DWG TrueConnect: Making These Autodesk®
Inventor™ Tools Work for You
Walt Jaquith – Simplex Manufacturing
MA301-5L
With the new release of Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk has introduced a set of tools called
DWG TrueConnect, a technology that brings an entirely new level of DWG file compatibility to Autodesk
Inventor. In this class, we'll take an in-depth look at this functionality and its uses in a CADD production
environment. Given the universal nature of the DWG file format, nearly every Inventor user will find DWG
TrueConnect productive on some level. This class will give users a clear picture of how the tools will best work
for them.
About the Speaker:
Walt is an independent design contractor in the aerospace industry. A user of Autodesk Inventor since its
beginning, he has also been using Autodesk 3D design products for 14 years. Prior to his work in the
aerospace industry, Walt worked “the other side of the wall” as a fabricator, mechanic, and general
troubleshooter. He has experience in most mechanical engineering disciplines, and has served as a manager
of CAD departments and fabrication crews. wjaquith@comcast.net
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DWG TrueConnect: Making These Autodesk® Inventor™ Tools Work for You
COURSE INTRODUCTION
With the introduction of DWG TrueConnect, Autodesk Inventor has been reconciled to
the ubiquitous DWG file format. Even in environments that do not use AutoCAD at all,
it’s rare to find a CAD department that doesn’t need some level of compatibility with
AutoCAD DWG files. Past releases of Inventor have relied on import and export
wizards, with varying levels of success, depending on the complexity of the DWG file.
For release 2008, DWG file compatibility has been completely overhauled with the
addition of direct, native Inventor support for DWG files.
TrueConnect is a set of tools with a broad range of potential uses in a production CAD
environment. In accessing the appropriate level of utilization for a given set of
requirements, it is necessary to have a complete understanding of the various options
and how they work. The goal of this class is to provide the information needed to
determine how DWG TrueConnect functionality can best be put to work for you.
WHAT DOES TRUECONNECT REALLY DO?
TrueConnect functionality falls generally into three categories: The DWG file as a native
Inventor drawing format, managing non-native DWG files in Inventor, and handling
AutoCAD data from
DWG files in Inventor.
The DWG File as an
Inventor Drawing
In evaluating the
impact of
TrueConnect, it is
important to
understand that the
current Inventor
Drawing Manager
interface has not been
replaced with
AutoCAD. With a few
specific exceptions, an
Inventor IDW drawing
file and an Inventor
DWG drawing file will
look and behave
FIG 1: THE DWG DRAWING ENVIRONMENT LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO THE TRADITIONAL IDW DRAWING ENVIRONEMNT. IN FACT, THE TWO ARE ALMOST IDENTICAL.
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exactly the same when they are opened. The familiar Inventor drawing tools will remain
no matter which file format is used. In many ways, the two file formats, when used as
Inventor drawing files, will be functionally identical. The difference, as we’ll see in a
moment, lies mainly in the potential for handling AutoCAD block data within Inventor. In
determining which of the two file formats is best for a particular application, the need to
blend AutoCAD information with Inventor data should be considered.
Some clients and contracts require that data be delivered in the form of DWG files. If
that is the case, it is clearly an advantage to work in DWG from the beginning of the
project. Similarly, if a project involves receiving data for reuse in the form of DWG files,
using the DWG extension for drawing files will allow more flexibility in the ways the
information can be used. If little or no DWG interactivity is expected during the course of
a project, then the extra tools are unneeded, and the IDW drawing file becomes the
more streamlined choice.
Managing Non-Native DWG Files in Inventor
A major goal of the DWG TrueConnect program was complete fidelity in transferring
data between AutoCAD and Inventor. While the new tools are actually very
straightforward and easy to
use, a number of minor
adjustments had to be made
in order to get Inventor to
speak native AutoCAD. Later
in this session we’ll be
looking at the various tools
and tweaks that were added
to Inventor, as well as
exploring the overall impact
of the change. For this
overview, suffice to say that
Inventor can now open
AutoCAD DWG files directly
in addition to the traditional
option of importing them.
Every effort has been made
to insure that when a nonFIG 2: THIS DWG FILE HAS DATA IN MODEL SPACE. WHEN OPENED IN Inventor DWG file is opened
INVENTOR, THAT DATA IS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING, MEASURING, AND PRINTING. IT CAN ALSO BE COPIED TO CLIPBOARD FOR PASTING INTO AN in Inventor, it comes in with
INVENTOR SKETCH.
the highest possible fidelity.
This functionality works both
ways, of course; a DWG drawing file saved from Inventor will readily open in AutoCAD,
and will appear the same there as it did in its native application.
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It’s important to keep in mind that the main focus of TrueConnect is the drawing
environment, and that Inventor’s drawing manager is roughly analogous to AutoCAD’s
Layouts. This means that Inventor’s ability to deal with Information in AutoCAD’s model
space is limited. Model space data in Inventor can be viewed, plotted and measured,
and also copied to the clipboard, but no provisions have been made for editing model
space data. This includes data in viewports in a layout.
Imported Paper Space data offers a few more editing possibilities, one of the most
notable being the ability to delete AutoCAD objects. Still, the objective was not to
replace AutoCAD, or make AutoCAD-created drawing files fully editable in Inventor.
Aside from the very useful ability to open AutoCAD files without fear that they will suffer
in the translation, most
of Inventor’s DWG
data handling ability is
centered on the use of
blocks.
AutoCAD Data in
Inventor
An important
TrueConnect addition
to Inventor is the
ability to handle
AutoCAD information
in the form of blocks.
AutoCAD blocks can
now be inserted into
FIG 3: AUTOCAD BLOCKS AS NATIVE OBJECTS IN INVENTOR. THEY BEHAVE Inventor DWG
MUCH LIKE SKETCHED SYMBOLS, RETAIN THEIR ATTRIBUTES, AND CAN BE SCALED AND ROTATED.
drawings, and behave
much like a sketched
symbol. Although there is no provision in Inventor for editing or creating blocks (Inventor
does ship with AutoCAD, after all), block attributes are respected, and blocks can be
scaled and rotated. Rather than being treated as foreigners in Inventor drawings,
inserted blocks are native objects that can interact with regular Inventor objects. For
instance, if an AutoCAD block is used as a border and title block for an Inventor drawing,
tables and parts lists will dock to the block in the same manner that they would to a
standard Inventor border.
One final area where DWG TrueConnect has improved functionality is in importing
AutoCAD data into the Inventor sketch environment. Given the ability to open DWG files
directly, the geometry can simply be selected and copied from the AutoCAD file, and
pasted into the Inventor sketch. This functionality works with block instances in model
space as well as free geometry.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: File Management and Shell Extensions
Whenever two or more software packages share the same file extension, there is the
risk of confusion in determining which application owns the file. With the DWG
extension, the problem is compounded by the various flavors of AutoCAD (AutoCAD
Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, Mechanical Desktop) which all use the same DWG file
extension. If DWG was to be a valid format for a native Inventor drawing file, there
would have to be a way to distinguish it from the other DWG files.
FIG 4: DWG FILES NOW KNOW WHICH APPLICATION “OWNS” THEM. THE INFORMATION CAN BE DISPLAYED IN A WINDOWS EXPLORER WINDOW. THE OWNERSHIP TAG OF A FILE WILL DETERMINE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FILE IS DOUBLE‐CLICKED.
The problem has been
addressed in this case by
the addition of ‘ownership
tags’ within the file
extensions, which are
accessible to the operating
system’s shell. These tags
can be revealed in a
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FIG 5: REVEALING DWG OWNERSHIP TAGS (PART 1)
standard Windows Explorer browser window in
the following manner:
1. Right-click on the column header to
activate the flyout revealing available
columns.
2. Select “more…”
3. Scroll down the list to find the pertinent
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columns. Three have been added:
a. Mechanical Drawing Type
b. DWG Creator Name
c. DWG Creator Version
4. Check the boxes beside any of the three that
you want to show, and close the dialog.
The DWG Creator Name column will list which
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application created—and therefore ‘owns’ that DWG
file. When the file is double-clicked in an Explorer
window, the application that opens will be the one
that is tagged as the file’s owner. In the case of an
un-tagged DWG file (such as a file from an earlier
FIG 6: REVEALING DWG OWNERSHIP version of the software), a double-click will result in
TAGS (PART 2)
the opening of the last installed software application.
Thus, it is a good practice to make sure the package
that you would most often want to open an untagged DWG file is the one that’s installed
last on the computer. In addition to the double-click behavior, the standard Window’s
“Open With” command is always available from an Explorer window, and all the installed
applications that share the DWG file extension will be available there.
The Windows Shell awareness of the ownership of a
given DWG file extends to the options offered when
the file icon is right-clicked. Files belonging to
Inventor will show options for iProperties and Design
Assistant, while files belonging to AutoCAD will not.
NEW TOOLS IN INVENTOR
FIG 7: THE “OPEN WITH” COMMAND FOR A DWG FILE NOW LISTS BOTH INVENTOR AND AUTOCAD. THE DWG FILE IN THE EXAMPLE IS “OWNED” BY AUTOCAD, SO THERE ARE NO iPROPERTIES, DESIGN ASSISTANT OR PACK AND GO OPTIONS IN THE FLYOUT.
Within Inventor itself, several changes have been
made to handle the new drawing format. There are
already several different ways to open a new
drawing file in Inventor, and with the addition of
DWG TrueConnect, there now needs to be a way to
indicate which type of drawing file is wanted. To
accomplish this, two new options have been added
to the Drawings tab of the Application Options
dialog, as well as a few additional changes to the
routines for opening new files. We’ll look at the
Application Options first.
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Application Options
Default Drawing File Type: In the Drawings tab of the Application Options dialog, a
pull-down menu has been added to select the default drawing file type. DWG or IDW
can be selected as the standard option. This effects what type of file is opened when
the pull-down under the “New” icon is used to open a new file.
Non-Inventor DWG File: This option controls the default behavior when a DWG file
which is not tagged as owned by Inventor is opened in a standard open dialog box.
DWG TrueConnect technology
has not totally replaced the
existing DWG import wizard.
Therefore, a file can either be
opened directly using the new
tools, or imported in the manner
that DWG files have always
been handled. The default
behavior can be overridden in
the file dialog, as we’ll see in a
moment.
Open Dialog Options
In the standard Open dialog
box under the “Files of Type”
pull down, several adjustments
FIG 8: THE APPLICATION OPTIONS DIALOG, DRAWING TAB.
have been made. First, the
DWG extension has been added to the list of “Autodesk Inventor Files”. This filter
selection will show all DWG files in addition to the regular Inventor files. A second option
has been added for “Autodesk Inventor Drawings”, which filters on DWG and IDW files.
When this filter is selected, only DWG files that are tagged as owned by Inventor are
shown. Finally, an entry has been added for “AutoCAD Drawings”. When this option is
selected, all DWG files that are tagged as owned by Inventor are filtered out, leaving
only AutoCAD DWG files in the list. In any case, when a non-Inventor DWG file is
selected, the default option that was chosen for Non-Inventor DWG Files in the
Application Options dialog comes into play to determine whether the file is opened
directly, or imported.
The default options for handling DWG files in the open dialog can be overridden on an
individual basis by selecting the options button, and making the appropriate selection.
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DWG Compatibility
As mentioned earlier, both Inventor and AutoCAD are different enough and complex
enough that getting Inventor to speak fluent DWG was no small task. Inventor has
always had DWG translation, but the tools have been insufficient to produce accurate
results every time. In plugging up the gaps in Inventor’s DWG compatibility, two
additions have been made, both of which are found in Inventor’s layer command.
FIG 9: LAYERS IN THE STYLE AND STANDARDS EDITOR, SHOWING THE PLOT TOGGLE, AND THE LINETYPE PULL‐DOWN. Layer Plot Setting:
In the Style and Standard editor under layers, a new Plot setting has been added. This
toggle simply controls whether a layer is printed or published. While this tool can be
useful in itself, one of its primary purposes is to allow Inventor to match the plot settings
on an opened or imported AutoCAD DWG file.
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AutoCAD Linetype Support:
Again, under the Layers section of
the Style and Standard editor,
selecting a linetype calls up a flyout
listing all the possible linetypes
which are available to assign to that
layer. Scrolling to the bottom of the
list will reveal a “Other…” option
which opens a dialog with even
more linetypes. Selecting the load
button on that dialog will allow the
user to load linetypes from a
standard AutoCAD LIN file. In this
FIG 10: LOADING LINETYPES FROM AN AUTOCAD .LIN FILE
way, AutoCAD linetypes can be
supported in Inventor, insuring a
faithful translation when DWG files are opened or saved out.
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