Manufacturing DevBlog

Use DrawingView.ReferencedDocumentDescriptor to determine the Document providing the properties in the Text Format dialog

Issue

In the Format Text dialog you can select the Properties of the Model. I need  to find out programmatically which  referenced document these iProperties are coming from. I tried using the last ReferencedDocument of the drawing but this is not always the right document. Is there a way to determine the document providing these properties for the text?

Solution

The document that supplies the iProperties in the Format Text dialog is the document that is referenced by the first view on the sheet. Here is an example that shows how to get this document using the views ReferencedDocumentDescriptor:

 

In VB.Net

    Sub test()

        If m_inventorApp.ActiveDocument.DocumentType <>

             DocumentTypeEnum.kDrawingDocumentObject Then

            Exit Sub

        End If

 

        Dim oDrawDoc As DrawingDocument =

            m_inventorApp.ActiveDocument

        Dim oView As DrawingView

 

        oView = oDrawDoc.ActiveSheet.DrawingViews(1)

 

        Dim oRefDocDesc2 As DocumentDescriptor =

            oView.ReferencedDocumentDescriptor

        System.Diagnostics.Debug.Write(oRefDocDesc2.FullDocumentName)

    End Sub

Create New Folder by API

Issue

I want to know how to create new folder from Inventor Model browser

Solution

You can use the BrowserFolders.AddBrowserFolder method. Please refer to the following sample code:

VBA code:

    Sub CreateBrowserFolder()
        Dim oDoc As Document
        oDoc = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
        Dim oPane As BrowserPane
        oPane = oDoc.BrowserPanes("Model")
        Dim oTopNode As BrowserNode
        oTopNode = oPane.TopNode
        Dim colNodes As ObjectCollection
        colNodes = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateObjectCollection
        Call colNodes.Add(oTopNode.BrowserNodes(oTopNode.BrowserNodes.Count))
        Dim oFolder As BrowserFolder
        oFolder = oPane.AddBrowserFolder("MyFolder", colNodes)
        Dim sItemName As String : sItemName = "MyFolder"
        Dim oFolderGotten As BrowserFolder
        oFolderGotten = oTopNode.BrowserFolders.Item(sItemName)
        Debug.Print(oFolderGotten.Name)
    End Sub

How to defer updates in Inventor using VB/VBA?

Issue

I would like to open my drawing document in a way that it does not get updated, it opens the way it was last saved. How could I do it?

Solution

Drawing documents have a property called 'Defer Updates' which can be used to tell Inventor not to update the document when we open it.

If this property is set then Inventor will bring up a dialog warning us that the document will not get updated.
Therefore in both versions we need to use SilentOperation.

Following code works Inventor 10

You can either set the 'Defer Update' property of the drawing using the following code:

Dim oASC As New ApprenticeServerComponent
Dim oASD As ApprenticeServerDocument
Set oASD = oASC.Open("C:\Inventor\part.idw")
 
 it's in the "Design Tracking Properties"
oASD.PropertySets("{32853F0F-3444-11d1-9E93-0060B03C1CA6}").ItemByPropId(kDrawingDeferUpdateDesignTrackingProperties).Value = True
oASD.PropertySets.FlushToFile
oASC.Close

and then you open it

ThisApplication.SilentOperation = True
ThisApplication.Documents.Open ("C:\Inventor\part.idw")
ThisApplication.SilentOperation = False

Following code works with Inventor 11 and higher versions.

Through API, "Defer update" property can be Set/Get with "DrawingDocument.DrawingSettings.DeferUpdates"

Through the UI, "Defer update" property is in 'Tools->Document Settings...->Drawing' tab.

There is another way that we can get what we need through calling to 'OpenWithOptions' function, which can be called with a NamedValueMap argument.

Dim oNVM As NameValueMap
Set oNVM = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateNameValueMap
Call oNVM.Add("DeferUpdates", True)
Dim oD As Document
ThisApplication.SilentOperation = True
Set oD = ThisApplication.Documents.OpenWithOptions("C:\Inventor\part.idw", oNVM)
ThisApplication.SilentOperation = False
 
Note: Above way is same workable with VB.NET. Define a global variable "ThisApplication" to
      delegate the Application object of Inventor, then copy below code to run:
 
Dim oNVM As NameValueMap = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateNameValueMap
oNVM.Add("DeferUpdates", True)
ThisApplication.SilentOperation = True
Dim oD As Document = ThisApplication.Documents.OpenWithOptions("C:\Inventor\part.idw", oNVM)
ThisApplication.SilentOperation = False

How to programmatically set the color of an object (e.g. Layer) in Inventor?

Issue

I need to set the color of my newly created Layer object. I use "Layer.Color.SetColor(120,120,0)", but it does not work. How can the color of a layer be changed?

Solution

To control the color of a layer create a new color object and assign it to the layer using the color property. Use the SetColor property of  the color object to control the color.

Here is a VBA example:

    Sub setNewLayerColor()

        Dim oDD As DrawingDocument

        oDD = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument

        Dim oL As Layer

        oL = oDD.StylesManager.Layers(1).Copy("MyNewLayer")

        Dim oC As Inventor.Color

        oC = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateColor(120, 120, 120)

        Call oC.SetColor(120, 120, 0)

        oL.Color = oC

    End Sub

In C#.Net

        public static void setNewLayerColor() 
        { 
            try { 
                Inventor.Application app = (Inventor.Application)System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.GetActiveObject("Inventor.Application");
                DrawingDocument oDD = app.ActiveDocument as DrawingDocument;
                LayersEnumerator layers = oDD.StylesManager.Layers;
                Layer oL = layers[1].Copy("MyNewLayer") as Layer;
                Inventor.Color oC = app.TransientObjects.CreateColor(120, 120, 120, 0);
                oC.SetColor(120, 120, 0);
                oL.Color = oC;
            }
            catch 
            {
            }
        }

Why does Camera.ViewOrientationType always return kArbitraryViewOrientation?

Issue

It does not matter what I set my camera's ViewOrientationType to, it always returns kArbitraryViewOrientation. Why is that?

Solution

The enums that specify a particular camera angle can be used to set the camera, but the return value of the camera will always return arbitrary. It's a bit difficult to say exactly what one of these specified views is precisely. When you set a view to one of these defined views it sets the position of the camera, the up vector, and fits the view. Because the camera reacts to the model size these defined views are always different. It's possible that we could just use the eye direction and up vector to determine if it matches one of these predefined views, but that may not be enough for someone else. We've chosen to instead always return arbitrary and let the developer do the comparisons themselves on the camera since they know what's important to them.

How to set the assembly view to isometric?

Issue

I'm trying to achieve the same through the API as clicking "Isometric View F6" in the view's context menu. I'm using this code. It usually works but in case of some drawings it's not the same result. What is causing this difference?

  Set oView = MainAssembly.Views(1)
  Set oCamera = oView.Camera
  oCamera.ViewOrientationType = kIsoTopRightViewOrientation
  oCamera.Apply

Solution

In different assembly documents (and templates) the Isometric View can be set differently, and can also be overridden by the user via the "Redefine ISO View" command. This setting however has no effect on the built in view orientations in the API. E.g. kIsoTopRightViewOrientation always means that Red(X) axis is pointing bottom right, Green(Y) axis is pointing upwards, and Blue(Z) axis of the coordinate system is pointing bottom left on the screen.

Therefore if you want to get the same result as by the "Isometric View F6" command, then just run it from the API:

In VB.NET

 
Dim oCtrlDef As ControlDefinition
oCtrlDef = m_inventorApplication.CommandManager.ControlDefinitions.Item("AppIsometricViewCmd")
oCtrlDef.Execute()

VBA Code Snippet:

ThisApplication.CommandManager.ControlDefinitions("AppIsometricViewCmd").Execute

Is there a way to "purge" all the unreferenced documents in Inventor ?

Issue

I need a way to "purge" all the unreferenced documents. Is there a method available to do this?

Solution

The Documents.CloseAll() method has a Boolean parameter which indicates whether to close only the unreferenced documents. By default the value is false and closes all the documents. Following is the excerpt from the help file explaining the Boolean parameter UnreferencedOnly.

“Public Sub CloseAll( Optional ByVal UnreferencedOnly As Boolean = False)

UnreferencedOnly
Optional input Boolean that indicates whether to close only the unreferenced documents. If not specified, a value of False is assumed and all documents are closed.

Examples of unreferenced documents:

Create a new assembly, place an instance of a part "block.ipt" and then delete the instance in the assembly. At this point, block.ipt is an unreferenced document. Set the Suppressed property of a ComponentOccurrence to True within an API Transaction (or a ChangeProcessor). Assuming that the document that this occurrence was referencing is not referenced elsewhere, it becomes an unreferenced document.

Getting the Inventor document's software versions along with the saved and created details

Issue

How do I find the version of the Inventor that was used to create and save a certain Inventor document?

Solution

Open the document.

Run the following macro. It can be used to determine the major, minor, and service pack versions used to create/ save a document.

Private Sub SoftwareVersion()
    MsgBox ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.SoftwareVersionCreated.Major
    MsgBox ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.SoftwareVersionCreated.Minor
    MsgBox ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.SoftwareVersionCreated.ServicePack
    MsgBox ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.SoftwareVersionSaved.Major
    MsgBox ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.SoftwareVersionSaved.Minor
    MsgBox ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.SoftwareVersionSaved.ServicePack
End Sub

Is there an API that allows access to Inventor's serial number?

Issue

Can I use the API to access Inventor's serial number?

Solution

Currently there is no access to Inventor's serial number from Inventor's API.  Inventor serial numbers are stored in the Registry. However access to the Registry is provided for in Visual Basic and Visual C++ (consult the documentation for your platform of choice).

The area of the Registry that holds the serial number for Inventor is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Inventor\RegistryVersion12.0\System\License.

In that sub folder you should look for a value name like "...:SerialNumber" then the value data member contains the actual serial number.

Setting general properties using the GeneralPreferences object

Issue

How to set general properties, e.g. "defer update for assemblies" using the Inventor API?

Solution

Using the Inventor API, you can specify some general options (the options that you would in the Tools->Application Options¡± tab in the Inventor UI). These options are returned as properties of the GeneralPreferences object. This object supports some of the properties found in the Tools->Application Options tab. The GeneralPreferences object is returned as part of the objects enumerator returned by the Application.Preferences object. In addition to the GeneralPreferences, this collection could also return other preferences e.g. Graphics preferences. Once you get the GeneralPreferences object, you can use its properties to, for example, defer update for assemblies, enable multi-users etc. The code below is equivalent to the "Defer Update" option that is available in the "Tools->Application Options" and "Assembly" tab.

From Inventor R11, we provided AssemblyOptions.DeferUpdate that enables or disables updating assemblies when you edit components. Setting this property to True will defer updates of an assembly until the Update button is clicked or the Update method of the document is called.

VBA

    Sub GeneralPrefs()

        ' Find the general preferences preference set.

        Dim oGeneralPref As GeneralPreferences

        Dim i As Long

        For i = 1 To ThisApplication.Preferences.Count

            If TypeOf ThisApplication.Preferences.Item(i) Is GeneralPreferences Then

                oGeneralPref = ThisApplication.Preferences.Item(i)

                Exit For

            End If

        Next

 

        ' for example, defer the assembly update.

        oGeneralPref.DeferUpdate = True

 

    End Sub

VB.NET

    Sub GeneralPrefs()

        ' Find the general preferences preference set.

        Dim oGeneralPref As GeneralPreferences

        Dim i As Long

        For i = 1 To m_inventorApplication.Preferences.Count

            If TypeOf m_inventorApplication.Preferences.Item(i) Is GeneralPreferences Then

                oGeneralPref = m_inventorApplication.Preferences.Item(i)

                Exit For

            End If

        Next

 

        ' for example, defer the assembly update.

        oGeneralPref.DeferUpdate = True

 

    End Sub

C#

        void GeneralPrefs()

        {

 

            // ' Find the general preferences preference set.

 

            GeneralPreferences oGeneralPref = null;

 

            foreach (Object oPre in m_inventorApplication.Preferences)

            {

 

                oGeneralPref = oPre as Inventor.GeneralPreferences;

 

                if (oGeneralPref != null)

 

                    break;

 

            }

 

            //   ' for example, defer the assembly update.

 

            if (oGeneralPref != null)

 

                oGeneralPref.DeferUpdate = true;

 

        }