Expose an Inventor ReadOnly API - InvRO-API

[freesbee]

The idea is to expose an Inventor ReadOnly API in order to allow Inventor ReadOnly compliant addins to work properly.
[PROPOSAL]
The introduction of Inventor ReadOnly was definitely one of the best decisions taken by Autodesk in the last 15 years. The availability of the most powerful 3D program on the market as a self contained viewer free of charge has made a revolution in the field. In certain specific situations there are some limitations in its use, because certain settings and tasks need to be controlled via API which is not available in Inventor ReadOnly. Implementing this idea would address those limitations.

[CURRENT SITUATION]
At the time of writing Inventor ReadOnly (InvRO hereinafter) does not load third party addins (more details in this forum post). This decision has been taken to avoid non-legitmate usages of Inventor from the API side, as it could be possible accessing some methods that save files on the harddrive. This would violate the InvRO philosophy. One exception has been done for 3DConnexion, as this is clearly an "input addin" that is only intended to affect the visualizing of documents, without producing any save action. Nevertheless there can be other addins that do not violate the InvRO philosophy, which would be needed to be loaded in order to optimize functionality and performance of Inventor ReadOnly. This limitation should be corrected (user cases will follow).

[WHY is an InvRO-API needed?]
Following this post the first two examples of InvRO compliant actions that should be allowed to be performed by an addin, as they do not violate the InvRO philosophy. Other users are welcome to post their own user stories where an InvRO-API would be required. This way, when this idea will come to a sufficient amount of votes to be considered, there will be already some literature for the development team to work on it.

[CONCLUSION]

@loren_welch  always asks me "how many more licenses will I sell with this feature?"
I can already answer: many decision makers would gladly consider to adopt Inventor as a CAD system if they knew that a powerful viewer as InvRO is available and can be seamlessly integrated in their system. I've already seen it with my eyes.

If you like this Idea and if you like Inventor ReadOnly in general please consider to support also the other idea to address the limitation of InvRO not being able to open all AnyCAD supported files.

For those who are interested a link to a video demonstrating how to build an Inventor ReadOnly deployment will be posted under here in the upcoming weeks.

[freesbee]

Example 1

In all modern implementations Inventor is operated on a local workspace (inventor files MUST be stored on the local harddrive), as recommended by the Autodesk Inventor team in the literature to optimize its performance. In this specific context it is mandatory that the active IPJ file is properly handled and enforced. Without an InvRO-API there is no systematic way to enforce the correct IPJ file, so the experience on InvRO cannot be granted. There might be workarounds via registry, but these would not be optimal.

[freesbee]

Examples 2 and 3

In the first year of usage of InvRO as a self contained viewer (about 60 "pure InvRO installations" altogether) the most required missing feature turned out to be the possibility to use the "Open Drawing" command. This Inventor command has been heavily improved in the last years, but no flavor of its implementation will work reliably in most PDM systems for several sequential reasons:

1. the IDW could have a different filename than the 3Dmodel. This happens in many PDM systems
2. the IDW could be in a different location than the 3Dmodel, so 3 levels down does not bring any advantage (it is only a performance eater). This happens in most systems
3. the IDW will not even be there when the user wants to "open the drawing": this happens in ALL systems with local workspace management

For these 3 reasons, but in particular for the 3rd one, it is necessary that when the user wants to open a drawing, the PDM integration pumps the right IDW in the right place and loads it into InvRO. This specific problem cannot be solved on the Inventor/InvRO side: there should be a "PDM System > Show Drawing" command that does the right job, as for example it is demonstrated in the image below (where the PDM in use is "GAIN Collaboration"). This does not violate the ReadOnly philosophy, and it is the most requested feature ever.

InvRO legitimate actions

The same could be said for other PDM commands shown here, as for example the "PDM System > Properties" command (a few lines above the "Show Drawing") which shows to the user information regarding the selected component which are NOT available in Inventor.

[freesbee]

Example 4: non-document-related commands and routines

Since Inventor ReadOnly is mostly used as a powerful viewer there are situations when handling visuals properly can be very beneficial. Some inventor features, as for example toggling the background color, or the part sectioning or the line thickness, are not that immediate to be reached by non inventor users. Therefore some addins allow quick toggling of such inventor settings, without violating the ReadOnly philosophy, and make users generally happier. Such commands can be sped up only via API, and should be allowed in ReadOnly mode.

Three "ReadOnly compliant" use cases are described here below.

Case 1: Night and Day

This command allows users to switch from their favorite background mode & visual style...

user favorite working environment

...to something specifically tuned for clear communication with other parties, and back.

environment tuned for clear communication

Technical redactors often generate visuals for their purposes. Such visuals are normally optimized in vector graphics programs. With inventor ReadOnly they can leverage this tool to streamline their work without having to bother the engineering team, and quickly toggling between visual styles can simplify their daily tasks.

Case 2: brake them all!

Similarly to case 1, there are situations where standard parts need to be quickly sectioned. Again this is only a visualization change and does not affect the document itself. The command "brake them all!" toggles this inventor setting:

brake them all needed

and offers a quick way to get where users need to:

part sectioning toggled

This happens without modifying the document itself, therefore it should be allowed in Inventor ReadOnly as well.

Case 3: line thickness

While dealing with drawings there are situations when line thickness can be helpful, and others when they are annoying. Being the setting several clicks away from the user, a toggle command in this area can be also convenient. This way users can quickly toggle between a mode optimized for overall view:

line thickness active

to another mode that is optimized for details:

details