Manufacturing DevBlog

AU London 2018: Call for proposals

Time is running out for AU London proposals, so you'd better start thinking about a topic that you would like to talk about at this event: class proposal submission is closing at the end of January:
https://aulondon2018.dryfta.com/en/userlogin/register/login 

3 million downloads from the Autodesk App Store

Wow! What a great milestone for the Autodesk App Store! :)

Thanks to all the developers who created solutions for our customers and made them available on our store! :)

Activate ActiveX based BrowserPane

In Inventor 2018 custom browser panes got their own dockable window so that they can be moved around by the user.

As a result your old code that was creating your new ActiveX based BrowserPane and was trying to activate it does not work anymore.
You need to find the DockableWindow that was created for your BrowserPane and make that visible - this action will also make it active:

Public Sub BrowserTest()
  Dim partDoc As PartDocument
  Set partDoc = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
       
  Dim myBrowserPane As BrowserPane
  Set myBrowserPane = partDoc.BrowserPanes.Add("Test", "WMPlayer.OCX")
   
  ' First you have to make its container visible
  Dim uiMgr As UserInterfaceManager
  Set uiMgr = ThisApplication.UserInterfaceManager
    
  Dim dockWindow As DockableWindow
  Set dockWindow = uiMgr.DockableWindows(myBrowserPane.Name)
    
  ' This will also activate it
  dockWindow.Visible = True
End Sub

This will achieve the same as clicking the + button in the UI and selecting your browser pane that way:

 

Using Vault from Java

The other day someone asked about accessing Vault from Java. We already had an article written on that topic long ago, which I hope is still relevant, but it does not have the sample project anymore, unfortunately :(

Still, the article itself could be useful enough: Download Vault5_0_client_from_java_v1.0

Add to "Frequently Used Subfolders" collection

By Adam Nagy (@AdamTheNagy)

As mentioned in this forum post, unfortunately, the relevant API does not work :(

Until it gets sorted, you could use the following workaround: edit directly the Project file (*.ipj), which is in fact an xml file.

The <Path> needs to starts with "Workspace\" and then continue with the path to the subfolder you want to add. 

I'm showing how to do it in VBA, but .NET (also accessible from iLogic) has similar support for xml editing.  Just add a reference to the "Microsoft XML, v6.0" library:

Sub AddFrequentlyUsedSubfolder()
    Dim oProjectManager As DesignProjectManager
    Set oProjectManager = ThisApplication.DesignProjectManager
    
    Dim oProject As DesignProject
    Set oProject = oProjectManager.ActiveDesignProject

    ' Use 'Microsoft XML, v6.0'
    Dim xmlDoc As DOMDocument60
    Set xmlDoc = New DOMDocument60
    xmlDoc.async = False
    
    Dim strProjectPath As String
    strProjectPath = oProject.FullFileName
    
    ' Load the project file (*.ipj)
    Call xmlDoc.Load(strProjectPath)
    
    ' Select the  node
    Dim xmlProjectPaths As IXMLDOMNode
    Call xmlDoc.setProperty("SelectionLanguage", "XPath")
    Set xmlProjectPaths = xmlDoc.selectSingleNode("/InventorProject/ProjectPaths")
    
    ' Add the new subfolder
    ' We need to add something like this:
    ' <ProjectPath pathtype="FrequentlyUsedFolder">
    '   <PathName>MyFolder</PathName>
    '   <Path>Workspace\MySubfolder</Path>
    ' </ProjectPath>
    Dim xmlProjectPath As IXMLDOMNode
    Set xmlProjectPath = xmlDoc.createNode(1, "ProjectPath", "")
    
    Dim xmlPathType As IXMLDOMAttribute
    Set xmlPathType = xmlDoc.createAttribute("pathtype")
    xmlPathType.value = "FrequentlyUsedFolder"
    Call xmlProjectPath.Attributes.setNamedItem(xmlPathType)
    
    Dim xmlPathName As IXMLDOMNode
    Set xmlPathName = xmlDoc.createNode(1, "PathName", "")
    xmlPathName.Text = "MyFolder"
    Call xmlProjectPath.appendChild(xmlPathName)
    
    Dim xmlPath As IXMLDOMNode
    Set xmlPath = xmlDoc.createNode(1, "Path", "")
    xmlPath.Text = "Workspace\" + "MySubfolder"
    Call xmlProjectPath.appendChild(xmlPath)
    
    Call xmlProjectPaths.appendChild(xmlProjectPath)
    
    ' Make another project active so that we can save the changes
    Call oProjectManager.DesignProjects(1).Activate(False)
    
    ' Save the changes
    Call xmlDoc.Save(strProjectPath)
    
    ' Make our project active again
    Call oProject.Activate(False)
End Sub

 

Making your add-in callable from VBA

By Adam Nagy

If you want to create your add-in in a way that its functionality can also be accessed by other programs (e.g. from VBA) then there are two ways to do it:

a) Use ControlDefinition object
Most add-ins implement ControlDefinition objects, which are hooked up to controls in the Inventor User Interface. When the user clicks that control (mainly buttons) then your code can run to do its thing. These ControlDefintion objects can also be accessed by other programs, just like the ones Inventor exposes. Once you found the ControlDefinition object you need you can call its Execute or Execute2 method in order to run it:
Running Commands Using the API
&
Execute vs Execute2 of ControlDefinition

You can also send parameters to a command in the form of a string. Your add-in then could call PeekPrivateEvent to access that data: 
Provide command parameters using PostPrivateEvent

Just to illustrate the solution:

b) Implement Automation property
Your add-in could also implement the Automation property of the ApplicationAddInServer class as described in this blog post:
Connect to an Inventor add-in an external application

Through the Automation property you can expose an object that can have any functions and properties that you want.

Note that both solutions work even if Inventor is invisible.

Autodesk App Store Forge and Fusion 360 Hackathon September 1 - October 31

By Virupaksha Aithal

If you’ve been thinking about developing on the Autodesk® Forge Platform, Autodesk’s new cloud platform, or on Autodesk® Fusion 360™—or, if you’re just curious about learning more about these technologies and what they could do to help your business or your career—join us for our upcoming free online hackathon.  This is our fourth online hackathon and you are welcome to participate in all or any part of it.

The Autodesk® App Store Forge and Fusion 360® Hackathon is an online event which consists of two segments:

1. A series of web training and open Q&A sessions related to the Autodesk Forge platform and Fusion 360 - open to anyone interested in learning about these APIs.
2. An online hackathon where developers can develop new apps on the Forge platform or on Fusion 360 for submission to Autodesk App Store.

We know that learning and implementing something new takes time and often gets put off so we’ve designed this event to give you the support you need - as well as a financial incentive - to motivate you to learn the APIs and publish your app on the Forge platform or on Fusion 360 in the Autodesk App Store. It will make taking action to publish apps simple and feasible. 

The training webinars will help familiarize you with the Forge platform and in the open Q&A sessions you’ll have the opportunity to receive help in real-time from the Autodesk team answering your questions to help you develop your app(s). For all such new apps submitted to the Autodesk App Store by midnight on October 31, 2016 and accepted for publication in the store by November 30, 2016, each entrant of the Hackathon will receive US$ 500 for one eligible app per entrant.

 
You may attend the educational webinars without publishing an app. Click here for Webinar only registration or get full details and register for the Hackathon at http://autodeskforge.devpost.com. If you register for the Hackathon you will automatically be registered for the webinars.  They will be recorded so that you can view them at your convenience.

Visit the pages on the Hackathon website to learn more about the opportunities and resources for developing on Forge, Fusion 360 and publishing in the Autodesk App Store and if you have questions send us an email.

Cable & Harness component names

By Adam Nagy

When iterating through the components of a Cable & Harness assembly you'll find VirtualComponentDefinition's named like "HA_VC_xxx":

...
Hard Drive:2
CD Ribbon Cable
  CD Ribbon Cable
  Ribbon Cable Connector:1
  Ribbon Cable Connector:2
  Ribbon Cable Connector:3
  HA_VC_100:1
Power Supply Harness
  Power Supply Connector:1
...

This does not line up with what you see in the Browser Tree. It's because what's listed there are not actually the components but just placeholders. If you select them and run a code like this then you can see that those parts are just ClientBrowserNodeDefinitionObject's:

The Part Number of the VirtualComponentDefinition's resemble more how those components are represented in the Browser Tree, so you could use that instead:

Sub PrintHierarchyTreeRecursive(occs, indent)
  Dim occ As ComponentOccurrence
  For Each occ In occs
    Dim pss As PropertySets
    If TypeOf occ.Definition Is VirtualComponentDefinition Then
      Set pss = occ.Definition.PropertySets
    Else
      Set pss = occ.Definition.Document.PropertySets
    End If
    
    Dim partNumber As String
    partNumber = pss("Design Tracking Properties")("Part Number").value
    
    Write #1, Spc(indent); occ.Name + ", " + partNumber
    
    Call PrintHierarchyTreeRecursive(occ.SubOccurrences, indent + 2)
  Next
End Sub

Sub PrintHierarchyTree()
  Dim asm As AssemblyDocument
  Set asm = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
  
  Open "C:\temp\assemblyparts.txt" For Output As #1
  Call PrintHierarchyTreeRecursive(asm.ComponentDefinition.Occurrences, 0)
  Close #1
End Sub

 

Map family's table column to Inventor property

By Adam Nagy

When trying to figure out how to do something in the Inventor API, then almost always the best way to go is: do it in the UI, investigate in the API.

So I registered in the Content Center my own part, created a SIZE property then mapped it to Project.Description (Design Tracking Properties:Description):

Now using the API I can find out how the SIZE property got mapped to Project.Description property:

Public Sub CCtest()
  Dim cc As ContentCenter
  Set cc = ThisApplication.ContentCenter
  
  Dim ctvn As ContentTreeViewNode
  Set ctvn = cc.TreeViewTopNode. _
    ChildNodes("Features"). _
    ChildNodes("English"). _
    ChildNodes("Block")
    
  Dim cf As ContentFamily
  Set cf = ctvn.Families(1)
  
  Dim ctc As ContentTableColumn
  Set ctc = cf.TableColumns("Size")
  
  If ctc.HasPropertyMap Then
    Dim psid As String
    Dim pid As String
    Call ctc.GetPropertyMap(psid, pid)
    Debug.Print "PropertySetId = " & psid
    Debug.Print "PropertyId = " & pid
  End If
End Sub

Result:

PropertySetId = {32853F0F-3444-11d1-9E93-0060B03C1CA6}
PropertyId = 29

So basically you just have to look for the given property set in Document.PropertySets and use its InternalName property, then look for the property inside it and use the Property's PropId.

Filter out faces not facing the user

By Adam Nagy

The API Help contains a sample that lets you prompt the user to select a Face. This is helped by the option of specifying the object types we allow:

oSelectEvents.AddSelectionFilter filter

If you need more granularity when deciding which faces should be selectable then you can just handle the OnPreSelect event of the SelectEvents object. There you can check e.g. if the Face is planar or not, and in which direction its Normal is pointing. If e.g. it's pointing away from the user then you could make it not selectable:

Module

Public Sub TestSelection()
    ' Create a new clsSelect object.
    Dim oSelect As New clsSelect

    ' Call the pick method of the clsSelect object and set
    ' the filter to pick any face.
    Dim oFaces As ObjectsEnumerator
    Set oFaces = oSelect.Pick(kPartFaceFilter)

    ' Check to make sure an object was selected.
    Dim oSelSet As SelectSet
    Set oSelSet = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.SelectSet
    
    For Each oFace In oFaces
      oSelSet.Select oFace
    Next
End Sub

clsSelect

'*************************************************************
' The declarations and functions below need to be copied into
' a class module whose name is "clsSelect". The name can be
' changed but you'll need to change the declaration in the
' calling function "TestSelection" to use the new name.

' Declare the event objects
Private WithEvents oInteractEvents As InteractionEvents
Private WithEvents oSelectEvents As SelectEvents

' Declare a flag that's used to determine when selection stops.
Private bStillSelecting As Boolean

Public Function Pick(filter As SelectionFilterEnum) As ObjectsEnumerator
  ' Initialize flag.
  bStillSelecting = True

  ' Create an InteractionEvents object.
  Set oInteractEvents = ThisApplication.CommandManager.CreateInteractionEvents

  ' Ensure interaction is enabled.
  oInteractEvents.InteractionDisabled = False

  ' Set a reference to the select events.
  Set oSelectEvents = oInteractEvents.SelectEvents
  oSelectEvents.WindowSelectEnabled = True

  ' Set the filter using the value passed in.
  oSelectEvents.AddSelectionFilter filter

  ' Start the InteractionEvents object.
  oInteractEvents.Start

  ' Loop until a selection is made.
  Do While bStillSelecting
    ThisApplication.UserInterfaceManager.DoEvents
  Loop

  ' Get the selected item. If more than one thing was selected,
  ' just get the first item and ignore the rest.
  Dim oSelectedEnts As ObjectsEnumerator
  Set oSelectedEnts = oSelectEvents.SelectedEntities
  If oSelectedEnts.Count > 0 Then
    Set Pick = oSelectedEnts
  Else
    Set Pick = Nothing
  End If

  ' Stop the InteractionEvents object.
  oInteractEvents.Stop

  ' Clean up.
  Set oSelectEvents = Nothing
  Set oInteractEvents = Nothing
End Function

Private Sub oInteractEvents_OnTerminate()
  ' Set the flag to indicate we're done.
  bStillSelecting = False
End Sub

Private Sub oSelectEvents_OnPreSelect( _
PreSelectEntity As Object, DoHighlight As Boolean, _
MorePreSelectEntities As ObjectCollection, _
ByVal SelectionDevice As SelectionDeviceEnum, _
ByVal ModelPosition As Point, _
ByVal ViewPosition As Point2d, ByVal View As View)
   If Not TypeOf PreSelectEntity Is Face Then Exit Sub
   
   Dim oFace As Face
   Set oFace = PreSelectEntity
   
   If Not TypeOf oFace.Geometry Is Plane Then Exit Sub
   
   Dim oPlane As Plane
   Set oPlane = oFace.Geometry
   
   Dim oViewDir As Vector
   Set oViewDir = View.Camera.Eye.VectorTo(View.Camera.Target)
   
   If oFace.IsParamReversed Then
     oViewDir.ScaleBy -1
   End If
   
   ' The direction the user is looking into and the face's
   ' normal the same then the dot product is positive, so
   ' we won't highlight the face
   If oPlane.Normal.DotProduct(oViewDir.AsUnitVector()) > 0 Then
     ' Without this all 6 faces of the box would be selected
     DoHighlight = False
   End If
End Sub

Private Sub oSelectEvents_OnSelect( _
ByVal JustSelectedEntities As ObjectsEnumerator, _
ByVal SelectionDevice As SelectionDeviceEnum, _
ByVal ModelPosition As Point, ByVal ViewPosition As Point2d, ByVal View As View)
  ' Set the flag to indicate we're done.
  bStillSelecting = False
End Sub

Only the 3 user facing faces are selected.