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MM = mm / IN = in (Dimensions)

MM = mm / IN = in (Dimensions)

Most of the time when I'm drawing, my cap lock are on.  When I type in units in uppercase Inventor doesn't recognize that MM is mm, or IN is in.  I want Inventor to apply the units - proper case or not.

 

MM IN.PNG

 

88 Comments
Anonymous
Not applicable

Yes please...SUCH A PAIN!!!

CCarreiras
Mentor

Hi!

 

I Agree, Maybe it´s pain but... DON'T MESS WITH UNITS ... PLEAAASE...

 

 

dan_szymanski
Autodesk
Status changed to: Accepted

Reverted this Idea from accepted to Under Review.  As indicated, "M" is reserved for mega and therefore MM = mega meters.

Josh_Hunt
Advocate

I agree that this is a common complaint (which is clear by the 76 kudos on this idea). However the real problem is the use of Caps Lock.

 

To begin, this request is not possible. The unit prefixes are case sensitive.

m = milli

M = mega

http://help.autodesk.com/view/INVNTOR/2014/ENU/?guid=GUID-EE98BCED-5623-4E3B-9E98-432C6738B081

SIDE THOUGHT: "MB" is commonly understood to be megabytes. When people type "mb", they are really saying millibits.

 

The better idea would be an Application that auto-capitalize all text typed into iProperties and drawing text. AutoCAD Electrical already has this feature. We would want this feature to have NO effect on model parameters. See my comment and give kudos for this idea.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Inventor-IdeaStation/ALL-CAPS-change-text-case-to-all-capitals/idi-p/4...

Anonymous
Not applicable

jhunt107, we are only talking the units "mm" and "in" 

 

 

off2board
Contributor

Who would ever type in megabytes when dealing with Inventor?  Solidworks seemed to be able to figure this one out.

Its just ridiculous having to change MM to mm because the software cant figure out that I am dimentioning length and it could possibly think that I might want to give it a megabyte property. lol.

Anonymous
Not applicable

There is a pretty effective workaround to this that I've been using for months. There is a free and well supported scripting program called autohotkey. You can make a context sensitive (only will work within inventor) script that automatically replaces any number followed by MM, CM, IN, etc.... with number followed by mm, cm, in, etc.

 

Example:

Auto replaces 2IN with 2in.

 

Just put the script in your startup folder and never worry about it again.

dan_szymanski
Autodesk
Status changed to: Under Review
 
Anonymous
Not applicable

Are you kidding me?  Dan, how many people do you think use the units millimeters vs. mega meters.

 

Dan, I have no idea why Autodesk thinks you are the person to manage these ideas.  Pathetic.  I have since switched to solidworks so I really don't give a crap anymore.

SerkanCicek
Advocate

I think we had better obey the rules of standards. On the other hand, there may be an autocorrection option for this type of use. One might use it to correct the period seperators as commas, one might use it to correct MM as mm, etc. Surely, default setting for this type of an option should be disabled.

DRoam
Mentor

I agree with this idea but there's one issue...

 

It's already limiting enough that some parameter names are taken up by units. For example, in some iParts I'd like to have dimensions called "A", "B", "C", etc. But "A" is taken as a unit. So I thought, OK, I'll use "dA", "dB", "dC", etc. (d for dimension). Well, dA is a unit as well. So I thought I'd try a "p" in front for "Parameter". Well, pA is a unit also.

 

Not sure if there's really anything that could be done about this, it would be nice if there were. But as it stands, the more units and unit formats we have, the more restricted we'll be in our parameter names. Just something to keep in mind.

Anonymous
Not applicable

mm are milimetres, MM are megametres, ly are light-years. It doesn't matter how many people "prefer to have CapsLock ON". Standards are standards, and they should not be messed with.

brotherkennyh
Advocate

I agree that the unit system should not be changed.

millimetres in a way is an SI symbol. SI symbols rely on case sensitivity.

 

Why should the software be modified just so you don't have to learn to enter it correctly? Why not allow the developers to use their time to fix actual bugs or add actual new and useful features.

 

Also to be pedantic 'MM' does not stand for Mega meters. Mega meters would be 'Mm'.

 

It may be controversial, but you could always learn to not write in CAPS. I honestly do not see why people using decent CAD software still do this. We have moved on a long way since handwriting drawings. Font and quality of printing are good these days making lower case text perfectly legible and the drawings are much easier on the eye. We only do it these days out of nostalga and because some old engineer in the office wants all our drawings to match and thats how we have always done it.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Bro, you keep drawing in those mega meters.  That's what this idea is all about right, durrrr,,,  What units do you model in most?  Everyone assumes this is an accross the board units change, give me a break.  Next time you type MM/IN in a model dimension and you don't mean mm/in, let know...    I am by no means "old" but I really value the "old" engineers/machinest I work with so if typing in caps on my drawing makes it eaiser for them to read, I will do it for the rest of my life.  

dan_szymanski
Autodesk
Status changed to: Gathering Support
 
Anonymous
Not applicable
brotherkennyh
Advocate

its been a long time since I visited this post, but as someone dragged it up again it is time to reply.

 

Can we please have a vote down button to discourage Autodesk from wasting their time on minor yet controversial changes.

 

While I may not draw in Mega Meters I was merely backing up the fact that "mm" are not just text. They are a symbol as defined in international standards. To capitalise them is to use the wrong symbol. It might be easy to have Inventor convert "MM" to "mm", but it is wrong and Autodesk would be perpetuating the idea that the symbols are interchangeable.

 

Just because a lot of people vote an idea up does not mean it is a good idea. Large numbers of people can commonly make the same mistake. "mm" being an international standard symbol should be lower case even if your drawing is in upper case. If anything Inventor should auto correct "MM" to "mm" in drawings.

 

And you are not typing in caps to make your drawing easier to read for old engineers. You are writing in caps because that's how we used to do it. In fact writing in all caps has been proven to be more straining on the eyes. I may have been easier to read with scruffy handwritten notes, but not in modern printed text.

 

Caps have their place in certain areas, key words, title labels, etc. For general use you should not be writing in caps.

Try creating a drawing in all caps and one in sentence case and see which looks best.

Anonymous
Not applicable

If I could upvote the previous comment by brotherkennyh then I would.

SI unit prefixes:

http://help.autodesk.com/view/INVNTOR/2017/ENU/?guid=GUID-EE98BCED-5623-4E3B-9E98-432C6738B081

 

Definite role for downvote button.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Honestly, who really design with Mega, Giga, Tera and Exa values ???

 

Why SW do it then ...

brotherkennyh
Advocate

You are missing the point. Mega, Giga, Tera etc were not brought up because we were worried about Inventor mixing them up if it accepted "MM" as millimetres. They were brought up to recognise the fact that the upper and lower case "m" are symbols in their own right and to use a capital "M" for millimetres is wrong, however many times people use it.

 

I can only speculate why SW uses it. Just because they do it does not make it right. If you saw someone jump off a bridge would it seem like a good idea? Lets be leaders, not lemmings.

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