How to Tell Which Version of Inventor a File was Created in

On Support it can be important for us to establish which version of Inventor a file was created in and also whether the file has been migrated to the latest version of Inventor.

• To find this information you can simply right click on a file in Windows Explorer, select iProperties from the flyout menu.

Autodesk 2012 Suites Revealed (Available after 14th April 2011)

Autodesk Design Suite 2012

How to Insert an Excel Spreadsheet on a Drawing

There are a few different ways of inserting a Spreadsheet into an Inventor drawing, however we always recommend one method over the others, as shown below.

• Go to the Annotate TAB > Table Panel > select the General table feature.

Wrong Date on Checkout

A number of customers reported an issue after applying Vault 2011 Update 2.
The problem resulted in the Check In column displaying a date such as 0001/01/01 0:00 after Check Out.

This issue has now been addressed in the latest Vault Hotfix from Autodesk.

Track Deleted Files in the Server Logs

It is possible to configure the Vault Server logs in 2011 or later, so that Administrators can get a record of files deleted by Users.

To do this, you will need to go to the Web.Config file on the Server (Important: Make a copy before making changes), this will be located here:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Autodesk\ADMS Professional 2011\Server\Web\Services

Open the Web.Config file in Notepad, then after < switches > add the following:

< add name="LogFileDeletesBooleanSwitch" value="1"/ >

Masking Geometry Behind Text

If you have Text objects on top of other geometry, you may want your Text to stand out, this can be easily achieved with the Express Tool TEXTMASK. TEXTMASK places a Wipeout, Solid or 3Dface behind the Text, masking the geometry below.

Draw an Arc with a Specific Arc Length

There is no specific tool in AutoCAD to draw an Arc with a specific Arc Length. However, there is a work around, see below:

• Draw your Arc using one of the Arc tools
• Once complete type lengthen, this will activate the Lengthen tool (also found on the Home TAB > Modify Panel)

Edit Multiple Dimensions at Once

Have you ever wanted to make changes to different features in an Inventor part file at the same time?

Well, rather than showing the Dimensions of individual features and updating feature by feature. You can select all of the features in the Model Browser (Shift + select) > right click > select Show Dimensions from the flyout menu.

 

Remove Lost Image References in Borders

From time to time we come across an issue with Drawing Templates, where users are perhaps replacing an old company Logo, or adding additional Logos, or borders with other Logos. This can lead to a build up of Images in the Template, some of which do not appear visually on the drawing, as if a reference is stuck in the Template somehow.

This in turn leads to issues checking files into Vault, with unexplainable references to Images outside the Project location or locations where they no longer exist. On the whole this occurs more often when the Image/Logo has been Linked into the file rather than Embedded.

Autodesk Vault Search and Find

Explore Autodesk Vault's Search and Find capabilities.

Plan your SQL Upgrade for the Next Release of Vault

Microsoft are stopping support for SQL 2005 in 2011. If you have an existing Autodesk Vault installation, you will probably be using SQL 2005 and that will require updating to SQL 2008. Microsoft’s timeline is available on a link from the Micro Concepts Blog here:

http://microconceptstechnical.blogspot.com/2011/01/microsoft-sql-2005-retirement.html

There are two main scenarios for the upgrade.

• SQL 2005 Express Edition:

If you are using the free version of SQL installed from the Autodesk Vault DVD you can upgrade to the SQL 2008 Express database which can be downloaded from Microsoft. This document details that process.

• SQL 2005 Developer, Workgroup, Standard or Enterprise Editions:

The 2008 version of your database will have to be purchased from your Microsoft supplier before upgrading your server. Please contact your IT Department to budget and plan for this upgrade. If you need to check which version of SQL you have installed, Appendix A in this document (Page 13) has a solution to query your database to return the version information.

Click here to read the full Technical Document

Update Design Centre Block Icons

Some of you may be utilising the Design Centre within AutoCAD, if so you may have created Blocks to reuse elsewhere on drawings. These Blocks appear with a Thumbnail (Icon) image to illustrate what the Block looks like, helping you chose, before placing.

If you then Edit a Block to update it (i.e. add or remove geometry) the Icons in Design Centre do not update accordingly.

However, if you type BLOCKICON at the command line and either type the name of the Block or select the default <*> (updates all Blocks), the Icons will update as required.