How would you like to see iLogic enhanced in the future ?

[ChrisMitchell01]

Hello Everyone,

We're considering ways in which the Inventor iLogic environment/functionality can be enhanced. After reviewing previous feedback & Ideas we're developing a plan; please help us to validate & prioritize accordingly, by completing this very quick survey:

Take the survey now.

Many Thanks,

Chris

[MechMachineMan]

1. Better documentation.

If I use 

ThisDrawing.ActiveSheet.Titleblock

It returns a string.

If I use

ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.ActiveSheet.Titleblock

it returns the titleblock object.

How are we supposed to find out nuances like this if it is not documented better? 

Also, there is no complete list of the Methods/Properties/Types that are used in iLogic that are easily accessible for newbies. It takes understanding access the underlying .xml or using visual studio to view the object browser to see that information.

2. Maybe also having a better tutorial/introduction to some of the coding (vba/vb.net) like some AU Classes have would also help the more hesitant engineering department managers from thinking "iLogic" is a curse word...

[YannickEnrico]

How about an option for the application to run it.

I.e. "Whenever you save a dwg/idw file, this rule will run", rather than "this file says we must run this external rule, placed at this location, at this point." 

That way you avoid references in files. Wasn't fun back when my old company changed their data structure!

[MechMachineMan]

I can definitely second @YannickEnrico's suggestion!

The next step for us in customizing our software is to use Application Level Events to track when .idw's are saved so we can prompt the user for what it actually means, and then automate some more of our process from there (ie; Saving down a new revision, overwriting an old file but not adding a revision, saved down an R&D version). This is currently vary tedious aside from making an add-in and even though the programming level to accomplish that is beyond the average iLogic user, the need for the functionality is not.

Also, seems like having the ability to dock global iLogic forms as a browser pane would be useful as well. ie; Being able to make a custom iProperty editor that pops up under the model browser and only contains iProperties that are relevant to the DocumentType or to the company's specific process.

[Curtis_Waguespack]

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@MechMachineMan wrote:

I can definitely second @YannickEnrico's suggestion!

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This was one of my comments in the survey as well.

[mcgyvr]

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@MechMachineMan wrote:

Also, there is no complete list of the Methods/Properties/Types that are used in iLogic that are easily accessible for newbies. It takes understanding access the underlying .xml or using visual studio to view the object browser to see that information.

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This is what I was trying to say in the comments in the survey I did.. 

As a very infrequent ilogic user I have a VERY hard time finding out the proper code or chunk of code to access the information or part or whatever that I want and it ends up taking me hours to find that and then just a few minutes to make all the code work like I want.. but those hours I spend finding how to access the information/part is the problem for me and many others I believe..

[Curtis_Waguespack]

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mcgyvr wrote:

As a very infrequent ilogic user I have a VERY hard time finding out the proper code or chunk of code ...

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Indeed there is a very big opportunity for improvement here as well, but I think it's likely going to be a bit outside the wheelhouse of the developers.

Right away when iLogic was introduced, users began to use it for all kinds of automation that was well beyond the scope of iLogic and was more about the API. At that time most of the example on the Inventor Customization Forum had questions and answers that were a dialog between people who were programmers and therefore asked questions and provided answers in "inferred" ideas. Meaning you had to know what you didn't know in order to be able to connect the dots.

New iLogic users don't know what they don't know about programming, they know what they want to do, and find iLogic a great way to get started down the path, but currently that path gets narrow and rocky pretty quick.

On some level the included System snippets is much the same in this regard. Many of the included Custom snippets are better  at being full working examples, albeit generic.

Users on these forums have made an effort to communicate in full working ilogic examples. That is where I see an opportunity: a "sourcebook" of common tasks in working examples, similar to the examples in the API.

However, unlike the API examples that are a bit removed from the real world, users would like actual working data sets. Let me explain that a bit:

In the API examples I can find an example of how to extrude a sketch profile, but the example creates the sketch, and identifies the sketch and profile by knowing that it just created that sketch. In there real world no one is trying to do that (well maybe there was that one guy, that one time...). What users are trying to do is extrude an existing sketch in their file. 

That subtle difference in how the examples are written is where many users have trouble getting the results that they are after, and where the iLogic road gets narrow and rocky.

I'd like to see actual sample files like this for iLogic:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor-products/downloads/caas/downloads/content/inventor-s...

But these need to be based on the common real world tasks that users are asking about day in and day out.

I hope this helps,
Curtis

[sanjay.ramaswamy]

Hi all,

Just a note to acknowledge that we're closely following these responses. Please keep the survey responses and any other feedback coming!

thanks,

Sanjay-

Sanjay Ramaswamy

Product Manager, Inventor

[mslosar]

Has anyone seen how 3ds max helps out people with maxscript?

The editing window is split in to two halves. One half is editing, the other half is a recording window. If the recorder is on, it records the code version of what was required to complete the action.

Record on

box (x,y) (start point)

(x,y) (end point)

(Z) (height)

Etc, etc is required in sort of the same way you'd write the code. There's a little more to it than that (doing this from memory of a good while ago) but it was a good basis for what it does as I recall.

[asiteur]

What I would really like to see is a 'Console' to test ilogic statements. This way it would be way easier to figure out which statements work and which don't and more importantly which objects have which children. For example, when I have an extrusion and I would enter something like

>>get(Extrusion1)
Color     = (255,255,255)
Position = (21,12,302)
Children = (handle_child1, handle_child2)

Etc. It will give me all associated properties and objects (the ones here I made up for illustration).

Secondly better debugging information would be good, the error statements it produces now are not very helpful.

[pball]

A big thing I just thought of related to asiteur's post is error messages and debugging in general. The error messages and ability to highlight the code that had the error in VBA scripting would be really nice to have with iLogic. Many of the error messages received in iLogic are vague or don't reference anything useful to the average user.

[bnwtech]

Great Question, 

I have a million ways to improve iLogic based off my struggles. I can not remember them all at the moment but I'll list a couple now. Sorry if somebody else pointed out any of these issues but I do not have the time to read it all!

I would love to see a rule that allows you to change a component size such as a bolt length. I have had to jump through hoops to accomplish this. 

The only other thing on my mind right now is adding a rule that allows you to change the material type of all components located in an assembly. I know you can change them one by one but in large assemblies this is ridiculously time consuming. With the help of other users I was able to find a crazy code that allowed me to do this but a simple rule would be nice!

If this post gets left up you can be sure ill be back with more! I am using iLogic on a daily basis and struggling just the same!

Thanks

Sandro

[Curtis_Waguespack]

@sanjay.ramaswamy if you're still taking feedback/request...

Some "built in" ability to batch process files with iLogic rules would be huge for many users. We can do it now but the rules have to be authored in a certain way to set the focus to each file.

If there were a built in batch utility where users could select a list of files and run their rule that they know works on a single file , and have it work on the list of files, there would be dancing in the streets.

If this batch utility could have some built in error trapping and output a log file etc. that would be even better.

Maybe the Task Scheduler could be updated to support iLogic rules??? Maybe that can be done now and I just haven't thought of it? But I think it would be best if this "batching" ability were built right into the iLogic tools.

See related link:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/batch-edit-iproperty-based-on-excel-table/td-p/6817796

[QuasiMojo]

I definitely fall into the group Curtis was describing a couple posts back; specifically: I go to iLogic to solve/simplify tasks that are ongoing and necessary to get a job done efficiently, and worth coding up for future use instead of keeping as a repeat task.  I also suffer from the poor documentation and inability to locate the specific object I need, in the context I mean to use it.  I am no expert  programmer but I can get stuff to work. It just takes me 10x longer because I can't find my options quickly enough. I have to scan the forums.  Granted, it's difficult to create good documentation but the normal "function x does x" without context to where it's useful isn't really much help. 

TL;DR: 1) Object explorer similar to (better than....) VB has

2) Verbose documentation explaining purpose and application of funcions et cetera

3) Roll-up or formalize common/popular examples from the forum

[mrattray]

I just want to say thank you so much for putting some attention towards the iLogic editor. This is a spot in sore need of development. IntelliSense, an object browser (I currently flip to the API's OB when needed), and a proper debugger are desperately needed!

[tolgay.hickiran]

I forgot to mention this on the survey so here goes.

As far as i know, there is not a real control of what rules are going to be fired in what order, so it would be great if we could have a debug function in ilogic just like in VBA. This would get people to understand how the coding works easier.

In the current situation its like everyone is working on a theory and you could only test an entire system rather than i piece of it. With this way, we would be able to test our codes part by part.

[DeerSpotter]

META DATA, the ability to access meta data of the .ipt .idw .iam and use it to ones advantage.

The way vault looks at the file and determines where-used, if ilogic could do that we could accomplish great things. 

[SBix26]

@DeerSpotter, the where-used metadata that Vault uses is not contained in the file, it's contained in Vault.  Vault knows where a file is used because it keeps track of that data in its database, not because the file has that data built in.

Perhaps iLogic could access Vault data, though.  That would offer some interesting possibilities!

Sam B

Inventor Professional 2017.3
Vault Basic 2017.0.1
Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit, SP1
Inventor Certified Professional

[YannickEnrico]

@Curtis_Waguespack - My experience says that iLogic will run when using the Task Scheduler? At least -some- rules work, as I also had some that worked in Inventor, but not in Task Scheduler. 

[Cadmanto]

As a novice in iLogic, I would love to see more hands on and insight as to how to program.  Something that would allow users such as myself the ability of using it and slowly build the knowledge base without the fear of not using it due to ignorance.

If this solved your issue please mark this posting "Accept as Solution".

Or if you like something that was said and it was helpful, Kudos are appreciated. Thanks!!!!