Need to display table for long ipart table

[karthur1]

I have an ipart with more that 1000 member rows. I would like to see the table so that I can generate the members.  One limitation they have put in iparts is the table will only display if there are fewer than 1000 members.  In older versions of Inventor, I could add a DWORD (MaxRowInBrowser) to the proper folder in the system registry to temporarily overcome this limitation.  The registry location that I used in the past was:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\Inventor\RegistryVersion xx\System\Preferences\Catalog

I just tried to add this with Inventor 2018 and the "Catalog" folder is not there, so I am not sure now where to add this new DWORD.

Can someone tell me what the proper folder would be?

Thanks

[philip1009]

I think if it were possible to display larger tables Autodesk would have already activated that feature.  In case the solution can't be found in the registry, the next best solution is iLogic.  Here's the code I use to generate the members of an iAssembly Factory:

oDoc = ThisDoc.Document
oTxn = ThisApplication.TransactionManager.StartTransaction(oDoc, "iAssembly Generation")
iAF = oDoc.ComponentDefinition.iAssemblyFactory

'Activate this code to generate all members in the Factory.
For Each oRow As iAssemblyTableRow In iAF.TableRows
	iAF.CreateMember(oRow)
Next

'Activate this code to generate single members or a group of members based on row numbers.
'For i = 1 To 1500
'	oDoc.ComponentDefinition.iAssemblyFactory.CreateMember(i)
'Next

oTxn.End

And here's the same code for iPart Factory:

oDoc = ThisDoc.Document
oTxn = ThisApplication.TransactionManager.StartTransaction(oDoc, "iPart Generation")
iPF = oDoc.ComponentDefinition.iPartFactory

'Activate this code to generate all members in the Factory.
For Each oRow As iPartTableRow In iPF.TableRows
	iPF.CreateMember(oRow)
Next

'Activate this code to generate single members or a group of members based on row numbers.
'For i = 1 To 1500
'	oDoc.ComponentDefinition.iPartFactory.CreateMember(i)
'Next

oTxn.End

While using the code, keep an eye on your RAM usage via Task Manager etc.  I've found that when RAM usage for Inventor goes above 4GB the generation starts to slow down.  At that point, close Inventor via Task Manager, put the row number to start from, then let it keep going.

[karthur1]

Thanks for that, but I already have a code to do that.  I already have all but a few new members generated.  It will take a while to generate all of them.  Just thought it would be faster to generate the ones I need.

[cbenner]

@karthur1 

How about this, edit the ipart family in Excel, and save a copy of it.  Then use that to place a table.  I assume you want to place it in a drawing?

[philip1009]

I think this is about displaying the list of members in the model browser so each member can be right-clicked and generated without having to resort to iLogic or other methods.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Kirk,

The old trick should still work. You just need to manually add the registry folder and key. If I recalled correctly, the restriction has been removed on 2019 and 2020.

Many thanks!

[karthur1]

Johnson,

I tried adding the missing folder and key, but no joy.  I got around it by just adding the new members to a temporary iam file.

Thanks,

Kirk

[johnsonshiue · Accepted solution]

Hi Kirk,

It should work. You may need to edit the table after you add the registry key so that the member rows all appear in the browser. Also, it only works for List by Member, not List by Keys.

Many thanks!

[karthur1]

After I added the registry hack....I had to add a row in my table before it would display.

Thanks

[philip1009]

Are there plans to add this function to List by Keys in the future?  Is there a reason why this isn't enabled by default instead of having to do some registry hack?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! If I recalled correctly, iPart/iAssembly was built in 32-bit machine days with only up-to 3GB RAM allowed and limited graphics. The limit was added to avoid performance hit when the number of nodes is large. Now, any decent PC is like a super computer in the old days. The limitation is irrelevant now. I recall we remove the restriction in 2019. You don't need the registry key to see all rows. It should work for List as Key too.

Many thanks!

[philip1009]

I'm on 2019.3 and once I go over roughly 1000 rows none of the members are selectable in the model browser.  I have to open the table and Set As Default Row in order to switch between members and resort to iLogic to generate members.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! I am sorry for my bad memory. I just checked the internal defect. The issue was resolved on 2020, not 2019. For 2019 and earlier, you still need to use the registry setting.

Many thanks!

[karthur1]

---

@johnsonshiue wrote:

Hi! I am sorry for my bad memory. I just checked the internal defect. The issue was resolved on 2020, not 2019. For 2019 and earlier, you still need to use the registry setting.

Many thanks!

---

Johnson,

I am using 2020.2 now and just opened a large ipart with 1008 rows.  The table is not shown.  Just to see, I added a row to the table, but that did not help.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Kirk,

It seems to work for me. I am able to show all 1000+ members in the browser. Did you set it to List by Member? I don't think it will work if it is List by Key (even with the registry hack before).

If it still does not work, please send the file to me directly ([email protected]). I would like to understand the behavior better.

Many thanks!

[karthur1]

Just sent you the ipart.

Thanks

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Kirk,

Many thanks for sending me the file! Like we discussed in the email, the reason why the 1000+ members are not shown is because of the Key columns. When there are Key columns, the number of rows shown is always limited to 1000 or less regardless of 2020 or 2019 with registry key.

To show all the 1000+ member rows, you need to remove the keys from the table.

Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Just out of curiosity : why and how can an iPart need this number of entries ?

[karthur1]

We use it for bolt families of structural fasteners (ASTM A325, A490... etc) .  Different diameter, length, material grade, finish can run up the number of occurances pretty quickly.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Alex,

We do have enterprise customers having a large collection of similar parts or assemblies. These parts may have subtle differences but they carry different part numbers.

Another way to look at it is the fact that you do need to elaborate all the permutations. For example, if you have a part family with 30 different lengths  and 30 different widths. Assuming each length can pair with any width, you will have 900 members. The more variations, the bigger the table becomes. Plus, there could be non-geometric differences. It is quite easy to get a large table.

Many thanks!