagle’s eye view. The details are where things get interesting.

Two Elements of Content Center

Content Center has two major elements. They are called Content Center Libraries, and Content Center Files. We’ll look at the libraries first.

Content Center Libraries

One of the things about Content Center which can be confusing is that the term “library” does double-duty here. If you’ve been around Inventor for any time at all, you may have used library folders, or at least heard the terms “Library Folders” and “Library Files”. Library folders and files are different from the Content Center Libraries. I will talk about library folders later, and hopefully clear up some of the confusion. While we’re discussing Content Center Libraries, just be aware that they are two separate things. Content Center Libraries are the database files which are used to create the part files. To save space, the information is stored in the libraries as numerical data rather than 3D geometry.

In working with Content Center libraries, you might hear the term “Stock Content Center Libraries”. This refers to the libraries which ship with each version of Inventor. They are normally copied to the user’s hard drive with the install routine. Stock Content Center Libraries are read-only. They cannot be changed or added to. Autodesk set it up this way with good reason, however, not understanding the intent of the stock libraries has caused frustration for some users. Since this is designed to be an overview, that’s all I’ll say here, but I will dive into that issue in Part 2.

Figure 2: Content Center libraries in their stock location on the local hard drive.

Managing Content Center Libraries

There are three different ways that the Content Center libraries can be stored and managed. Which one you use will depend on how you work. If you are working in an isolated environment on just a single machine, they will be stored locally. The stock installation places them under the C:\ProgramData folder. If you are using Autodesk Vault, the Content Center libraries should be stored in the Vault. This is ideal for any collaborative environment, since it ensures that everyone will have easy access to the same libraries, and that they can be easily managed. If you are working in a collaborative environment, but not using Vault, the libraries should be stored in a network folder so that everyone can access them.

Figure 3: Content Center libraries managed in the Vault

I say “should”, because as I mentioned earlier, the stock Inventor installation will by default load the libraries locally and configure the system to use them as if the install was isolated. It’s important to understand the implications of this. If you have multiple users and each one uses the default Inventor Installation, they will each be accessing the Content Center libraries from the copies on their local machines. For the stock libraries this doesn’t cause a problem because they are all the same and cannot be modified. However, if you plan to use one or more custom Content Center libraries, and want everyone to have access to them, this installation scheme will not work well. Maintaining copies of a custom library on each user’s hard drive would be an administrative nightmare. In a case like this you will want to make sure the libraries are moved to a network location so everyone is seeing the same data. All the libraries—whether stock or custom—are mapped to a single folder, so if your users need to share a custom library, the stock libraries will need to be in the same place.

Depending on the version of Inventor, the stock Content Center libraries may be installed automatically, or they may be a separate download requiring extra configuration steps. A quick online search for “Inventor [your version] Content Center” will return articles from Autodesk covering your options. If the libraries are automatically installed with Inventor, they will be installed locally.

How Content Center Libraries Are Used

There are two different ways to utilize the Content Center Libraries to create new files. The first is to create standard content. This is the default for components such as hardware, fittings, and shaft parts. It creates a library file which, like the libraries themselves, is not editable. These files are stored in a special folder that I’ll talk about in a moment. Stock Content Center part files even have a unique icon in the Assembly browser to set them apart. They have the advantage of being linked to their Content Center families, so changing from one family member to another is an easy process that will not disrupt your assembly’s relationships.

Figure 4: When inserting Content Center content the user will be given the option of creating standard or custom components.

The second way to use the Content Center Libraries is to create a custom part. This process is the default for certain types of library content such as structural steel parts, which have a length associated with them that is supplied by the user when the file is created. This process creates a standard Inventor part file, which is completely editable. The link to Content Center is broken when the file is created. In this scenario you are simply using Content Center as a data source or part factory. This technique can be used even for parts which are commonly not edited, such as bolts and fittings. If you need to modify the part in any way, create it as a custom component.

Content Center Files

The other side of the Content Center coin is the Content Center Files folder, and the files it contains. With the libraries in place, we can now begin to use the component files in our assemblies…except that the files don’t exist yet. Each component’s file will be created when the component is used for the first time. Where they are saved after they are created is a very important consideration. This is an area where lack of understanding or lax administration can cause a great deal of grief. Unfortunately, this is also an area where confusion can easily be introduced. This is because Inventor’s other use for the word “Library” comes into play.

Figure 5: In this installation of Inventor 2021, the location of the Content Center Files folder is controlled by the project file. This is a very common way to set things up.

Library Components and Folders

When a user first inserts a stock Content Center component into an assembly, Content Center generates the component file and puts that file on the hard drive in a special folder called Content Center Files. The Content Center Files folder serves as a collective repository for all the stock Content Center components that are used, and that folder is always designated as a Library Folder. An Inventor library folder has nothing directly to do with the Content Center Libraries discussed earlier; the two are different and distinct things. It’s unfortunate that the word “library” is probably the best descriptive term for both, but it’s important not to mix them up.

For our purposes, the fact that the Content Center Files folder is designated as a library folder means that the components which are stored there must always be found exactly where they were originally placed, and named what they were originally named. The paths to library components are embedded in Inventor assemblies. Renaming or moving a library file is a bad idea because the assemblies will then not be able to find them. This makes each user’s mapping to the Content Center Files folder very important. I’ll go over this again when I cover Content Center settings, but in a nutshell, the critical thing is to make sure everyone’s Content Center Files folder mapping points to the same place. Obviously, this folder cannot be on any user’s hard drive; it will need to be in a mutually accessible location. This will avoid issues where a user trying to open an assembly created by someone else gets file resolution errors that are difficult to resolve.

Figure 6: Content Center's configuration will depend on your working environment.

The Content Center Files folder shares this trait with the Content Center Libraries: Depending on the CAD environment, it is stored either on a local hard drive, on a shared network drive, or in the Vault (see Figure 6). If you are working collaboratively, the Content Center files folder should not be on your local hard drive. Once a component is created for the first time, the system uses the file from this folder the next time that part is used.
If the Content Center component is placed as a custom component, the user will be asked to save and name the file as part of the insertion process. These files are not placed in the Content Center Files folder. They are not library components, but regular Inventor parts.

Content Center Controls and Settings

Content Center’s configuration settings are a little spread out. In this section we’ll look at the various settings needed to get the tool working correctly, and where they are found.

Content Center settings in Inventor

In Inventor’s Application Options on the Content Center tab, there are three settings for Content Center:

• Standard Parts. This check box controls whether Content Center components are updated from the Content Center library when they are placed, or simply used as-is from the Content Center Files folder. If your libraries are static, there’s no need to spend the extra time checking the component file against the library, but if you are changing and updating your custom libraries regularly, you may want to check this option.
• Custom Family Default. This refers to content such as steel shapes, which have one or more parameters that must be supplied when they are placed. The default is “As Custom”, which is the correct setting for most users. It’s not that you can’t create them the other way; this just sets the default.
• Access Options. This setting determines where the Content Center Libraries are stored. The two options are somewhere on a local or mapped drive, or in the Vault. For local implementations, the default location is:
  C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Inventor 20XX\Content Center\Libraries

Figure 7: Inventor's Content Center settings in Application Options.

If another location is desired, the libraries within that folder can be moved to any accessible location and the mapping changed. The Vault setting should be used if the Content Center libraries have been loaded into the Vault. A Vault login will be required to access the libraries in this case.

Mapping the Content Center Files Folder

As I’ve already mentioned, getting the Content Center Files folder mapped correctly is important, especially in a collaborative environment. There are two ways that this folder can be mapped. The first is on the File tab of Inventor’s Application Options, and the second is in the project file’s Folder Options. The mapping in the project file always takes precedence if they are different. Inventor’s installation routine sets them up like this:

The Default Content Center Files setting on the Files tab of the Application Options dialog box is set to:
    %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Inventor\Content Center Files\R20XX\

In the project file under Folder Options, the Content Center Files folder is mapped to:
    [Default]

When the folder mapping in the project file is set to ‘default’, the system uses the mapping in Application Options. If the project file’s settings are mapped to a specific place, the project file mapping always overrides the one in Application Options. This allows a fine level of control over the folder mappings if needed. Most organizations don’t need that kind of sophistication, but if a user works mobile part of the time and can’t VPN into the company network, they will need to access the network mappings when they’re in the office, and a local copy when they’re in the field. This is also helpful for contractors, who might need to have different mappings for their various clients. In that case, simply changing the project file can completely reconfigure their environment.

Figure 8: Mapping the location of the Content Center Files folder in the project file.

Most companies will want to use a single project file for all their users. They can then map the project file’s Content Center Files folder to their Vault’s local workspace or to a network location. The mapping in Application Options can be left to the default or changed to another place on a local drive. If the user must sometimes work mobile, a second project file can be used to map the Content Center files locally. In that case, it’s important to synchronize the local and network folders as well as the folder mappings so that the user can switch back and forth between the project files without Inventor seeing a difference in the way the folder is mapped.

If multiple project files must be used in a collaborative environment, a strict protocol should be observed when creating the project files. When a new project file is created, the local Content Center Files folder mapping is used by default, and this should always be changed to the shared, network mapping. Leaving it as-is will cause file resolution errors, which in some cases can be very difficult to resolve. For Vault implementations, a single, shared project file which is managed by Vault is always best practice for daily use.

Other Content Center Settings in the Project File Dialog

The Projects dialog box contains a tool for configuring the Content Center libraries. It’s found on the lower right side of the dialog box. Clicking that button will pull up the Configure Libraries Inventor 20XX dialog box. At the top of the box the location of the Content Center libraries is displayed as a link that can be used to access the folder they’re stored in. Below that is a list of available libraries with a check box to denote which ones are in use. This setting is unique to each project file, so it’s possible to change which libraries are available to users by switching project files.

Figure 9: Accessing the Configure Libraries Inventor 20XX dialog.

On the bottom right of the dialog box there’s a row of tools for administrating the Content Center Libraries. Here libraries can be created, deleted, moved between local versions and the Vault, etc. These advanced features are the topic for a separate blog, so they get just a brief mention here.

Other Content Center Tools

Content Center also offers tools for authoring Content Center part families, managing libraries and Placing Content Center components. Those are complex subjects in themselves, so I will cover them in a separate blog post.

Sketch Object Properties

When creating advanced or complex Inventor sketch profiles, it is sometimes helpful to change the display properties of the sketch geometry. Inventor provides some basic options for this … Center Lines, Construction Lines, Reference (Projected) Geometry, and Normal Geometry. Under most conditions these options are all you need, however when you build sketches that will be shared, or used as layout information in skeleton modeling, having visual clues to what the geometry represents can be helpful (think AutoCAD Layers).

To access and set the properties of objects (lines, arcs, circles) in a sketch you have several options available to you.

Tool bar access via a Drop-Down menu

Right Click on either the Sketch in the Browser or on the individual objects and select Properties from the menu.

Work Flow

In this example we have several sketch profiles defined in shared sketch. To make it easier for other users to visualize the different profile information we will change the color and line styles of the objects in the sketch.

Starting with the rectangle on the left, we select the 4 lines, then right mouse click to select “Properties”. In this example the Color, Line type and Line Weight were adjusted.

In the next example we will display the bolt circle as a center line. Currently the Inventor Center Line sketch style does not support Circles or Arcs. In this example an additional change was added by activating Scale to control the size of the displayed Line Style.

Now that we have adjusted the visual characteristics of the sketch it is easier for the end user to determine the purpose and relationships of the different objects.

After setting the display characteristics of the sketch objects, you can toggle the display using the “Show Format” option from the ribbon bar.

Passing Model iProperties to Drawing iProperties

During the documentation process, we often use the same iProperties from our modeling files (parts & assemblies) to populate fields in our Bill of Materials, Parts Lists, drawing Title Blocks and Vault.

When we create a drawing, we often find ourselves re-entering the same data for the drawing’s iProperties that we entered for documented model’s iProperties.

For our drawing Title Blocks, this duplicated effort can be removed by mapping the Title Block fields to get iProperty data from the model. However, this solution still leaves the drawing iProperties empty.

Inventor does provide a solution for this from the Document Setting where we can configure the drawing to use the iProperties of the model.

Workflow

Start a new file or open one of your drawing templates files, navigate to Tools, and select Document Settings.

On the Document Settings Dialog, select the Drawing Tab and then select “Copy Model Properties”

Enable the functionality by selecting “Copy Model Properties” and then select the required properties that to be copied from the model.

Save your template file back to your template directory. When you create the first base view of a new drawing, the selected iProperties will update with the corresponding values from the model file.

Note: Any edits to existing values in the model’s iProperties will not update the drawing iProperties after the base view is created.

Saving Inventor CAM Stock for Secondary Operations

Creating a stock setup with Inventor CAM is simple if you’re starting from stock that’s cylindrical, box, or tube shaped. But what if your part has been pre-machined for tooling, cast, or has a complex shape? Inventor CAM equips users with the ability to save the stock body at any stage in the machining process and then use it in secondary setups!

Take a look at the part below. The initial roughing and internal boring is done by turning down the part on a 2-Axis lathe. This will leave the subsequent milling, chamfer, and drilling operations to be done with a vertical mill.

To export the remaining stock for the milling setup, follow these steps:

1. Run the toolpath simulation until it’s finished.

2. Right-click anywhere in the graphics window and select Stock > Save Stock.

3. Choose a folder location to save the stock body. Give the file a unique name that represents the first set of operations. The file type will default to Stereolithography (.stl) format.

4. Select "Save."

5. From the “Manage” tab – click on “Import.”

6. Navigate to the folder where the stock file was saved and select it.

7. IMPORTANT! Before selecting “Open” – click on “Options.” Set the Import Units value to “millimeter.” This assures that the .stl file is converted correctly. If this step isn’t taken – the body will be about 25 times too big.

8. Select “Open” to import the stock solid to the part file.

9. The STL body should automatically be imported and located in the same orientation as the model body. It will appear as a black triangulated geometry. In the model browser you’ll see it labeled as a “MeshFeature.”

 

10. From the CAM tab on the Job panel select “Setup.” to create a new stock setup for the remaining vertical milling operations.

11. On the “Stock” tab, change the Mode to “Stock Solid” using the drop-down menu.

12. Click on the black STL body as the Stock solid. It should highlight the surface in yellow.

13. On the “Setup” tab – select a new Stock WCS point and orientation for the milling setup. Typically this will mean the Z-axis will be specified as the vertical milling direction.

14. Return to the model browser and right-click on the mesh body. Select “Visibility” to hide the body.

15. Add the required 2D and 3D milling toolpaths to finish the machining program. Simulate the second setup to visualize the final stock removal.

NOTE: The same process can be used to import modeled stock solids (e.g. cast or pre-machined parts). A variety of formats besides STL are accepted including STEP, IGES, and Parasolid files.

 

There's a property for that

Articles and videos of new features are good for providing awareness, but they don't always answer the question "So what?"  That's why I like real world examples that actually show their value.  Here's an example a customer recently had where one simple feature was able to save hours of tedious analysis.  The feature?  The property Has Drawing that made its appearance in Vault 2020 (at the time, 2020 was the latest release, so it was still a new feature).  An idea that had been around for a few years that was actually green-lit into the product.

Scenario: Customer utilized custom material libraries for their parts.  Some of those materials didn't have precise names, which was fine when they only had single source suppliers with which they had a shared vocabulary; each knew what those material names meant.  Once designed, parts were documented with material names in the notes.  The material property is mapped into Vault so that it is searchable, though, not editable in Vault.

Problem: A change in business required them to utilize more than one supplier, but the material names remained the same.  Again the names were descriptive, but not precise.  So they were getting varying results when the parts came in from the different suppliers.  It was then decided to change the material names so that parts could be fabricated consistently.  But that meant changing hundreds of drawings.  And to make matters worse, not every part was documented in a drawing.

Solution: They could easily enough search the Vault for all the parts that had material names that required changes.  However, they only really needed (at the beginning stage) to change the drawings, as they were the deliverable to suppliers, not the native part files.  They would have had to analyze thousands of parts to see which had drawings and which didn't.  We set them up with the "Saved Search" seen below.

Results: The saved search, utilizing a parametric material search condition gave them the flexibility to search for an offending material and get a "punch list" of the parts that had to be changed.  Once the material was changed they were able to just update the drawings by using the handy Open Drawing from Vault command in Inventor.

Managing Styles and Standards in Autodesk Inventor

Introduction

Styles and Standards are, and always have been, a sticking point for a lot of Inventor users. The complexity of managing them seems to be far more involved than required. But once you understand how styles are managed it becomes a very good way to ensure consistency across your design team.

In this guide I hope to explain how Styles are managed by inventor both inside the active document and externally by Style Libraries, and how users can interact with Styles and Standards to improve efficiency in the workplace.

What are Styles and Standards?

Let us start with a brief description of what styles are in the context of inventor. Most commonly people know that Styles are used to control the appearance of annotations, tables, text, etc. in the drawing environment. However, they are also used to control things like sheet metal rules, unfold calculations and lighting.

Standards are used in the drafting environment and define a collection of styles that create the Company/Project “Standard” for drawings. What these means is that all the designers are working with the same styles when creating drawings which ensures consistency across documentation.

Figure 1 - Style and Standard Panel

The Style Editor in the ‘Styles and Standards’ Panel of the ‘Manage’ ribbon tab (Figure 1) is used to create, modify and delete styles and Standards. The style editor dialog box appears differently depending on the environment in which you open it. From a part, assembly or weldment file the style manager only shows the lighting and text styles. From a sheet metal part, the style library shows the lighting, sheet metal rules, Sheet metal Unfold and text styles. And from the drawing environment the style manager shows all annotation styles including text, tables, dimensions, etc. and two important Style Types:

• Standards
• Object Defaults.

Most commonly people manipulate styles in the drawing environment so that is what we will focus on in this article. (Figure 2)

Figure 2 - Style Manager (Drawing Environment)

What's a Style Library?

A Style Library is a collection of external .xml files that contain Inventor styles. Each .xml file controls a ‘Style Type’ such as ‘Dimension’ or ‘Table’. If you have only one Style Library, it is commonly referred to as the Global Style Library as it contains all the styles provided by Autodesk® as well as any you create and save to it. It is highly recommended that all companies with multiple users have a common Design Data folder either in the Vault or on a network location that all Inventor users have access to. This allows consistency across the department by ensuring everyone is working with the same design data. With a default install of Inventor, the Global Style Library is located in the following area:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor <Version>\Design Data

Note: It is possible to have Project specific Style Libraries however, for the purposes of this article, we will only consider the Global Style Library 

What is the Relationship Between Style, Standards and Style Libraries?

This is where things get more complicated. Even though every document has access to the Global Style Library the document only loads the styles into the document that are specified in the ‘Standard’. What this means is that each document embeds the styles specified by the Standard into the file creating, in essence, a Local Style Library. And this is the crux of the issue when it comes to managing styles. When a user modifies/creates a style, it is only created/modified in the Local Style Library. There is no persistent connection between the styles embedded in the file (the Local Style Library) and those in the Global Style Library.

What Happens When You Change a Style in a Drawing?

Consider the following workflow as an example of editing a style in a drawing:

1. Create a new Drawing document from a template
   
2. Place base, side and top views and position accordingly
   
3. Dimension the views
   
4. The user decides the dimensional precision is to loose and changes the [Default-mm (ANSI)] dimension style (the dimension style specified in the Default-mm (ANSI) Standard that is currently active) to increase the precision from 2 decimal places to 3 decimal places
   
5. All dimensions that are of the [Default-mm (ANSI)] dimension style are updated automatically and now show a precision of 3 decimal places.
   

Note: At this point the User is modifying an existing dimension style here not creating a new one – this will become important later.

As discussed earlier the change this user has made is only affecting the Local definition of the [Default-mm (ANSI)] style that is embedded in the file. Hence, if this user now created a new drawing from the same template file the precision setting would be reset to two decimal places. This is because the [Default-mm (ANSI)] style is loaded from the Global Style Library upon creation* of the new document and the Global Style Library definition of this style has a precision setting of 2 decimal places.

*In reality, the Template files already contain the styles from when they were created and if the styles match nothing happens. If there are styles that do not match, however, Inventor will automatically update the Local Styles to match the Global Styles. This is often seen in the ‘Style Conflict’ message as shown in Figure 8. This will be addressed later in the document.

Figure 8 - Style Conflict Message Box

How Do You Make Changes to a Style Library?

Making a change to a library involves saving the Local Style changes to the Global Style Library. If the style is new it creates a new style in the Global Library and if it is modified it overwrites the existing style in the Global Style Library. Consider the workflow just demonstrated, the following example works through the process of updating the Global Style Library:

1. Select the ‘Save’ button on the ‘Styles and Standards’ panel of the ‘Manage’ Tab
   
2. In the ‘Save Styles to Style Library’ dialog box, click the ‘No’ under the ‘Save to Library’ column to toggle it to ‘Yes’
   
3. Click ‘OK’
4. Click 'Yes’ to the warning dialog box
   
   Note: This will overwrite the style definition in the Global Style Library and so, before making any edits, it is recommended you make a backup of the Design Data folder incase anything files becomes corrupted/unusable
   
   
5. That’s it. The style has now been overwritten in the Global Style Library and every new drawing created that uses the [Default-mm (ANSI)] dimension style will, by default, have a precision of 3 decimal places.

Some caveats for this process:

• The Style-Library setting in the Project file must be set to Read-Write
• You must have ample permissions to overwrite the .xml files in the Design Data folder
• If utilizing the Vault to manage data, you will need to check out the .xml files in order to make the changes
• Now the Global Style Library has been updated the ‘Style Conflict’ message will appear every time a user creates a new file from a template.

Now we know the process let’s examine the ‘Save Style to Style Library’ dialog box in Figure 10.

This dialog box is displaying the following:

Column Name	Description	Example
Document Name	The file in which the new/modified Style is embedded	Style example.idw
Style Name	The name of the style that has been created/modified	Default-mm (ANSI)
Type	The Type of style that has been created/modified	Dimension
Location	Whether the Style exists ‘Local’ (embedded), ‘Library’ (external) or ‘Both’	Both
Change	Whether the style was changed in the document or in the library*	Local
Save to Style Library	Toggles between ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ to indicate if the user wants to save the style to the Library or not	No**

*If the Style is new and not in the Global Style Library this shows up as ‘No’
**This was changed during the above workflow to ‘Yes’ as an example of saving a style to a library

How Can an Old Drawing be Updated to the Current Standard?

So, we have successfully changed the [Default-mm (ANSI)] style and saved it to the Global Style Library, but now we have opened and old drawing and none of the dimensions are displayed at the new standard despite their Style showing as [Default-mm (ANSI)]. Again, this is due to there being no persistent link between the embedded styles and the Global Style Library. So, in order to update the drawing to match the latest Styles and Standards we must use the ‘Update” command on the ‘Styles and Standards’ panel of the ‘Manage’ ribbon tab.

Upon selecting the ‘Update’ command an ‘Update Styles’ dialog box appears (Figure 12)

Figure 12 - Update Styles Dialog Box

Note how similar this appears to the ‘Save Styles to Style Library’ dialog box. That is why it is important to take note of the dialog box you are working with prior to selecting ‘OK’. The dialog box contains all the same columns, except for one, as the ‘Save Styles to Style Library’ dialog box. The one column difference is the last column where it says ‘Update’ instead of ‘Save to Library’.

When you have selected the Styles you want to update to the current standard select ‘OK’ and you are presented with a message box (Figure 13)

Figure 13 - Update Message Box

This informs the user that any locally edited styles will be overwritten with the Global Style Library definition effectively erasing any of the edits. However, unlike saving styles to the Global Style Library, this process can be undone. If you make an error in your selection you can always undone the command and go back to select the right styles to update.

A Graphical Representation of Styles and Style Libraries

Figure 14 - Graphical Representation of Style Management

Understanding Standards

We have delved into Styles and how they are managed between documents but that is only part of the problem when it comes to effective use of Styles in Inventor. Now we need to understand how styles are managed in the documents and that is done using Standards.

Note: Standards are only available in the drafting environment

When you open the Style and Standard Editor the first category in the left-hand pane is Standard. This is where we can see what Standards are available to us and “Activate” the Standard we want to use. When you Activate a Standard, you are defining what styles are available to the user during drafting. You can tell which is the Active Standard as it is highlighted in Bold. See Figure 15.

Figure 15 - Standard Categories

When you select a Standard to edit, see Figure 16, the right-hand pane consists of 5 tabs:

• General
• View Preferences
• Available Styles
• Object defaults
• And Material Hatch Patter Defaults

Figure 16 - Styles and Standards Editor (Standards)

The General Tab contains settings for the Units, decimal marker, Character Exclusions, etc. The View Preferences Tab contains settings for default view labels, how sections are details, First/Third angle projection, etc. And the Material Hatch Pattern Defaults is just that, here you can set up the default hatch pattern for set materials when sectioning them in drawings. The two tabs that we are going to discuss in more detail are the ‘Available Styles’ tab and the ‘Object Defaults’ tab.

Available Styles

The ‘Available Styles’ tab is where we can specify what Styles should be made available, when the standards is Active, to the user.

Figure 17 - Available Styles Tab

As you can see from Figure 17 there are 5 Dimensional Styles available that can be checked. There are also 18 Style Types to choose from, each with their own list of Available Styles. When a Style is Checked in this box and while the Standard is Active, that style will be available to to use in the Document. An important thing to note here is the Style Filter in the top right of the Style and Standard Editor dialog box (Figure 18).

Figure 18 - Style Filter

This filter allows us to control what shows up in the Editor dialog box. There are three options available to use:

• Active Standard
• Local Styles
• All styles

This filter allows us to narrow down large amounts of styles (All Styles) to just ones contained in the document (Local Style) or currently available in the Active Standard (Active Standard). See Figure 19 and compare this to Figure 17 for an example of how the available Styles and Standards Editor dialog box changes when the user sets the filter to All Styles

Figure 19 - Available Styles (All Styles)

When you are creating a new style the dialog box allows you to automatically add that style to the Active Standard as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20 - New Local Style dialog box

Object Defaults

An Object Default sets the default style and layer for each object type in the drafting environment. As an example in the Objects Default tab of the Default Standard (ANSI-mm) the Object Type “Linear Dimension” has an Object Style specified as [Default – mm (ANSI)] and a Layer Specified as [Dimensions (ANSI)]. See Figure 21

This means that when the user places a linear dimension it will be placed on the [Dimensions (ANSI)] layer and its appearance will be defined by the [Default – mm (ANSI)] style.

Figure 21 - Object Defaults Tab

Figure 22 - Object Defaults Edit

This tab, however, does not allow you to edit the Object Defaults directly. This tab allows the user to select an Object Defaults Style in the Active Object Defaults dropdown box above the window which will be applied to the active standard. From here the user can also select the pencil which will redirect to the referenced Object Default Style for editing as shown in Figure 22

Form here the user can define what the Object Style Default and Layer Default should be and create a new Object Default Styles for reference by the Standard rather than modifying an existing one.

Purging Styles

The last item we are going to touch on in this article is the purging of styles. The Purge command is the last command located on the ‘Styles and Standards’ panel of the ‘Manage’ ribbon tab.

Figure 23 - Styles and Standards panel

The Purge command clears any unused styles, materials and appearances from the document. This allows the user to remove any unwanted data that is taking up space in the file and helps improve clarity when managing styles, materials and appearances. It is important to note how the program only selects styles that can be purged.

Firstly, the style must not be in use. If the user has a dimension placed that references a particular style that style is in use and cannot be purged. Moreover, if the style has been made “Available” in the Standard it is also considered “in use” and cannot be purged.

Secondly, the command only purges styles that are embedded in the file (Local). So, the command is safe to use knowing that any Style in the Style Library is safe from being purged.

Figure 24 shows the available ‘Dimension’ Type Styles in the [Default Standard (ANSI)] Standard. This list has been filtered to only show the “Active Standard”. You can see, due to the filter in place, all the dimension styles are checked.

Figure 25 shows the same list with the results being filtered to “Local Styles”. Notice there are now 3 additional Styles in the list that do not have checks against them. This tells us that the document has 3 additional ‘Dimension’ Type Styles embedded. If these styles are not in use the file is larger than it needs to be, and it is less clear what Styles are currently in use and available.

These styles are not part of the Active Standard however, they might still be in use in the document and hence not capable of being Purged.

Figure 24 - Available Styles (Active Standard Filter)

Figure 25 - Available Styles (Local Styles Filter)

Below is an example of the Purge workflow:

1. Select the Purge command on the ‘Styles and Standards’ panel or the ‘Manage’ ribbon tab
2. The ‘Purge Styles’ Dialog box is displayed
   

   Figure 26 - Purge Styles Dialog Box

3. The ‘Purge Styles’ Dialog Box resembles both the save and update dialog boxes displaying the same information.
4. Click on the ‘Yes’/’No’ in the Purge column to toggle if you want the style to be purged or not.
5. Once the Selection is made click ‘OK’
6. The Styles have been Purged.

Manual Management

The commands demonstrated in these workflows are used to highlight Styles and Standards that are new, updated or unused and deal with them accordingly. If you have a particular Style that you need to Save, update or Purge this can be managed manually in the Styles and Standards Editor through the use of the shortcut menu using a right click (Figure 27). Using this method the user can purge styles that are currently referenced by the active standard, however, if you try to Purge a Style that is referenced by the Active Standard Inventor will warn you that the Standard will be modified to reflect this change (Figure 28). This means the Style will be removed and the standard will be updated to remove that Style from the Available Styles List.

You should never attempt to manage Style Libraries through the use of an .xml editor. Only use the tools provided by Autodesk to make edits to the Style Library.

Figure 27 - Manual Style Management

Figure 28 - Purge Local Style Dialog Box

Conclusion

Styles, Standards and Style Libraries can be confusing when first trying to understand the relationships between them. It is well worth spending the time to learn and understand this relationship as having a consistent Standard across the company not only provides a professional appearance to your documentation, it also makes production of these documents consistent and more efficient for the design team.

This article has been designed to give the reader a high-level overview of the Styles, Standards and Style Library relationship and an introduction into the tools that can be used to manage them. These tools are sufficient to get a Standard in place and manage that Standard and associated Styles. However there is a lot more information about styles available and, if you are managing company drafting standards, time should be spent understanding styles in more detail.