Model - Drawing linkage?

[Anonymous]

My name is Walter. With many years on another CAD package I am new to Inventor in my current job.

I'd like to know if there is an easy way to rename (or re-associate) a drawing and a part file. In Solidworks I could break the linkage. I've found so far with Inventor that if I rename both the model and part files via SAVE AS the drawing keeps looking for the originally named file.

The real issue is that I don't want to be forced to start every time with real/production file names when my design may end up just being experimental. I hope this is clear.

    Walter

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous

Although I'm not a big fan of this interface you can use the Inventor Design Assistant and rename both the Part/Drawing and all the links are maintained.  If you have Vault you can also rename the files in Vualt and it will rebuild the links.  

[Roelof.Feijen]

I think Replace Model Reference is what you are looking for. 

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015...

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Hi Walter.Ferguson,

You're looking for the Replace Model Reference tool:

http://help.autodesk.com/view/INVNTOR/2015/ENU/?guid=GUID-5D12EF30-CB41-49E0-A0F0-09EDC2DA2B2D

This allows you to re-direct the drawing to the new model file.

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[johnsonshiue · Accepted solution]

Hi Walter,

Like other experts have already mentioned, Replace Model Reference command in Drawing -> Manage should allow you to switch component reference to the drawing. One thing to keep in mind is that Inventor's associativity is mainly established on Document ID (internal unique identifier). This ID carries over if a file is copied or saved as. When you change model reference from Part A to Part B, annotations and dimensions associated to the drawing views will have better chance to survive if the two parts share the same Doc ID or they are topologically similar.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Johnson! Your added detail about doc ID's is most appreciated. I have a question on another issue. As an Inventor newbie I'm not sure of the forum rules. Could I ask you directly or should I post it somewhere on the forum. If so where? It has to do with design view representations.

   Walter

[Mark.Lancaster · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous

Just create a new Inventor forum posting about your issue/question regarding view reps.  Although @johnsonshiue could assist you directly, you should always post here before contacting someone directly. 

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Walter, You are more than welcome to contact me or any Autodesk employees active on the forum directly. The thing is that our availability can vary unpredictably. If you have access to Autodesk Subscription Support, I encourage you contact them for any issue you have. Certainly, posting it on the forum is a good way to find help. There are a lot of enthusiastic experts like Mark on the forum helping everybody 24/365. Many thanks!