2.4.16 Specific settings for Inventor Drawing to AutoCAD module

This module is used to convert an Inventor drawing to an AutoCAD drawing. The publication settings are as follows:

• Defer updates – model will be opened, but there will be no updates

• Publishing application settings:

  • “Vault Inventor Server” – publishing will be running through the Vault Inventor server, which is part of the Vault client (licensed with the Vault client).

  • “Inventor Application” – full Inventor.

• DWG optimization settings – To this field, insert the content of the INI file that can be obtained from the detailed DWG/DXF export options in Inventor. This will enable you to change the layer names, line types, etc.

  • If Vault Inventor Server is selected as a publishing app, the XML file specified in the INI file is ignored when processing the DXF file (e.g., the layers of the DXF file are not renamed).

  • If the Inventor application is selected as a publishing app, the DXF file is processed using the content of both the INI and XML files.

More details on the INI and XML files

How to get the INI and XML files?

1. In Autodesk Inventor, open the Inventor drawing you want to export.

2. Click File > Save As > Save Copy As > DXF Files (*.dxf).

3. Select Options...

4. In the DXF File Export Options window, configure the export settings.

   1. In the Post Process section, select the Customize DWG/DXF checkbox. There, you can specify a file path to the XML file containing instructions on how to process (e.g., rename) layers of the DXF file.

      
   2. Click the Next button.

   3. Adjust other options if needed (they can be adjusted later manually in the INI file).

   4. Click the Save Configuration... button to save the INI file to a hard drive.

5. Navigate to a folder where the XML file (specified in step 4a) is located and edit it.

   1. To rename layers of the resulting DXF file, change the layer name to the name that is present in the drawing, and then set an alternative name. Follow this process for other layers of the drawing. If needed, add more sections with the current layer names.

   2. For other changes (e.g., deleting the layer), follow the instructions at the top of the XML file.

   3. Save the changes to the XML file.

In the piece of code below, the layer 'Viditelná' will be renamed to 'LAY000000000'.

<editLayer>
    <criteria>
        <name>Viditelná</name>
    </criteria>
    <actions>
        <setName>LAY000000000</setName>
    </actions>
</editLayer>

INI file example

In the below INI file example, the DXF file will be saved in AutoCAD 2000 format. Layers will be renamed according to the specification from the XML file referenced in the CUSTOMIZE FILE section. Moreover, all CONTINUOUS lines will be changed to DASHED with a line type scale set to 100.

[EXPORT SELECT OPTIONS]
AUTOCAD VERSION=AutoCAD 2000
CREATE AUTOCAD MECHANICAL=No
USE TRANSMITTAL=No
USE CUSTOMIZE=Yes
CUSTOMIZE FILE=C:\_Vault_Pracovni\CAD_nastaveni\Inventor_Nastaveni\Design Data\DWG-DXF\mylayermodifications2.xml
CREATE LAYER GROUP=Yes
PARTS ONLY=No
REPLACE SPLINE=No
CHORD TOLERANCE=0.001000
[EXPORT PROPERTIES]
SELECTED PROPERTIES=
[EXPORT DESTINATION]
SPACE=Model
SCALING=Geometry
ALL SHEETS=Yes
MAPPING=MapsBest
MODEL GEOMETRY ONLY=No
SHEET CONTENT ONLY=No
EXPLODE DIMENSIONS=No
SYMBOLS ARE BLOCKED=Yes
AUTOCAD TEMPLATE=
DESTINATION DXF=Yes
USE ACI FOR ENTITIES AND LAYERS=No
ALLOW RASTER VIEWS=No
SHOW DESTINATION PAGE=Yes
ENABLE POSTPROCESS=Yes
[EXPORT LINE TYPE & LINE SCALE]
LINE TYPE FILE=C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2024\Compatibility\Support\invISO.lin
Continuous=DASHED;100.
Dashed=DASHED;0.
Dashed Space=DASHED_SPACE;0.
Long Dash Dotted=LONG_DASH_DOTTED;0.
Long Dash Double Dot=LONG_DASH_DOUBLE_DOT;0.
Long Dash Triple Dot=LONG_DASH_TRIPLE_DOT;0.
Dotted=DOTTED;0.
Chain=CHAIN;0.
Double Dash Chain=DOUBLE_DASH_CHAIN;0.
Dash Double Dot=DASH_DOUBLE_DOT;0.
Dash Dot=DASH_DOT;0.
Double Dash Dot=DOUBLE_DASH_DOT;0.
Double Dash Double Dot=DOUBLE_DASH_DOUBLE_DOT;0.
Dash Triple Dot=DASH_TRIPLE_DOT;0.
Double Dash Triple Dot=DOUBLE_DASH_TRIPLE_DOT;0.

XML file example

The below XML file specifies that only Viditelná layer will be renamed to LAY000000000.

This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
<!--  
===========================================================
This file contains the instructions for editing a DWG/DXF
file.

The format of these instructions as follows.   Within a
given pair of <editLayer> tags, the <name> tag specifies
the name of the layer to edit while the <setName> tag
specifies the new name for the layer.


Within a given pair of <addLayer> tags, the <name> tag 
specifies the name of the layer to add.

Within a given pair of <deleteLayer> tags, the <name> tag 
specifies the name of the layer to delete.


New <addLayer>, <deleteLayer>, <editLayer> tags can be added 
in this exact sequence as needed by mimicking the structure 
below.  The tags are processed in the same sequence:
<addLayer>, <deleteLayer>, <editLayer>


Layer 0 cannot be deleted.  Using <deleteLayer> on layer 0
only deletes the entities on the layer.
===========================================================
 -->
<!-- 
===========================================================
                     BEGIN DTD SECTION
Do not modify the DTD section of this file.  It is used to
verify that the content of the file is valid.
===========================================================
 -->
<!-- 
===========================================================
                      END DTD SECTION
===========================================================
 -->
<dwgEdits version="1.0">
<layers>
<!-- 
		<addLayer>
			<criteria>
				<name>MyExtraLayer</name>
			</criteria>
		</addLayer>
 -->
<!-- 
		<deleteLayer>
			<criteria>
				<name>MyExtraLayer</name>
			</criteria>
		</deleteLayer>
 -->
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>Viditelná</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>LAY000000000</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_BEND</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Bend Lines</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_BEND_DOWN</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Bend Lines backside</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_TOOL_CENTER</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Tool Centers</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_TOOL_CENTER_DOWN</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Tool Centers backside</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_ARC_CENTERS</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Arc Centers</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_OUTER_PROFILE</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Outer Profile</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_FEATURE_PROFILES</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Feature Profile</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_FEATURE_PROFILES_DOWN</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Feature Profile backside</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
<editLayer>
<criteria>
<name>IV_INTERIOR_PROFILES</name>
</criteria>
<actions>
<setName>FlatPattern_Interior Profile</setName>
</actions>
</editLayer>
</layers>
</dwgEdits>