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Custom Ribbon Tabs
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The Goal: Create a custom ribbon tab in the zero document environment labeled "OP".
The Problem: The tab is being created, but the UI is being reset shortly after - removing the new tab.
The Twist: I've disabled every other addin just to make sure nothing external could be affecting it. I also added diagnostics to check whether the new tab still exists internally, and apparently it does, though I cannot see it. Has anybody else encountered this issue or might be able to offer some insight? Perhaps there's something obvious in the code that I've overlooked.
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports Inventor
' This GUID must match the ClassId and ClientId in your .addin file.
' The ComVisible(True) attribute makes this class visible to COM, which is how Inventor finds it.
<GuidAttribute("33B4722C-392E-4E34-9EA3-2E73DD0F1C13"), ComVisible(True)>
Public Class StandardAddInServer
Implements ApplicationAddInServer
Private m_inventorApplication As Application
Private WithEvents m_appEvents As ApplicationEvents
Private m_uiCreated As Boolean = False
' Store references to all created tabs to prevent garbage collection.
Private m_tabs As New List(Of Inventor.RibbonTab)
' Use the user's local app data folder for the log file to avoid permissions issues.
Private ReadOnly m_logFile As String = System.IO.Path.Combine(
System.Environment.GetFolderPath(System.Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData), "NewTabAddin", "log.txt")
Private Sub Log(message As String)
' This function will write a timestamped message to our log file.
Try
Dim logDirectory As String = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(m_logFile)
If Not System.IO.Directory.Exists(logDirectory) Then
System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(logDirectory)
End If
Dim logMessage = $"{DateTime.Now:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.fff} - {message}{vbCrLf}"
System.IO.File.AppendAllText(m_logFile, logMessage)
Catch ex As Exception
' If logging fails, we can't do much, but this prevents a crash.
End Try
End Sub
Public Sub Activate(ByVal addInSiteObject As ApplicationAddInSite, ByVal firstTime As Boolean) Implements ApplicationAddInServer.Activate
Log("--- Add-in Activate Started ---")
m_inventorApplication = addInSiteObject.Application
Log("Successfully acquired Inventor Application object.")
' Hook into the OnReady event. This event fires once Inventor is fully loaded and idle.
' This is the most reliable time to create UI elements.
m_appEvents = m_inventorApplication.ApplicationEvents
Log("ApplicationEvents handler set up. Waiting for OnReady event.")
Log("--- Add-in Activate Finished ---")
End Sub
Private Sub AppEvents_OnReady() Handles m_appEvents.OnReady
Log("--- Inventor OnReady event fired. ---")
' The OnReady event can sometimes fire more than once. The flag ensures we only create the UI once.
If Not m_uiCreated Then
Log("UI not yet created. Proceeding to create UI.")
CreateUserInterface()
m_uiCreated = True
End If
End Sub
Private Sub CreateUserInterface()
Try
Log("CreateUserInterface method started.")
Dim uiMan As UserInterfaceManager = m_inventorApplication.UserInterfaceManager
Log("Successfully acquired UserInterfaceManager.")
If uiMan.InterfaceStyle = InterfaceStyleEnum.kRibbonInterface Then
Log("Ribbon interface is active. Proceeding to create tabs.")
' Define the list of ribbons where the tab should appear.
Dim ribbonNames As String() = {"ZeroDoc", "Part", "Assembly", "Drawing"}
For Each ribbonName In ribbonNames
Try
Dim ribbon As Ribbon = uiMan.Ribbons.Item(ribbonName)
Log($"Successfully acquired '{ribbonName}' ribbon.")
' Use a helper function to create the tab to avoid code duplication.
AddTabToRibbon(ribbon)
Catch ex As Exception
Log($"!!! WARNING: Could not access or modify the '{ribbonName}' ribbon. {ex.Message}")
End Try
Next
Else
Log("Ribbon interface is not active. Aborting UI creation.")
End If
Log("--- UI Creation Finished ---")
Catch ex As Exception
Log($"!!! FATAL ERROR during UI Creation: {ex.ToString()} !!!")
End Try
End Sub
Private Sub AddTabToRibbon(ByVal targetRibbon As Ribbon)
Try
' Check if the tab already exists on this specific ribbon.
Dim existingTab As Inventor.RibbonTab = Nothing
Try
existingTab = targetRibbon.RibbonTabs.Item("id_Tab_OP")
Catch
' Item throws an error if not found, so we catch it and proceed.
End Try
If existingTab IsNot Nothing Then
Log($"Found existing 'OP' tab on ribbon '{targetRibbon.DisplayName}'. No action needed.")
Else
Log($"'OP' tab not found on ribbon '{targetRibbon.DisplayName}', attempting to create it now.")
Dim newTab As Inventor.RibbonTab = targetRibbon.RibbonTabs.Add(
DisplayName:="OP",
InternalName:="id_Tab_OP",
ClientId:="{33B4722C-392E-4E34-9EA3-2E73DD0F1C13}")
' IMPORTANT: Add the new tab to our class-level list to keep it alive.
m_tabs.Add(newTab)
Log($"Successfully created 'OP' tab on ribbon '{targetRibbon.DisplayName}'.")
End If
Catch ex As Exception
Log($"!!! ERROR adding tab to ribbon '{targetRibbon.DisplayName}': {ex.Message}")
End Try
End Sub
Public Sub Deactivate() Implements ApplicationAddInServer.Deactivate
Log("--- Add-in Deactivate ---")
' Clean up all created tab objects.
For Each tab As Inventor.RibbonTab In m_tabs
If tab IsNot Nothing Then
Try
tab.Delete()
Marshal.ReleaseComObject(tab)
Catch ex As Exception
Log($"Error during tab cleanup: {ex.Message}")
End Try
End If
Next
m_tabs.Clear()
If m_inventorApplication IsNot Nothing Then
Marshal.ReleaseComObject(m_inventorApplication)
m_appEvents = Nothing
m_inventorApplication = Nothing
End If
GC.Collect()
GC.WaitForPendingFinalizers()
End Sub
Public ReadOnly Property Automation As Object Implements ApplicationAddInServer.Automation
Get
Return Nothing
End Get
End Property
Public Sub ExecuteCommand(ByVal commandID As Integer) Implements ApplicationAddInServer.ExecuteCommand
' This method is obsolete.
End Sub
End Class
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Addin Type="Standard">
<!-- The Assembly name is the name of your output DLL. -->
<Assembly>NewTab.dll</Assembly>
<!-- The ClientId must match the GUID in your StandardAddInServer class. -->
<ClientId>{33B4722C-392E-4E34-9EA3-2E73DD0F1C13}</ClientId>
<!-- The ClassId must also match the GUID in your StandardAddInServer class. -->
<ClassId>{33B4722C-392E-4E34-9EA3-2E73DD0F1C13}</ClassId>
<DisplayName>New Tab Add-in</DisplayName>
<Description>A simple add-in that creates a new ribbon tab.</Description>
<LoadOnStartup>1</LoadOnStartup>
<UserUnloadable>1</UserUnloadable>
<Hidden>0</Hidden>
<SupportedSoftwareVersionGreaterThan>28</SupportedSoftwareVersionGreaterThan>
</Addin>
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
<PropertyGroup>
<TargetFramework>net8.0-windows</TargetFramework>
<ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
<Nullable>enable</Nullable>
<EnableComHosting>true</EnableComHosting>
<AutoGenerateBindingRedirects>true</AutoGenerateBindingRedirects>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<COMReference Include="Inventor">
<WrapperTool>tlbimp</WrapperTool>
<VersionMinor>0</VersionMinor>
<VersionMajor>1</VersionMajor>
<Guid>d98a091d-3a0f-4c3e-b36e-61f62068d488</Guid>
<Lcid>0</Lcid>
<Isolated>false</Isolated>
<EmbedInteropTypes>False</EmbedInteropTypes>
</COMReference>
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<Reference Include="AdWindows">
<HintPath>C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2026\Bin\AdWindows.dll</HintPath>
<Private>False</Private>
</Reference>
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<None Update="NewTab.addin">
<CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</None>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="PostBuild" AfterTargets="PostBuildEvent">
<Exec Command="xcopy /y /d "$(TargetDir)*.*" "%APPDATA%\Autodesk\Inventor 2026\Addins\"" />
</Target>
</Project>
