Add text to an ipn

[MikeKovacik4928]

Hi All

Can you add text to an ipn file so it appears in the video, (say explanatory notes)

The text letters could be modelled as solid parts, but I was wondering

whether you  could use normal text, without going to all that bother.

What do the rest of you Inventor users that do ipn's and make videos do?

Mike Kovacik

Inventor/AutoCAD designer/draughtsman

Johannesburg, South Africa

[mcgyvr]

Nope..

You used to be able to add "call outs" in Inventor Publisher but that functionality was not brought over it publisher when they killed off Publisher and attempted to pass off presentations as a replacement for it..

Show your support here for adding "call outs" into presentations..

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-ideas/allow-call-outs-and-bom-s-in-presentation-mode/idi-p/6...

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-ideas/presentation-add-annotation-features/idi-p/6392822

@dan_szymanski Dan.. Seems likely that those 2 ideas should be merged or something.. close to 150 votes between the 2..

[MikeKovacik4928]

Thanks

What a pity!!

I will have to stick to my idea of actually drawing the  outline of each letter and extruding it.

That functionality would be great to have, I will definitely add my vote to both similar ideas.

Mike

[mcgyvr]

You might be better off using post processing software of some sort to add text to the video after creation in Inventor...

I sure as heck wouldn't want to do text extruding unless its just a one off situation.

But for repeated use I'd post process that text and never look back..

There are numerous programs to add captions/text,etc... to videos now a days.. Most peoples phones even do it..

"There is an app for that" as they say... 

[dan_szymanski]

Hello @mcgyvr,

Thank you for keeping a watchful eye on potential duplicate ideas.  I greatly appreciate it.  In this case we are treating both of these presentation Ideas as separate requests.  One includes an ask for BOM (Call Out) information, while the other deals more with generic annotations (even though the legacy "Call Out" feature is in fact highlighted) .  Both are currently set as "Future Consideration" and on our long term radar.  Thanks!

[MikeKovacik4928]

Thanks

I don't have access to any of that type of app or software.

Can you give me some guidelines of what is available and where.

I will stick to the manual extruding of text for the time being.

Mike

[mcgyvr]

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@MikeKovacik4928 wrote:

Thanks

I don't have access to any of that type of app or software.

Can you give me some guidelines of what is available and where.

I will stick to the manual extruding of text for the time being.

Mike

---

Google "add captions to video"... Find what works for you/your budget,etc...

[mcgyvr]

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@dan_szymanski wrote:

Hello @mcgyvr,

Thank you for keeping a watchful eye on potential duplicate ideas.  I greatly appreciate it.  In this case we are treating both of these presentation Ideas as separate requests.  One includes an ask for BOM (Call Out) information, while the other deals more with generic annotations (even though the legacy "Call Out" feature is in fact highlighted) .  Both are currently set as "Future Consideration" and on our long term radar.  Thanks!

---

Whatever works for you... Its your liter box..

I just.. well.. you know.. 

[ToddHarris7556]

I'm with @mcgyvr on this one.... I'd personally steer clear of extruding text, etc. 

Inventor can give you the raw animation, but it's no good at all on the post-processing side. We use Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects for titling and other post functions. These aren't free, but they're widely used industry-standard tools. 

On free front, there are tools out there like Windows Movie Maker that I think are pretty capable for a lot of things. I'm not endorsing it, and I haven't used it in a couple of versions, but from what I remember it was a pretty cool tool. I'm sure there are lots of alternatives. You're probably looking for something that has basic edit capabilities, some titling/overlay, and maybe transitions. 

[sekrek]

“”Future Consideration” and on our long term radar” . . . ?  It’s already been 2+ years from initial posting.  I’ll be dead before I see this functionality (and I’m not that old).  Really, this is a rudimentary capability that should be available in any modeling system.  Other mid-level modelers that have had this capability for years!  Yes there are potential work a rounds with 3rd party applications but who wants to create and maintain yet another disjointed piece of data?

[MikeKovacik4928]

I agree with you totally about maintaining disjointed data, which I why I am

going to model the text in Inventor for the time being.

I'm sure Autodesk will implement it, all in good time,

especially if they wan't to keep up with the competition,

and not lose customers.

Mike

[MikeKovacik4928]

What you say makes sense to large companies

But for me, as an individual, I would like to steer clear of using various softwares to achieve one objective,

so will stick to my text modelling for the time being

Mike

[ToddHarris7556]

I completely understand, and I feel much the same.

As a hard-core 'technical' guy, I fought tooth and nail for years to 'get it all done' using my CAD tools. As I've grown, I've revised my thinking a bit - both because I now have employees with different skill sets, but also because I've warmed up to the idea that I can just produce better input by using 'best in class' tools where appropriate. So for presentation / video needs, we lean on Adobe Creative Suite. (PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign and Premiere Pro).

For my part, I'd rather see AD spend their efforts on the technical tools, and let Adobe focus on video tools. No matter what functionality AD were to add, it's unlikely that they'll ever do better than Adobe. Don't get me wrong - I really do miss Inventor Publisher. That was a very powerful (and promising) tool for technical documentation, and was sad to see it go. Creating manuals in InDesign is a weak substitute for what we used to do in Publisher. It's better in other ways, but strictly on the technical assembly front, not so much. 

Anyway, looking back, I won't say that I was wrong to stick to my CAD tools as long as I did, but I'll admit that I probably resisted partly because I'm just stubborn that way. Using other tools *does* have a learning curve, but it was probably less steep, and the benefits greater, than I realized earlier. 

In the meantime, I'm glad you have an approach that will work for you!

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Mike,

The ability to add text to an ipn is indeed not available. This has something to do with what should Inventor Presentation provide. I personally believe the environment should allow users to create high quality image and video source of Inventor models. Any additional polishing should be done in image and video editors. Inventor is not competing with 3D Max.

Like Todd said, every tool has its strength and weakness. Inventor is a 3D feature-based parametric solid modeling CAD system. The main purpose is to define high precision geometry for manufacturing. It cannot just look good. It has to be measurable, repeatable, and scalable. It has to be able to handle design as small as a screw and as large as entire power plant. The user can take the virtual build and make it a real build.

If I recalled correctly, you are not a subscriber yet. I am not trying to convince you to subscribe. But, I do believe Product Design and Manufacturing Collection is a bargain (https://www.autodesk.com/collections/product-design-manufacturing/included-software). For a little more than $200 a month (based on an annual subscription), you get to use a great collection of professional-grade tools. It represents a tremendous value. I know you had some doubt about subscription. Think about this for a moment. These tools could have cost you $20K or more combined in the past. Now, they are available as subscription for a fraction of the cost.

Many thanks!

[MikeKovacik4928]

 As I've grown, I've revised my thinking a bit - both because I now have employees with different skill sets, but also because I've warmed up to the idea that I can just produce better input by using 'best in class' tools where appropriate. So for presentation / video needs, we lean on Adobe Creative Suite. (PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign and Premiere Pro).

I don't have employees. I am an individual with very limited resouces

I would love to use a different software tailored to do exactly what it is that needs to be done.

However I have to use what I have got and make it work.

For my part, I'd rather see AD spend their efforts on the technical tools, and let Adobe focus on video tools

I agree totally. AD's inventor Is very good and improving all the time. It would be a pity for them to

dilute their efforts and attentions to something which is not core to the specific purpose of the software,

when another software does exactly that.

Anyway, looking back, I won't say that I was wrong to stick to my CAD tools as long as I did, but I'll admit that I probably resisted partly because I'm just stubborn that way. Using other tools *does* have a learning curve, but it was probably less steep, and the benefits greater, than I realized earlier.

Yes I am stubborn that way too I suppose. However if my situation changes in the future and I am

able to access those other tools, my "stubborn" attitude will probably also change.

Here is what I have managed to do using inventor and text in ipn's

Using the emboss command you can make the text into an ipt,

which you can then insert into your iam and ipn and manipulate it

This approach is not that difficult and doesn't take up too much time.

It is definitely much better than my original idea of drawing the shape of each letter and extruding it!

Many thanks for all your help and good suggestions.

Mike

[MikeKovacik4928]

Johnson

I agree totally with what you say about inventor vs video editors

I need to remind you

1. why I didn't subscribe

    The new lifetime subscription plan introduced, now forces you onto  lifetime   

     subs where if you miss one payment you not only lose your current software

     but any of the old versions you paid for before the advent of this new plan

    therefore lose access to a LIFETIME'S  worth of drawings. This is highly

    unacceptable to me, and also to others who unlike me (I have stuck with Autodesk

    with my old 2018 version which can never be disabled by Autodesk) have

    moved to other software because of this.

2. I live in South Africa where we work in Rand not US Dollars

     with a current exchange rate of  13.28 Rand to one USD

    this puts a different light on things.

Mike

[NigelHay]

Never done this within Inventor but, in other situations I've used Windows Movie Maker to add text & other effects. Depends on your Windows version, I think it's not supported in Win10 but it's a free download.

[MikeKovacik4928]

Thanks Nigel

I have windows 7.

I see it is a free download.

I will investigate

Mike

[MikeKovacik4928]

In response to Autodesk's email

I got an answer, that you can't do it in Inventor, and have to use a video editor.

I got the name of the free video editor and downloaded it.

 I also found, myself,  a way of doing it in Inventor.

Time and practice will tell which way I use

Mike Kovacik

[kelly.young · Accepted solution]

Hello @MikeKovacik4928 an easier way than emboss and subtract:

• Create Part
• 2D Sketch
• Text
• Extrude

Much easier and it quickly grabs the entire text string. You can then Save As, change the text and it will update the Extrusion without having to do anything else.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.