Allow Text to be imported into parameters using linked excel/Linked file

[paul.mcnam]

Hi,

Could the software please please be updated so that text can be imported via an excel spreadsheet the same way numbers can be imported?

Currently the only way is to use iLogic and specify an individual cell. This is problematic and time consuming, and I'm confused why text can't be imported using the same way numbers are. Surely this doesn't require a complicated modification to the software?

As far as low  hanging fruit, surely this could be made a priority??

It will benefit sooo many people, being able to control a table driven model's part numbers, colours, descriptions etc etc without having to fiddle around with additional (and totally unnecessary) text import iLogic rules, having to manually create each user parameter in each model/file and having to specify individual cell locations which if you accidentally move, break...

Thanks!!!!

[detlef_ballack]

It took us some time to understand, how Inventor works in this case exactly.

We know, thats some types from the Excel sheet won't be supported in the part.
Nevertheless the error handling and consistency check should be improved.

1. Parameter "Height 1" creates a message "Variable name contains invalid characters."

2. Parameter "Height2" creates no message

Enhance the warning in #2 as type error.

[inv.ideareview]

Thanks for sharing your Idea. We use this forum to guide product development and help users in the best way we can, based on voting. We occasionally merge Ideas or archive old ones to keep the forum working properly - it ensures there is room for people to review new Ideas and that the most relevant and meaningful ones can gain votes. We’re archiving this Idea because it's been on the board for well over a year and hasn't received many votes from the community. If you want to raise it again and try to gain more support, you're welcome to do so. We’ve found that pictures and mock-ups can help get concepts across and win more votes from other users. If you have questions or see a connection between this Idea and others, let us know. - Inventor product team (Inv.idea review)

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with what you have stated and it would be very helpful to be able to bring in the text from the attached excel file. I've had the same issue and adding a new user parameter to each file totally defeats the purpose of having a single excel sheet attached and linked to multiple files.

[chrisw01a]

Please allow text import from excel just like you can import numbers!

Thank you

[mainmfg]

I agree.  This is a needed fix.  The way I use this it generates a part and a drawing.  The part gets a stamp with a company name and heat number which use text.  The drawing also adds the heat number and a description of the part, the description is all text.  Please rectify this issue.

Thank you in advance.

[davefosz]

I agree with the request. It would be useful to have that option when importing Parameters from Excel via VBA.

I have to use numbers to code some 1-letter codes, but still need some way to import company names or alphanumeric part numbers.

Thanks,

[Anonymous]

Currently their is no way to link a text or true/false parameter from a child file into a parent file. Linking parameters only works for numeric.  

[menno.jorna]

This would indeed be very useful. Please let me know when this function is implemented.

[Anonymous]

That would be an important issue. Got the same problem here, when I tried to engrave a text from an excel sheet:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/how-can-i-engrave-a-text-from-excel/m-p/9649428#M79638...

[Anonymous]

This request is quite old and has several more votes than any other issue I see.  But still yet has not been improved in Inventor.  Anyone have any idea if they will actually listen to the user base?

[Gajus61]

There is only the possibility to link numeric parameters to a model/part. But we often need text e.g. for descriptions or changing materials automatically. This is solved by additionally iLogic-routines to be handled manually, but it would be more easy when text-variables could be linked directly.

[paul_s_mcnamara]

Yeah this is really poor form from Autodesk. I gave up on this request a long time ago and as a result don't utilise table driven models. You'd think 4 years later they would have made the simplest of changes to drastically improve the usability of their software. Very disappointing. I get the feeling no-one from Autodesk actually reads these. Not even a response to say it's too difficult for them due to whatever reasons...

[paul.mcnam]

Ok so I just realised why, this was archived. So we've been talking to no-one....

[paul.mcnam]

Currently with a table driven model, you can link numbers/dimensions directly into your part and assembly files.

Yet you can't do so with Text, so for Part Numbers, Colours, Descriptions etc.

This can only be done using iLogic, which is cumbersome and results in a significant additional amount of work.

Using iLogic you need to create a new parameter within each part file linking to a specific cell in your spreadsheet.

This is ugly because as soon as you change a cell, delete a row, or god forbid try to reformat the hot mess you've created, the link breaks.

This should theoretically be a very simple improvement, and it's disappointing I made this suggestion 4 years ago and it was archived despite 38 upvotes:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/importing-text-user-paramaters-from-excel/td-p/7107639

Can someone from Autodesk rather than archiving and ignoring us, please try to understand the simplicity and the huge benefit of this request?

Thanks.

[paul.mcnam]

Ok let's do this all again.

As this is archived, no-one is listening.

Please now up-vote: 

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-ideas/import-text-user-parameters-from-excel-without-ilogic/...

😐

[jingyi.liu]

@paul.mcnam The idea has been unarchived, indeed the 38 votes were combined by several ideas, I merged them together.

[steven.kiblerK3PPG]

Please get this done, being able to bring text in from excel to iproperties would be a great benefit. I know I have asked for this years ago and still hoping...

[chrisw01a]

👍

[Yijiang.Cai]

Many thanks for posting the idea, and tracked as [INVGEN-60844]