VDS Tutorial - Chapter 05

Vault Data Standard – Tutorial

Chapter 05 – Inventor

Save New File(s)/Edit Datasheet, Copy/Replace

Introduction

In Chapter 01, you learned that Data Standard adds the workflow to start new files in Vault Explorer based on

vaulted templates. Inventor users may continue to start new files in their CAD application respectively. Data

Standard for Inventor supports the workflow of initial save of any Inventor file type by a customizable dialog

allowing business logic added as rules and user guidance. Data Standard uses first save events replacing the

default Save dialog by the VDS Datasheet or special dialogs for Frame Generator, Design Assistant, Tube & Pipe or

Cable and Harness assembly sub-types. VDS for Inventor adds workflows to copy or replace 3D model

components including their drawings within an assembly context.

Learning Objectives

- Learn the basic workflow options of creating new Inventor files, save and check-in to existing Vault folders

or projects (enforced/optional check-in)

- Practice advanced workflows creating new components in assembly context.

- Practice workflows using Inventor Frame Generator or Design Accelerator components

- Learn how to use Copy/Replace commands creating new components including drawings in assembly

context.

- Compare the benefits of using Save As export file command vs. default file export dialog

- Get insights on background processes and additional access points, allowing you to customize this

Inventor – Vault workflows to your company’s needs.

Training Files

You need to have installed all training files by following the instructions in Chapter 00 – Introduction and ReadMe

First.

This chapter requires access to these template files in Vault,

Exercise 2 requires access to the local files (get files from Vault):

VDS configuration files added or changed in this chapter’s exercises can be found in .\Training Files\VDS

Configuration Files\Chapter 05 – finished\.

Workflow

Data Standard for Inventor has six main workflows

1. New Part/Assembly File(ipt, iam)

2. New Documentation (idw/dwg, ipn)

3. Edit Datasheet of Existing Models or Drawings

4. Copy/Replace incl. Drawing (ipt + idw/dwg, iam + idw/dwg)

5. Save Copy As (Inventor Export Formats)

6. Save Frame Generator, Design Accelerator, Tube&Pipe, or Cable&Harness Assemblies

We should look at each of them in detail.

1 – New Model File (Part/Assembly)

1a – Save with auto check-in (default)

Saving a new part/assembly VDS shows the dialog New File:

As users commit the metadata (OK), Data Standard invokes the check-in command automatically.

Depending on the Vault Option -> Dialog Suppression setting, the

automatic check-in invokes the dialog (with the option of OK/Cancel) or

completes the file upload to Vault silently.

In the following examples, the Check In dialog suppression option

remains enabled.

1b – Save, and check-in manually

We can disable the auto check-in option on dialog close. To enable this behavior, copy the configuration file

.\CAD\Configuration\Inventor.cfg to the customization folder .\CAD.Custom\Configuration\Inventor.cfg and

change the value of ShowCheckInDialog to value False.

This configuration option closes and Inventor Data Standard dialog without further action. Users may save locally

first while matching the target folder in Vault and check-in the file on demand.

2 – New Documentation File (Drawing/Presentation)

Inventor Vault AddIn options enable or disable file number generation for drawing and presentation files:

VDS New File dialog for documentation files behave according to the option selected.

2a – Re-using model file name

By saving a new part/assembly, Documentation VDS shows the dialog New File.

In case the Vault Option disables file numbers, VDS also disables the numbering scheme selection (1) and suggests

a file name based on the model name (2):

Note – Administrators should continue to map properties from model

to drawings in the Inventor Template settings.

As users commit the metadata (OK), Data Standard invokes the check-in command automatically.

2b – Using Numbering Scheme

If the option Generate numbers… is enabled, the New File Dialog allows the selection of a numbering scheme and

hides the text box of the file name as a scheme is active (1):

3 - Edit Datasheet of Existing Models or Drawings

An existing Vault may contain Inventor models and drawings that have been released a long time before Data

Standard started supporting the workflow of driving metadata. VDS for Inventor works inline with Inventor

properties, so the datasheet gets the values of the current model/drawing.

A user also might open a model/drawing under revision and update geometry or annotations. As the

model/drawing saves, Data Standard validates the metadata silently in the background; in case of validation

errors, the Edit Datasheet shows up and enforces users to comply with updated company rules.

4 - Copy/Replace incl. Drawing (ipt + idw/dwg, iam + idw/dwg)

Autodesk Vault Copy Design Tool creates new design files by copying existing data within the context of Vault

Explorer or CopyDesign Standalone Application. Vault Data Standard adds design copy benefits to the running

Inventor session. Whenever an engineer requires a copy of a model, a drawing, or a copy of both, the copy design

action is available in the current Inventor context.

4a – Copy incl. Drawing

This workflow saves the current state of a part or an assembly

and invokes VDS Copy File Dialogs for models and drawings.

A warning message appears if the source file

current Inventor is different from the latest

version in Vault.

Data Standard uses the identical

dialog definition (Inventor.xaml)

with the New File Dialog but

behaves slightly different in details:

• The folder bread crumb pre-

selects the path of the

source file (1)

• The suggested filename

adds the prefix Copy_ if no

numbering scheme is pre-

selected (2)

The suggested new Title text value adds the prefix Copy_. (3)

The subsequent Copy File dialog for

the drawing is of similar look and

feel:

• The suggested file path (1)

reflects the path of the

copied model.

• Number scheme selection

enables/disables according

to the Vault Option

Generate Numbers for… as

for new drawing or presentation files (2)

o If the model used the prefix Copy_ the suggested drawing name re-uses the prefix

o If the model name consumed a new number, the suggested drawing name – and if drawing

names are linked to model names – the new drawing name suggestion is the new model’s file

number.

• The suggested new Title text value adds the prefix Copy_. (3)

4b – Replace with Copy incl. Drawing

This workflow is useful when the user wants to keep the current state of a part or an

assembly and continue working on a copied model within the current assembly

context.

The Replace command expects the user to select a model occurrence, then the copy model (incl. Drawing)

workflow starts as we saw in workflow 4a:

Committing the Copy File dialog for the drawing, the workflow ends; the

newly created drawing remains open, while the newly created model file

already replaced its origin in the assembly:

Note –The Data Standard command Replace

with copy automatically offers the option to

replace all, if the user selected component is one

of the multiple component occurrences.

5 - Save Copy As (Inventor Export Formats)

Inventor Data Standard Save Copy As command allows saving models to

STEP and JT, and Drawings to AutoCAD DWG, DXF, and PDF formats (1).

Based on the format selected, all export options are accessible,

respectively (2).

Users benefit from Vault Folder selection (3), the optional

numbering scheme (4), adding metadata based on the target

file Category (5), and a silent check-in of the new file on dialog

close.

Note – The check-in of these export files is always enabled and

not related to the setting in the Inventor.cfg <ShowCheckInDialog>. The checked-in export files are not attached

to the source.

6 – Assembly Component Generators

Inventor offers a collection of rule-based component generators that allow you to concentrate on functional

requirements and design parameters. All of them re-use Content Center components and automate the creation

of multiple standard, or custom parts, and require subassembly structures. Data Standard for Inventor groups all

types of these files. It helps to bulk fill metadata in specific New File dialogs for each, that is not pre-filled from

Content Center. VDS ignores singular Standard Content Center components per default.

6a – Frame Generator

VDS detects new Frame Assemblies, changed or added

Frame Member files on saving events of the parent

assembly. Looking into our current sample we see a new

Frame subassembly, including the skeleton reference and

several Frame Members created.

Initiated by a save on the parent assembly, VDS lists all of

them in a special Data Standard New Files – Frame

Generator dialog (the dialog definition file

FrameGenerator.xaml locates in .\CAD\Configuration\).

The activated numbering scheme replaces all temporary file names (1) on dialog close (OK).

Users access each file type’s (2) metadata and can fill frame member’s properties based on multi-selection (3):

As we add more Frame Member components, subsequently save actions incrementally add new member files

only to the dialog; previously saved Frame Generator files don’t list again:

6b – Design Accelerator

Similar to before, Data Standard for Inventor filters new Design Accelerator assemblies and components in a

special dialog New Files – Design Accelerator (the dialog definition file DesignAccelerator.xaml locates in

.\CAD\Configuration\). In the sample shown here, we created a shaft and added a bearing and an O-Ring. VDS

recognizes all phantom assemblies (1) and custom part files, like the shaft part (2); the O-Ring and Bearing are

filtered as standard components that must not change metadata:

Multi-selection within each file type allows the filling of descriptive metadata in a single step.

6c – Tube and Pipe

Inventor aggregates Tube and Pipe routes within run subassemblies; these are the starting level for Data Standard

capturing all route parts and their components. Unlike Frame or Design Accelerators, Tube and Pipe

subassemblies ask for a file name and location before they create.

Note – VDS overwrites the file name on saving later, but does not influence the

location.

The dialog concept replicates the principles seen before: fill descriptive metadata, that is not pre-filled by Content

Center source within a single spot (the dialog definition file TubeAndPipe.xaml locates in .\CAD\Configuration\).

6d – Cable and Harness

Workflow and concept of Cable and Harness are identical to Tube and Pipe (the dialog definition file

TubeAndPipe.xaml locates in .\CAD\Configuration\).

Exercise 1 – Create New In-Place Components

During the workflow demonstrations, we saw VDS behavior for a single model and documentation files. In this

exercise we practice the usage of Data Standard in an assembly workflow for multiple new components.

Step 1 – New Assembly

Create a new assembly, but don’t save it for now.

Step 2 – Create the first In-Place Component

Continue adding a new component in the context of

the assembly. Using Data Standard for Inventor,

both, the new file name and the folder location (1), are not relevant

at this stage; the save dialog is going to override these values later.

So, select a template – in this exercise we use a part template with

modeled geometry: the BaseRing.ipt (2).

Place the model and leave the new components edit level.

For now, we have two new unsaved files. Fire the save command and always watch the

temporary file name in the New File dialogs. In this case the assembly saves first.

We select the folder Chapter 05 (; note – the

Inventor workspace folder $\Designs\ is the root

for Inventor files and does not list in the dialog

(1). The category Engineering is pre-selected,

and you might expect, that the numbering

scheme Engineering also activates as we learned

for Vault Explorer in Chapter 01. The numbering

scheme aligns as soon as you change the

Category, e.g., flip to category Office and back to

Engineering (2). The numbering scheme reacts to

the change category event and the pre-selection

in the dialog initialization prevents it. We are

going to discuss event handling and pre-selection in Chapter 10 (Programming section) to solve both

requirements. Fill Title and Description (3) and commit the Dialog (OK).

Inventor displays the known assembly save-listing and we can

expect that Part4.ipt is the next file to be handled by Data

Standard.

Again, select the folder Chapter 05, numbering

scheme Engineering, and enter metadata (1)-(3).

Inventor Material selection list populates to the

dialog; if we select another material, e.g., PC

Lexan - smoke, the material updates on Dialog

close (OK).

Step 3 – Create a second In-Place Component

Repeat the steps to create another In-Place component and select the tutorial template Flange.ipt. In this case,

save it (2), before you leave this component’s edit level (1):

Now, Data Standard activates the folder

Chapter 05 automatically as a suggestion of the

last used folder (1).

Note – Watching the Vault Browser, you may encounter a situation that a new In-Place

component displays like a suppressed component. Refresh the Browser to update the

view.

Step 4 – Add Component from Vault

Many users prefer

having Inventor and

Vault Explorer side by

side on dual screen. For

this scenario, Data

Standard adds another

productivity benefit by inserting components from the search result or list view into the current assembly.

We don’t have too many components yet in our training

Vault. At least, we can search for the “Flange” that we

created lastly and insert another instance to follow this

approach.

Data Standard hands over to Inventor and the new part is

at the cursor as known

for Inventor Place

Component procedure.

Exercise 2 – Skip Vault Data Standard

Users may want to skip Data Standard dialogs on save events. There are various reasons for doing this:

• The usage of 3

party library for purchased components. The library populates completed metadata and

there is no reason to interact for user input on save.

• Many imports of larger assembly files in 3

party file formats. Instead of saving all files interactively one

by one, you may prefer saving all, and bulk edit all metadata later.

Data Standard configuration shares an option to recognize files not to be handled based on properties. 3

party

library files usually share a custom iProperty containing the vendor information. For import files, Inventor

generates a custom property Sending System to store the originator of the imported geometry.

Step 1 – Import 3

Party Assembly File

Open the file .\Chapter 00 - Introduction

& ReadMe First\Training Files\Local

Files\Chapter 05\ Projector - Wintech

PRO4500.sldasm.

Select the Convert option:

Note - Reference Model Option results in a single Inventor

assembly file with associative internal components; so, there

is no risk of interacting with multiple VDS New File dialogs.

Don’t enable the option Reduced Memory Mode before you disabled VDS for

import workflows.

File Naming and location options are not relevant as long as

Data Standard interacts for each imported file. It changes

later as we are going to disable the VDS interaction.

Complete the Import saving all files to Vault selecting the folder Chapter 05, the numbering scheme Engineering,

and adding text to the Title field (required to enable OK):

The Save Dependents dialog is like an announcement on how many

VDS New File dialogs are following; so, this is the last option to stop

and configure to skip for imported 3

party file formats first. Be

prepared for another 6 New File interactions if you proceed.

Step 2 – Configure VDS Inventor to Skip for 3

Party Imported Files

As mentioned before, Inventor 3

party import adds a custom property Sending System to each file. Use this

property to register 3

party imports for skipping save events in the file Inventor.cfg. To this copy the file

.\CAD\Configuration\Inventor.cfg to the customization folder .\CAD.Custom\Configuration\Inventor.cfg.

Edit the file and add the property name Sending System to the node <SkipForProperties> as shown below:

Restart Inventor once you saved the configuration file.

Step 3 – Repeat Import and Save of 3

Party Assembly File

Repeat the import of the file .\Chapter 00 - Introduction & ReadMe First\Training Files\Local Files\Chapter 05\

Projector - Wintech PRO4500.sldasm – but now, select a matching local folder in the options like shown:

The Save Dependencies dialog lists all original file names

and saves without any further Vault interaction.

Note – If you unloaded Data Standard for Inventor instead, the Vault Numbering interaction initiates:

We recommend using this configuration option as a default if you frequently import larger 3rd party file formats.

Once the files are in Vault, a bulk property edit to transfer original file names to the Title field and a subsequent

rename action might outperform the timely effort to fill all data sheets one by one in Inventor.

Configuration Insights – Data Standard for Inventor

All Inventor Data Standard workflows have several access points for customizations. Table 1 below refers to New

File/Edit Datasheet workflows triggered by saving events. It lists involved configuration files, functions and refers

to other customization tasks.

Table 1

If an assembly file contains Component Generator subassemblies like Frame Generator additional VDS dialogs

initialize and display for user input. It happens for new component files only. Edit Datasheet commands on

existing components works, as shown in the table before. Table 2 lists involved definitions and scripts for

Component Generator files:

Table 2

The Inventor Data Standard Commands Copy/Replace follow the path documented in Table 1.

The Save Copy As command uses an individual dialog definition requiring additional selections for Export format

and options. Note – the options dialog is part of the core Inventor and called for display/input only. Review Table

3 for details on it.

Table 3

Data Standard for Inventor – Add-In configuration

Save events are triggered by individual commands. VDS differentiates a save triggered by the Save button (=

CTRL+S) or a save event triggered by an In-Place workflow like mirror, assembly copy, or productivity commands.

The default configuration set various commands to each. These should not remove for the sake of compatibility.

Administrators can disable additional commands

and replace VDS dialog interaction by the Vault

numbering scheme selection only. The Help

Documentation shares steps to adjust the Add-In

configuration.

• Disable Data Standard for commands

• Enable Vault Numbering for commands

Example – Disable VDS for Frame Generator

We can configure Data Standard for Inventor to default Vault Numbering dialogs without editing metadata. The

resulting workflow on a new frame initiates two dialogs allowing

numbering selection for the frame assembly and skeleton and

another for all frame members.

Add the command AFG_CMD_InsertProfile to the nodes <EnableVaultNumSchemeForCmds> and

<DisableVdsForCmds> as shown below to enable this behavior. Find a list of available command names (Inventor

2020 including Add-Ins) in the training files .\Training Files\VDS Configuration Files\Chapter 05\

INV2020_CommandNames_inclAddIns.txt.