How to update parts in an assembly that were modified in the Content Center

[Anonymous]

I have Inventor 2009 SP1 along with Vault 2009.

I have modified some families in the content center and the modifications do not show up automatically for the parts that were previously placed.

For this question, I will specifically focus on the Wing Nuts. I modified the material color used in the Wing Nut so that the wing nuts would be easy to spot. Afterwards, I made sure to "Save the Styles to the Styles Library".

Now, when I place a Wing Nut that had never been previously placed, I imagine Inventor nor Vault has any history of the Wing Nut, so it creates a new one with the correct color and modifications. If I place a Wing Nut that had been previously placed, I imagine Inventor uses the previous version that is stored either localy or in Vault, and the modifications do not show up - the color is the standard color.

I know of a work around to this which I will explain below, but I was hoping that there is a more streamlined way of updating parts that were modified in the content center.

I have read some posts that refer to a Tools >>> Refresh Standard Components menu, but as the attached screen shot indicates, I do not see that command.

I also followed step by step this Autodesk Tutorial for [updating standard parts in Vault after editing families|http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=8385593&linkID=9242018]. However, it too refers to the Tools >>> Refresh Standard Components command that does not show up in my menu.

Is there an option in Inventor to automatically check for modifications in the content center and update the assemblies accordingly? If not, is there some option that I need to set so that I can see the Refresh Standard Components command?

Otherwise, here is the procedure I have previously used for updating a modified content center part that was previously placed:
1. Delete the part from the local copy of content center (e.g. C:\_Vault Workspace\Content Center\en-US\WELLONS 2009 - Type A - Wing Nut - Inch\1136090.ipt)
2. Delete the part from within Vault. (e.g. VaultExplorer\Content Center\en-US\WELLONS 2009 - Type A - Wing Nut - Inch\1136090.ipt)

At this point, if I try to open an assembly that uses this part, Inventor says something along the lines that there is an invalid ID and the assembly fails to open. So, before opening the assembly, I need to go to the content center and place that exact part that was deleted into an empty assembly.

This places a fresh, updated copy of the part. I can then close the assembly (no need to save it), and if I open the assembly that made use of that part, it opens normally, with the updated part and the updated color.


The above workaround works, but it takes an enormous ammount of steps and keeping track of what parts have been previously used and what parts were deleted and need to be placed again. If the part is not placed again before opening an assembly that uses it, an error comes up.

I need to refresh a few hundred parts and if I attempt to do so by the above method, it will take me a week of mindless clicking. Any help is greatly appreciated.



Cheers,
~ Ralph Edited by: ralph.daub on Sep 1, 2009 11:25 PM

[bobbyzhou]

Hi Ralph,

Your expection is what Inventor 2009 provides. You didn't see the "Refresh Standard Components" command under "Tools", it is probably that the Content Center addins didn't get loaded.

So, could you please check their loading status?
1.Go to "Tools->Addins", where Content Center, and ContentCenterItemTranslator must be loaded/Startup.
2.Restart Inventor.
3.Go to Projects->Library Configuration, please configure several libraries.
4.Check Tools->Refresh Standard Components again.

HTH.

Bobby Zhou (Autodesk)

[Anonymous]

Hi Bobby Zhou, good morning, and thank you for the reply, I tried to follow your steps but it did not resolve my problem:

1. I checked the Tools >>> Add-ins... menu and the Content Center Item Translator was already set to Startup/Loaded. I have attached a picture with my current Add-ins configuration from that menu.

2. I restarted Inventor anyway.

3. I did not see a Projects menu or a Library Configuration sub-menu, so instead I clicked on File >>> Projects... and glanced at the 2 libraries that are currently there, Vault Library and Wellons Library (which contains the custom content center families). What exactly am I supposed to configure on them? The library is currently read-only for me, but if I know what I need to change, I can ask the powers-that-be to do so.

4. I checked under the Tools menu, and the Refresh Standard Components sub-menu was still not there.

I am attaching a screen shot of both the Add-In manager window and the Projects window.

Thanks in advance,
~ Ralph

[Anonymous]

UPDATE
I was able to access the Standard Command Refresh though it still doesn't show up under tools, and I still wasn't able to refresh the components. I did this by going to Tools >>> Customize >>> Keyboard tab and adding a keyboard shortcut (Alt + R) to the Refresh Standard Components command.

I was also able to add a button to the toolbar by going to Tools >>> Customize >>> Commands tab >>> Content Center and then dragging the Refresh Standard Components button to the toolbar.

I followed the tutorial step by step once again to Update the Standard Parts: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=8385593&linkID=9242018. When it says to click on Refresh Standard Components, I used the keyboard shortcut I created.

A window came up saying some items have been revised since the assembly was last opened, and asks if I want to Update standard components from the library. However, It doesn't give me a choice to change the Update tag of the items from "No" to "Yes."

I have attached a copy of the Standard Component Refresh window that comes up from the keyboard shortcut.




LAST UPDATE
Because I have found a workaround to the original problem and am now having a different issue, I have made a new post. The new post is in regards to not being able to update the standard components after executig the Standard Component Refresh command. Here is the link to the new thread:
http://discussion.autodesk.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=743175