Automate printing from BOM lists

[matthewZYUPT]

Is there a way I can make the BOM on a drawing show a column for file location? I want to add a section to the BOM that say "c:/File location/Filename" so i can export it to a excel list then use a macro to open all those file locations and print them. Some of my DWG's are inventor DWG's but some are hard PDF's, just trying to automate printing massive assembly lists and put tags for "hardware", "part", "sub assem", and "major assem".

[tomasz.sztejka]

If actually showing it on drawing is NOT essential for You and just like to get Your hands on files list then You may try:

Open an assembly.

Enter BOM from: Manage->Bill Of material.

Enter "Structured data" tab (Exporting from "Model Data" will NOT work).

Right click on columns headers and select "Runtime column customization". In a "Customization" tiny winny dialog search for "File Path". Drag it to column header. Yeah, figuring out to drag it took me a loooong time.

You can also use "Add Custom iProperty Column" icon to add other information. This is even less intuitive, because this time You do not drag anything, but it works.

This of course will work only on positions which are known to Inventor, so I don't know what is relationship to Your "Hard PDF's". If Inventor does not know the path, it won't be able to show it. If however You do store such information in iProperties then You have an ability to add it too to BOM.

Personally, if Your project BOM contains a huge amount of non-inventor parts I would throw it away from an Inventor drawing and prepare the BOM in speadsheet. On paper they can be made to look the same but a comfort of work with spreadsheet is thousand times better than with Inventor BOM tables.