Check assembly BOM customization and columns?

[bshbsh]

Hi,

is there any way to check if a specific column (vendor) is present in the custom BOM columns configuration of an assembly?

We have a lot of assemblies from different sources/time periods with wildly different BOM setups, and I'd like to update those that do not have specific columns, by importing a fixed structure.

However I do not want to do this every single time, so I want to check if the critical columns are there or not, and only import settings if really necessary.

But I have no idea how to check for columns in the BOM.

The only way I'm able to tell is to try to sort the BOM by those columns, and if it gives an error then I know the column is not present. The problem is, I do not want to sort the BOM (if it doesn't fail).

Is there any other way to check for columns?

[marcin_otręba]

I think it is not possible...instead of this just import customization template each time by code:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-customization/change-default-bill-of-materials-editor-views/...

[DRoam]

I really wish we could do this, too. I'd like to be able to add, remove, and reorder columns with the API. We've settled for providing a button that our users can click which imports an XML customization file, as @bshbsh recommended, which does a complete overhaul on the BOM and sets it up with the columns we need. Unfortunately, this wipes out any custom columns they may have added. And it is probably slower than a direct API customization would be.

[marcin_otręba]

It is possible to programicaly export existing bom columns as  xml then compare it with given xml template and read it to inventor with some mods.. the same it is possible to build xml config file from beginning with given columns for example from template file ang give end user possibility to choose whatever he wants... i could do that...

[DRoam]

I think the XML files behind BOM customization are pretty complex, but if you're willing to undertake that, those would be some nice capabilities to have until we get BOM customization via the API.