How can I fix the sectiondrawingview which is missing sectionlinesketch?

[Stakin]

Hi,

I don't know why, but some of the section views on my drawing have lost the section line sketch, which has completely disappeared from the model browser, and the section symbols are squeezed in the center of the view. I'm not sure if it's possible to add a new section line sketch to these views through the API to restore them.

[patrick.omalley2BXT6]

I might be able to help with this a bit...probably need some more details on the specific situation though.

I can answer the "is it possible through the Inventor API?" question right away...Yes, it is definitely possible to create a drawing sketch through the API and use it to create a section view. I do this quite frequently for both parts and subassemblies when creating fully automated detail drawings. However, there are many ways to do this depending on the specifics of the circumstances and the scope of the solution required.

Can you give some more detail than the image gives? Such as:

1. How were the original section views created?
2. How were the original drawing sketch lines created? (Were there model references or other sketch geometry references used?)
3. How many section views exist on a drawing sheet? (Is there a uniformity to the number of section views per sheet? Or is it just as required?)
4. How many drawing sheets exist in a drawing file? (Is there a uniformity to the number of drawing sheets per file? Or is it just as required?)
5. How many drawing files are affected?
6. How long do you think it would take to make the fixes manually?
7. How fast do you need a solution?
8. Does the solution have to be 100% automated? Or can some user input be tolerated?
9. How familiar are you with the inventor API and programming in general?
10. Is there a specific programming target language that you are very strong in? Or does it not matter?

I might have some example code I could share but right now it's very specific to my automation procedures and overall automation workflow--and likely not general enough to post here for a solution. Therefore, if I get a better idea of the solution scope, then I can probably generalize some code so it will be useful to almost anyone dealing with a similar issue.

[Stakin]

@patrick.omalley2BXT6 ：

Thank you for your reply. At present, all such problems occur in large assembly files, so it is inconvenient to upload drawings and models. hope for your understanding.

1 How were the original section views created?

These sectional views were manually established

2 How were the original drawing sketch lines created? (Were there model references or other sketch geometry references used?)

These sketches are associated with the model geometry for positioning

3 How many section views exist on a drawing sheet? (Is there a uniformity to the number of section views per sheet? Or is it just as required?)

This drawing has over 80 views,maybe 8-10 views per sheet.

4 How many drawing sheets exist in a drawing file? (Is there a uniformity to the number of drawing sheets per file? Or is it just as required?)

There are a total of 12 sheets, and in fact, these 12 sheets only have one parent view, which is the first view of the first sheet. All other views are directly or indirectly generated from this view.

5 How many drawing files are affected?

There are some drawings with missing section line sketches, but it's unclear why this is happening. The model was not modified, and the drawing lost its own sketch lines. In fact, this was deleted without a legal representative. As long as the section line sketch is deleted, the section view will be deleted together. I can't understand how this happened.

When it occurs, the cutting symbol will shrink back to the middle of the view, as shown in the above figure; The view will appear as shown in the following image.(The cutting symbol and its view are not on the same sheet.)

6 How long do you think it would take to make the fixes manually?

Time is not a problem, in fact, I have backups of these drawings. I want to find a way to fix these bad views instead of recreating，because there are many annotations on the views, which can also provide solutions for similar problems in the future.

7 How fast do you need a solution?

It's not urgent now, the problem is to find a breakthrough to solve it.

8 Does the solution have to be 100% automated? Or can some user input be tolerated?

Both manual and automatic are acceptable, just to find a solution

9 How familiar are you with the inventor API and programming in general?

I have some knowledge about the inventor API.

10 Is there a specific programming target language that you are very strong in? Or does it not matter?

What I often use is VB Net， Of course, other languages are also possible.

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I hope to receive your help.
Also, I am very interested in the automation procedures and overall automation workflow you mentioned,I really hope to learn about it, please give me more guidance. Thank you.

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@patrick.omalley2BXT6 wrote:

I might be able to help with this a bit...probably need some more details on the specific situation though.

I can answer the "is it possible through the Inventor API?" question right away...Yes, it is definitely possible to create a drawing sketch through the API and use it to create a section view. I do this quite frequently for both parts and subassemblies when creating fully automated detail drawings. However, there are many ways to do this depending on the specifics of the circumstances and the scope of the solution required.

Can you give some more detail than the image gives? Such as:

1. How were the original section views created?
2. How were the original drawing sketch lines created? (Were there model references or other sketch geometry references used?)
3. How many section views exist on a drawing sheet? (Is there a uniformity to the number of section views per sheet? Or is it just as required?)
4. How many drawing sheets exist in a drawing file? (Is there a uniformity to the number of drawing sheets per file? Or is it just as required?)
5. How many drawing files are affected?
6. How long do you think it would take to make the fixes manually?
7. How fast do you need a solution?
8. Does the solution have to be 100% automated? Or can some user input be tolerated?
9. How familiar are you with the inventor API and programming in general?
10. Is there a specific programming target language that you are very strong in? Or does it not matter?

I might have some example code I could share but right now it's very specific to my automation procedures and overall automation workflow--and likely not general enough to post here for a solution. Therefore, if I get a better idea of the solution scope, then I can probably generalize some code so it will be useful to almost anyone dealing with a similar issue.

---

[patrick.omalley2BXT6]

Thanks for your responses--they help immensely.

Just a few, very quick, follow-up questions based on your answers:

1. What version of Inventor are you using where this strange behavior is manifesting? (I don't know if I've ever seen Inventor behave like you're describing. As you noted, typically, when the section line sketch is deleted, one loses the entire section view. For reference, I currently do development in Inventor 2022, 2024, and 2025.)

2. Out of curiosity, when the original section line sketches were made, what type of model geometry was used (e.g. face, edge, silhouette edge, a specific feature like a chamfer or rounded edge)? Did you use any work features such as an axis or work plane?

3. Regarding the original method of creation of the section sketch lines, did you use the "Project" command in the drawing sketch environment?

[Stakin · Accepted solution]

I am currently using the 2023 version and I have identified the cause of the issue is a bug of version 2023: where a section view sketch was corrupted when the model was updated (INVGEN-63160), solved in the 2024 version.
https://help.autodesk.com/view/INVNTOR/2024/ENU/?guid=Inventor_ReleaseNotes_release_notes_fixed_defe...

It seems that I need to upgrade my software to a new version.

[patrick.omalley2BXT6]

You read my mind: as soon as you told me what Inventor version you were working with (and I guessed it was 2023), I was going to go take a look at the bug fixes and known issues--because, as I mentioned: I don't recall ever seeing Inventor behave in this "undocumented" manner. But now it's clear that the reason is because our company skipped the Inventor 2023 release and jumped right to 2024.

So two questions:
1. Are you planning to upgrade to Inventor 2024 to see if the drawings "self-fix"? (I'm not certain they will if the section views are corrupted--they may have to be recreated to eliminate the corruption.)
2. Are you still interested in the automation of section line sketches? If so, maybe we create a new thread that discusses creation methodology in the context of a larger automation process. If not, when I get time (whatever that is lol) maybe I'll just create a post that walks through the process.

Glad you were able to identify the root cause though--that's half the battle.