Word add-in: Updating of changes in drawing/part lists does not work

[sepfs]

Hi,

I am working with Publisher 2015 SP1 and Word 2010 and the add-in. Since I have to do some minor changes in the Publisher drawing (arrangement of parts, numbering...) now and then I need to be able to update the drawing in Word. The add-in seems to offer that functionality yet it does not do anything when I click on "Update". Neither in the "Inventor Publisher 2015" Menu nor when I double click a drwaing and use the update button there.

Because it is very sluggish, deleting and re-inserting the drawing and the parts list each and every time manually is a nuisance. Is there a way to get the update function to work or am I doing something wrong here. I have to mention that I keep the respective ipb in Publisher open at the time I am working with Word. I have tried to close it but with no success.

Of course I click on "Save" in Publisher after I have made changes so that these changes are in the actual file and not just in Publisher.

Cheers

Stefan

[na.miao · Accepted solution]

Hi Stefan, 

   Do you use "UpdateAll" in "Inventor Publisher 2015" tab to update it? I can get the upate after I click "Update All" , sometime it need several  minutes to update all.

Thank you 

[sepfs]

Hi Na,

thank you for yor explanation. Indeed it takes quite some time. I waited it out now and yes, it actually works. I thought because nothing happened for quite some time that there won't be happening anything and I deleted the picture and reinserted it. My bad.

[seandavis]

I am evaluating the trial version of the software and no matter how long I wait this is not updating. Is this somethign I can get a service pack to address?

[sepfs]

Hi Sean,

it does not update for me all the time. I got sick of the 50/50 chance thin and you know what I do: When I need an update I just save the file in publisher. Go to Word. Click "Update all" wait until this is done. Delete the old image and reinsert it.

It is clumsy and way, way far from anthing that even sounds like usability but the software otherwise is JUST what I need. I was definetely looking for other programs but the were all so bloated. I really hope that Autodesk will bring out a decent follow up version soon. Until then it is mostly workarounds for me.

Another hint: Do not link more than 3 or 4 publisher files to one word file simultaneously. Especially not when they each contain several snapshots. If you do it and hit update all you'll end up in crashing word. I had that more than once so, just be careful and save the word file frequently!

Yet another hint: If your Publisher crashes frequently try working with the files on your local harddrives (even the source files should be local). I cannot speak for others but that stopped Publisher from crashing...

Regards

Stefan

[seandavis]

So a word to Inventor...any idea on how long this will take to get a proper update to publisher?

As it stands right now, in my opinion, the demonstrations are very misleading, very much like false advertising to me. As an engineering manager, I would very much like to have an integrated solution to tech publications, but I am not seeing evidence of these issues beiing resolved with any urgency. Another way of putting this, should I or shouldn't I purchase Publisher?

In my brief time playing with this software, and seeing what it can do, it appears to have a lot of potential to be a powerful package, I am just curious about when it will move from beta mode to a finished product?

[sepfs]

Hi Sean,

I think so too. The software has great potential and could be exactly what I need if it were not for the myriad of problems and obstacles that are (still) not resolved. I used the software from version 2012 on and it took me quite some time to find out what I need to do to reduce the crashes and avoid all the troubles in my daily workflow. For me it is totally strange why there have not been any major improvements till 2012 but that seems to be Autodesk.

Although from the time of my registration to the forums here I can say that the devs that check the forums here are very helpful and I get the impression that they would like to make more of the thing. Also, the developers take their time in helping you out, as far as the software permits. So it is getting better.. slowly.

To be honest, I could not find a software that does thee things for the price. So it is either investing a ton of money more for a software that does way more than I would ever need or stick with publisher. Personally, I would recommend the latter, if you can live with certain... let us call it "limitations" at the moment. If you take some time getting used to it you can get good results.

That is my two cents. I use it 99% to create views for instruction manuals in word. I do seldomly use it to make movies or publish to an app. So its core functionality that I am after is the word add-in. I think that others might have a different point of view on the matter.

Regards

Stefan

[seandavis]

Thanks for the input Stefan. What other 3rd party platforms have you evaluated? Thanks, Sean

[sepfs]

You are welcome Sean. I have tried 3Dvia and Lattice 3D, both of which are well out of the budget for a software like this in a 30-40 people company like ours. Apart from that Inventor itself also has capabilites but another full Inventor license was/is also out of the cards. Then there seems to be SolidWorks Composer. I cannot remember exactly but I think in the end the cost was also too high here.

Again, in the end Publisher is just "enough" for me so that the learning curve is not too steep of course if it were not for all the issues. Because I also know Inventor a little I felt "at home" right from the start. Also, I cannot say in how far there is something like a word add-in, which is a major advantage for me, in all the other products.

Regards

Stefan

[cts2013]

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@sepfs wrote:

Hi Sean,

it does not update for me all the time. I got sick of the 50/50 chance thin and you know what I do: When I need an update I just save the file in publisher. Go to Word. Click "Update all" wait until this is done. Delete the old image and reinsert it.

---

Mine is a slightly different method:

Save the ipb. I then close the Word document I'm working in, re-open it and go to the 'Inventor Publisher' tab in Word. I click 'Browser' then go to the selected snapshot and do with it as I please. 

I use this method for two reasons:

1. I find 'UpdateAll' knackers me up cos I tend to do quite a bit of cropping of the images in Word - once you press 'UpdateAll' you lose the crops.
2. Like you say, updating the individual image is hit and miss.

I hope that's of use to somebody

regards

cts2013