Problem With Linking Spreadsheet

[matt_johnson35]

I'm having a problem with linking/embedding an excel spreadsheet. I go to the Parameters window and click LINK, click on the spreadsheet, set the starting cell (K4), and click open and this is what I get. Any idea on what I'm doing wrong?

[andrewiv · Accepted solution]

First off, the cell that you would want to start in is the name of the parameter you are bringing over, not the value.  So your start cell should be J4.  Next, I'm pretty sure you cannot link parameters that are text, so any of the parameters that you're trying to bring over have to be numbers.  And finally I think that you have to have all of the parameters in a continuous column, meaning that there should be no breaks between the parameters.  If I were you, I would re-create your list and get rid of the headers and text vaues.

[matt_johnson35]

Thanks!

[JDMather]

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@andrewiv wrote:

.. I would re-create your list and get rid of the headers and text vaues.

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I see no trouble with headers, and I didn't see any text values?

The trouble I saw was spaces between variable cells.
I saw spaced in the variable names.

Inventor runs from the Start cell till it hits a blank variable cell (or error) and then stops.

[andrewiv]

The headers I was talking about are the bold words in column J, (BasePad, PartitionLength, & Partition Width).  Inventor would try to read these as parameter names and since there is blank cells next to them it would stop there like you said.  The text values I was refferring to are RolledTop, CorrMaterial, CorrColor, CorrLengthMat.  All the variable cells for these paramters have text in them, not numbers.  Unless there's something I don't know about, Inventor doesn't read text parameters from a spreadsheet.

[JDMather]

I use spread sheets like that all the time.

The format is

Variable_Name, Value, Unit (if not specified Inventor will use document units), Comments.

Anthing past the Comments column is ignored (not error)

I make good use of this by having other caculations, look-up tables, whatever that are linked back into the values for the Variable_Names.

[andrewiv]

Just so I'm clear on this.  Are you saying that If I link the spreasheet, and use J4 as a starting cell, it will give me a parameter named RolledTop with a value of TRUE?

I cannot get this to happen, so if there is a way I would love to know.

[JDMather]

No. 

It wouldn't make sense for J4 to be the start cell. 

That doesn't mean information in other cells couldn't control values in the variable cells.