Solid vs Surface body issue.

[SMillsYS3X2]

Here is the sequence. I started a new part. Extruded the first sketch as a surface. Then thickened it into a solid. I create the next sketch and try to extrude it as a solid block. I don't even have the option of making it a solid, surface bodies only. 

Do I have to start every part as a solid to prevent that?

[kacper.suchomski]

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@SMillsYS3X2 wrote:

I create the next sketch and try to extrude it as a solid block. I don't even have the option of making it a solid, surface bodies only. 

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If there is no such option in the dialog box, it means that there is no closed loop in the sketch.

[JDMather]

@SMillsYS3X2 

Can you Attach your file here if you can't figure it out?

[SMillsYS3X2]

It was a closed square. I checked starting a sketch from the XY plane and a solid surface. Tried different sketches. Every one extruded as a four sided surface body.

[JDMather]

@SMillsYS3X2 

Can you Attach example file here?

Also, what version of Inventor are you using?

Try clicking on the surface glyph to unhighlight (not a separate solid glyph).

[SMillsYS3X2]

I made a quick part with this problem. I'm trying to create a solid from Sketch2 or Sketch3.

[dan_inv09]

Yes, it is not easy to tell which it is set to do and not intuitive how to switch.

(Didn't it always default to solids and you had to switch to surfaces every time you needed one? Someone must have complained that they had to spend an extra click every time while making nothing but surfaces so now everyone who only uses surfaces only occasionally has to figure out that they need to click to revert manually.)

[SMillsYS3X2]

It seems to take after the first body that is made. Make a new part, make sure the first feature is a solid, and it's easy to switch to Surface if you want to. Start with a Surface, and well that is why I'm asking about it.

[JDMather]

@SMillsYS3X2 

It is not clear to me from your response - did you figure out how to toggle the surface glyph off?

[dan_inv09]

I think that they are saying that there is a bug such that if the first feature in a part is a surface then it won't let you change it.

It seems to work fine for me though.

[navya_gelli]

Hi @SMillsYS3X2,

I wanted to check in and see if you still needed assistance, or if you found a solution to your question already? Let us know if you need further assistance by providing an update or if you have found a solution, please share it with the community so other members who may have the same question could learn from your experience.

All the best,

Navya | Community Manager

[SMillsYS3X2]

Yeah, that's another way to say it.

[dan_inv09]

It's not doing it for me.

[can we no longer add Cut-and-Paste images anymore?]

[SharkDesign · Accepted solution]

Hi, the surface option persists across operations, which means that the button is basically a toggle you need to turn off to get solid again. 

Also, yes it appears you can't paste anymore since they moved to the new Forum software, it sucks!!!!

[dan_inv09]

So, who accepted the solution?

The OP stated that they were able to switch back and forth when their first feature was a solid, so it is not like they just needed a better picture of the "button", the problem as stated was that the button was no longer responsive after making the first feature as a surface. Or maybe I'm the crazy one.

Speaking of being the crazy one - is there a whole bunch of computing out there that I've missed where UIs like this latest set-up is common? It seems like, more and more, I'm having to search for things: they used to be along the top now they're down the side, it used to be a pull-down now they're separate buttons, they used to be separate buttons now it's a pull-down. Has the UI department run out of things to do and now they are changing things just for the sake of change to try and make it seem like they are still useful?

[SMillsYS3X2]

Huh? ... Yeah it was a little tricky. And if you don't have a closed profile it doesn't toggle. Which is where I was having trouble I think.

You know, I'm going to give you a straight answer to what looks like a rant. There are many different software tools with different tools, and different levels of skill needed to use them, and so many different UI styles. There are traditions that persist, but everyone is constantly re-inventing things as tools advance and what worked well 5 years ago doesn't work with the new features. Add in the politics of different people working on different aspects of large software tools and you get features tripping on each other once in obscure parts of the software. Add in trying to prevent an amateur user trying to do things they half heard about or even being tricked my malicious people.... Yeah we've moved away from having all possible tools be visible and useable from pull down menus. Once example, the entire developer tool ribbon is hidden in excel until you deliberately turn it on.

Remember when people were being tricked into formatting their main drive from a DOS command? I do.

[SharkDesign]

There is an option in the new UI to have either dropdown or icons for icon rows. 

You can choose.