topic Re: Copy and Paste Feature in Inventor Forum

Copy and Paste Feature

ryan.westra — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:30:38 GMT

I've been using Inventor for about a year now, and I can't seem to find a good way to copy and paste a feature from one place to another. It seems that when I take a feature and try and paste it from one plane to another, it takes the CENTER of the feature, and tries to paste it on some point in some random orientation that I don't know how to change.

So for example, here is a part I was working on:

FIGURE 1

I want to take this feature that protrudes out from the plane depicted in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 2

I want to use this plane as a reference for where I want the feature to be copied from and pasted to.

FIGURE 3

I want the feature from FIGURE 1 to protrude out from this plane exactly like it does from the plane depicted in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 4

As I said in my opening paragraph, I try and try to do this, but it never works out like I want it to because it seems to use the center of the feature as a reference point instead of a plane that I want. Is there any way to do what I'm trying to do? It would save me a whole lot of time.

Thanks,

Ryan Westra

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

SharkDesign — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:34:44 GMT

Can you not just use pattern? Or do you just mean in general

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

ryan.westra — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:38:04 GMT

Maybe pattern would work for this model specifically I guess, but think of a model where the plane you want to paste to is not lined up and is in some weird orientation.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

ryan.westra — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:40:53 GMT

And sketch driven pattern did not work in this example when I tried it. It pasted the feature in a place I did not want it.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

SharkDesign — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:45:33 GMT

Sketch driven Pattern has a lot to do with where your reference point is.
Sometimes moving that will achieve the solution you want.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

ryan.westra — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:47:45 GMT

I did not realize you could move the reference point of a feature. Duh, maybe that would do it... How do you do that exactly?

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

SharkDesign — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:52:33 GMT

Not at my computer right now, but I think the pattern by sketch command
asks you for a reference point and it can be any point in your sketch.

Also, under the tab that has combine in theres and option on the drop down
for copying bodies, have you tried that? If you copy as a new solid you
could move it with the direct edit.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

ryan.westra — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:53:53 GMT

Wow, it was that simple, I just missed a step. It worked how I want it to now. Thanks.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

mcgyvr — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 18:55:04 GMT

@ryan.westra FYI... Copy/Paste features works by identifying the sketch plane in which the feature was created and then prompting you on paste to select a plane in which to use as that new sketch plane.

It doesn't allow you to pick a random "FROM" plane.. Just to place the initial sketch feature plane on a "TO"

You might want to post your ipt file for us to look at.. You might learn some very useful techniques/tricks from having us diagnose how you created that part..

You should be able to use a simple copy/paste to duplicate that feature but you may have modeled it in an uncommon technique that you might want to "unlearn" 😋

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

sjeremiahVYJHL — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 00:56:01 GMT

As a long time Autocad user I find it difficult to understand why the simple copy paste command doesn't work. I should be able to pick a point to copy from and a point to paste to. SIMPLE!!!!!

I still can't understand why you sell platforms that are so disparate, even the simplest moves from point to point turn into a major exercise.

There are some great features in Inventor but the simplest of tasks always turn into a major exercise. Why?

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

kacper.suchomski — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 01:28:23 GMT

AutoCAD and Inventor are two different programs. Not only in name and appearance, but most importantly in purpose and workflow.

AutoCAD is a digital drawing board. Its purpose is to make as many lines, arcs and splines as possible as quickly as possible. The rest is an add-on to make it even more efficient.

Inventor is a different class of software - it is a database. Its purpose is to manage the bill of materials, geometry and a few other metadata, the result of which can be the generation of technical documentation.
You can copy objects in a sketch as you described. You can copy elements in models (which is not recommended due to the need to define a reference). You can also copy components in an assembly - either in one move or through a procedure.

@sjeremiahVYJHL wrote:

As a long time Autocad user I find it difficult to understand why the simple copy paste command doesn't work. I should be able to pick a point to copy from and a point to paste to. SIMPLE!!!!!

I still can't understand why you sell platforms that are so disparate, even the simplest moves from point to point turn into a major exercise.

There are some great features in Inventor but the simplest of tasks always turn into a major exercise. Why?

It's very simple - in AutoCAD each object has 3 degrees of freedom; each object in Inventor has 6 degrees of freedom. This difference forces the extension of the procedure in order to ensure unambiguous definition.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

sjeremiahVYJHL — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 01:31:37 GMT

You can tell me all about the differences but I still don't see why copy paste is in the too hard basket?

If I want to take something from another file, model or anywhere, I should be able to pick whatever with a point then paste it using a point in my destination file, model or whatever, seems to work for most other applications.

To be honest, I think Inventor is trying to overthink some simple tasks.

Like I said there are some great features but there are basic tasks which are way overcomplicated.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

kacper.suchomski — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 01:41:32 GMT

You have every right to think so, but it comes from a misunderstanding of the definition.

In AutoCAD you only have one thing - geometry.
You can copy a geometric arc anywhere; it's just a piece of a circle.

But you can't just copy a fillet - that requires definition, reference, character and behavior, parameter range and many things.
In addition, there are different forms of building blocks: sketch geometry, feature, body, part, component. You can't mix them. And as I mentioned - you have to manage the database.

Since I'm here to solve problems and explain how things work; I promise I won't address your comments again unless you ask a specific question.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

johnsonshiue — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 17:21:08 GMT

Hi! This may have something to do with the default sketch coordinate system. You may either change the orientation on pasting dialog or edit the sketch coordinate orientation afterwards. Could you share an example that illustrates the undesirable behavior?

Many thanks!

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

sjeremiahVYJHL — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 20:12:37 GMT

Hi there
I'm finding not just sketching but basically any copy or move command.

Example: In Autocad you;

1.
choose copy or move. (you can enter command from keyboard) simple.
2.
Select to object to move, very easy.
3.
Pick a point (clearly indicated by icon in drawing) again simple.
4.
Pick the point to be moved to. (again icon in the drawing) simple simple.
5.
The object moves to the point, sooooooo easy.

You also have the option to copy and paste with a basepoint. This is especially helpful when selecting and placing objects from one drawing to another. Very helpful in structural work when working with a worksite datum. Everything can be tied to one single datum.

I just can't see why so many keystrokes are required to perform simple tasks. There is no keyboard input to aid with quick working. Icon driven commands with dialogue boxes are all very well but slow you down no end.

KISS theory !

Basically I just don't like icon driven software.

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

kacper.suchomski — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 21:01:54 GMT

Have you tried clicking ctrl+c & ctrl+v?

(view in My Videos)

Re: Copy and Paste Feature

johnsonshiue — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 20:34:05 GMT

Hi! I know the AutoCAD workflow. But Inventor is indeed different than AutoCAD. I am trying to find a good workflow to accommodate your need. Or at least I would like to understand the struggle better. Please share an Inventor example that you are working on.

Many thanks!