GH TE D MA TE RI AL CHAPTER 1 CO PY RI Finding Your Way in the Inventor Interface Understanding Inventor’s interface behavior Opening existing files Creating new files Modifying the look and feel of Inventor Managing file locations Accessing the Help system
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Inventor’s User Interface When you’re learning a new software application, it can sometimes seem as though finding a tool is more difficult than learning to use it. When Inventor first launches, you’re greeted with an opportunity to participate in the Customer Involvement Program (Figure 1.1). This program will help Autodesk improve the product in the future.
I n v e n t o r ’s U s e r I n t e r f a c e F I G U R E 1 . 2 The parts of the Inventor GUI If you’re used to the look and feel of Microsoft Word or Excel 2007, you should find a lot of similarities with the standard tools in Inventor. If you’re experienced with recent versions of AutoCAD, you’ll find similarities with the drawing and sketching tool icons in Inventor. Application Menu Across the top of the Inventor application is the title bar.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e The Application menu offers a lot great features, including being able to see the names or images of recently opened files and being able to click the thumbtack icon to keep a file on the list no matter how long it’s been since you opened it. You can also access the options for Autodesk Inventor that control its appearance and some aspects of its behavior. F I G U R E 1 .
L e a r n i n g t h e B a s i c s o f Ta b s To add a tool, right-click the desired tool shown in the Ribbon below the title bar, and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar from the context menu. While we’re discussing fundamentals, let’s take a little time to review some of the basic functions of the interface in general.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e On the Get Started tab are the basic New, Open, and Projects tools. (We’ll talk more about Projects later in this chapter.) These tools are in the Launch panel. The Learn about Inventor panel and User Interface Overview panel contain tutorials that go into some of the concepts of the interface and provide easy access to information about this version of Inventor and Inventor’s tools in general.
L e a r n i n g t h e B a s i c s o f Ta b s If you find that you rarely use one of the tools, you can move it to the hidden portion of the panel by right-clicking the tool and selecting Move to Expanded Panel. You can also rearrange panels by clicking an individual panel’s title bar and dragging it to a new location in the tab. Some individual tools have options. For example, there is more than one type of circle; so, next to the default circle you see a downward-pointing arrow.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Ribbon Appearance if you’re in a hurry. Figures 1.6–1.8 show the Sketch tab in different modes. F I G U R E 1 . 6 The Sketch tab in Text Off mode F I G U R E 1 . 7 The Sketch tab in Small mode F I G U R E 1 . 8 The Sketch tab in Compact mode The Ribbon itself can also be reduced in size to maximize screen space. A small icon appears next to the tab names.
Learning to Use the Dialog Boxes Learning to Use the Dialog Boxes One thing that makes Inventor easy to use is a kind of “graphical language” common to all the dialog boxes. These are items that behave consistently wherever they appear. As you use Inventor, working with these items will become second nature. As you’re getting started, knowing what to look for will make it easy to understand what Inventor needs from you in order to accomplish your task.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Another element of the common graphical language is the way dialog boxes are organized. Many dialog boxes have tabs across the top, with each tab offering additional options. Although most common functions are contained on the first tab, when you begin working with a new dialog box, it’s worth taking a few moments to explore the options on the other tabs.
The Open Dialog Box F I G U R E 1 . 9 File list displaying large icons Shortcuts and the File List At upper left in the Open dialog box is an area with a list of shortcuts to Frequently Used Subfolders (Figure 1.10). You can customize this pane to create shortcuts to folders that you’d like to access quickly. You can even set up subreferences and have a structure that replicates the folder structure on your hard drive. F I G U R E 1 .
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Centered in the dialog box and making up the bulk of it is the file list, where the files are displayed. The File of Type option, described shortly, controls what files are listed. You can open a file (or files) from here by selecting the filename(s) and clicking OK or by double-clicking the filename. At the top of the dialog box is the Look In field.
The Open Dialog Box F I G U R E 1 . 1 1 File list showing Thumbnail view File Display Options Immediately below the file list are three selection pull-down lists that control the file display options: File Name This pull-down displays the full name of the selected file(s). If you click the arrow to the right, and it opens a list of recently open files. Files of Type This option is very important. Clicking the arrow to the right lets you choose from a list of file types that Inventor can open.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e the Open dialog box is brought up. To the right of the pull-down is a button marked Projects, which launches the Project File editor, which in turn allows you to select project files that have not been used previously, edit existing project files, or create a new project file. We’ll look at the Project File dialog box later in this chapter in the “Project Files” section.
The Open Dialog Box F I G U R E 1 . 1 2 The Find File dialog box Opening a File Now that you’ve had an overview of the parts and functions of the Open dialog box, let’s put what you’ve learned to use. (Some options won’t be available to Inventor LT users; again, LT can’t work with assemblies.) Follow these steps: 1. Click the Open icon on the Get Started tab to access the Open dialog box. If the Samples project isn’t displayed as the active project, use the pull-down list to select it.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e F I G U R E 1 . 1 3 The Shock Absorber Front assembly in the Design window If you’re not opening an existing file to edit it, then chances are you’re creating a new one. The New File Dialog Box The New File dialog box (Figure 1.14) is much simpler than the Open dialog box.
More of the Inventor Interface F I G U R E 1 . 1 4 The New File dialog box showing the Default templates In the New File dialog box, Inventor’s collection of built-in templates is categorized in tabs across the top. There are templates for Default, English, and Metric measurements. More of the Inventor Interface Because you have the assembly loaded, let’s use it to explore how you’ll interact with Inventor and take a closer look at some of the elements of the interface that we just touched on.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e F I G U R E 1 . 1 5 The Browser bar displays the contents and structure of the file you’re editing. As you create and edit 3D and 2D files in later chapters, you’ll do quite a bit of work with the Browser, and you’ll see some capabilities that any user can take advantage of. The Design Window The Design window displays the file you’re editing.
More of the Inventor Interface orientation to the X, Y, and Z axes. As shown earlier in Figure 1.13 the X axis is red, the Y axis is green, and the Z axis is blue. Although it isn’t always critical to orient parts in a particular direction, doing so can be useful for understanding how a part is constructed and for sketching a horizontal or vertical relationship between points. The Status Bar The final major screen element I’d like to review before you begin working in Inventor is the status bar.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Two icons you need to be familiar with are our old friends Undo and Redo. If you make a mistake, Inventor allows up to 30 steps of Undo and Redo. A great feature in Inventor is that changes to the model view (zooming, panning, and so on) don’t use Undo steps. You can even undo the creation or opening of a file. Just to the right of Redo is the Return button.
Working in the De sign Window F I G U R E 1 . 1 6 The Design Doctor screens Working in the Design Window Because you have the assembly loaded, let’s use it to explore how you’ll interact with Inventor and take a closer look at some of the tools that help you manipulate the model on the screen.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e View Tab The View tab (Figure 1.17) contains tools that aren’t necessarily used every time you work with Inventor but can establish some of your preferences. It also contains some other useful tools for presenting your designs. Let’s review them. F I G U R E 1 . 1 7 The View tab Appearance Panel The Appearance panel includes several tool sets.
Working in the De sign Window F I G U R E 1 . 1 8 3D display modes. Shaded (left) is the most realistic; Hidden Edge (middle) shows the edges on the back of the shaded model; and Wireframe (right) allows you to see all of a part’s features. As you can see in Figure 1.19, displaying a shadow of the model can sometimes help you keep your orientation. The display of the two types of shadow is controlled by the fly-out above and to the right of the Orthographic/Perspective button.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e The button below that controls whether inactive parts of an assembly dim or change appearance when you activate a part in the assembly to edit it. It isn’t available to Inventor LT users. With Transparency On set (the default), only the component being edited in the context of an assembly is a solid color. All the other parts change in some way.
Working in the De sign Window One key is to position the function you want to select on the wheel over the point you want it centered on, before you pick the point. The point where you pick the tool is picked up as the center for Zoom or the pivot point for Orbit, for example. Clicking over the downward arrow at lower right lets you select a different size wheel set or control the options of the Navigation Wheels. Selecting the X at upper right closes the Navigation Wheels.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Keyboard shortcuts appear in brackets on the Inventor menus. For a complete listing of keyboard shortcuts, refer to Appendix A. N O T E A tool that I use very often is the View Face tool. View Face is a bit of a misnomer because after you’ve selected the tool, it highlights not only faces but also edges as you move your cursor over the model.
Working in the De sign Window to make larger, release the mouse button. Figure 1.22 shows the zoom area being framed, and Figure 1.23 shows the result. Try enlarging your view of a portion of the assembly using the Zoom Window tool. You can also access Zoom Window by pressing the Z key on your keyboard. F I G U R E 1 . 2 2 Framing the area to zoom in on F I G U R E 1 . 2 3 The result of zooming Zoom Selected centers and enlarges any face of any part that you select.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e green dots appear as you move over points. If you select one of the points, the view doesn’t enlarge but centers on the selected point. Next is the Orbit tool. Until the introduction of the ViewCube (see the next section, “The ViewCube and the Navigation Bar”), it was the primary way users could quickly rotate a model to view it from other directions.
Working in the De sign Window As you near the ViewCube, another icon appears at the upper left; it looks like a house. Clicking this returns your model to the Home view. You can also return to the Home view at any time by pressing the F6 key. You’ll work with the ViewCube throughout this book. If you prefer to not use the View Cube, you can select the downward arrow and place it into the headsup toolbar in the Design window. These are just the basic tools for navigating within Inventor.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Make Yourself at Home: Customizing Inventor Now that you have a basic feel for some of the tools you’ll use most frequently, it’s time for you to make yourself at home. You may have noticed that the background of the Design window changed colors in the previous images. I made this change for clarity in the printed images; you can also make changes to tailor Inventor to your needs.
M a k e Yo u r s e l f a t H o m e : C u s t o m i z i n g I n v e n t o r F I G U R E 1 . 2 4 The Application Options dialog box, with the General tab displayed Let’s walk through the dialog box tab by tab. We won’t cover absolutely everything, but some items can make major changes to Inventor’s look, feel, and behavior. Some items won’t be covered at this time; I’ll discuss them when they become more relevant later in the book.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e The General Tab Tools on the General tab (see Figure 1.24) tell Inventor how you want the program to start, what name you want recorded as the author for files that you create, and other basics: Start-up The Show Help on Start-up option lets you bring up the Help system every time you open Inventor.
M a k e Yo u r s e l f a t H o m e : C u s t o m i z i n g I n v e n t o r F I G U R E 1 . 2 5 The Colors tab in the Application Options dialog box Reflection Environment Inventor comes with several image files that surround the model you’re working on, so that if you have reflective colors on parts such as chrome, you’ll see this image “reflected” on those parts.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e The Display Tab This is the tab where Inventor users can do the most tailoring of how Inventor displays your models. Looking at Figure 1.26, you can see just how many options there are. Many of them can have a noticeable effect on how Inventor looks: F I G U R E 1 .
M a k e Yo u r s e l f a t H o m e : C u s t o m i z i n g I n v e n t o r Shaded Display Modes There are a lot of interesting ways to work with these options. Experiment — you can’t hurt anything. In an exercise later in this chapter, you’ll change a couple of the settings and see an effect in which rather than parts fading when you activate a single component, the parts that you aren’t editing go to wireframe display.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e The Drawing Tab Notable here is the Default Drawing File Type option. Beginning with Inventor 2008, you can create 2D drawings as native DWG files, which are compatible with AutoCAD. The original IDW file format of Autodesk Inventor is still a valid and reliable file, but the strength of having fully native 2D data that can be shared with AutoCAD is very useful. The Sketch Tab Figure 1.27 shows the Sketch tab.
M a k e Yo u r s e l f a t H o m e : C u s t o m i z i n g I n v e n t o r Overconstrained Dimensions When we discuss applying dimensions and constraints to sketches in future exercises, you’ll learn that Inventor won’t allow a sketch to be “overconstrained.” Constraining a sketch means that you apply controls to the movement of points in a sketch and to the size of a sketch.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e The Assembly Tab The noteworthy option here is Constraint Audio Notification. By default, when you place a constraint in Inventor, the sound of a cowbell is played. When you’re starting out, this is a handy feature for confirming that a constraint was placed. After you hear the cowbell a couple of hundred times per day, you can come here to disable the audio cue.
M a k e Yo u r s e l f a t H o m e : C u s t o m i z i n g I n v e n t o r background. After switching to Background Image, click Apply again to see the effect. 9. Switch the Background option back to Gradient. A gradient background offers better performance than a background image for lowerpowered systems. However, the 1 Color setting provides the best performance. 10. Set your Color Theme to Light Application Frame and select the Amber Icon color. Click Apply to see the changes.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e 23. Let’s save it all. Click the Export button at the bottom of the dialog box. The Export dialog box opens to the default location for the profile, but you can save your settings to any location. Name your file NER Interface Settings.xml. 24. Click OK to save the file. Your screen should look something like Figure 1.28. 25. Click the Return button to return to the assembly environment. F I G U R E 1 .
Project Files Project Files Inventor is normally a breeze to work with. There are only a handful of ways to make it difficult. One common bad habit is not properly controlling where files are kept. Inventor keeps track of where things are supposed to be using a project file. As an old friend of mine so perfectly put it, “A project file is a text file that tells Inventor where to put stuff” — and that’s all there is to it.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e The Project File editor is a fairly simple tool. It has a list of project files that have been used at the top in the Select Project pane, a display of the paths and properties of the highlighted project file in the bottom in the Edit Project pane, and a handful of tools on the right for modifying the project file.
Project Files Use Style Library Only users with the proper permissions can control the value of this setting. It controls whether a user can edit, use, or even access style libraries. Libraries In addition to the Content Center libraries that ship with Autodesk Inventor, you can declare that files in specific folders be treated as library files. These files can’t be edited while you’re using a project file that defines them as a library.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Project File Manager Buttons The buttons on the right side of the editor not only help you edit the file but also, by being available or being grayed out, offer visual cues for whether you can make certain changes. The arrow buttons are available where there are lists of folders that you may want to sort for priority or convenience.
Project Files If you have Autodesk Vault installed, you have the option to choose to create a new Vault project or a new single-user project, as shown in Figure 1.30. If you don’t have Vault installed, you aren’t offered the Vault project option. 4. Select the radio button next to New Single User Project, and click the Next button at the bottom. F I G U R E 1 . 3 0 Defining the type of new project On the next screen, you can name the file and set up its location.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e F I G U R E 1 . 3 1 Creating a new folder 7. When you return to the Inventor Project Wizard, you should see the path C:\Data under Project (Workspace) Folder and a text string showing C:\Data\NER Inventor 2010.ipj under Project File To Be Created (Figure 1.32). F I G U R E 1 . 3 2 The new project name and path 8. Click Finish. 9. When you return to the Projects dialog box (Figure 1.
Project Files F I G U R E 1 . 3 3 NER Inventor 2010 project fi le added to the list of project fi les 10. You’ll see that the Frequently Used Subfolders line is dimmed. This is because no shortcuts are currently listed. In some cases, you’ll add a new shortcut that leads to an existing path. You’ll create a shortcut and the path it leads to in one sequence. 11. Select the Frequently Used Subfolders line in the Edit Project pane. When you do so, the Add button becomes available.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e new project file. Inventor should create a new folder and highlight the name for renaming. If Inventor doesn’t offer you a chance to rename the folder to Parts, you can do so using Windows Explorer. 15. For a final modification let’s establish the ability to modify the standards Inventor uses to define your drawings, sheet-metal parts and other elements.
Using the Help System and Infocenter Inventor must know where files are to work effectively. Failing to control your file locations can inhibit the program’s performance — and having to tell Inventor where to find files will cause you undue stress. Using the Help System and Infocenter Although any software can be improved, I find the Help system in Inventor to be very good. It even comes in different flavors.
C h a p t e r 1 • F i n d i n g Yo u r Wa y i n t h e I n v e n t o r I n t e r f a c e Are You Experienced? Now you can… E recognize and control the elements of the interface E open files in Autodesk Inventor 2010 E navigate in the Design Window E customize your working environment E create a project file E access the Help system
