MC TOOLS - 2015.1

Within Inventor, MC Tools is an add in available to all our Support subscribers. A New version is now released and is available for download from the Support section of our website:

http://www.microconcepts.co.uk/members/downloads/

One of many useful functions in MC Tools is the Open Explorer tab. This button allows the user to browse straight to the windows folder where the model or drawing is saved without having to locate it - a much quicker and easier method if you're looking to get back to the same folder!

Certain Express Tools do not Function in AutoCAD Electrical 2013

This is apparently a known issue in AutoCAD Electrical 2013, whereby some of the Express Tools files are not loaded and maintained on starting AutoCAD Electrical.

 

This means that certain tools, such as Text to MText do not function.
However there is a fix:

• Start AutoCAD Electrical
• Type appload at the commandline
• Click on Contents under Startup Suite
• Hit Add in the Startup Suite dialog
• Browse to C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Acade 2013\Express
• Using CTRL select the following files - sysvdlg.arx, ctextapp.arx, dimsio.arx, leaderex.arx and mocoro.arx
• Click Open
• Now close all dialogs and check the Express Tools which were not working (i.e. Text to MText)
• You can always double check by closing AutoCAD Electrical 2013 and restart to ensure it maintains these files

Extended File Types for Inventor 2013 Borders

Inventor 2013 gives you the ability to Insert image types BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG and TIF into a title block on a Drawing border. Previous versions of Inventor only allowed BMP or JPG!

To insert an image into a Drawing Title Block, edit the Title Block definition, and click Sketch TAB > Insert panel > Image. Click in the graphic window to place the image, then in the Open dialogue, select an image file, and click Open.

 

Note: By default the Open dialogue will Link to the selected image, not always desirable on a Drawing border. To Embed the image, simply unitck the Link box shown above.

Vault 2013 Re-Index File Property Improvements

Several controls have been added to the Re-Index File Property tool in the 2013 Autodesk Data Management Server (ADMS) console, enabling Administrators to filter by extension, provider and date range to help reduce the number of files affected by a Re-index operation.

To run a Re-Index File Property, log in to ADMS 2013 console on your server, then expand the Vaults folder to reveal your Vault (name may vary depending on configuration). Select your Vault to highlight it, then go to the Actions menu > Re-Index File Properties.

Check In Related Items from Inventor to Vault

New functionality on the Vault Addin for Inventor, allows users to scan the current project or model folder for related documentation, including IDW, DWG, and IPN files. This feature offers a major productivity enhancement for users who do not regularly Check In their design documentation as they create it.

• In previous versions of Vault when you ran a Check In from Inventor, it would check in the immediately related files. So in the example below we have a Drawing which contains views of a small Assembly and its Parts.

Linked or Embedded Files Inside Inventor Files

From time to time we come across issues with files that are linked or embedded in an Inventor model or drawing. This could be an image, Excel spreadsheet or perhaps a simulation file. You may want to find out where these files are linked from, or perhaps when you open a file in Inventor it warns about a missing file and you want to break the Link.

Using the Link command in Inventor we can do both of the above:

• Open your Inventor file
• Then go to the Tools TAB > Links

• Once in the Links and Embeddings dialogue you will see a list of any associated files to the file you have open. Selecting one of the Links will show you where Inventor is looking for the file, what type of file it is and the option to Break Link if required.

Error Updating File Links

When performing certain Vault commands such as a Get / Checkout you may come across this message.

This can happen when a Vault client is installed, but there is no software registered with the Operating System for viewing Inventor files.

If Inventor is installed on the machine, run the application and close it before re-trying the Vault command.

If Inventor is not installed on the machine run Inventor View close it and retry the Vault command.

This is an extract from the Cracking the Vault, Manufacturing Community Blog

Emergency Backup and Restore Routine

You may find yourself in the situation where, for an environmental reason, it is not possible to take a supported Backup from your ADMS Console. The following steps should only be carried out as a last resort when all other avenues have been explored.

On a clean machine (Restoring Machine)

• Install Vault Server on a new machine.
• After a successful installation, Start the ADMS Console.
• Delete the Vault Database (Right click on the Database > Delete).
• Tools > Detach Master Vault.
• In Windows Explorer, navigate to the SQL Data folder where the Database files are configured to reside. By Default this is going to be something like "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.AUTODESKVAULT\MSSQL\DATA" (This location will vary depending on your Operating System).
• Delete these files KnowledgeVaultMaster.mdf and KnowledgeVaultMaster_log.ldf.

Autodesk Vault Webclient Does not Show Items/Files

When working in the Autodesk Vault Webclient for Vault Collaboration/Professional 2011/2012 you may have noticed that your Items and/or Files are not showing. Instead you just see a status icon saying Loading:

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.

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"/ >

Modify Visible Inventor File Properties for Windows Explorer

When you hover over an Inventor file in Windows Explorer you might have seen a small list of File Properties appear, as below:

Purging Files

Purging files is a good way to help prevent your Filestore and consequently your Database from containing unnecessary Data and Metadata (this is information about data). Benefits can include reduced back up times, smaller backups and better overall browsing/searching performance.
In Vault it is possible to perform a Purge from either the Vault Client or Vault Server. The Vault Client will only allow a user to Purge Selected File Versions. To do this find the relevant file, right click on an Older Version > Purge as required.

Open Multiple Files from Vault

In the Open From Vault dialogue, users can now select Multiple files to load into AutoCAD. Simply use Shift-select or hold the Ctrl key and open Multiple files:

Within Inventor, you can take advantage of Multiple file open from two areas: Open From Vault and Place From Vault using the same selection process as described above:

This is an extract from the Under the Hood, Manufacturing Community Blog