Linked Excel file not working

[Anonymous]

I want to make a part and link its dimensions to parameters in an Excel file. As an example I made a simple rectangle part and dimensioned it. Then went to Manage > Parameters, then Link, browsed to my excel file and hit Open. The Excel file and part file are in the same folder, but I've tried various options. 

This puts a greyed out line called 'Embedding 1' in the Parameter Name column, but none of the actual parameters in the file show up.

The problem is: because the named parameters from Excel don't show up in the Parameters list, I can't use them as dimensions on the part.

In the browser I get an entry for '3rd Party' which opens to show 'Embedding 1'. Double clicking this opens my excel file.

I'm using Inventor 2014 SP2 and Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.

Does anyone have any thoughts? I fully expect that I'm doing something stupid here.

Thanks,

Tom

[jletcher]

That's not excel is it? It looks like open excel the free version. If so it will not work with Inventor..

[ampster40]

works as expected here with Inv 2014.

Your screenshot appears to show Excel 2013, not a free or open version.

ref attached pic, you'll see I've linked the spreadsheet and have already assigned the parameter names to existing dimensions.

I didn't do anything different, not sure how you got the results you did.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! It looks like you are using Office 365. Unfortunately, Inventor does not support Office 365. Please install the desktop version of the tool.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Thanks for all your replies.

I am definitely using Excel 2013, it is part of Office Home and Business 2013. We don't have Office 365, it's just a normal local installation. See screenshot.

Ampster:

I'm fairly sure you have done exactly what I tried to do. It simply doesn't work that way for me. I have done it in the past with no problems and I'm sure I'm not doing anything differently. This is with the  same version of Inventor and the same version of Excel.

[ampster40]

I should also mention I'm only at SP1, Update 3 so I'll go update and test after this post.

One more thing to check, when you go to link the spreadsheet, make sure the Link option is selected and not Embed;

[Anonymous]

Thanks Amp, I have been making sure to use Link rather than Embed. Although I doubted myself when it didnt work and so tried Embed too. 

Both options lead to the same result - the Excel file seems to become embedded in the part file and is named 'Embedding 1' (or 2, or 3..). It's as though the radio button for Link isn't working properly.

If I Link to another part, rather than an Excel file, it works as expected and I can select the parameters to share from that part.

[ampster40]

Have you tried other spreadsheets to see if all of them are affected or is it only this one?

The question you have about whether or not the radio button is working for "Link" - that does sound like an old Acad type of bug where sometimes you have an option enabled in Acad but it's not using that option...until you cycle the option off and then back on - that usually made it work.

If nobody else has any suggestions, maybe a Repair is in order for your Inventor installation.

[Anonymous]

All spreadsheets seem to suffer from the same problem, even spreadsheets that I was using successfully to store parameters in the past.

I have tried the repair option, but that didn't work. I can try a full reinstall, but is this much different to repair?

I also tried this on my home computer - same version of Inventor and Excel, and it worked fine. It certainly looks to me like a bug of some kind.

[ampster40]

if you haven't yet, go ahead and try cycling the option from Link to Embed and complete the entire process of Embedding the spreadsheet.  Then try using a new empty part and try to actually Link the spreadsheet (changing it back from Embed to Link this time).

It would be worth the effort to try that before uninstalling and reinstalling.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

As a follow up to this, I tried Ampster's suggestion of cycling between Link and Embed, but this didn't work.

So eventually I uninstalled and reinstalled Inventor completely, and this didn't make any difference either. The Excel file is embedded whether I select Link or Embed.

After trying various other things, I stumbed upon a workaround: If the Excel file is saved as a 97-03 version file (.xls) then it will Link OK. I don't understand why this is the case, since it works perfectly on another computer with the same versions of Excel and Inventor. 

Do any Autodesk employees know why this would be the case?

[ampster40]

using your latest info, here's another idea...

Did any of the spreadsheets that are causing problems originate in an older version of MS Office?  If you noticed this issue using spreadsheets that were created before the .xlsx file extension became available, perhaps try recreating the spreadsheets from scratch using the latest version of MX Office you have that supports .xlsx file formats.

If that doesn't solve the problem, you may be stuck using an older excel file format for now.

[Anonymous]

No, all the spreadsheets were made in the same version of Excel (post xlsx). Looks like I am stuck with xls.

Thanks again for your help though Amp

[Anonymous]

Office 365 is NOT the name of the program or suite you install or run via the web.  It is the name of the subscription you pay for, in order to get access to use or download the web and desktop applications available to whatever current version of MS Office is available.  Therefor if you support MS Office 2013, then you support the 10/20/2014 version of Office 365 any desktop installed version, because the current version that 365 gives you is MS Office 2013. 

Don't try to assume that Office 365 immediatly means Web App.  It doesn't.  Besides the web apps wouldn't have a chance of connecting to your Excel Interop based programming, so its actually a non issue, it requires local DLL's to process.

However we have Office 365 Premium Plus, which mean as of 10/20/2014, that we have MS Office 2013 Professional (word, excel, powerpoint, publisher, access, outlook, one note...) DESKTOP applications (the ones that work when your internet connection is down),and Hosted web exchange and other bells and whistles offered to entice users of MS software to move into the subscription environment.  Surely all Autodesk "Subscription" users can related to that.  Check out this link to see the different offerings:

http://products.office.com/en-us/business/compare-office-365-for-business-plans

So stop perpetuating that you don't support Office 365 by its name, that is a logical fallacy.

Thank you,

[Anonymous]

I have the desktop version but have the same issue. Notably, the saving xlsx to xls does not resolve it.

I am using 2015 Inventor and 2013 Office

[Anonymous]

BTW is anybody attempting to use the iPart method of dimension driven design?  That process creates an embeded table, that allows you to edit it via Excel.  Then you can use excel formulas, data system, and whatever.  It works with Inventor 2015, and Excel 2013.  I've been using it as an interim step to creating content center parts and assemblies.  Also you can save'as the temp excel file before you leave it just to keep a separate copy.

Just make sure to 'generate' all assembly/part files from the table before attempting any direct idw annotation of the source iPart/iAssembly (part swapping particularly), or you may crash Inventor.  It's ok to use a generated part without fear of instability.

good luck,

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! I am very sorry that I might have posted some false information about Office 365. I was trying to make a distinction between desktop version and the web-based version. Inventor 2015 does not work with web-based Excel, which is a fact. I should be more careful with the product name or it would generate more confusion.

I am double-checking with some experts familar with this particular workflow. Hopefully, the issue can be resolved soon.

Thanks!

[amatiasq]

Same issue here, I've linked it like 30 times trying different configuration and spreadsheets without success.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! Do you mind giving me a bit more detail about your system configuration? What Excel do you have on your machine (desktop version or web version)? What Inventor release are you running?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Dear all,

I got exactly the same problem, maybe somebody find some solution for it ?

Best wishes.