If you edit your iPart tables with Excel, you can use standard Excel
functions and user-defined VBA functions to calculate required fields?
Take a bolt for example. Say column A contains the nominal size,
column B contains the length, and column C contains the filename. Let's
say cell A2 holds '0.25-20 UNC' and cell B2 holds '2.5', and we want the
filename to read '0.25-20 UNC - 2.5 LONG'. Instead of cutting and pasting,
you can put a formula into cell C2 that reads '=concatenate(A2, " - ", B2, "
LONG")'. Furthermore, since it's a function, if you change the length in
B2, for example, the filename (C2) will update without having to fix it
accordingly.
You will have to change the cell format first in order to input a
function. Inventor creates the cells as text, so you'll have to change the
format to something else (like "General") for Excel to interpret the
function.
This is just a very simple example and can be extended to a myriad of
different applications.
A warning comes with this tip, though - if you use Excel functions to
define a cell, you cannot edit that cell with the built-in iPart table
editor. The cells are red and can only be modified in Excel.
Maybe this helps someone out there. My apologies if this is already
common knowledge, 'cause I just figured this out on my own, and it's coming in
VERY handy.
Brian R.
Iwaskewycz
Senior Mechanical Engineer
PA Transformer
Technology, Inc.