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This page contains macro driven parts, Visual Basic and VBA programs and anything else which uses code in Inventor. Some of these are works in progress so check back from time to time for updates. As usual, we are always looking for useful things to post Link to Kent Keller's site for Inventor, some simply elegant tools
iAssembly Tools is a collection of tools for cloning, changing properties, pack N Linking and a variety of other power tools. It constains the much sought after SaveAs N Open and SaveAs N Replace; effectively letting you rename parts and assemblies in the context of an Assembly. Cloning has options for building new assemblies from existing ones but with prefixed or suffixed file names all properly linked and with little or no loss of constraints. This is BETA software so be careful with it an report any issues to me. Version 1.2 fixes some selection issues and improves overall performance. Version 1.3 Adds Thumnail updating at all levels. V1.4 adds menu selection of orientation for thumbnails. V1.5 adds IDW Defer Update toggle. V1.6 adds color import. V1.7 Adds Open Associated IDW. (1.7.1=bug fix). Version 1.8 Adds editing Title Block/File Properties and linking Models to IDWs for opening from the model. V1.9 Adds multiple rename of parts / assemblies in browser. V1.9.1, Custom Prop Fix for IDW & dialogs now remember last used position. V1.9.8 Adds component locking and a material editor (that optionally saves to the template). V2.0.0 adds convert iParts to Normal, Purge unused Colors and Materials and fixes empty Part Properties box when editing in the context of an assembly. Version 2.1.4 adds AutoUpdate capability (download and install the iAutoUpdate program). It also fixes some issues with properties and a "bug" in populating Materials to the template. 2.1.8 adds support for keywords, fixes issue with using on unsaved files and adds RMB launch of Windows explorer into the directory containing the selected file. 2.1.9, adds recursive browser rename and ablity to change the top assembly display name. 2.2.3 fixes bug in launching IDW's from parts and adds Assembly Builder, which builds a new single level assembly from Visible parts.
Ground / Unground Sketch Points. Change Color of Sketch entities or whole sketches. Places a flyout button in the 2D Sketch panel bar. Just select the entities of sketch you want to change and hit the desired button. This function will not work in older versions. Beta 3 adds support for working on parts in the context of an assembly. Version 2 adds an updated version of the 3DText tool which now work when editing parts in assemblies. It also work in assembly sketches.
Addin to use a Spline path for moving parts in an Assembly. This will likely be included in a future version of Animator.
Inventor R9 Addin to overlay alternate representation views in an IDW. In the example shown in the demo AVI, a cylinder is shown overlayed with the cylinder retracted and extended. 8/6 Updated to fix some issues.
Remove Fixed constraints on sketch geometry (Inventor 9). This makes it easy to Project cut edges and unlock them so you can easily edit / dimension
(Superceeded by iAssembly tools above) Highlight a part or a subassembly in an assembly, give it a new name and this tool will replace the component(s) with the new file. Basically a simple "Save Copy As" and "Replace" all rolled into one. Version 2 adds Save Copy and Open if you are in a part (ipt).
This release of Animator adds constraint suppression, control over part visibility and camera moves. There is NO documentation supplied with this install, that will come later. To access the new functionallity, there is a combo box in the upper left which provides access to the other object types. Part of the beta process is for you to feed back areas in the UI which don't make sense so we can either fix them or provide documentation on how they work. General rules which are not obvious. *) Constraints must be renamed in the browser for them to show up in the Suppression list. *) It is prefereable to rename constraints in the Inventor Parameters dialog so they are easier to find in the Animator Paramaters list. *) If you want to edit your files in Excel, save and load them as .csv. *)This version only controls things defined at the top level of the assembly. You can not change part visibility, drive parameters or suppress constraints contained in subassemblies; this is one of the target capabilities for V4.0. Please direct all issues on this version to me. The final release will be posted to sdotson.com Version 4.0 adds a lot of functionallity which is covered in the readme and on sdotson.com
Convert an iPart factory to a set of non-iPart children. This program will iterate through all members of the Active iPart Factory and create children of the same name as iPart children specified in the table. These will be placed in a selectable directory except the last tow directories in the path will be "nonIpart" and the factory filename (so you don't risk overwriting existing iPart children). It has only been tested on R7 but may work on earlier versions. Place the extracted ivb in the same directory as your other ivb macros.
Copies Custom properties from a Model to a Drawing, R5 only (1.9 Meg download) If you have not installed perviousely, download and install CustomPropCopy. If you have an older version, just down load the new dll and overwrite your existing one. Instructions are included in the full zip. Version 3.0 adds drawing view scale properties and drawing save date / time properties to drawings, and is designed for IV R6+. It is only available as a full install since it has updated OCX controls.
Calculates an Assembly's Center of Gravity. Instructions in archive.
Enables multiple selections for sketch constraints. Please read the enclosed documentation.
Inventor View Manager for R5.3. Macro for managing cameras and views in parts, assemblies and presentations. Includes read me instructions.
Places a time and date stamp on IDW files. Instructions in Archive
Change Units Of Measure. Change from one system of measure to another. Should work in any language. No guarentees. It has been tested on R5 and R5.3. Designed to convert all the files in an assembly from inches to millimeters or any of the other units supported by inventor. Updated to recursively change all files including the top level assembly
iBatchPrint is a program for printing to PDF's as well as regular printers for Inventor R5 and higher. The install is manual, make sure you read the instructions in the zip. If you want to use GhostScript, you will need to install that seperatly. I have inlcuded links in the readme. There are some known issues when using this with Adobe Distiller 5.05. If you are using GhostScript, it might fail the first time after configuring the port but should be OK after that. If you have problems or enhancement requests, email me.
This sets a front left Isometric view and sets the file(s) dirty to force a thumbnail to be saved. It is best used in concert with Kent Keller's iBatch Run program to update a group of Inventor files
Exports preview images from Inventor. The updated version now requires either Inventor or Apprentice server to be installed on the computer. It now supports R6 (as well as R5.3 and below). The version with jpeg support is the same but hasn't had much testing.
Multiple setting of File Properties with lots of options. Download the full version (1.7 meg) If you don't have VisualBasic installed otherwise all you need is the smaller version.
This source code recursively parses the components in browser and renames them based on selected properties. It includes source and compiled exe. This is meant as an example of how to get all the instances in the browser and do something with them. This now has options for multiple configurable items to be used including custom properties
Bill of Materials Extractor, stand alone exe. Reads an Inventor Assembly and builds an indented Bill of Materials and a Summary (with quantities) Bill of materials then optionally exports it to an Excel Spread Sheet. The resulting Excel work book include three sheets, with the last being a summary. There is an option for displaying the nesting level physically. Now highlights missing parts and empty part numbers. Added "On Top" and hyperlinked files (launch Inventor from Excell) 9/10/02, Added Preview image support in both the tool and the resulting Excel Spread sheet.
A simple program for loading macros in Inventor R6+. It will not work in older versions. Limitations: If you load macros which are password protected, those macros will not show up in the list of available macros. Any macros which load as part of your default VB will not show up until you have looked at them in the Inventor Macros dialog first. Once you have seen a listing of them in Inventor, they will also show in the listing (I suspect that Inventor doesn't actually load them until you explicitly look for them).
It will save Inventor files out to JPEG format and compiled XGL. The compiled XGL files are executible (.exe) which when launched will present a self viewing 3D model or assembly. Currently missing is the ability to iterate through and active sheets in multi sheet IDW's. There is an option for saving JPEGs every time a file is saved. There is also an option for zooming extents prior to export. I don't recommend using this option but it is there if you need it. Added support for dedicated target directory. Added option for Exporting Stereo Images and removed the 4096 limitation on Jpeg size. For Stereo image editing and publishing, try using Stereo Photo Maker 2.08 or above. Version 2 adds support for compression level in JPEG export. Version 2.0.1 changes DWF to support DWF 5 and 3D DWF. The new DWF feature may not work on Windows 98. Updated to accomodate timing changes in Inventor R11 (it is too fast for some of the code)
Creates AISC Steel shapes in Inventor, This version fixes some problems with XP
This macro converts "_Inventor Fasterner Library V1" parts to Standard Parts. Load and run it in the context of an assembly and it will recurse through all the instanced parts then change them normal type parts which can be edited, properties changed etc. This should load and run with Mr. Macro or by loading in Inventor's Visual Basic.
This macro shows the thumbnail of a part or assembly selected in the browser or on the graphic screen. It is useful for turning on parts that are not visible by allowing you to identify them based on their thumbnails. It has buttons for both making them visible and hiding them. Updated to fix sizing issue in R6. Version 2 addeds the ability to change materials and other properties as well as rename part instances in the browser. A new function has also been added for cloning assemblies with either prefix suffix or both. It will add the pre/suffix to all parts and assemblies under the one selected. This new function is kind of beta, use at your own risk
This program was written to aid in establishing and fixing reserved files from previous releases of Inventor when migrating to the Shared and Semi-Isolated environments. It can "reserve" an entire directory all at once and can also be used for "Un-Reserving" and entire directory structure. This program can un-reserve and reserve files without requiring them to be migrated first. It will not migrate files, it only changes the reserve status. Caution when using in a semi-isolated or Vault environment. This tool is not meant to circumvent those systems. It is meant as a tool to for releasing the reserved status on files where there is no other means. Beta: Deals with read-only files, fixes some error trapping and adds Excel and XML export of properties. Import of properties isn't quite complete, I would like input on the import and export capability and UI. The goal of the import and export was for use in precleaning files prior to import into document management systems (like Vault)
IDW Defer / UnDefer Updates. (R7 and higher) Upon Install, this utility places itself in the Windows Explorer Context menu. If you highglight either an IDW file or a Folder, there will be an option available by Right Clicking (RMB). When it launches, you can select more files or just Defer or UnDefer the selected files. Testing suggests that the IDW will not update while this process is taking place. Please exercise caution as this is the first release and it is launching Inventor to perform the actions. Since Inventor has to launch, the process can take some time if lots of IDW's are selected. If the drawing file is already in the desired state, no action will be taken.
RegAddin is a tool for developers of Add-ins. It automates the process of generating the .reg files after an addin has been compiled and registered with the operating system. THIS IS NOT an addin. This tool was written by Anton Van Buiten and modified by me to add support for the new R6+ style registry files. Updated 1/4/04 to fix some minor problems and change some of the defaults.
This utility was designed to simplify the process of creating Add-in regfiles and producing "Professional looking" Installs for your addins. This software requires the installation of the Nullsoft Installer and optionally HM NIS Edit, both tools are excellent and free. |
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