Anyone Else have issues with IDW Edit Dimension window not opening?

[AlexZW28B]

I am using Inventor 2020.3.2 and have noticed - including on earlier builds - that there appears to be an issue I have where if I have a model view zoomed out to view the full drawing on the screen and try to edit a dimension, that the window will not pop up. I have tried double clicking slower, faster, and nothing really seems to help... I at one point though well... maybe it is another inadequacy of Inventor. After a number of months now, I am beginning to this may be the case. BECAUSE, once I zoom in the drawing by a scroll wheel notch or two, I am then able to double click the dimension and bring up the dimension edit window. 

**Note - I am using typically 11x17" drawings with 26" Monitors**

When I have the drawing in full view on monitor, I can select the dimension and it will highlight to show I have it selected or activated, I just can't double click it to bring up the edit dimension window. Is there a infinitesimal spot on the dimension when I am zoomed out so far that is making it excruciatingly difficult to edit the dimension? It is becoming more and more frustrating that I have to waste my time with these little nuisances...

Not sure if there is a bug with the view port or selecting accuracy in Inventor with their drawing space or files? Are others having these issues or similar? Am I just having to take further courses on using a computer and mouse?

[Anonymous]

I've experienced this before when zoomed out. I had assumed it was a location sensitivity thing, the way if you zoom out on 2 points it is hard to select the one you want. I wouldn't call it a flaw of the software, but who knows there may be a bug somewhere. Personally I am ok with zooming in a bit, as most of the time I'm working with one view at a time and I don't mind rolling the scroll wheel to get a little closer to the dimension/view

[DRoam]

This sounds like it may be related to this issue: Let us double-click a Drawing dimension anywhere to edit it.

Inventor is very picky about exactly where you double-click to edit the dimension. Because of this, even if the dimension is highlighted, double-clicking doesn't always bring up the edit box.

Supposedly this was partially fixed in Inventor 2021.1, although I don't have 2021 to test it: Drawings (What's New in 2021.1). (scroll down to the section labeled "Fractional Dimension Enhancement"). Apparently it was only fixed for fractional dimensions? (Like I said, I can't test it). But I assume a fix for other dimension types is coming soon. Fingers crossed...

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! The behavior is definitely wrong. I vaguely remember it was an initialization issue. Try this and see if it helps.

Go to All Programs -> Autodesk -> Inventor 20xx -> Tools -> Inventor Reset Utility.

It will reset all the Inventor settings back to install default including UI customization.

Many thanks!

[AlexZW28B]

Hi @johnsonshiue, 

So, before I go and do this - will it impact any of the vault or Inventor "Application Options-> File" options at all? Do you know to what extent it "resets" things? If I export my application settings - is there any reason that this would re-initiate the same issue again - not sure if the issue is in a settings thing, or what.

I am willing to give this a try - but want to be sure I understand the impacts of this before doing it.

[DRoam]

@AlexZW28B, to be clear, is your issue that the Edit Dimension box will never come up at all, or it just sometimes doesn't come up when you double-click unless you zoom in closer?

I could be wrong but I believe the fix Johnson suggested is only for if the Edit Dimension box will not come up at all. If that's not your issue, I don't think you need to run the reset utility.

From your original description, it sounds like your issue is just that Inventor sometimes doesn't respond to double-clicking on a dimension, so you have to either zoom in or right-click and choose "Edit..." from the context menu to get it to register. If that's the case, I'm fairly certain the issue is the same as the one in the idea I linked to. 

[AlexZW28B]

Hi @DRoam, 

In the state of a full view of drawing, the Edit Dimension box will not come up... MUCH at all... I can occasionally (more rarely) get it to actually come up. There are odd instances where it will open, but I have spent like 15-30 seconds trying to open it using double clicks - trying to figure out why it actually is not working... The dimension does show that it is being selected, as the colour does change, but even when I try clicking on the dimension value, it will rarely open in the condition mentioned. I will admit that it does on occasion - but not often on the first, second, or third...etc. try. I know that I have to click on the actual value, but regardless of fractional/decimal values, it will not open reliably in this drawing view state. 

However, once zoomed in, I am then able to open that same dimension I was having issues with using the double click functionality - even while it is still initially selected. When zoomed out, I can't even get the Edit Dimension to open using double click even when I am clicking on the values - even with larger fractions, it won't let me open when trying to double click on either side of the fraction. I move my mouse around on areas of the dimension value, and will often have instances where it will not open. So I am not sure if there is more than just the fact of me not clicking the correct area or not.

I agree that they could plausibly be both indicative of a failure of Inventor interface capabilities... not surprised there... but I did vote for that "enhancement" or rather - significant fix, as that functionality shouldn't be considered an enhancement. Improving the dimensioning double click command response as indicated in the link provided may help - but am hoping that this type of behaviour will not be present in that environment as well... 

I could see it realistically being a number of different issues from a programming perspective. Whether the selection area is scaled with the drawing view being zoomed in or out on the page? Imagine a fixed area around the mouse (see attached graphic) which would tell the software whether to activate/enable a command, or not, based on it's proximity to that area. If that area were to scale down and shrink upon zooming out, then it would make selection of features more difficult... Ideally, this area would be done in a way to enable easy interaction with dimensions even at significatnly zoomed out views - or "small" dimension text due to scaling of dwgs. 

@johnsonshiue - you have any further comments for clarifying the settings reset and the behaviour that suggestion is expected to resolve?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi @AlexZW28B,

Inventor Reset Utility is a tool resetting all Inventor related registry keys and Application Options back to install default. Inventor will behave as if it was freshly reinstalled.

Many thanks!

[DRoam · Accepted solution]

@AlexZW28B, the 2021.2 update has just been released today, and it includes the double-click to edit dimension fix that I described earlier, for all dimension types: Drawing Enhancements (What's New in 2021.2) (see the section "Dimension Edit Enhancement"). From my testing, double-clicking to edit dimension is much more reliable now, especially when zoomed out.

I believe this should resolve your issue. If you're able to upgrade to Inventor 2021 and then install the dot-2 update, please do so, and let us know if that resolves the issue you've been seeing.

[AlexZW28B]

Well, I have just accepted @DRoam 's solution as it would seem to be the closest solution to resolve the issue. I have done the reset utility - which surprisingly only took like 2 seconds once commenced - and was a real heart racer beforehand... I made sure to export all the different settings that I could in all the different tabs - as it seems the exporting of settings has different areas of the program which need to be exported - it didn't seem to export all the Inventor settings in one command. It seems to see the menu customizations, and program settings as different 'buckets'. I made sure to make duplicate exports, using multiple methods, because once you been burned by poor and unpredictable programming in the past - you learn to have many different backups done many different ways...

Regardless, the issue is still as randomly persistent as before since doing this reset utility. I am not able to update to Inventor 2021 until later in the early spring/late winter for company rollout purposes. I am hopeful (expecting) that there is some (significant) improvement with 2021.