Model Tree Names and Save And Replace

[phlyx]

This has puzzled me since forever.  One of the neatest features of Inventor is the Save And Replace feature.  Really REALLY buggy thing is when you do that, the part number in the model tree doesn't update.  In other instances a similar thing occurs when the model tree shows a different name than the part for other reasons.  I think the most used button I select lately is Rename Browser Nodes so I "know" what is what in my assembly.   Some days I feel like turning off the model tree because you can't trust it.  

Kind of humorous that I did a Save And Replace on a part and of course the name didn't update in the tree. So I selected another part in the tree and tried to rename it to the same old name of the part I just replaced and it wouldn't let me.  

Of course it flag two lines of text that are the same but everything in the tree is editable text with no relationship to the parts.   Why can't we always have the model tree show the part name and add notes after?  Or at the last have a setting that automatically displays the part name in the model tree.... always!  

Is there a way to haver the model tree ALWAYS show the REAL part name as if every time you change a part it's like doing Rename Browser Nodes/part number????   Not having this has caused soooo many issues, mistakes and wasted time it's not even funny. 

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! The browser name has to be unique. If you are trying to reuse an existing name within the same context, the error will come up.

I guess the browser names in your assembly have been overridden multiple times. It is hard to tell what the original names are. Please go to Assembly -> Productivity Tools -> Rename Browser Nodes -> Default or Filename. It will restore their unique names.

Many thanks!

[imajar]

Hi @johnsonshiue , I believe he is asking a different question that I am also interested in understanding.  

What is the purpose of being able to have the name in the tree different from the part number?  I find it annoying to constantly have to "rename browser nodes", and I dont like that "rename browser nodes" brings in the file extension.  But if there is some use for this that I don't realize, then I would like to know!  Thanks in advance.

[mikejones]

I know it's annoying but sometimes I like to have the browser names for the same part number to be different. A typical scenario would be on a piping layout where I am modeling up a pipe route against a P&ID drawing. The P&ID will have tag numbers for the valves and I am typically required to 'tag' them in the browser. Those tags can be brought into a drawing; with the help of a bit of iLogic, and used in balloons. There is currently no other way of identifying the unique number of a common item other than to change the browser name. 

Also, when exporting the inventor files into external viewing software such as Navisworks, the inventor browser name shows in the Navisworks tree so it is easy to identify a specific item by its tag number.

Apart from that, I think it's a real pain not reflecting the actual part number itself. A better way to is needed when dealing with common items that need to be identified individually.

Mike

[phlyx]

"Annoying"???  Having a visual view not update until you refresh it is annoying, this is dangerous, risky and opens the door to making very expensive purchasing and designing mistakes.  With a bit of iLogic you can bring in the information AFTER the name in the model tree into a drawing and retain the prefix of the text to be the actual filename.  For example the sensors in this assembly are part number BI1-EG04-AP6X but they needed to be uniquely identified.  So the function was entered as text after the part number in the model tree:

Then in the assembly drawing, a little iLogic allows you to have the full text in the identifiers for those parts:

You absolutely do NOT have to change the model tree part number in order to uniquely identify them in the assembly drawing.  

Totally ridiculous to allow people to just manually change the part number in model to be something different than the actual part number.  Especially when replacing the part in the model does not ALWAYS update the text in the model tree and there are other ways around it.  100% risk with very little reward that can be accomplished in other ways.

[mikejones]

You're doing exactly what I do, I wouldn't change a part number I just identify it with the tag number as well. A better way of doing this is required.

I'd like to hear the other ways of working around the problem though, I look forward to trying them out. Always good to share ideas and workflows with each other on here, that's what makes this group so good.

Mike

[phlyx]

Our big problem is we have a part in an assembly for example PART1234.ipt and we decide it needs to be altered and made into a new part PART5678.ipt.  So we do a Save and Replace and pick the part and save it as PART5678.ipt.  But when we're done the model tree still says PART1234 until we pick Rename Browser Nodes and then is updates to PART5678.  We have options in views to dynamically link views to model state and other options like that, why do we NOT have an option to force all browser nodes to be the actual Part Number automatically and not accept overrides????  That has very little benefit and LOTS of RISK.

[SBix26]

The scenario you describe never happens to me. 

Clearly, the name Part1234.ipt was overridden (manually entered) by someone, so it remained overridden when the filename was changed.  If not overridden, the browser name immediately updates with a filename change.

For users that need to override the browser name, I'm sure that a robust solution would be welcome, perhaps similar to a prompted entry in a drawing.

Edit: I like your idea of a setting (probably a  Document Setting) that would prevent browser name overrides, and perhaps even allow a choice of what the browser name is set to-- filename, or choice of iProperty?

---

Sam B
Inventor Pro 2021.0.1 | Windows 10 Home 1903
LinkedIn

[phlyx · Accepted solution]

Really nice (<--- sarcasm 🙄) when I run across an issue, search for a solution and see that I posted asking the same thing that I'm experiencing now.  Funny thing is the solution was posted but not really as a solution.  I am working on a frame that is composed of 85 parts that when concepting were given bogus names.  Now that it's final every one of those parts has to be saved as <ASSEMBLY #>-XXX (incremental dash number).   So what I was doing is Save and Replace a part and the model tree doesn't update so I have to click on Productivity then Rename Browser Nodes, then from the drop down list pick Part Number.  For each and every part.

SOLUTION?  Yup!  Before even starting the process select Productivty/Rename Browser Nodes and then pick DEFAULT.  Then when I do a Save and Replace the filename AUTOMATICALLY UPDATES IN THE TREE.  And thank you @johnsonshiue for posting the seed that grew into a solution.  👍

[dlongGEC3B]

We encounter this exact issue all the time, and CONTRARY to the assertions by others in the thread, We never manually override the names of parts in the model tree, this issue happens any time component replace is used to replace x part with Y part which may be similar in design but with different features.  It becomes a problem when we look at an assembly with manufacturing, and the part numbers in the model tree don't match up to the BOM. because for some unknown reason Autodesk doesn't automatically update your model tree when you swap parts.  (often happens when changing the length of a bolt, or changing out one optional subassy with another.)  we will have an M8X30 SHCS in the model and the model tree says M8X25 SHCS. unless  you run through rename browser nodes you would never know, until you click on the part and it opens a different file.  Or you look in the Vault tab and the part numbers don't match.  See the attached picture, I replaced the seal tight conduit with a 5ft longer one.  Model tab should update in a normal world but doesn't. you can see that in the vault tab it is looking at 126-000701, but the model still says 126-000700.  INVENTOR... Why did you "Fix" something that wasn't broken only to break it.

[mikejones]

This is a real issue that appears to happen whenever the browser is set to display anything other than the Default setting, i.e. if you run the Rename Browser nodes and set it to Default then it works fine but, if you set it to Part Number or File Name then it doesn't update. No idea why it doesn't work as expected but it is incredibly annoying.

Mike

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Mike,

Unfortunately, it is indeed how it works. When the names are overridden from the default names, they are changed. And, the names persist even after replacement. The issue here is that either way is valid (persist or not persist). But there is no option to choose which one to follow.

Many thanks!