Datasheet

UsIng the Inventor graPhIc InterFace

eD i t a pa r t

Next you’ll continue with the exploration of the browser by setting a part ﬁle active for edits,

and making a change to a part feature.

6. In the browser double-click the part called Face_Plate_mi_1 to set it active for edits. If

you hover for a moment over the icon the plus sign may automatically expand, you can

disregard that and just double click the icon.

Note that it is best practice to get into the habit of double-clicking the icon next to the com-

ponent name, rather than the name itself, because the latter may initialize an edit of just the

name depending upon the speed of your clicks. Double-clicking the icon will activate the

component for editing in place, within the assembly. Once a component is activated, all other

portions within the Model browser will be grayed out. With the faceplate part activated, you

will notice the Model tab becomes active in the Ribbon menu, and the model browser shows

all the features of the faceplate. Both changes reﬂect that you are now editing a part ﬁle, and

are therefore working at the part editing level of the model hierarchy, with part feature tools

ready for selection.

Examining the features within the active part, you can see a folder named Solid Bodies,

the standard Origin folder and then all of the features that were created to make the face-

plate, such as extrusions, holes, ﬁllets, and so on. You will also notice a red X at the bot-

tom of the part signifying the end-of-part (EOP) marker.

Controlling Component Transparency

It is generally helpful to set the display settings so that as you activate one component in the context

of an assembly, the other components become ghosted or transparent. This allows you to see which

component you’re actively editing and yet still reference other components in the assembly. You

can toggle the Transparency setting on and off by going to the View tab and clicking the Component

Transparency drop-down found on the Appearance panel.

7. Click and hold on the EOP marker and drag it up the model tree until you see a black bar

above Extrusion1, and then drop it there.

You should see all of the features become grayed out in the browser and the faceplate dis-

appear in the graphics area. Essentially you have rolled back the history of the faceplate

to before it contained any features.

8. To bring the features back, click and hold on the EOP marker and drag it until you see a

black bar under Extrusion1, and then drop it there. You’ll see this base feature become

visible again.

9. Do this for each feature in the tree, and you will step through the sequence of features

and get an idea of how the faceplate was created. Note that some features are on the

back side of the faceplate so you may not see them, depending upon your viewing angle.

Ensure that you have the EOP back at the very end of the part (below Fillet3), before con-

tinuing to the next step.

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