Overview

How to create a range of drawing templates for different purposes, and in each one, customize standard drawing features
such as title blocks and sheet sizes.
Topics in this section

About Drawings Workflow

When you open a drawing file, it opens with a default sheet containing the border, title block, and other elements
specified in the template.

To Work with Drawings

You can copy and update properties, replace model references, apply design view, and show or hide dimensions or
weld annotation in the view.

About the Drawing Browser

The drawing browser displays drawing resources, drawing sheets, drawing views, referenced models, and objects
placed on drawing sheets.

About Templates for Drawings

Each new drawing is created from a template; the default template is specified by the default drafting standard set in
Application Options.

To Work with Templates for Drawings

How to customize templates to better suit your work process.

To Work with Drawing Resources

These resources include standard items such as object formats, sheet formats, borders, title blocks, and sketches.

To Work with Sheets and Sheet Formats

Control sheet size, layout, standard views, and other features.

To Work with Drawing Borders

Replace the default border with a custom border and set properties, such as specified zones and text style.

To Work with Title Blocks

You can customize title block formats in the standard drawing templates or you can create your own title block
formats.
About Automatic Drawing Updates

Control automated updates to save a drawing at a specific stage of the design.

About Drawings Workflow

When you open a drawing file, it opens with a default sheet containing the border, title block, and other elements specified
in the template.

To create a drawing, you open a template, format it as desired, create drawing views, and add annotations. When finished,
you can print the drawing.

Defining a Drawing Template

You can use any predefined template, or a custom template that incorporates conventions and standard elements.

Standard drawing templates are installed with Autodesk Inventor. During installation, you specify which standard to use
as the default. Your selection adds the appropriate default drawing template to the Templates directory.

The default template is Standard.idw, which you can customize.

You can format the drawing by customizing sheet, border, or title block formats, and editing the drafting standard and
annotation styles.

Specifying Drawing Views

Start by specifying a base view. Select a part or assembly file for the view, and specify a design view representation if the
file is an assembly. You can create views of multiple parts or assemblies in the same drawing.
In an assembly, turn off visibility of those components that should not be seen in a drawing view. Save the simplified
view in a design view representation and use it to generate uncluttered drawing views.

If your sheet format includes predefined drawing views, views are added automatically.

Adding Drawing Annotations

After placing views, you add annotations. You can use the model dimensions defined in the design phase or add drawing
dimensions that serve as annotations but do not alter the model. You can change model dimensions from the drawing, if
that option was selected when Autodesk Inventor was installed.

A drawing sketch is a special form of annotation. In Inventor, it acts as an overlay view to a drawing sheet. After you
close a sketch, you can add drawing dimensions and associate symbols to the sketch geometry.

Printing a Drawing
You can print all or just part of your drawing. You can print IDW, 2D DWF, and DWG files.

Model iProperties in Drawings

You can copy values of selected model iProperties to the drawing iProperties on the first view creation. Model iProperties
are copied and updated in the drawing from a source model.

The Additional Custom Model iProperty Source option in drawing Document Settings lets you make custom iProperties
from an external file available in the drawing.

About the Drawing Browser

The drawing browser displays drawing resources, drawing sheets, drawing views, referenced models, and objects placed
on drawing sheets.

Sheets are arranged in the order of creation. You can expand a sheet to display its views and the parts that comprise the
view. To change the order of a sheet, drag it to a new position in the hierarchy.

Only one sheet is active at a time. All other sheets are shaded in the browser. To activate a sheet, double-click its name.

Drawing Resources. Shows the sheet formats, borders, title blocks, and sketch symbols that are available in the drawing.
(Sketch Symbols also shows the sketch symbol definition.) You double-click a drawing resource to add it to a drawing
sheet.

Sheets show the sheets in the drawing. The border, title block, and views on a sheet are listed under the sheet name in the
browser. The displayed sheet is highlighted; all other sheets are shaded in the browser.
Views. Shows the views on each sheet in the browser.

Related Information

About Styles in Drawings

Drawing Views

Drawing Annotations

About the Drawing Browser

The drawing browser displays drawing resources , drawing sheets, drawing views, referenced models, and objects placed
on drawing sheets.

For more information on search, see Inventor Browser.

Sheets are arranged in the order of creation. You can expand a sheet to display its views and the parts that comprise the
view. To change the order of a sheet, drag it to a new position in the hierarchy.

Only one sheet is active at a time. All other sheets are shaded in the browser. To activate a sheet, double-click its name.

Drawing Resources. Shows the sheet formats, borders, title blocks, and sketch symbols that are available in the drawing. (
Sketch Symbols also show the sketch symbol definition.) You double-click a drawing resource to add it to a drawing
sheet.

Sheets show the sheets in the drawing. The border, title block, and views on a sheet are listed under the sheet name in the
browser. The displayed sheet is highlighted, all other sheets are shaded in the browser.

Views. Shows the views on each sheet in the browser.

State icons inform you about the current drawing condition, for example, they display for deferred drawings or an out-of-
date view or model. For a list of drawing browser icons and their associated objects see the Drawing Browser Reference.

Related Information

Inventor Browser
About Templates for Drawings

Each new drawing is created from a template; the default template is specified by the default drafting standard set in
Application Options.

You can use this template or another predefined template, modify one of the predefined templates, or create your own
templates to enforce conventions.

Your drawing template can include borders, title blocks, annotations on drawing sheets such as custom symbols, notes,
revision tables, and view definitions. View annotations and general notes are not saved in a template.

Drawing templates are stored in a Templates folder specified by the current project. The Templates item in the Folder
Option node in the Project list shows the location of Autodesk Inventor template files. Files in the Templates folder also
appear on the Default tab of the New dialog. The New dialog also displays a tab for each subfolder in the Templates
folder.

Setting up Drawing Resources, Sheets, and Default Views

The Drawing Resources folder in the Drawing browser contains folders for sheet formats, title blocks, borders, and sketch
symbols that you can use to add and set up new sheets. You can customize or add to the drawing resources, and then save
them in your template file.

You can add a sheet format to the template for each sheet definition you need in a new drawing. After defining sheets in
drawing resources, you can add them to a template.

The sheets in a drawing can each be created with a different sheet format. To change the format of the first sheet in the
drawing, add a sheet with the appropriate format, and then delete the first sheet.

You can add default base views or projected views to the sheet formats in a template. Use any model to add the views.
The template saves the information about the standard views. When you create a file from the template, you are prompted
to select the model file from which to create the views.

Drafting Standard and Styles

The active drafting standard specifies styles used to format dimensions, text, line weights, terminators, and other drawing
annotations and properties.

To ensure the correct drafting standard in all drawings, use the Style and Standard Editor to specify the drafting standard
in a template.
NOTE:When using a style library, style definitions are refreshed from the library when creating a file using a template.
DWG Templates

To create DWG files fully editable in AutoCAD, translate Inventor drawings to AutoCAD DWG format. Translation
exports files more accurately, and less cleanup in AutoCAD is needed.

Inventor needs a valid drawing template file when opening AutoCAD .dwg files. The default drawing template file
(Standard.dwg) is located in the Templates folder. If appropriate, you can replace the default template with a customized
Standard.dwg file.

When you use a template to open an AutoCAD file, all AutoCAD data is removed, except for block definitions. Any
AutoCAD data that needs to remain on a sheet must be placed into a block.

Guidelines for Creating Drawing Templates

Create title block formats, custom borders, and sketch symbols before creating the sheet formats.

Copy and paste resources from the browser of one drawing to the browser of another.

Rename sheet formats, borders, title blocks, or sketch symbols. Select the object to rename and slow-click the name to
enclose it in an edit box, and then enter a new name.

Sort the drawing resources by name in the browser. Right-click the Sheet Formats, Borders, Title Blocks, or Sketch
Symbols entry, and then select Sort by Name.

Reorder the drawing resources. Drag a sheet format, border, title block, or sketch symbol and drop it at the appropriate
position in the browser.

To copy drawing resources from one source file to multiple destination files, use the Drawing Resource Transfer wizard.

To Work with Templates for Drawings

How to customize templates to better suit your work process.

Change the Default Drafting Standard

Click Configure Default Template on the File tab of the Application Options dialog.

In the Configure Default Templates dialog, select the desired drafting standard.

Locate Drawing Templates

In Autodesk Inventor, click File Manage Projects.

Expand the Folder Options node in the Project list.

If the location is [Default], place the cursor over the Templates item to display the path.

Add Tabs for Templates to the New Dialog

Create new subfolders in the Templates folder, and then add template files to them.

Make a Template the Default Template

Any template can be the default template for new drawings.

To avoid overwriting the existing default template, move or rename the existing standard template before saving the new
template.

Save the template in the Templates folder with the file name standard .idw or standard .dwg.

Specify Document Settings and iProperties for Templates

You can specify properties such as cost center, project name, or manager, and then save them as part of the template. Use
Properties to add and maintain information automatically in title blocks, borders, sketched symbols, and text, or to track
and manage files using Design Assistant.

Click Tools tab Options panel Document Settings.

In the Document Settings dialog, set template options.

Topics in this section

To Create Templates for Drawings

You can create a template for drawings from a drawing that uses an existing or IDW template or from an AutoCAD
file.

To Create a DWG Template from an AutoCAD File

You create a DWG template from an AutoCAD file by opening an AutoCAD drawing file and specifying a new
standard.

To Create Templates for Drawings

You can create a template for drawings from a drawing that uses an existing or IDW template or from an AutoCAD file.

Create a Template from a Drawing that Uses an Existing Template

 1. Click File New, select an .idw template, and then
click OK.

2. Customize settings in the Tools tab Options panel

Document Settings dialog.

3. Customize drawing resources by creating custom

drawing borders, title blocks, sheet formats, or sketch
symbols, or by copying drawing resources from
another file.

4. Add sheets in the drawing.

5. Do the following to customize the template:

 (Optional) Replace the existing border and title

block in the drawing.

 Specify the drafting standard and styles in Style and

Standard Editor.

 Place the default base views and projected views.

 Add note text, revision tables, and sketch symbols to

the sheet.

6. Save the file in the Templates folder.

Create a DWG Template from an IDW Template

1. In Autodesk Inventor, click File New, select an .idw

template, and then click OK.

2. Click File Save As Save Copy As.

3. In the Save Copy As dialog, locate the Templates

folder.

4. From the Save As Type list, select Inventor Drawing

Files (.dwg).

Related Information

 Define a sketch symbol

To Create a DWG Template from an AutoCAD File

You create a DWG template from an AutoCAD file by opening an AutoCAD drawing file and specifying a new standard.

You then edit the new standard and Object Defaults style. Finally, you purge unused styles. If you want, you can also save
the template styles to the Styles Library. If the AutoCAD file is an AutoCAD drawing template (.dwt), you must rename a
copy as a DWG file (.dwg) before opening it in Autodesk Inventor.

Open the Template

1. In Inventor, click File Open. From the Files of Type

list, select AutoCAD drawings (* .dwg). Then select an
AutoCAD DWG file, and click Open.

2. Save the file as an Autodesk Inventor DWG file in the

Templates folder.

Create a New Standard

You create a new Standard style based on an existing style you select. Before you edit the style, you remove the old
Standard and object defaults styles to avoid confusion when editing the styles later.

1. In Inventor, click Manage tab Styles and Standards

panel Styles Editor to open the dialog box.

2. In the style list browser, expand Standard at the top of

the list, and right-click the Default Standard (ANSI)
style. Select New Style from the context menu.

3. Name the new standard style and click OK.

4. In the style list browser, double-click the new standard

to activate it.

5. In the style list browser, expand Object Defaults and

right-click the Object Defaults (ANSI) style. Select
New Style from the context menu.

6. In the New Style Name dialog, enter a unique name for

the new style, verify that Add to Standard is checked,
and then click OK.
 7. In the style list browser, right-click the old standard
style and select Purge Style and Sub Styles. Click Yes
in the Purge Unused Styles and Sub-Styles dialog.

Edit the Standard

1. Select the new standard in the style list browser.

2. Click the Available Styles tab.

3. Select Dimension in the Style Type list, and then

specify the dimension styles in the template you want
to include in the standard.

4. Specify Layers and Text in the Style Type list.

Edit the Object Defaults Style

1. In the style list browser, select the new Object Defaults

style.

2. Find the Linear Dimension object in the Object Type

list.

3. Click the corresponding value in the Object Style

column to change the default dimension style for linear
dimensions to one of the dimension styles from the
template.

4. Click the corresponding value in the Layer column to

change the default layer to one of the template layers.

5. Repeat step 4 to remap dimension and text objects to

use template styles and layers. Remap the rest of the
objects that are not dimensions or text to use template
layers. (Such objects have no corresponding object
styles in AutoCAD, so their object styles can be left
alone.)

6. Click Save to save the Object Defaults style, and then

click Done.

Purge Unused Styles

If there are styles you want to keep but you did not select them in Object Defaults, you can select them on the Available
Styles tab in the standard to prevent them from being purged.

1. In Inventor, click Manage tab Styles and Standards

panel Purge.

2. In the Purge Styles dialog, for each style, click the

corresponding value in the Purge? column to select or
deselect the style to purge.

(Optional) Save to the Styles Library

You save the styles in the template to the Styles library for future use and sharing. Because you created a new standard
style and object defaults style, you do not receive styles conflict messages when using this template if you do not save to
the library.

 In Inventor, click Manage tab Styles and Standards

panel Save.

To Work with Drawing Resources

These resources include standard items such as object formats, sheet formats, borders, title blocks, and sketches.

Drawing resources appear in the Drawing Resources folder at the top of the browser.

The Drawing Resources folder contains object formats. When you place a resource in the drawing, you place an instance
of the object.

You can copy drawing resources such as sheet formats, borders, title blocks, and sketches from one drawing and paste
them in a different drawing. In the target drawing, you can edit the resource definition. If a title block format is copied to
another drawing, prompted entries transfer correctly only if they match exactly in the source and target files.

Add a Drawing Resource to a Drawing

1. Expand a Drawing Resources folder to list its contents.

2. Double-click the drawing resource.

Copy Drawing Resources to Another Drawing

If a drawing resource of the same name exists in the target drawing, you can replace it, or paste the drawing resource with
a new name.

1. In the browser of the source drawing, expand the

Drawing Resources folder, and find the drawing
resource to copy.

2. Right-click the drawing resource and select Copy.

3. Open the target drawing.

4. In the browser of the target drawing, right-click the

Drawing Resources folder, and select Paste.

Copy or Replace Drawing Resources in Multiple Drawings

You use the Drawing Resource Transfer Wizard to transfer selected drawing resources to multiple drawings, or replace
existing resources in multiple drawings.

After the transfer begins, the Begin the Batch Processing page shows progress of transferred selected borders, title blocks,
and sketch symbols. Results of the processing are shown in a log file.

A target drawing can be listed only once.

1. Close Autodesk Inventor before start the Drawing

Resource Transfer Wizard.

2. Click Start menu Programs Autodesk Inventor

[version] Tools Drawing Resource Transfer
Wizard.

3. Click Next to start the wizard.

4. In the Select Source Drawing and Resources dialog

box , navigate to the source drawing and click Open.

5. Specify which selected resources to transfer or clear

the check mark to skip, and then click Next.

6. In the Select Target Drawings dialog, navigate to the

target drawing and click Open. To add more target
drawings, click the folder and navigate to a new
drawing.
 7. Click Next, and then in the Select Option dialog,
specify what to do if drawing resources have the same
name in both source and target files.

 Click Yes to replace resources in the target file with

resources in the source file.

 Click No to assign unique names to copied

resources from the source file. The target file
resources retain their original names.

To Work with Sheets and Sheet Formats

Control sheet size, layout, standard views, and other features.

A new drawing or template usually contains a single drawing sheet. You can change the size and layout of the drawing
sheet, and insert additional sheets. You can create custom sheet formats and use them to set the attributes of new sheets.

When you add a sheet to a drawing, a sheet format specifies its size, layout, and other characteristics. A sheet format also
specifies a formatted sheet that includes standard elements such as a title block and border, and sets the standard drawing
views.

Changing the sheet size changes the values in the Height and Width boxes. (You select a Custom Size to edit the Height
and Width values.)

In a drawing template or a drawing file, you can define one or several sheet formats. After you add a sheet format to a
drawing, it can be used to add new sheets to that drawing.

To be included in the format, views must be completely within the border of the sheet.

Sheet formats are stored in the Drawing Resources folder in the browser.

To make customized sheet formats available to new drawings, create them in a template file that you use to create new
drawings. Define a sheet format for each sheet type that you use.

Create a Sheet Format

1. Add a new sheet to the drawing.

2. Right-click the sheet in the browser, and click Edit

Sheet.

3. In the Edit Sheet dialog box, set the format and

orientation for the sheet. Then click OK.
 4. Add the standard components to the sheet, including a
border, title block, and standard drawing views.

5. In the browser, right-click the sheet and select Create

Sheet Format.

6. Enter the name for the new sheet format in the edit
box.

Edit a Sheet Format

You cannot edit a sheet format directly.

1. Create a sheet based on the sheet format, and edit the

sheet elements.

2. Delete the sheet format, and save the edited sheet as a

new sheet format with the same name.

Add a Sheet to a Drawing

1. Click Place Views tab Sheets panel New Sheet

2. Specify the Size, Height, Width, and Orientation for

the new sheet.

Add a Sheet that Has a Specific Format

1. In the browser, expand Drawing Resources and Sheet

Formats.

2. Double-click the sheet format to use.

3. (Optional) In the Select Component dialog, select a

model file to place views of the model in the sheet.
(Skipping this step inserts a sheet without views.)

Edit a Drawing Sheet

1. Right-click the sheet in the graphics window or the

sheet name in the browser.
 2. Select Edit Sheet from the menu.

3. Change the settings in the Edit Sheet dialog:

 Revision. Specifies the revision number of the sheet.

If the Update property on revision number edit
option is selected for the corresponding revision
table, the revision number in the active row of the
revision table is updated accordingly.

 Name. Specifies the name of the sheet as it appears

in the browser.

 Size. Sets a sheet size or format. Changing the sheet

size changes the values in the Height and Width
boxes. Select a Custom Size to edit the Height and
Width values.

 Exclude from count and Exclude from printing.

Specify whether to exclude the selected sheet in the
count of sheets or when printing the drawing.

Delete Drawing Sheets

1. In the browser, select one or more sheets to delete.

2. Right-click, and select Delete from the menu.

3. (Optional) To change which sheets are selected for

deletion, in the Delete Sheets dialog, click More, and
then specify which sheets to delete.

4. Click OK to delete selected sheets.

To Work with Drawing Borders

Replace the default border with a custom border and set properties, such as specified zones and text style.

The Drawing Resources folder in the browser contains a definition of a default border that you can add to new drawing
sheets. You can also define a custom border, or copy a drawing border definition from another drawing.

You can change the size and general properties of the default border or a zoned custom border as you add it.
You can create two types of custom borders: A zone border, or a border with no predefined zones. New custom borders
are added to the Drawing Resources folder in the browser.

You can change the number of zones and labeling for a custom border placed in the drawing. You cannot edit the default
border after it is placed. To change the border, delete it and insert a new border with the appropriate properties.

Create a Custom Border

1. Open the drawing file or template that is to contain the

border format.

2. In the drawing browser, expand Drawing Resources,

right-click Borders, and then select Define New
Border.

3. Use the commands on the ribbon to create the border.

4. Right-click the sketch window, and then click Save

border.

5. Enter the name of the new border in the dialog box,

and then click Save.

Define a Zone Border

1. Open the drawing file or template that is to contain the

border format.

2. In the drawing browser, expand Drawing Resources,

right-click Borders, and then select Define New Zone
Border.

3. In the Default Drawing Border Parameters dialog box,

set default parameters for the new border, and then
choose OK.

4. Use the commands on the ribbon to create the border.

5. Right-click the sketch window, and then click Save

border.

6. Enter the name of the new border in the dialog box,

and then click Save.
Define Title Block Connection Points on a Custom Border

When you define a custom border, you can also define connection points for title block placement. You typically locate a
connection point on the drawing border, but you can place a connection point anywhere on the drawing.

When you place a title block, the outermost corner of the title block, relative to the center of the drawing, attaches to the
connection point. If you have more than one connection point per drawing quadrant, the title block attaches to the point
furthest from the center of the drawing.

1. Create a custom border.

2. On the ribbon, click Sketch tab Create Panel

Point , and place a connection point.

3. Select the new point and click Sketch tab Format

panel Connection Point Grip.

4. In the graphics window, right-click and select Save

Border. Enter the name of the new border.

Insert a Drawing Border

A sheet can include only one border. Delete the existing drawing border before you place a new border in the sheet.

1. In the browser, expand Drawing Resources and

Borders.

2. Double-click the border to insert it in the current sheet.

Insert a Zone Border with Specific Properties

1. In the browser, expand Drawing Resources and

Borders.

2. Right-click a zone border and select Insert from the

menu.

3. In the Edit Drawing Border Parameters dialog box, edit

the border properties.

To Work with Title Blocks

You can customize title block formats in the standard drawing templates or you can create your own title block formats.
A title block includes information about the drawing, the sheet, and the design properties; it updates to display current
information.

Guidelines for Managing Title Blocks

 To sort title block formats by name, right-click the Title Blocks entry and select Sort by Name.

 To reorder title block formats, drag the title block format to the appropriate position in the Title Blocks list.

 Copy a title block format to another drawing.

 To add model or drawing properties in a title block, use the Format Text dialog.

 Add prompted entries to a title block to enter the values on title block placement.

 Use the Drawing Resource Transfer wizard to transfer title blocks to one or more destination drawings.

 To reorder prompted entries included in a title block, right-click the title block in the Drawing Resources folder and
select Reorder Prompted Entries from the menu. (Available only if 2 or more prompted entries exist in the title block.)

 To delete a title block from the drawing, right-click the title block browser node in the sheet and click Delete.

 To delete a title block from the drawing resources, confirm the title block is not used on any sheet in the drawing, then
expand Drawing Resources Title Blocks and right-click the title block node and click Delete.

Create a Custom Title Block Format

1. Open an .idw file. Click Manage tab Define panel Title Block .

2. Use the commands on the Sketch tab Create Panel to draw the title block.

3. To add text, properties, or prompted entries into the title block, on the ribbon, click Sketch tab Create Panel

Text .

4. To insert an image in the title block, click Sketch tab Insert panel Image .

5. After the title block is complete, right-click in the sketch window, and then click Save Title Block.

6. Enter the name of the new title block, and click Save.

Edit a Title Block Format

1. Open a drawing file or template that contains title block formats.

2. Do one of the following in the browser:

 Expand Drawing Resources and Title Blocks. Then right-click a title block format and select Edit.

 Expand a drawing sheet, and right-click the title block. Then click Edit Definition.

3. In the graphic window, use sketch commands or context menu to edit the title block.

4. When edits are complete, right-click in the graphic window, and then click Save Title Block.

Add a Title Block to a Drawing Sheet

1. In the browser, expand Drawing Resources and Title Blocks.

2. Double-click a title block to insert.

3. If the title block format contains prompted entries, enter the values in the Edit Property Fields dialog.

Related Tasks

About Automatic Drawing Updates

Control automated updates to save a drawing at a specific stage of the design.

As you work on models, the associated drawings are updated automatically.

Use deferred update to:

 Prevent assembly drawings from updating while you work with drive constraints

 Prevent drawings from updating while you experiment with the model design

 Archive a drawing. A drawing can be viewed or printed without updating automatically

The View Out of Date icon ( ) next to a view or part list entry (not available in Inventor LT) in the browser indicates is
out of date with any of the associated files.

The Model Out of Date icon ( ) next to a view or model browser node indicates the model needs updating so the view
can represent the current state of the model.

Drawings with Deferred Updates

The Defer Update icon ( ) indicates that the drawing file is set to defer updates.
When you set a drawing to defer its updates, it no longer responds to changes in the model file. Drawing views,
annotations, and dependent iProperties remain static.

You can open the drawing, add or change annotations that do not use model data, and add sketches. You cannot get model
data, add or edit drawing views, or work with parts lists and balloons.

NOTE:In Inventor, the raster views do not turn precise in deferred drawings.

Archived Drawings
Since a static drawing does not respond to changes in the model, you can use it to record a specific step in the design or to
archive a released drawing permanently. Save the drawing with a file name that indicates it is an archived drawing.

Updating a Static Drawing

When you change the defer update setting in a drawing, the views on the active sheet immediately update to reflect all
changes to the associated model files. Views on other sheets update as you activate each sheet.

In some cases, substantial updates to the model can disassociate annotations from the geometry or view. When this
happens, reattach or replace the annotation.

The Update command dims when the file is fully up-to-date

Topics in this section

 To Work with Automatic Drawing Updates

You can defer the automatic updates for a drawing, keeping it static until you change its update status.
To Work with Automatic Drawing Updates

You can defer the automatic updates for a drawing, keeping it static until you change its update status.

Defer Automatic Updates to Drawings

1. With a drawing open, right-click the top browser node

and click Defer Updates.

2. Alternatively, click Tools tab Options panel

Document Settings .

3. On the Drawing tab of the Document Settings dialog

box, select the Defer Updates check box.
When Defer Updates is unchecked from either of the above access points the views automatically update.

Defer Automatic Updates Before Opening a Drawing

1. Click File Open.

2. Locate and select a drawing file.

3. At the bottom of the dialog box, click to select the type

of open action, Full or Defer.

4. Alternatively, use the legacy method by clicking

Options.

5. Select Defer Updates in the File Open Options dialog

box.

Un-defer and fully open a drawing

A deferred drawing opens quickly and model updates are ignored. You can un-defer a drawing and fully open it. Model
updates are then possible.

1. While in a deferred drawing, right-click the top

browser node.

2. In the context menu, click Defer Updates. Drawing

views automatically update.

Update Drawing Views and Sheets Manually (not available in Inventor LT)

If you do not want to trigger Update automatically, you can manually update drawings while you work. Manually
updating drawing views and sheets does not cause a model to update. If you want drawing views to reflect the current
state of the component, be sure the component is up-to-date before updating the drawing views.

1. On the Quick Access toolbar, click the arrow beside

Update.

2. Select the appropriate option:

 To regenerate only the active sheet, click Update (

).
  To update all sheets with changes, click Update All

Sheets ( ).

 To update this sheet, select the sheet in the browser

and click Update.

Drawing Views

Understand the wide range of component and assembly views available in Inventor, how to configure them, and the
relationships between views.

Topics in this section

 About Drawing View Fundamentals

Explains the base view, projected view, section view and other view types, as well as other options such as
breaking, cropping, or slicing a view.

 To Create a Base View and Projected Views

How to create these fundamental views, and to create drawing views from a model file.

 To Create a Flat Pattern Drawing View of a Sheet Metal Part

The flat pattern view is useful for fabrication, and is the only view that supports sheet metal annotations.

 To Create or Edit Drawings of iAssemblies

How to create views that reference an iAssembly member, and how to switch the view to a different iAssembly
member.

 To Work with Drawing Views

You can edit views, specify how they appear, and create drawing views of sketches and sheet metal parts.

 To Align and Rotate Drawing Views

How to change the orientation of a dependent view in relation to its parent view.

 To Create and Edit an Auxiliary View

You create an auxiliary view by projecting from an edge or line in a parent view.

 To Work with Drawings for Large Assemblies

How to avoid the performance degradation that can occur when working with drawings of large assemblies.
 To Work with Design View Representations in Drawing Files

Options for managing the relationship between design and drawing views, to achieve various process benefits.

 To Work with Surfaces in Drawing Views

How to show and hide surfaces for best results in drawing views and to support annotations.

 To Show or Hide Work Features in Drawing Views

You can recover work features from the model into a drawing view and use them as data, or for annotation
purposes.

 About Sketches in Drawings

A drawing sketch can contain text and 2D geometry such as lines and arcs.

 To Add and Edit a Hatch to Drawing Sketches

You can select multiple closed profiles in a sketch, and apply the Fill/Hatch to all of them.

 To Project Geometry from a Drawing View to a Sketch

Guidelines and procedure for creating a sketch associated with a model view.

 To Create and Edit a Draft View

How to work with a draft view or sketch associated with a drawing or model.

 To Create a Breakout

You can remove a defined area of material to expose obscured features in an existing drawing view.

 About Detail Views

Detail views provide circular and rectangular shapes of detail profile; You can select the Jagged (the default
type for both shapes) or Smooth cutout lines.

 To Work with Overlay Views

Overlay drawing views use positional representations to show an assembly in multiple positions in a single
view.

 To Work with Break View Operations

How to display regions of interest in a component view and break (not display) the view in regions without
significant details.
  To Work with Crop View Operations

Crop operations clip drawing views with a defined boundary.

Related Concepts

 About Drawings Workflow

Related Information

 About Styles in Drawings

 Drawing Annotations

About Drawing View Fundamentals

Explains the base view, projected view, section view and other view types, as well as other options such as breaking,
cropping, or slicing a view.

Inventor can create these types of drawing views:

 Base view. The first view you create. Subsequent

views are derived from this view. A base view can be
used to create a projected view, an auxiliary view, a
section view, and a detail view.

 Projected view. An orthographic or isometric view that

is generated from the base view or any other existing
view.

 Auxiliary view. A view that is projected perpendicular

to a selected edge or line.

 Section view. A view created by sketching a line that

defines a plane used to cut through a part (or assembly
in Inventor). The view represents the surface area of
the cut. You can create a section view through an
entire assembly or exclude components from
sectioning. To exclude a component, select the
component in the parent view, and then clear the
section option before creating the section view.
  Detail view. An enlarged view of a portion of another
drawing view. Detail views are used to provide clearer,
more precise annotation.

 Overlay view. A single view created from multiple

positional representations. Overlay views show an
assembly in various positions.

 Draft view. A view that contains one or more

associated 2D sketches. It is not created from a 3D
part.

You can break, break out, crop, or slice drawings:

 Break. Reduces the size of a longer model by removing

or "breaking" irrelevant portions. Dimensions that span
the break reflect the correct length.

 Break Out. Removes a defined area of material to

expose obscured parts (not available in Inventor LT) or
features in an existing drawing view.

 Crop. Provides control over the view boundary in an

existing drawing view.

 Slice. Produces a zero-depth section from an existing

drawing view.

About Drawing View Styles

Inventor lets you specify drawing style, scale, and the position and visibility of drawing components.

Specifying View Styles

The Style and Standard Editor sets up the default properties of drawing views and view annotations.

The Standard style controls the view label defaults, display of threads, and projection type.

When a section, detail, or auxiliary view is created, alphanumeric auto-indexing generates the view identifier. The
following characters are excluded from the indexing sequence by default: I, O, Q, S, X, and Z. You can customize the list
of excluded characters on the General tab of the Standard Style panel.

The View Annotation style controls the text style for view labels and defaults for view annotation lines and arrows.
When you place the first drawing view, Autodesk Inventor uses the sheet size and the overall size of the model to
determine a reasonable view scale. The first view sets the default scale for subsequent views.

Changing the view scale also scales views that are dependent. However, you can change the scale of a dependent view
independent of its parent view. The scale for dependent views on a different sheet does not automatically update when the
scale of the parent view changes.
NOTE:You can select individual assembly components in a drawing view and change their line color and line style.

Default Location of Base Views

When you create a base view, the base view is placed at a temporary location on the drawing sheet. The temporary
location depends on the sheet size:

 On smaller sheets (size A4, A3, A2, or A, B, C), the

base view is placed in the middle of the sheet.

 On larger sheets (size A1, A0, or D, E), the base view

is placed at quadrant 1. When quadrant 1 or other sheet
quadrants are occupied, the base view is placed at the
next available quadrant.

Create a Custom View Scale

If you regularly use a view scale that is not contained within the style you most frequently use, you can create a custom
view scale within that style.

You must have write access to the style used in your drawings to make these changes.

1. On the ribbon, click Manage tab Styles and

Standards panel Styles Editor .
 2. In the left pane of the Style and Standard Editor dialog
box, select the active drawing style (displayed in bold
text).

3. In the Preset Values group, select Scale from the

dropdown selection list, and then click New.

4. Enter a new scale in the Add New Scale dialog box.

5. Click OK.

6. Click Save.

7. About Special Drawing Views

8. Explains exploded views, splines in drawing views, and salvaged drawing views.
9. The following views can be useful for special purposes.
10. Exploded views
11. Exploded views and other presentation views are developed in a separate presentation file. A presentation file
can contain as many views of an assembly as needed. When you add a presentation view to drawing, you
specify the presentation file and view to use.
12. Splines in drawing views
13. When you generate drawing views of models with spline geometry, now real spline curves are used in
drawings. The real spline geometry is used for newly created splines only.
14. Salvaged drawing views
15. When importing models the data can sometimes be poor. You can create drawing views without cleaning up
the data.
16. When you create a drawing view for sick imported data, a warning dialog is displayed. If you decide to create
a salvaged view, an alternate algorithm for computing is used, and the resulting salvaged view is marked by an
icon next to the view node in the browser. The drawing view may not be accurate for the individual sick
bodies. You can manually clean the drawing view, or discard it.

To Create a Base View and Projected Views

How to create these fundamental views, and to create drawing views from a model file.

Create and Edit a Base View

The Base View command by default selects the last active model document as the source for the placed view. If the last
active model document is closed, no model is automatically selected.
1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel

Base .

2. In the Drawing View dialog box, on the Component

tab:

 To specify the model, select a file from the list, or

click Open, and locate a model file.

NOTE:You can create a view of a part that contains

only sketches. 2D sketches must be parallel to the
view.

 Depending on the file type, select the design view

representation, positional representation, level of
detail representation, sheet metal view, weldment
group, or presentation view.

 Specify the view style.

 Switch the visibility of the view label in the drawing

on or off. To edit the view label in the Format Text
dialog box, click Edit View Label.

 If appropriate, change the view scale.

3. On the Model State tab, depending on the type of

model, select iAssembly or iPart member, weldment
state, or set the Reference Data options.

To extend the size of the view bounding box, increase

the Margin value.
 4. On the Display Options tab, set display options for the
view. Available options depend on the type of file used
to create the view.

5. In the graphics window:

 Move the base view to the appropriate location.

 Use the view cube to specify orientation of the

model and type of projection.

 Drag a corner of the base view border to change

view scale. By default, within the range of scales
predefined in the current Standard style, the view
size snaps to the preset scale values. Hold the CTRL
key to enable free dragging, and set arbitrary view
scale. When you change scale by free dragging, the
Scale value displays as a real number in the
Drawing View dialog box.

 Click the arrows on the base view to place the

projected views. Click the x mark on a projected
view to remove a projected view.
NOTE:When you edit a base view, the same options
are available to change the view.

Create and Edit a Projected View

Projected views are generally the first type of view created from a base view. The projected view command creates
orthographic and isometric views from a base view.

You can switch between first-angle and third-angle on the View Preferences tab of the Standard style. The change affects
only the current drawing unless you save the setting to the style library. All other drawings that use that standard are
updated with the changed projection.

You can create multiple views with a single activation of the command. Multiview projections are aligned to the parent
view and inherit its scale and display settings.

Axonometric projections are not aligned to the parent view. They default to the scale of the parent view, but they do not
update when you change the scale of the parent view.

In the preview, the orientation of projected view reflects its relationship to the parent view.
 1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel

Projected .

2. Select the parent view for the projection.

3. Move the preview to the appropriate location, and then

click to place the view.

4. Continue placing projected views by moving the

preview and clicking.

5. To quit placing projected views, right-click, and then

select Create.

6. (Optional) To switch on or off the inheritance of the

section, slice, broken, or breakout cut, right-click the
projected view, and select Edit View. Open the Display
Options tab of the Drawing View dialog box, and
select the appropriate options in the Cut Inheritance
section.

Create Drawing Views from a Model File

Drawing creation from a model is supported in the following environments: Part, Weldment Assembly, Assembly,
Presentation, Sheet Metal, and Flat Pattern. It also supports iPart, and iAssembly factories and member files.

When you create drawing from a model, the following model properties are automatically propagated from the model file
to the base view:

 All active representations (design view, position, and

level of detail representation)

 Current camera including Orthogonal/Perspective

setting

 Active iPart/iAssembly member

1. In the model file, arrange the model as desired.

2. Right-click the root component in the browser, and

click Create Drawing View.

3. In the Drawing Template dialog box, select a drawing

template to use, and click OK.
 A drawing is created, and the Base View command is
started. The current model state is propagated to the
Drawing View dialog box, and a base view is placed
on a drawing sheet.

4. If appropriate, in the Drawing View dialog box, set the

view properties.

5. If appropriate, use the direct-editing tools in the

graphic window to arrange the view, or to place
projected views.

6. Click OK to close the Drawing View dialog box.

To Create a Flat Pattern Drawing View of a Sheet Metal Part

The flat pattern view is useful for fabrication, and is the only view that supports sheet metal annotations.

You can create a folded model view and a flat pattern view for a sheet metal part or iPart (The Flat Pattern option is
available only if a flat pattern exists in the source file.)

The following practices apply for sheet metal iParts:

 When you create a drawing view for a sheet metal

iPart, you can select an explicit iPart member on the
Model State tab of the Drawing View dialog.

 If a flat pattern is available in an iPart member file, the

Flat Pattern option is enabled in the Drawing View
dialog.

 To update an out-of-date iPart member, select the

member on the Model State tab of the Drawing View
dialog.

 To reference a specific iPart member instead of Active

Factory Member in a legacy drawing, edit the drawing
view and select the member on the Model State tab of
the Drawing View dialog.

1. Click Place Views tab Create panel Base .

2. In the Drawing View dialog box, select a sheet metal

component as File.
 3. In the Sheet Metal View area, select Flat Pattern view.

4. If appropriate, select or clear the selection of the

Recover Punch Center option.

5. Set other options in the Drawing View dialog, and then

click OK.

To Create or Edit Drawings of iAssemblies

How to create views that reference an iAssembly member, and how to switch the view to a different iAssembly member.

Views can reference an iAssembly member, but not the factory. In addition to views, you can create a general table. The
table can reference an iAssembly factory and contains all members by default. The table updates when changes are made
to the factory table.

A drawing view responds as follows to a deleted iAssembly factory or member:

 A view that references a factory member does not

change when the member is deleted.

 If all members are deleted from an iAssembly factory,

it reverts to a regular assembly. Drawing views created
from the members are unchanged.

 A view that references a regular assembly responds

when the assembly is converted to an iAssembly
factory. It automatically references the first member in
the factory table.

Create a Drawing View of an iAssembly Member

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel

Base.

2. On the Components tab, browse to an iAssembly

factory.

3. Click member to select one of the listed factory

members.

You can specify a factory member even if files were

not generated (no file was created on disk).
 4. In the Drawing View dialog box, specify scale,
representation, and display style, and other view
properties.

5. Click OK to close the Drawing View dialog box.

Switch the Member in a View

After you create a drawing view, you can change the referenced iAssembly member.

If the view has a dependent view it also updates to reflect the new member. Likewise, if you edit a dependent view, the
parent and the dependent view both update.

1. Right-click the view and select Edit View.

2. On the Component tab of the Drawing view dialog,

click the arrow on Member. Select a different member
and click OK.

To Work with Drawing Views

You can edit views, specify how they appear, and create drawing views of sketches and sheet metal parts.

Edit Drawing Views

You can change the label, scale, display style, and other attributes of a drawing view. If appropriate, you can select a
different view representation.
NOTE:If the Scale from Base or Style from Base option is selected, the scale or display style cannot be changed for a
child view.

You can delete a drawing view or copy and paste a view to another sheet. If you delete a view with dependent projected,
section, detail, or auxiliary views, they are automatically deleted.

1. In the graphics window or the browser, select the view.

2. Right-click and select Edit View from the menu.

3. In the Drawing View dialog box, on the Components

tab, change the options related to the source model, or
any of these additional options:

 Change the model representations.

 Change the view display style.

  Edit the view label.

 Switch the visibility of the view label on or off.

 Click Edit View Label and edit the view label in the
Format Text dialog box.

 Select or enter a view scale.

4. If you are editing an assembly drawing view (not

available in Inventor LT), you can do any of the
following:

 To change the design view representation, click the

arrow, and select a design view representation from
the list. Select the Associative checkbox to associate
the drawing view with the design view
representation in the model.

 If appropriate, select a different positional

representation.

 For an iAssembly factory, select the member to

represent in the view.

 Select a level of detail representation to improve

view generation by using only unsuppressed
components in the view.
Associative Design View Representations

Component transparency is stored in a view

representation. A drawing view, that is associated
with such a design view representation, uses the
component transparency setting from the view
representation. If your workflow uses associated views,
view representations are the preferred method for
managing drawing view occurrence display.
Component transparency can be assigned at the view level for non-associated drawing views or by using the component
level option "Legacy Transparency." The drawing component setting overrides the model component appearance. This is
for non-associative drawing views only.

On the Model State tab, change the weldment state, reference options, or hidden line calculation options. (Available
options depend on the type of file used to create the view.)

On the Display Options tab, change attributes of display characteristics.

When you edit a base view, use the direct-editing tools in the graphic window to edit view properties. You can change
view orientation, scale, position, or to add and remove projected views.

Click OK to close the Drawing View dialog box.

Customize Drawing View Orientation

You can customize the orientation of a new or existing view.

Drawing view orientation is usually derived from the orientation of the model. When you create a base view, you can use
the view cube to change the model orientation. To create a specific custom orientation, use the Custom View
environment.

Do one of the following:

To create a view, click Place Views tab Create panel Base on the ribbon.

Then select a model file in the Drawing View dialog box.

To change orientation of an existing view, double-click the view.

Right-click the View Cube, and click Custom View Orientation to enter the Custom View environment.

Use the Custom View tab to set up the view orientation. For example:

Click Navigate panel Rotate at Angle ( ), then use options in the Incremental View Rotate dialog box to set the model
orientation.
Click Navigate panel View Face ( ) to rotate a model face to the projection plane.

Click Appearance panel Perspective ( ) to rotate the model to the perspective position.

Click Custom View tab Exit panel Finish Custom View to accept the view orientation and close the Custom View
window.

Control Cut inheritance in Child Views

Isometric projected views created for section views inherit the section cut by default. Orthographic projected and auxiliary
views support the inheritance of the section, but it is switched off by default.

Isometric projected views created for views with a breakout inherit the breakout cut by default. Orthographic projected
and auxiliary views do not support the inheritance of breakout operations.

For orthographic projection, child views inherit breaks by default if the view projection direction is parallel to break lines.

In the graphic window or the browser, select the child view.

Right-click and select Edit View.

On the Display Options tab of the Drawing View dialog box, select the appropriate checkboxes in the Cut Inheritance
section. The selected cuts are inherited from the parent view.

Suppress or Unsuppress a Drawing View

The Suppress option specifies whether a drawing view is visible or suppressed. It provides a higher level of visibility
control, which supplements the visibility control for components, annotations, model edges, and layer visibility.

Suppressing several drawing views also increases the performance of drawings created for large assemblies.

The Suppress attribute affects all model-generated geometry (visible and hidden edges, thread edges, tweak trails) and
annotations attached to the selected view (view sketch, dimensions, symbols, centerlines). View visibility suppression is
not available for overlays and breakouts.

When a section view is suppressed, section view sketch (profile) is hidden in the parent view.

Breakouts hide, if the parent view is suppressed.

The parent view controls whether an overlay view is visible.

Do one of the following:

To suppress a drawing view, right-click a drawing view in the Model browser or in the graphic window, and then in the
menu, select the Suppress option.

To unsuppress a drawing view, right-click a drawing view in the Model browser, and unselect the Suppress option.

Move or Copy Views to Other Sheets

If you place a dependent view on a different sheet than its parent view, a projection line appears next to the parent view.
The browser lists the dependent view under its parent view with a shortcut icon.

To display the dependent view, double-click the shortcut icon.

To copy views, select views in the browser or graphic window, right-click, and click Copy. Then right-click a sheet to
place the view copies to, and click Paste.

If you prefer, you can click the view in the browser and drag it to a different sheet.

To place a view in a new sheet, click Place Views tab Sheets panel New Sheet and then click the sheet.

Check in the browser to verify that the copy is placed on the new sheet. If it is not visible on the sheet, it may be "behind"
another view. Click and drag the views to reveal it.

Create a Drawing View of a Sketch

You can include consumed and unconsumed 2D and 3D sketches in drawing views, even if there is no solid body in the
part file. Except for reference parts, a sketch node is created in the drawing browser using the default name of the sketch.

2D sketches are visible only in base views and must be parallel to the view.

When you use 3D sketches in drawing views:

Sketch dimensions are not visible.

Sketch geometry is not included in hidden line calculations.

Child views inherit visibility, and sketch inclusion or exclusion from the parent view.

Sketch nodes in the browser have no Properties option.

Break-out, detail, and section views trim sketch geometry the same as other model geometry.

In drawing views of parts that contain both solid bodies and sketches, the sketches are not visible by default. If the part
file has no solid bodies, sketches are automatically visible in drawing views.

Sketches are not automatically visible for assembly views(not available in Inventor LT). Right-click the model in the
browser and select Get Model Sketches. Sketches consumed by assembly features cannot be displayed in a drawing view.
If you create a sketch in the drawing, it is not possible to make additional views from this sketch.

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Base and then open a file that contains only sketches or a mixture
of sketches and solid bodies.

In the graphics window, click to place the view.

(Optional) To add sketches to a view, right-click the sketch node in the browser and select Include. The browser icon
changes color to indicate the sketch is visible.

(Optional) To change the visibility of a sketch in a view, right-click the sketch icon in the browser and select or clear the
check mark of the Include option.

Continue to add views as needed.

Show Me How to Use a Bitmap on Shaded Views to Increase Capacity and Performance

Update Drawing Views and Sheets

When significant changes have been made to a drawing, Global Update is the default choice.

If you do not want to trigger Update automatically, you can manually update drawings while you work. The Update
command dims when the file is fully up-to-date.

On the Quick Access toolbar, click the arrow beside Update.

Select the appropriate option: (not available in Inventor LT)

To regenerate only the active sheet, click Update ( ).

To update all sheets with changes, click Update All Sheets ( ).

To update this sheet, select the sheet in the browser and click Update.

Adjust the Position of a View on a Sheet

You can drag to re-position a single view or multiple views in a selection window.

When you drag to select views, if you start in in the upper-right corner and drag diagonally from right to left, you include
all views that the selection window touches. Dragging diagonally from left to right includes only views that are fully
enclosed in the window.

You can also keep the relative position of the view label by constraining it to the view boundary.

If you are re-positioning multiple views, drag to select them.

Click and drag the red border for the single view or the selection window.

(Optional) To keep the relative position of the view label, select the Constrain to View Border option on the View
Preferences tab of the Standard panel in Style and Standard Editor.

Redefine XY Planes to XZ Planes

The view orientation (Front, Top, Left, Right, and so on) being used in IDW, Autodesk Inventor View, and 3D DWF are
defined by the following mappings.

This is the default isometric view in the English template:

This is the Default isometric view in the Metric template:

The mapping is fixed and cannot be changed.

The table refers to the parts origin plane when placing a drawing view. For example, XY (+Z) means that you look at the
XY Plane from +Z.

Redefining the isometric view in an .ipt (or .iam (in Inventor) file does not affect the mapping.

Origin folder in IPT (and IAM Inventor) View orientation in IDW, 3D DWF, and Autodesk InventorView

XY (+Z) 1 = Front

XY (-Z) 2 = Back

XZ (+Y) 3 = Top

XZ (-Y) 4 = Bottom

YZ (+X) 5 = Right

YZ (-X) 6 = Left

If the ViewCube is not displayed, click View tab Windows panel User Interface , and select ViewCube.

Use the ViewCube to reorient the view.

Right-click the ViewCube and select Set Current View as Home.

To Align and Rotate Drawing Views

How to change the orientation of a dependent view in relation to its parent view.

Most dependent views are created with an alignment to the parent view, and inherit the view orientation. You can change
the alignment or orientation of views placed in the drawing.

An aligned view can be moved only within its constraints. If the parent view is moved, the aligned view moves to
maintain its alignment.

There are four possible alignment relationships between a dependent view and its parent view:

 Vertical alignment. Has views share the same x value

at their origin. A vertically aligned view can move only
along the Y axis of its parent view.
  Horizontal alignment. Has views share the same y
value at their origin. A horizontally aligned view can
move only along the x axis of its parent view.

 In Position alignment. Aligns views to an axis or edge

that is not horizontal or vertical. For example, a
projected isometric view may have a positional
alignment to its parent view. If its parent view is
moved, the positionally aligned view moves to
maintain its angle from the x axis of the parent view.
You can create a positional alignment between any two
views on a drawing. (When a view is aligned, you must
break the existing alignment before you create a new
alignment.)

 Break alignment. Unaligned views have no constraints

to another view, can move freely on the drawing sheet,
and does not automatically move if the parent view is
moved.

You can make a selected edge vertical or horizontal, or rotate a view by specifying an angle. You cannot rotate a view that
has a dependent section or auxiliary view.

By default, a parent view and its child views keep the same orientation. When you rotate a parent view, you can either
maintain or break alignment of dependent view(s). When you rotate a child view, the child view orientation becomes
independent on the parent view.

When you rotate views, annotations maintain their associativity to the views.

Align a Drawing View

You can add, remove, or change alignments. If a view has an existing alignment to another view, you must remove the
existing alignment before adding a new alignment.

1. Select a view.

2. Right-click, and then select Alignment.

 To add an alignment to a view, click Horizontal,

Vertical, or In Position. Then click the parent view
for the alignment.

 To remove an alignment, select Break.

 3. (Optional) To add a different alignment, add the new
alignment after you remove the existing alignment.
Show Me How to Align a Child View Orientation with a Base View

Rotate a Drawing View

To rotate a drawing view, you select a model edge and then rotate the edge by a specified angle, or to a vertical or
horizontal position. You cannot rotate a view that has a dependent section or auxiliary view.

If you rotate by a specified angle, the Absolute Angle option rotates the view with respect to the coordinate system of the
sheet. The Relative Angle option rotates the view at the specified angle with respect to the current orientation of the view.

By default, a parent view and its child views keep the same orientation. When you rotate a parent view, you can either
maintain or break alignment of dependent view(s). When you rotate a child view, the child view orientation becomes
independent of the parent view.

1. Right-click a view to rotate and then select Rotate.

2. In the Rotate View dialog, specify whether to rotate by

an edge or an angle:

 To rotate the view by edge, select Edge from the

Rotate View By list, select an edge in the drawing
view, or select Horizontal or Vertical to make the
selected edge horizontal or vertical.

 To rotate the view by angle, select Absolute Angle

or Relative Angle from the Rotate View By list.
Then enter the angle you want to rotate the selected
view through, and select the direction in which you
want to rotate the view.

3. Specify whether to rotate the dependent views:

 Select Rotate View to rotate only the selected view

and have child views keep the original orientation.

 Select Rotate Camera to propagate the rotation to all

dependent views.

Realign an Auxiliary View

 1. Right-click the auxiliary view and select Realign
auxiliary views.

2. Select a model edge from the parent view, and place a

new auxiliary view.

3. Move the preview to the appropriate location, and then

click to place the view.

4. To finish, click in the graphics window.

To Create and Edit an Auxiliary View

You create an auxiliary view by projecting from an edge or line in a parent view.

Create and Edit an Auxiliary View

You can place the view only in perpendicular or parallel alignment to the selected edge or line.

To create an auxiliary view from a projection line external to the view geometry, you can use Section View.

The default style of auxiliary view annotations is set in the Style and Standard Editor.
1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel

Auxiliary .

2. Select an existing view as the parent view.

3. In the Auxiliary View dialog box, set the scale, display

style, and view label or accept the current settings.

4. (Optional) Click an icon to specify the display style for

the view:

 Shows hidden lines.

 Removes hidden lines.

 Specifies shaded rendering.

5. Select the edge or line from which to project the view.

 6. Move the preview to the appropriate location, and then
click to place the view or click OK in the Axillary
View dialog box.

To Work with Drawings for Large Assemblies

How to avoid the performance degradation that can occur when working with drawings of large assemblies.

Drawing views of assemblies and parts are created in the same way. Because each drawing can have many sheets, you can
develop a complete set of standardized drawings for the assembly and all of its components in a single drawing file.

Improving Drawing Performance

The following can improve drawing performance:

 Enabling background updates of drawing views. The Enable Background Updates option on the Drawing tab of
Application Options quickly displays raster drawing views for large assemblies and calculates precise drawing views
at the background as you work. You can review the drawing or create drawing annotations before calculating drawing
views finishes.

 Using design view representations. Components rendered invisible in the design view do not load into memory. (The
assembly file you want to make a drawing view of must be closed so that its graphics do not load into memory).

 Using Level of Detail representations. When creating a drawing of a top-level assembly, this suppresses unneeded
components or replaces many parts with a single part representation. As a result, Inventor does not include them when
computing the drawing view.

 Before starting the Base View command, clicking the Document Tab of the respective model to activate the
appropriate document. This avoids calculating the base view preview for a different model. You can also close the last
active model document, and select the source document manually.

 Selecting the Suppress option for several drawing views.

Improve Drawing Performance and Capacity

1. Click File Options.

2. In the Application Options dialog, click the Drawing tab.

3. Select Enable Background Updates in the Capacity/Performance area.

NOTE:(not available in Inventor LT) If the Enable Background Updates application option is selected, raster views are
displayed until calculation of precise views is complete.
Working with Raster Views

Raster views let you review a drawing or create drawing annotations while precise drawing views are calculated in the
background. Raster views are marked by green corner glyphs in the graphic window, and by a special icon in the browser.
A tooltip shows the progress of precise calculation.

Raster views turn precise automatically as soon as the calculation ends. The raster view icon is replaced with a regular
drawing view icon in the browser. A separate process runs for each raster view until the view calculation is finished.

Precise drawing views use information from the model. If the model is not available or the drawing is in a deferred mode,
the calculation is postponed, and the raster views do not turn precise.

While Inventor calculates precise views, you can annotate the raster views. For example, you can:

 Add dimensions, symbols or notes, tables, balloons, and parts lists.

 Create projected or other drawing views.

These features work differently for raster views:

 You cannot create automated centerlines, use the Auto Balloon command, or select model features as edges.

 Tangent model edges are always shown in raster views. You cannot edit their properties or visibility.

 Interference edges are never shown in raster views.

 Reference parts geometry can be incomplete in raster views.

 View and Feature options are not available for the Hole Table command.

 Thread features are not displayed in raster views. Existing thread notes attach to thread features after views turn
precise.

 Printing raster views is not recommended because geometry on printed raster views can be different from the precise
views.

 Export to AutoCAD DWG, DWF, DXF, or PDF cannot be finished for a drawing with raster views. If a view
calculation is in progress, a progress bar is displayed. You can wait until the calculation finishes or cancel the Export.

 Drawings containing raster views can be saved and closed. On reopen, raster views are automatically recalculated as
precise.

Show Me How to Work with Raster Views

Use Model Representations to Improve Performance

Specify a simplified design view and level of detail representation before opening the model file.

1. Close the assembly file used for a drawing view to prevent its graphics from being loaded into memory.

2. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Base.

Click Open an Existing File , and locate and select the assembly file.

3. In the File Open dialog box, click Options and then select a design view and level of detail representation in the File
Open Options dialog, and click OK.

4. Click Open to return to the Drawing View dialog box.

5. Specify the drawing view properties, and if appropriate, place projected views.

6. Click OK to close the Drawing view dialog box.

Related References

 Drawing View Dialog Reference

To Work with Design View Representations in Drawing Files

Options for managing the relationship between design and drawing views, to achieve various process benefits.

A design view representation is created in the assembly environment and preserves an assembly display state. When you
create a drawing view of an assembly, you can select any of the design view representations that are defined in the
assembly.

You can also create an association between the design view representation and the drawing view. If you make a drawing
view associative to a design view representation, the drawing view updates automatically when changes are made to the
design view representation in the assembly environment.

Creating Associations between a Design View Representation and Drawing View

Only public design view representations can be associative to a drawing view. Private design view representations can be
used to create a drawing view, but it is static, and does not update with changes to the model.

A design view representation associated to a referenced file that has been removed correspondingly removes the design
view representation associativity. Correspondingly, removing a design view representation that has been associated to a
referenced file removes the design view representation associativity.
Guidelines for creating views

Level of Detail representations must be created in the assembly, not the drawing. You cannot suppress components from
the drawing browser.

Suppressed components are not shown in the drawing browser.

Drawing views remain associative to the selected Level of Detail representation. The view automatically updates when the
Level of Detail representation changes.

If the assembly file is open, the default is the active Level of Detail representation. If none is selected, the master is
referenced.

The All Components Suppressed and All Parts Suppressed system-defined representations are not available because no
geometry is visible.

Design View Representations that designate components as transparent affect associative drawing views. In such views,
the model transparent setting has precedence over the drawing view transparency setting.

You can further customize a view by specifying a Design View representation. Invisible components in a design view
representation are not computed in a view.

Guidelines for Creating and Maintaining Annotations

Annotations that have their references suppressed are deleted, unless you set an option on the Drawing tab of the
Document Settings dialog box to preserve orphaned annotations.

You can create general annotations only to unsuppressed components. If an annotation is sick because its reference is
suppressed, the annotation is deleted, or you can redefine it to point to a new reference.

A parts list always references only the Master Level of Detail representation. Suppression or Unsuppression in any Level
of Detail representation is never reflected in a parts list.

Balloons are created only for unsuppressed components. If you change a Level of Detail representation so that the balloon
references a suppressed component, the balloon is deleted.

Hole tables do not show information for components that are suppressed in a view.

If a component is unsuppressed because of a change in the Level of Detail representation, it updates to include holes in the
component.

Hole notes attached to a component that becomes suppressed are deleted.

Use Design View Representations to Improve Performance

Do any of the following to take advantage of performance benefits and memory savings:

Select a design view representation that only displays the components that must be visible. All components rendered
invisible in the design view representation are not loaded into memory.

Close the assembly file used for a drawing view to prevent its graphics from being loaded into memory.

To edit the model displayed in the drawing, in the Application Menu, click Open to select the assembly file, and then click
Options. Select the representation used in the drawing.

Create Drawing Views Using Assembly Positional Representations

Positional representations capture a kinematic "snapshot" of an assembly to show components in various configurations.
Multiple positional representations can be saved in an assembly. You can specify a positional representation by name
when creating a base drawing view. The created view is associative to the positional representation, and updated to reflect
representation changes.

Create or open a drawing.

On the ribbon, Place Views tab Create panel Base.

In the Drawing View dialog box, select a model file.

On the Component tab, select a Positional Representation from the Position list.

Set other options in the Drawing View dialog box and click OK.

Change the Design View Representation for a Drawing View

When you create a drawing view of an assembly, you can select any of the design view representations defined in the
assembly. You can also create an association between the design view representation and the drawing view by selecting
the Associative check box.
NOTE:Private design view representations are not associative to drawing views.

The design view representation for a drawing view, and the relationship between them, can be changed after the view has
been placed.

Right-click a drawing view and click Edit View.

In the Drawing View dialog box, change the design view representation.

Create Drawings of Assemblies Using Level of Detail Representations

Use a Level of Detail representation when creating a drawing of a top-level assembly to reduce the number of files loaded
in memory.

When creating a drawing view, you can select a Level of Detail representation. Suppressed components are not used when
computing the drawing view.

After the view is created, you can edit the drawing view and select a different Level of Detail representation.

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Base.

In the Drawing View dialog box, select the model file.

Select the Level of Detail to represent in the view.

In the Drawing View dialog box, specify other settings, and click OK.

To Work with Surfaces in Drawing Views

How to show and hide surfaces for best results in drawing views and to support annotations.

When you create a view of a part file that contains only surfaces, only the surfaces that are set to Visible appear in the
drawing view. After view creation, any surfaces in the corresponding part file that are set to Invisible will no longer
display in the drawing file.

After you create a drawing view, you can include or exclude surfaces from drawing views. Files that contain only surfaces
automatically include the surfaces in a drawing view.

A drawing view can include open or closed surfaces, model surfaces, thickened surfaces, or derived surfaces. A drawing
view cannot include construction surfaces. You must first use Copy Object to place construction surfaces to the part
environment before including them in a drawing view.

Drawing Views of Models with a Mixture of Solids and Surfaces

When placing a base view of an assembly with a mixture of solid and surface or mesh parts, in the Open dialog box, on
the Recovery tab, select the inclusion or exclusion option to meet your needs. The steps are the same for Inventor LT.

Surfaces in Child Views

After you create a base (parent) view in which you have included or excluded surfaces, newly created child views inherit
the same visibility characteristics.

If a child view already exists, including or excluding surfaces on the parent view does not update the child view. You
must include or exclude surfaces in each child view individually.

In section and breakout views, hatching does not show on regions defined by a surface. Hatching is visible only on a solid
body.

Edges and Annotations for Surfaces

You can apply edge properties to surface edges and model edges.
After a surface is included in a view, you can apply annotations to surface view edges. Surfaces are not counted separately
from the part for parts list quantities.

Create Views Containing both Solid Bodies and Surfaces

By default, when you create a view of a part that contains solid bodies and surfaces, the view contains solid bodies but no
surfaces.

Inclusion or exclusion of surfaces in child views is the same as the base (parent) view. If you include or exclude surfaces
in a parent view after child views are created, they are not reflected in the child views.

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Base.

2. In the Drawing View dialog, select a part (or assembly file in Inventor) that contains parts with a mixture of solids and
surfaces.

3. On the Component tab, specify the Representation, Scale, Label, and Style.

4. On the Model State tab, specify Reference Data, and weldment information when enabled.

5. On the Display tab, specify the display options to use in the view.

6. On the Recovery Options tab, specify whether or not to include surface and mesh bodies and work features.

Create Views Containing Surfaces but No Solid Bodies

When you create a view that contains surfaces but no solids, the view in the graphics window automatically includes
surfaces. Surfaces are included in dependent views based on their inclusion or exclusion from the base (parent) view.

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Base.

2. In the Drawing View dialog, click the arrow on the File box, and select a part file that contains only surfaces.

3. On the Component tab, specify Representation, Scale, Label, and Style.

4. On the Model State tab, specify Reference Data, and weldment information when enabled.

5. On the Display tab, specify the display options to use in the view.

6. On the Recovery Options tab, specify whether or not to include surface and mesh bodies and work features.

Edit existing Views to include or exclude surfaces

 In the browser, expand the file folder and right-click a surface. On the context menu, select Include All Surfaces or
Visibility to add the surface to the view.
 To remove a surface from a view, right-click the surface in the browser and clear the Include All Surfaces or
Visibility check mark.

 In Inventor LT, on the Options tab, specify Display preferences, and click OK to create the view. By default, the
view contains solid bodies, but no surfaces.)

Related Information

 To Copy Objects Between Part, Assembly, and Construction Environments

To Show or Hide Work Features in Drawing Views

You can recover work features from the model into a drawing view and use them as data, or for annotation purposes.

Set the style attributes for work features in the Object Defaults style for the active standard used by the drawing.

The following represent work feature status in the browser:

Normal text The work feature exists in the model but has not been recovered in the drawing (the Include
option is not selected).

Normal text The work feature is recovered in the drawing and is visible (the Include option is selected).

Strike-through The work feature is recovered in the drawing but it has been made invisible (the Visibility option
text was unselected).

Bold text The work feature was excluded from the drawing (the Include option was unselected).

Automatically Recover Work Features when You Place a Drawing Base View

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Base .

2. In the dialog box, select the model file, view orientation, and other settings.

3. Click the Recovery Options tab, and select User Work Features.

Recover Work Features in Existing Views

If a view was placed without recovering the work features, you can use Include Work Features to recover them. When you
recover work features in a drawing view, they are always visible in the drawing, regardless of their visibility setting in the
component.
NOTE:You can use the Include command to recover a single work feature.

1. Select the view components in the browser or the graphics window.

2. Right-click the component, and select Include Work Features.

3. In the Include Work Features dialog box, specify preferences about work features to recover:

 In Recovery Depth, specify if you want to recover work features from the selected component or the component
and everything below it in the browser hierarchy.

 In State, specify if you want to recover visible work features, invisible work features, or both.

 In Type, select which user work features and origin work features you want to recover.

4. (Optional) To recover a single work feature. Expand the model in the browser, right-click the work feature to recover
and then select Include.

Change the Visibility of Individual Work Features in Views

After you recover work features in a drawing, you can hide individual work features. You can also use Show Hidden
Annotations to show hidden work features.

1. Select the work feature in the graphic window or browser.

2. Right-click and select Visibility to clear the check mark to make the work feature invisible.

3. To show invisible work features, select the work feature in the browser. Right-click and select Visibility to make the
work feature visible again.

4. (Optional) To show hidden work features. Right-click the view and select Show Hidden Annotations. In the browser,
select the work feature, center marks, and centerlines to show, right-click, and then select Done or Show All.

Exclude Work Features from Drawing Views

After a work feature is recovered, use the Include menu option to exclude work feature centerlines and center marks from
the drawing.

The only way to include an excluded work feature is to include it using Include. Include Work Features or Automated
Centerlines (used to recover work features) ignores excluded work features.

1. In a drawing view of a model with work features or in the browser, click to select work features, center marks, or
centerlines.

2. Right-click and click Include to clear the check mark.

Related Concepts

 About Work Features

About Sketches in Drawings

A drawing sketch can contain text and 2D geometry such as lines and arcs.

Once you create a sketch, you can create custom borders and title blocks, or to develop your own set of sketch symbols.

You can create views of parts that contain only 2D or 3D sketches, but no solid bodies. 2D sketches are visible only in
base views and must be parallel to the view. The sketch must be parallel to the drawing view.

If you create a sketch in the drawing, it is not possible to make more views from this sketch.

If you translate AutoCAD data to a drawing, the geometry is placed on sketches in the drawing. AutoCAD line styles are
maintained. If you open an AutoCAD DWG or an Autodesk Inventor Drawing File (DWG), the geometry is placed on
sketches in the drawing. AutoCAD line styles are maintained.

Copying Sketches in Sheets and Drawings

If you copy a sheet or a drawing view, the associated sketches move with it. You cannot copy or move a sketch
independently of its associated sheet or view.

A sketch cannot be copied, but you can copy the geometry in a sketch, and paste it in another drawing.

NOTE:When you use dimensions to set the size of elements in a title block or border, the dimensions are hidden when
you finish editing.

Using Sketch Symbols

The drawing templates contain a Sketch Symbols heading in the Drawing Resources section of the browser so that you
can create and save sketches for sharing and reuse. Sketch symbols can contain 2D geometry, bitmap images, static text,
prompted text boxes, or properties fields that update automatically, but can have only one insert point.

Sketch symbols added to the template that you use to create drawings are available to all new drawings. Sketch symbols
added to the Symbol Libraries are available in an external location for sharing and later use.

Creating Title Blocks and Custom Borders

The templates provided with Autodesk Inventor contain one or more standard title block formats and a default border that
you can modify and save as drawing resources. They can contain 2D geometry, bitmap images, static text, prompted text
boxes, or properties fields that update automatically.

You can also sketch custom title blocks, and save them as drawing resources. To use a custom border in new drawings,
save it in a template that you use to create drawings.

All drawing borders have four points at the sheet corners that cannot be deleted. These points move when the sheet is
resized. If you constrain the custom border geometry to these points, it adapts to any sheet size.

Translating DWG Data

When you translate 2D data from a DWG file to an Autodesk Inventor drawing, the geometry is placed on one or more
sketches in the drawing. Dimensions are placed on the drawing sheet.

To place dimensions attached to the geometry on the sketches, select Promote Dimensions to Sketch in the Import
Destination dialog box when opening an AutoCAD file. AutoCAD line styles are maintained.

Blocks in the DWG file are translated to sketch symbols. You can also translate selected data in a DWG file to Autodesk
Inventor title blocks and borders.

NOTE:When using the Drawing Resource Transfer Wizard to copy drawing resources such as borders and title blocks
from a source to one or more target drawings, prompted entries may not transfer correctly if they do not match exactly in
the source and target files.

Topics in this section

 To Work with Sketches in Drawings

You can create and edit sketches in drawings, get model sketches in a drawing, and create symbols in a sketch.
To Work with Sketches in Drawings

You can create and edit sketches in drawings, get model sketches in a drawing, and create symbols in a sketch.

Create a Sketch

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Sketch panel Create Sketch.

1. Click in the graphic window to place the sketch on the

sheet, or select a drawing view to associate the sketch
to the view.

2. Use commands on the Sketch tab to create the sketch

geometry.

3. When finished, right-click and select Finish Sketch.

Edit a Sketch

To add sketch geometry to an existing sketch, right-click a sketch in the browser and select Edit.

Change Attributes of the Sketch Geometry

You can add sketch geometry to an existing sketch and view or change its line attributes.

1. Right-click the sketch in the browser, and then select

Edit.

2. Select the sketch geometry in the graphic window.

3. Use Sketch Properties to change the color, line type, or

line weight of the selected sketch geometry.

4. To suppress sketch formatting overrides and display

the sketch with default attributes, select Formatting

Toggle in the Sketch Properties toolbar.

TIP:Unselect Formatting Toggle to show user

formatting again.

Hide Individual Elements in a Drawing Sketch

You can hide one or more sketch elements in a drawing sketch without making the entire sketch invisible by setting the
Sketch Only attribute

1. Select the sketch elements you wish to hide.

2. On the ribbon, click Sketch tab Format panel

Sketch Only to turn on the attribute.

Geometry with the Sketch Only attribute set is hidden when you exit from sketch mode and is no longer visible on the
face of the drawing.

If you wish to restore the visibility of the hidden sketch elements:

1. Right-click the sketch in the browser, and then select

Edit. The hidden elements are visible in the sketch.

2. Select the sketch geometry you wish to unhide.

3. On the ribbon, click Sketch tab Format panel

Sketch Only to turn off the attribute.

Show model sketches in drawing views

You can show unconsumed and consumed sketches from a model in a drawing view of the model. You cannot edit a
model sketch in the drawing.

Only sketches that are parallel to the view can be displayed. A drawing view cannot display sketches consumed by
assembly features (not available in Inventor LT).
NOTE:After the model sketch is recovered, the sketch attributes do not automatically update with respect to changes in
the model sketch. To update the recovered sketch, right-click the sketch in the graphic window or browser, and select
Reapply Model Properties from the menu.

For a view of a sheet metal part, only the model sketches in one of the models (folded model or flat pattern model) can be
recovered.

1. Place a drawing view of a model containing one or

more sketches.
2. In the browser, click to expand the view and display
the parts or components (not available in Inventor LT)
in the view.

3. Right-click the part or assembly or any component

containing a sketch, and select Get Model Sketches.

4. To include projected and derived sketch geometry,

right-click the sketch node in the browser, and select
Display Reference.

5. (Optional) Do any of the following to modify the

recovered sketch:

 To hide all sketch texts, right-click the sketch node

in the browser and unselect Display Text. (When
you unselect the Display Text option, all sketch
texts and property changes are discarded.)

 To hide all the reference geometries, right-click the

sketch node in the browser and unselect Display
Reference. (When you unselect the Display
Reference option, all sketch reference geometries
and property changes are discarded.)

 To make a reference geometry invisible, right-click

the reference geometry in the graphic window and
unselect the Visibility option.

 To reset the reference geometry visibility, exclude

and include the sketch (which resets all properties),
or uncheck and recheck Display Reference, or use
Show Hidden Edges context menu.

 To display the model sketch with default attributes,

open the source model file, select Formatting
Toggle in the Sketch Properties toolbar, and then
Reapply Model Properties in the drawing.

 To override the properties for recovered model

sketch geometries or texts, select one or multiple
objects in the graphic window, right-click, and
choose Properties or Color from the menu.
To Add and Edit a Hatch to Drawing Sketches

You can select multiple closed profiles in a sketch, and apply the Fill/Hatch to all of them.

When you edit attributes of a hatch, all edits are kept as object overrides.

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Sketch panel Create Sketch to create a drawing sketch or double-click an
existing sketch in the browser to make it active.

Use the sketch commands to create one or more sketches that form a closed loop.

On the ribbon, click Sketch tab Create Panel Hatch Region.

In the graphics window, select a closed loop you want to hatch. Click to add additional sketch loops. Use SHIFT-click or
CTRL-click to remove a selected loop from the selection set.

In the Hatch dialog box, specify options.

To add hatching, switch Hatch on. (The hatch style assigned to the Sketch Hatch object in Objects Defaults is applied on
the hatch fill.)

To add a copy of the specified hatch pattern perpendicular to the first hatch pattern, select Double.

To add a color fill, select SOLID in the Pattern list. Then, select a color in the Color dialog box and click OK.

To use a hatch pattern that is not available in the Pattern list, select Other in Pattern. Then, set the hatch pattern as Offered
or load the hatch pattern from a PAT file using the Select Hatch Pattern dialog box.

To rotate the hatch pattern, specify an angle in Angle.

To change the color, click Color ( ), and specify the fill color in the Color dialog box.

To delete the hatch, switch off the Hatch.

To specify a distance between lines in the hatch, enter a value in Scale to scale the distance larger or smaller. (A scale of 1
uses the original distance specified in the hatch pattern.)

To offset the hatch pattern slightly from the original position, enter a distance in Shift.

To Project Geometry from a Drawing View to a Sketch

Guidelines and procedure for creating a sketch associated with a model view.

The following image shows how model geometry can be projected into a sketch. In this particular example, the projected
geometry is used to help define sketched lines.
Projected geometry remains associated to the parent geometry. If you change the geometry in the model, the projected
geometry updates when the drawing is updated.

You can use projected geometry just like any other geometry in a drawing sketch.

For example, you can:

Project some geometry from a view, add geometry to create a closed boundary, and then add hatch or color fill.

Project geometry and use it to define a rectangular or circular pattern.

Project geometry to define the boundary for a breakout.

Follow these guidelines for projected geometry:

Only the geometry in the view associated to the sketch can be projected.

Hidden lines cannot be projected to a sketch.

Projected lines assume the color, line weight, and other attributes of the active line style.

If you scale the drawing view, the sketch geometry scales relative to the view.

When you change the model, the projected geometry in the drawing updates when the drawing updates. If you delete
geometry in the model, the projected geometry in the drawing is deleted as well.

If you make topology changes, such as adding fillets or chamfers, the related geometry is deleted from the projected
geometry in the drawing sketch.

You cannot project thread representations to a drawing sketch.

Create a sketch attached to a drawing view

On the ribbon, click Sketch tab Create Panel Project Geometry .

Select the geometry to project.

Right-click, and then select Done [ESC] to project the selected geometry to the sketch.
TIP:On the Quick Access toolbar, click the arrow next to Select and change the filter to Select Part to select all geometry
in a part in the view.

To Create and Edit a Draft View

How to work with a draft view or sketch associated with a drawing or model.

A draft view can be "empty" because it does not require a model representation and can contain multiple sketches. You
can add a draft view to an existing drawing or create a drawing with a draft view containing AutoCAD data.

An empty view is placed and the associated sketch is activated so you can begin sketching.

You can scale a draft view or sketch, unlike a regular 2D sketch. If you copy geometry from a draft sketch to a regular
sketch, the copied geometry appear with the scale as 1:1 in the regular sketch.
When you open an AutoCAD file as an Autodesk Inventor drawing, a new file is created with a sheet that contains a draft
sketch. Geometry from the AutoCAD file is placed in the draft sketch. (You can add a draft sketch even if you do not have
AutoCAD data.)

Start with an active drawing, and add or activate the sheet on which to place the view.

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Draft .

In the Draft View dialog, set the label and scale for the view.

To show the view label on the drawing, click Toggle Label Visibility.

To Edit draft views, do any of the following:

To edit the view identifier, scale, or to change the view label visibility, select the draft view, right-click, and click Edit
View.

To edit the view geometry, select the sketch, right-click, and click Edit.

To edit the view label in the Format Text dialog, select the view label, right-click, and click Edit View Label.

To edit the view label Text Style, select the view label, right-click, and click Edit Text Style.

About Section Views

Describes section view settings, how to constrain and align these views, and how to control their appearance.

You can create a section view by drawing a line that defines where to cut the section or by specifying a line in a drawing
sketch that is associated with the parent view.

A view cutting line knows what types of views can be projected from it. Depending on how the line was created, it can
define the type of section view or define a boundary for a partial view.

The length of the cutting line defines the extent of the section view. A cutting line that passes only partially through the
model view results in a partial section view.

A view cutting line outside the parent view defines a plane from which to project an auxiliary view.

When creating a child (dependent) view, the section attributes of the parent view are copied to the child view, but they are
not associative. Section view attributes changed on the parent do not affect the child. You can modify the settings without
affecting the parent view attributes.

Section and visibility settings are copied to projected views. All views provide independent control of section and
visibility settings. Changes to settings only affect the view where the changes of the contents settings are made. The
section and visibility settings of a view also affect the results of a breakout view operation.
The Section View Preview as Uncut option, in the Drawing tab in Application Options, displays the preview of the section
view as uncut. This controls the preview of the model and improves the performance of the previews of section views.

Constraining and Aligning Section Views

As you draw a view cutting line, constraints to features and edges are inferred as you move the cursor. If you place a point
while an inference line is displayed, the constraint is automatically applied.

After you complete the view cutting line, the available views preview as you move the cursor in the graphics window.
After you place the view, it can be moved only within the limits of view cutting line constraints.

NOTE:After you associate a drawing sketch with a view, you can use any line within the sketch that passes through the
view geometry to specify the view section.

A view defined by a view cutting line is usually aligned to the parent view. It can be moved within the alignment
constraint. If you remove the alignment, the view can be moved freely in the drawing, and the view cutting line with its
arrowheads and text label are displayed on the parent view.

If you used inferred or explicit constraints to place the view cutting line, you must edit the sketch to remove the
constraints before you can drag the constrained points or line segments.

Hatching in Section Views

Hatch patterns are automatically applied to section views when you create them. The active Hatch style defines the
pattern, scale, shift, and other attributes of the hatch.

When multiple parts are cut in a section view, a specific hatch angle is applied to each section hatch. Default Section
Hatch Angles are specified by Preset Values on the General tab of the Standard style pane. The final hatch rotation for cut
views also includes the rotation angle defined in the Hatch style.

Note: The default hatch rotation angles apply when you create section views. If the setting in the Standard changes,
existing section views keep the hatch rotation angle as an object override.

The Cross Hatch Clipping option on the Drawing tab of the Document Settings dialog to break hatching around drawing
annotations in cut views.
To enable clipping around user-defined symbols, select the Symbol Clipping option for individual symbol instances. The
cross hatch clipping is not supported for datum targets and in isometric views.

Change Inheritance of the Section and Breakout Cut

Isometric projected views created for section views inherit the section cut by default. Orthographic projected and auxiliary
views support the inheritance of the section, but it is switched off by default.

Isometric projected views created for views with a breakout inherit the breakout cut by default. Orthographic projected
and auxiliary views do not support inheritance of breakout operations.

Slice Operations in Section Views

You can create a section view with some sliced components and some sectioned components depending on their browser
attribute settings.

You can optionally choose to override browser component settings and slice all parts in the view according to the section
line geometry. Components that are not crossed by the section line do not participate in the slice operation.

Specifying Section View Appearance

 Shows hidden lines.

 Removes hidden lines.

 Specifies shaded rendering.

Topics in this section

 To Work with Hatch Patterns in Section Views

Control hatch patterns individually or by material, and hide or display hatch patterns to improve visibility.

 To Work with Slice View Operations

How to configure components and sketches to support slice views.

Related Tasks

 To Work with Section Views

Related Information

 To Create and Edit Section Views

To Create and Edit Section Views

How to control the alignment and depth of a section view, and how to include a slice operation.

You can define the view cutting line while Section View is active or create sketch geometry to use for the view cutting
line. You can also edit the depth of an existing Section View, and include or exclude a Slice operation in the view.

When creating section views of presentations with trails, the trail is visible in the drawing view. If appropriate, right-click
a view or a single trail and select Show Trails to turn trails on or off.

When you sketch a multisegment section line, or select a view sketch containing a multisegment section line, you specify
the method of the section view:

 Projected creates the projected view from the sketch

line. This option is set as default if all segments are
exactly 90 degrees.

 Aligned results in section view perpendicular to the

line of projection. Body cut lines do not display in the
resulting view. The aligned option is not available for a
child (dependent) view, and is only available when
Include Slice option is checked.

Create a Section View Defined by Sketch Geometry or an Aligned View

For an aligned section view, when you either sketch a multisegment section line or select a view sketch containing a
multisegment section line, you can specify the method of the section view, projected, or aligned. If one or more segment
angles are nonperpendicular, the default method is set to Aligned. If all segment angles are exactly 90 degrees, the default
method is set to Projected.

You can use an unconsumed model sketch as a section line.

1. Select an existing view to use as the parent view.

 2. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel

Section .

3. Select the view cutting line you defined in the sketch.

4. (Optional) Specify the appearance of the view in the

Section View dialog box.

 For a section view defined by sketch geometry:

1. Edit the View Identifier and select the Scale.

2. Select the Toggle Label Visibility icon to

change the label visibility.

3. Click Edit View Label to edit the view label in

the Format Text dialog.

4. Set the display Style and Section Depth for the

view.

5. Specify whether the Method of the section view

is projected or aligned.

6. Select the desired Cut Edges to display Jagged

or Smooth cut lines in the section view.

 For an aligned section view:

1. Specify the label, scale, display style, and

section depth for the view.

2. In the Method area, to specify the preferred

projected method, select the section view, right-
click, and select Edit Section Properties.

5. Move the preview to the appropriate location and click

to place the view. You can place the view only within
the alignment indicated by the view cutting line.

Create a Slice Operation with a Section View

1. Select an existing view to use as the parent view.

 2. Click to set the start point for the view cutting line, and
then click to place extra points for the line. The
number and location of points on the view cutting line
determine the type of section view.

3. Right-click, and then select Continue to complete the

view cutting line.

4. In the dialog, set the label, scale, display style, and

section depth for the view.

 Make sure that Include Slice is checked.

 (Optional) Check Slice All parts.

5. Move the preview to the appropriate location, and then

click to place the view. You can place the view only
within the alignment indicated by the view cutting line.

Edit Section View Definition or Type

After you place a section view, you can change the definition of the view, or even the type of view, by dragging the
elements of a view cutting line in the graphics window.

Do any of the following:

Drag a point to shorten or lengthen a line segment.

Drag a line segment to move it, and shorten or lengthen adjoining line segments.

Drag an arrowhead to change its direction or the length of the landing.

Drag a point to change the angle of a line segment.

Change the Depth of a Section View

Right-click the section view or cutting line.

Select Edit Section Properties from the context menu.

Change the section depth settings in the dialog:

In the Depth Control, select Full to create the section view to all geometry beyond the cutting line.

Select Distance to specify a distance of viewing in model units beginning from the cutting line, and enter the depth
distance in the Distance field.
NOTE: Setting the section depth to zero reverts to the smallest available section depth. Not a true zero-depth section. The
actual value is 0.000012.

Include or Exclude a Slice Operation in an Existing Section View

The Include Slice option creates a section view, with some components sliced and some components sectioned,
depending on the Browser attribute settings. If you are using Inventor, the optional Slice All parts overrides Browser
component settings and slices all parts in the view according to the Section line geometry. Components not crossed by the
Section Line, do not participate in the Slice operation. This view is essentially a true zero-depth, so the Section Depth
fields are dimmed when this option is checked.

Do one of the following:

Select Include Slice to include a slice operation.

Clear Include Slice to exclude a slice operation.

(Optional) If you select Include Slice, check Slice All Parts to include all parts.

Change Inheritance of the Section or Breakout Cut

Right-click the view and select Edit View.

Open the Display Options tab of the Drawing View dialog, and select the appropriate options in the Cut Inheritance
section.

To Work with Hatch Patterns in Section Views

Control hatch patterns individually or by material, and hide or display hatch patterns to improve visibility.

The active Hatch style defines the pattern, scale, shift, and other attributes of the hatch.

Modify the Hatch Pattern for an Area in a Section View

Edits that you make in the Edit Hatch Pattern dialog are kept as property overrides.

In the graphics window, select the hatch pattern to change.

Right-click and select Edit.

Change attributes of the hatch pattern in the Edit Hatch Pattern dialog:

Select By Material to use the hatch pattern assigned to the material of the cut part.
Select a hatch pattern from the Pattern list.

Set the hatch Angle, Scale, Shift, and Line Weight.

Select Double to create a crosshatch.

Click Color and select a new color in the Color dialog.

To use a hatch pattern that is not available in the Pattern list, select Other in Pattern. Then add the hatch pattern using the
Select Hatch Pattern dialog.

(Optional) To change the Hatch style for a section hatch, select another style in the Style list box on the Annotate tab of
the ribbon. The selected Hatch style is applied to the hatch object and all overrides are discarded.

Use the By Material Hatch Pattern in Section Views

If material of a component is defined in the hatch pattern map, then the By Material hatch pattern is used whenever the
component is cut. Otherwise, the hatch pattern from the Hatch style assigned to the Section Hatch object in Object
Defaults is used, and the By Material option is disabled for the component.

In the graphics window, select the hatch pattern to change.

Right-click and select Pattern from the menu.

If the By Material option is available, select it to apply the hatch pattern defined for the materials of the component, or
cancel it to use the default hatch pattern defined in the hatch style.

To enable the By Material hatch pattern for legacy drawings, map materials to hatch patterns in Styles and Standard
Editor, and then select the By Material option for all hatch patterns in the drawing from either the Edit Hatch Pattern
dialog or from the Hatch context menu.

Map Materials to Hatch Patterns

The Material Hatch Pattern Defaults tab in the active Standard style specifies materials that you can apply to hatch
patterns.

Open the Style and Standard Editor, and click the active Standard style.

Import materials or create a list of materials manually, and map hatch patterns to materials.

Change the default hatch in cut views

Use the Style and Standard Editor to:

Edit the current Hatch style or select another Hatch style for the Section Hatch object in Object Defaults.
Change the default Section Hatch Angles on the General tab of the Standard style pane. Section Hatch Angles define
hatch rotation for particular sectioned parts.

Load hatch patterns from an external PAT file and set them in the Hatch style.

Map materials to hatch patterns on the Material Hatch Pattern Defaults tab of the Standard style pane.

Use the By Material Hatch Pattern in Section Views

If material of a component is defined in the hatch pattern map, then the By Material hatch pattern is used whenever the
component is cut. Otherwise, the hatch pattern from the Hatch style assigned to the Section Hatch object in Object
Defaults is used, and the By Material option is disabled for the component.

In the graphics window, select the hatch pattern to change.

Right-click and select Pattern from the menu.

Select the By Material option to apply the hatch pattern defined for the materials of the component, or cancel it to use the
default hatch pattern defined in the hatch style.

(Optional) To enable the By Material hatch pattern for legacy drawings, map materials to hatch patterns in Styles and
Standard Editor, and then select the By Material option for all hatch patterns in the drawing from either the Edit Hatch
Pattern dialog or from the Hatch context menu.

Hide or Display Hatching for Parts in Section Views

In the graphics window, select the part in the view.

Right-click the hatched area, and then:

Select Hide to suppress the hatch display.

Clear Hide to show the hatch display.

Hide or Display All Hatching for Section Views

In the graphics window or in the browser, select the section view.

Right-click and select Edit View.

In the Drawing View dialog, open the Display Options tab, and clear or select the Hatching option.

To Work with Slice View Operations

How to configure components and sketches to support slice views.

You can show portions of a Drawing View as a slice, or zero-depth section. For example, in a drawing, you may want to
show the slice of your customer's product, or vice-versa. The cut profile, or slice line geometry, consists of associated
sketch geometry in the selected source view. The Slice operation is performed in a selected target view.

Setting Components to Participate in the Slice Operation (not available in Inventor LT)

The component (part or assembly) in the target view must be set to participate in the Slice operation. Each component has
a Section Participation attribute, which can be set from the component Browser context menu.
NOTE:Default settings for the Section Participation attribute are controlled by the Document Settings for each
component. The default setting of this attribute determines whether the component participates in section views. There is
no default setting for Slice participation.

The Slice command also has an option to override the attribute setting of each component in the target view, and perform
the Slice operation on all components.

Requirements for Sketch that Defines the Slice Operation

After selecting a Target view, where the Slice operation will be performed, you select, in the source view, an unconsumed
sketch which defines the Slice geometry. This sketch geometry must satisfy the following criteria:

 Must contain at least one open profile (only open

profiles are used for the Slice sketch geometry).

 Can be located in a Parent, Child, or Sibling View of

the Target View.

 Cannot be entirely made of reference geometry.

Reference geometry cannot be selected for Slice sketch
geometry.

 Cannot be an unconsumed Model Sketch that is

recovered in the Drawing.

 Cannot be created in a Draft View.

Enable Components to Participate in Slice Operation (not available in Inventor LT)

Use the Section Participation flyout in the browser component context menu, to enable the parts or assembly to participate
in the Slice operation.

Assembly and Presentation views support Section Participation flyout. Part views can automatically be sectioned or sliced
and do not require this setting.

The Document Settings for each part control the default settings for the Section Participation flyout. The Participate in
Assembly and Drawing Sections check box, on the Modeling tab of the Document Settings dialog box, determines
whether the part participates in section views. There is no default setting for Slice participation.

Expand the Target view icon in the browser.

Under the expanded Target view, right-click the parts or assembly you want to participate in the Slice operation.

In the context menu, select the Section Participation flyout, and check Slice.

Create a Slice Operation Defined by Sketch Geometry

Select an existing view for the Source view.

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Sketch panel Create Sketch to open a drawing sketch associated with the view.

Create sketch geometry to define an open slice sketch, and then exit the sketch environment.

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Modify panel Slice.

Select another view for the Target view.

In the Slice dialog box, select the previously defined Slice sketch as the cut sketch.

(Optional - Inventor) Check Slice All parts to override Browser component settings and slice all parts in the view,
according to the Slice sketch geometry. (Components that are not crossed by the Slice Line do not participate in the Slice
operation.)

Select the previously defined Slice sketch as the cut sketch.

Control the Cut Inheritance for Child Views

The Slice option in the Cut Inheritance section of the Drawing View dialog Display Options tab specifies that child views
inherit the slice cut.

In the graphic window or the browser, select the child view.

Right-click and select Edit View from the menu.

On the Display Options tab of the Drawing View dialog box, select the Slice check box in the Cut Inheritance section.

To Create a Breakout

You can remove a defined area of material to expose obscured features in an existing drawing view.

To create a breakout, place the view, and then create an associated sketch with one or more closed profiles to define the
boundary of the breakout area.

The active Standard and the Hatch style assigned to the Section Hatch object in Objects Default determines the default
hatching in breakout views.

You can define the depth of the breakout area from a point in the model, in a sketch associated to a projected view, using
a hole feature in a view, or by the depth of a part.

Specify a Breakout from a Point in the Model or a Sketch Associated to a Projected View

You can specify a starting point for the breakout area and measure the depth of the area from that point or by using
geometry on a sketch associated to a dependent projected view.

1. If you are specifying from a point in the model, project

a view from the base view, create a sketch associated
to the projected view, and add geometry to define the
depth for the breakout.

2. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Modify panel

Break Out .

3. In the graphics window, click to select the view, and

then click to select the defined boundary.

NOTE:The boundary profile must be on a sketch

associated to the selected view.

4. In the Break Out dialog, click the drop-down arrow

next to the Depth type box and select To Sketch or
 From Point.(If you select From Point, you can specify
a number in the Depth field.)

5. Click the select arrow, and then in the graphic window

click to select either:

 The sketch geometry associated with the projected

view. (You can specify the point in any view of the
model.)

 The start point for the depth.

6. If you are creating a breakout from a point in the

model, in the Depth value box, enter the depth of the
breakout.
Show Me How to Create a Break Out Using From Point Method (not available in Inventor LT)
Show Me How to Create a Break Out Using From Point Method (Inventor LT)
Show Me How to Create a Break Out Using To Sketch method

Using a Hole Feature in the View or by the Depth of a Part

You can specify the depth for the breakout using a hole feature in the view or one or more parts to break out of the
selected view to expose the obscured parts or features. The depth is defined by the axis of the hole or the depth of the part.

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Modify panel

Break Out .

2. In the graphics window, click to select the view, and

then click to select the defined boundary. The
boundary profile must be on a sketch associated to the
selected view.

3. In the Break Out dialog, click the arrow next to the

Depth type box and select To Hole or Through Part.

4. Click the select arrow, and then in the graphic window

click to select the hole feature or part.

NOTE:If the hole feature is hidden, click Show

Hidden Edges to show it temporarily.

5. When the view is fully defined, click OK to create the

view.
6. About Detail Views
7. Detail views provide circular and rectangular shapes of detail profile; You can select the Jagged (the default
type for both shapes) or Smooth cutout lines.
8. If you select the Smooth cutout line, you can choose to display a full boundary (circular or rectangular) around
the resulting detail view. You can also create a connection line between the fence and the full boundary in the
detail view. All three annotation objects (the fence, the boundary, and the connection line) form one
annotation object.
9. The default appearance of the detail view boundary, arrows, label text style, and orientation of the leader text
is specified in the View Annotation style.
10. NOTE: If you move (by dragging) a detail view to a different sheet from the parent view, the connection line
is deleted and cannot be created.
11. Detail Views Attached to Points on Parent Views
12. The Attach command associates detail view definitions with the parent view in the drawing environment. If
the dimensions or positional relationships of the parent view geometry are altered, the attached view definition
remains attached to and moves with the user-specified attachment vertex.
13. The view definition maintains its relative position to the parent view. A pin symbol appears next to each
attached view or symbol in the browser.
14. In the following image the attached view definition moves with the model geometry when the model geometry
is resized.
15.
16. You can use endpoints, center points, and midpoints for the attachment vertex of the view definition. You can
also delete the attachment.
17. When you copy the parent view and attached view definition to the same sheet, to another sheet, or to a
different drawing, the attachment relationship is preserved.
18. You can select multiple view definitions and attach them to a parent view in one operation. Each view
definition shares a single attachment vertex on the parent view. You can then redefine the attachment vertex
for each instance, as needed.
19. NOTE: If you delete the part or feature containing the attachment vertex in the parent view, the attached
view definition becomes sick. An alert symbol is placed next to the attaching view definition in the browser.
You can redefine the attachment status and location of the sick view definition.
To Create and Edit Detail Views

You can create and place a detail drawing view of a specified portion of a view, assigning any scale to the view.

In Inventor, if creating a detail view of a presentation with trails, the trails are visible in the view, but can be turned off if
needed.

After you place it, the detail view is proportional to the fence size. The fence shape is the same for the parent view and the
detail view.

Create a Detail View

On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Detail .

Click to select an existing view as the parent view.

In the Detail View dialog, set the view identifier, scale, and visibility of the view label. If needed, click Edit View Label
and edit the detail view label in the Format Text dialog.

(Optional) Edit the view identifier as follows:

To reposition the view identifier on a parent view, pause the cursor over the view identifier. When the cursor icon displays
a letter A, click and drag the view identifier around the shape perimeter.

To edit the view identifier in the parent view, right-click the view identifier, and click Text.

Set the display style, and fence shape for the detail view.

Fence Shape. Specifies Circular or Rectangular fence shape.

Display Full Detail Boundary. Displays a full boundary (circular or rectangular) around the resulting detail view.

Display Connection Line. Displays a connection line between the fence and the full boundary in the detail view.

Specify Cutout Shape to specify the type of the cut line as Jagged (the default type for both fence shapes) or Smooth. If
you select Smooth, specify whether to display full boundary for the detail view, and whether to add a connection line
between the detail view and the detail boundary in the parent view.

In the graphics window, click to indicate the center of the appropriate detail, move the cursor, and then click to indicate
the outer boundary of the detail.

Move the preview to the appropriate location, and then click to place the view.
Show Me How to Create a Detail View
Edit a Connection Line

You can add, move, or delete a connection line vertex. If you drag a detail view to a different sheet from the parent view,
the connection line is deleted and cannot be created.

Right-click the detail view annotation (the detail boundary or the connection line).

Do any of the following:

To add a vertex to the connection line, choose Add Vertex.

To move a vertex, click a point on the connection line to add the vertex, and then move the new vertex to the new
position.

To remove a vertex, right-click the vertex, and choose Delete Vertex.

Attach a Detail View Boundary to its Parent View

When you place a detail view, the boundary definition is not attached to the parent view. You must attach the boundary
definition to a vertex in the parent view to associate it with a specific location.

The attached detail view definition cannot be moved and maintains its association to the specified vertex if the model file
is updated.
TIP:To redefine the attachment vertex the view definition, follow the same procedure used to create the initial attachment
and select a new vertex

Right-click the detail view definition, then select Attach.

Select the attachment vertex.

Detach Detail views

Detaching a detail view boundary from its parent view lets you redefine the view.

Right-click the detail view boundary definition, and then select Attach.

Click anywhere in blank space within the drawing.

Edit the Detail View Boundary

You can replace jagged cutout lines in the detail view with a smooth cutout line.

Right-click the detail callout, click Options.

Select the Smooth Break Line, and then select the following:

Full Boundary. Displays the boundary around the detail view.

Connection Line. Creates a connection line between the detail view and the detail boundary in the parent view.

Set the Display for the Detail View

The default display type for a detail view the same as its parent view. You use Display in the Detail View dialog to
change display style.

Click one of the options:

Shows hidden lines.

Removes hidden lines.

Specifies shaded rendering.

To Work with Overlay Views

Overlay drawing views use positional representations to show an assembly in multiple positions in a single view.

Overlay views are available for unbroken base, projected, and auxiliary views. Each overlay view can reference a design
view representation independent of the parent view.

In the drawing browser, overlay views are shown as child nodes to the parent view, displayed as "PosRepName:
ViewNumber: ModelName." You right-click an overlay view node to open the model file using the positional
representation set by the overlay view.

Add dimensions between overlay views to show the distance a component has moved from its position in another
representation. Drawing dimensions automatically update if the model position changes.

Guidelines for Working with Overlay Views

  In the assembly, create design view representations
that show only components of interest. For an
uncluttered overlay view, specify a design view
representation when placing the overlay view.

 An overlay view can be associative to a defined design

view representation.

 A positional representation can be used in multiple

overlay views. In the assembly file, create as many
positional representations as necessary to show
different positions.

 To change to a different positional representation for

an overlay view, delete the overlay view and specify a
new positional representation when placing a new
overlay view.

 If you delete a positional representation in the model,

the drawing view reverts to the master positional
representation.

 If you convert an assembly to a weldment, its

positional representations and overlay views are
deleted.

 Overlay views cannot be moved from their parent

views or copied. The parent view can be moved or
copied but overlay views are not included.

 The design view can be different from the parent view,

and each overlay view can use a different design view
representation.

Create Overlay Views

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel

Base, and then in the Drawing View dialog, specify
the assembly file and the design view.
 2. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel
Overlay, and then click the base view.

3. In the Overlay View dialog, on the Positional

Representation box, click the arrow and select a
positional representation

4. Edit the overlay view as desired.

5. (Optional) Add additional overlay views to the base

view to show various positions.

6. (Optional) Create additional projected and auxiliary

views and create overlay views for each.

Edit Overlay Views

You use the Edit Overlay dialog to edit overlay views. If you want to use a different positional representation for the
overlay view, delete the overlay view and recreate the view, specifying the positional representation in the Drawing View
dialog.

1. Right-click an overlay view in the drawing browser

and select Edit View.

2. In the Overlay View dialog:

 On the Design View box, click the arrow and

specify a design view representation. If desired,
Associative to update the view when changes are
made to the associative design view representation
in the assembly environment.

 In the Label box:

 Clear the Use Positional Rep Name check box to

enter a new name or accept the default.

 If appropriate, click Toggle Label Visibility to

change the visibility of the view label.

 Click Edit View Label to edit the view label in

the Format Text dialog.
  In the Display box, select:

 Tangent Edges to show tangent edges.

 Foreshortened to shorten the length of tangent

edges to distinguish them from visible edges.

 Work Features to display them on the view.

 In the Style box, select:

 Hidden Lines, Remove Hidden Lines, or Shaded

display style.

 Style from Base to show the overlay view in the

same line style as the parent view.

 For Layer, click the arrow and select:

 As Overlay to set view items to the line style

specified by the Layer style.

 As Part to show standard lines styles used in

the part model. Components marked as
Reference displays in the reference layer style.

To Work with Break View Operations

How to display regions of interest in a component view and break (not display) the view in regions without significant
details.

You can break a view when the component view exceeds the length of the drawing, and scaling the component view to fit
the drawing makes the component view prohibitively small.

You can also break the view when the component view contains large areas of nondescript geometry. For example, you
may have to annotate both ends of a shaft, but the center portion of the shaft is free of features. View breaks can be used
anywhere along the length of the component. You can also use multiple breaks in a single drawing view.

Dimension lines that pass through a view break, where both points reside outside the area removed by the break, are
modified with a break symbol to match the view break lines. Dimensions that pass through a break, where one or both
points reside in the area removed by the break, are hidden from display.

You can also use views with breaks to create other views. For example, you can use a broken projected view to create a
broken section view.
NOTE:You can add one break per view per dialog session. To add multiple breaks to the same view, you must activate
the Break dialog for each break.

You can create broken views by altering any of these types of established drawing views:

 Part view

 Assembly view (not available in Inventor LT)

 Projected view

 Isometric view

 Section view

 Detail view

 Slice operation

Inheritance of the Break

 You can propagate the break operation to the parent

view. When you create a break, select the Propagate to
parent view option.

 For orthographic projection, breaks are inherited by a

child view by default if the view projection direction is
parallel to break lines.

 The break inheritance is also supported for child

isometric projected views, but breaks are not inherited
by default.

Break a Drawing View

The Break dialog lets you specify a break.( Display settings change to match the break style you choose.) For Structural
break, you can also use one, two, or three symbols per break.

The Propagate to parent view option controls whether the break operation is propagated to the parent view. The
availability of this option depends on type of the view and on the status of the Break Inheritance option.

1. On the ribbon, clickPlace Views tab Modify panel

Break( ), and then select the view to be broken.

2. Specify options in the Break dialog:

 Style. Sets the break style. Rectangular (

) creates a break for noncylindrical objects and all

sectioned broken views. Structural ( )

creates a break using stylized break lines.

 Orientation. Sets break orientation to horizontal,

vertical, or aligned to the view projection.

Horizontal ( ) sets break orientation to

horizontal. Vertical ( ) sets break orientation to

vertical.

 Display. Controls appearance of each break type and

works in conjunction with the Style commands.
Select a Style command to make its Display settings
active.

 Gap. Specifies the distance between the breaks in

the broken view. This uses the units specified for the
drawing.

 Symbol ( ). Specifies the number of

break symbols for the selected break, and allows up
to 3 symbols for each break. (This shows two
symbols that the Symbols option sets.)

 (Optional) Select the Propagate to parent view

option to propagate the break operation to the parent
view.

 Min. - Max. slider. Sets quantity or amplitude of

break edge. With the Rectangular command
selected, controls quantity or pitch of break edges.
With the Structural command selected, controls
 amplitude of break line. Expressed as a percentage
of the break gap.

3. Click the drawing view to place the first break line.

4. Click the drawing view to place the second break line.

Show Me How to Create a Broken View

Edit the Break Style, Display, Gap, or Number of a Symbols

You can edit the break style, display, gap, or number of a break line symbols.

However, you cannot edit the break orientation. To change break orientation, you must delete the break, and then place
the break again with the new orientation.

1. In the graphics window, select a break line, right-click,

and then select Edit Break.

2. Change any of the options in the dialog.

Edit the Position and the Amount of Component View Consumed by the Break

1. Select a view break to highlight the break lines.

2. Drag the break lines to change the position of the

break.

3. Drag either of the break lines to increase or decrease

the amount of component view consumed. Moving a
break line away from the original view break location
increases the amount of component view consumed.
Moving a break line towards the original view break
location decreases the amount of component view
consumed.

Edit the Position and Visibility of a Dimension Line Break

1. Select a broken dimension line.

2. Do the following:

 To edit the position, drag the broken dimension line

break manipulator to the appropriate position.
  To edit the visibility, drag the broken dimension line
break so that dimension text hides the break, or drag
dimension text to cover the break.

Edit the Visibility of Annotation Symbols Hidden by a View Break

An annotation symbol attached to the area removed by a break is hidden.

1. Select the view break.

2. Do any of the following:

 Drag the break position or decrease the amount of

break consumed to reveal the annotation symbol.

 Change the position of the annotation symbol.

To Work with Crop View Operations

Crop operations clip drawing views with a defined boundary.

You can perform a crop operation on existing views except for the following view types:

 Views containing a view break (broken view)

 Views with overlays

 Suppressed views (not available in Inventor LT)

 Views that are already cropped

On the cropped views, you can perform the following view operations:

 Break Out view

 Detail view

 Slice operation

You can perform crop operations on a view with circular or rectangular shapes or a predefined view sketch. An existing
view sketch that qualifies as a crop sketch can be used to crop a view. To qualify as a crop sketch, the sketch must contain
a single non self-intersecting loop and be associated with the view.

Before you execute a crop operation, you first select the type of boundary (circular or rectangular). A circular boundary
can be specified by a center point of circle and a point on the circle. A rectangular boundary can be specified by two
points that define the diagonal of the rectangle.
The boundary type selected directly in the context menu is applied to a particular crop operation. The boundary type
selected in the Crop Settings dialog box is set as a default type for the next crop operations.

Guidelines for Crop View Operation

 Cropped views are created by altering established

drawing views. The views can be part, assembly,
projected, isometric, section, or slice.

 Crop operations support all types of drawing

annotations. Annotations can be anchored to endpoints
of cropped geometry including edges produced from
the crop edges, if they are displayed.

 Crop affects existing sheet dimensions and centerlines

and center marks of all types. When annotation
anchors are lost, annotations become sick.

Perform a Crop Operation from a View

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Modify panel

Crop ( ).

2. Select the view to crop.

3. (Optional) To modify the crop view:

 To change the default settings for the crop boundary

type, right click and then click Circular or
Rectangular.

 To change the default setting for the crop boundary,

right-click and then click t Crop Settings. Then in
the Crop Settings dialog, specify the default
boundary type and set the display of the cut lines.

4. Define the crop boundary. Specify a center and radius

for a circular border, or two corners for a rectangular
border.

5. Depending on the selected boundary type, specify the

center for a circular boundary or two corners for a
rectangular boundary.
 Show Me How to Perform a Crop Operation

Perform a Crop Operation Using an Existing Sketch

1. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Modify panel

Crop ( ).

2. Select the associated sketch.

3. Create any sketch geometry that forms a single non

self-intersecting loop to define the boundaries for the
crop operation.

Edit a Crop Sketch

Model geometry can be projected into sketches used for cropping. If the model geometry changes, the crop sketch may
become invalid for cropping.

If the sketch is still valid for cropping, the view updates to accommodate the changes to the sketch. If the sketch is no
longer valid for cropping, then a dialog appears showing the reason the sketch is invalid. You can cancel the edit and
continue in the sketch environment or click Continue to exit the sketch environment. Exiting the sketch environment with
an invalid sketch marks the crop node with a warning icon and the view is not cropped.

You can edit crop sketches just like any other view sketch. When you leave the existing sketch environment the sketch is
validated for cropping.

 Open the corresponding crop node in the browser,

select the sketch, right-click and then select Edit.

Drawing Annotations

Create and manage dimensions, centerlines, symbols, tables, parts lists, and other annotations in drawings.

Topics in this section

 Suppressed Annotations

Annotations in drawings are suppressed when the associated component is suppressed or invisible.

 Dimensions in Drawings

Drawing dimensions are added to a drawing to further document the model, without changing or controlling
features or part size.
  Retrieved Model Dimensions in Drawings

Model dimensions are created during sketching or the creation of features in a model.

 Sketch Symbols

Create standard symbols in a drawing or template, and save them to a symbol library for sharing and later use.

 AutoCAD Blocks

These can be available in an AutoCAD DWG opened in Inventor, and can be imported using the Import Block
command.

 Tables in Drawings

Explaining table specifications, features, and tips for managing tables in drawings.

 Hole and Thread Notes

About the options available for adding dimensions and text notes with a leader line.

 Balloons

About formatting and customizing the annotation tags for items in a parts list.

 Text in Drawing Sketches

About text boxes and geometry-aligned text that can be added to drawing sketches.

 Weld Annotations in Drawings

Guidelines and options for adding welding symbols, caterpillars, and end fills.

 Revision Tables and Revision Tags in Drawings

Explaining how to work with these features that automatically track drawing revisions.

 Sheet Metal Annotations in Drawings

How notes and tables are used to add bend and punch instructions.
Suppressed Annotations

Annotations in drawings are suppressed when the associated component is suppressed or invisible.
Components may be made invisible in the assembly (in a design view) or in the drawing.

Some guidelines to help you understand why an annotation is no longer visible in a drawing:

 If a dimension is attached to multiple features or edges,

the dimension is suppressed if any of its target features
or components are suppressed or made invisible.

 If a feature is suppressed or a component is made

invisible, the attached annotation does not appear.

For example, a center mark attached to a hole center

becomes suppressed when the hole feature is
suppressed. Any dimension attached to the center mark
is also suppressed.

 Some leaders also have secondary leaders that

reference other features or components than the
primary leader. If only a primary leader is present and
attached to a suppressed feature or invisible
component, it is suppressed.

If multiple leaders exist, and the primary leader is

attached to a suppressed feature or invisible
component, it is not suppressed.
NOTE:If a feature is unsuppressed or an assembly component is made visible, annotations are also unsuppressed and
become visible.
Dimensions in Drawings

Drawing dimensions are added to a drawing to further document the model, without changing or controlling features or
part size.

You add drawing dimensions as annotations to drawing views or geometry in drawing sketches. Drawing dimensions are
expressed as numeric constants.

You can add text to a dimension. You can also hide the dimension value and display the custom text instead.

Inspection dimensions are used during the quality control process. They are formatted specifically to indicate which
dimensions must be checked before accepting a part. The dimension includes a label and an inspection rate.
TIP:Use the drawing view context menu to specify the annotation plane and other dimension options.

Baseline dimensions

Baseline dimensions and baseline dimension sets automate adding multiple dimensions to drawing views. You specify an
origin to calculate dimensions from, and select the geometry to dimension.
NOTE:Spline endpoints are the only selectable points on a spline when you use the baseline dimension command.

Ordinate dimensions

Use the Ordinate commands to add two types of ordinate dimensions to your drawings: ordinate dimension sets and
individual ordinate dimensions. Individual ordinate dimensions provide support for imported AutoCAD drawings that
contain ordinate dimensions.
The dimensions automatically align as you place them. If dimension text overlaps, you can modify or create a dimension
style.

Use a point, center point, or straight edge as a location node for the Origin Indicator, or place the Origin Indicator
anywhere within the bounds of the view.

Chain dimensions

Use the Chain and Chain Set commands to add two types of chain dimensions to your drawings: chain dimension sets and
individual chain dimensions.

You select a base dimension for a chain. Then you create dimensions which are parallel with the base dimension. All
selected dimensions become members of the chain. The dimensions are added from the second extension line of the
selected base dimension in either direction.
NOTE:You can also select chain dimension set as base dimension, or as additional dimension.

Foreshortened dimensions

Foreshortened dimensions reference an object (for example a work line or axis) that is outside of a drawing view. After
you place the foreshortened dimension, it is displayed even if you hide the out-of-view reference object.

TIP:Use commands in the context menu of a foreshortened dimension to customize the dimension appearance, for
example to hide the second arrowhead.

Dimensioning splines
Dimensioning a spline presents unique challenges. Because the shape is constantly changing, applying dimensions for
annotation is less obvious than applying dimensions to a prismatic shape. To control the spline shape in the part model,
dimensions are applied to fit points and curvature. The following image shows a 2D spline sketch with dimensions on fit
points and curvature.

You can use the general, baseline, and ordinate dimension commands to add dimensions to the endpoints of a spline. The
General and Ordinate dimension commands can also apply dimensions to the X and Y Min/Max points of a spline. The
Spline Min/Max snap setting is switched in the context menu. If it is off, you cannot add dimensions to the spline
min/max points.
NOTE:It is possible that the Spline endpoint could also be a Min or Max point. If this is the case, the endpoint takes
priority.

The following image shows general dimensions applied to the X and Y minimum and maximum, and the endpoints of the
highlighted spline.
A useful technique you can use to dimension a spline anywhere along the curve is to create a new sketch inside the
drawing viewport containing the spline and project the spline geometry into the new sketch. You can then add sketch
points and dimension them at any point on the curve as shown in the following image. Use the retrieve dimension
command to make the sketch dimensions visible after you exit the sketch.

You can use the Retrieve Dimension command in a drawing to recover the dimensions applied to the spline in the model.
Retrieved annotations cannot be located at critical dimension locations such as minimum and maximum width.
Using drawing dimensions to annotate sketches

When you create a sketch in a drawing, you use sketch dimensions to control its size. When you finish the sketch, use
Retrieve Dimensions to display the sketch dimensions on the sheet. The format is controlled by the active dimension style.

You can add drawing dimensions as annotations to the geometry after closing the sketch. These dimensions are associated
with the sketch and change when you move or edit sketch geometry.
NOTE:You can select drawing dimensions from the drawing sheet to a sketch using the Promote to Sketch function.

Dimensions in isometric views

You can create dimensions in isometric drawing views. The dimension geometry (text, dimension lines, extension lines,
leaders, arrowheads) is obliqued and aligned to the model geometry.
After you select model edges or points, the dimension object is displayed and the corresponding aligned annotation planes
are automatically inferred. Using the spacebar, you can toggle between inferred planes, or select the sheet plane or a
model work plane to place the dimension.

To select other than inferred annotation plane, right-click and select:

 Horizontal or Vertical dimension type to align the

dimension with the coordinate planes of the model.

 Annotation Plane Show All Part Work Planes (or

Show Visible Part Work Planes). Then select a work
plane in the graphic window.

 Annotation Plane Use Sheet Plane to place the

dimension on the drawing sheet plane.

Dimension Style

The dimension style determines the default appearance and properties of dimensions in drawings. It controls the
dimension units and tolerances, display of dimension values, arrangement of dimensions in drawing views, style and
position of dimension texts, and properties of drawing notes.

Measurement Units

The dimension style determines the units of measurement for dimensions in drawings. If the units in the model are
different than the units set in the style, dimensions in the drawing are automatically converted to the units dictated by the
style.

Copying dimension properties

You can copy one or more properties from the selected dimension to a target dimension for all types of dimensions.
NOTE:Individual ordinate and baseline dimension set members are valid sources only, but the entire set is a target.

Moving dimensions between views

You can move all types of dimensions between views of the same model on one sheet. Dimension attachment points must
be available in the target view.

Linear diametric dimensions behave as linear dimensions instead of diametric dimensions, so that a diameter dimension
created in the side view of a cylinder can be moved to the top view of the cylinder. Diametric, radial, and angular
dimensions can only be moved to a parallel view.
Notes:

 You can move dimensions for the following types of

views:

 All orthographic base, projected, and auxiliary

views. Views can be rotated and alignment broken
from the parent view.

 Detail, section, and break-out views if attachment

points are found in the view.

 Broken views, if an attachment point is available.

If the attachment points are inside the break, the
dimension is not visible. Removing the break can
make the moved dimension visible.

 You can move only dimensions attached to model

geometry, and center lines or center marks. The
centerline or center mark can be recovered from work
features. The centerline or center mark must be visible
in both the parent and target views.

 You cannot move dimensions for the following types

of views:

 Draft views.

 Weldment views with different states, such as

preparation and machining.

 Within one overlay view set.

 Sheet metal folded views and sheet metal flattened

views of the same part.

 You cannot move dimensions attached to sketch

geometry, or moved to sketch geometry, except
dimensions attached to recovered model sketches and
3D sketches. Dimensions attached to recovered model
sketches can be attached to the recovered sketch from
the same model sketch in another view.

 You cannot move dimensions if the move requires a

change from a linear to a leadered dimension.
Arrange dimensions

You can arrange linear, angular, true isometric, and individual baseline and ordinate dimensions. You can select one or
multiple dimensions in one or multiple views.

You can select dimensions in the drawing first, and use the Arrange command. Alternatively, you can click the Arrange
command first, and then select the dimensions in the drawings.

Add dimensions in orthographic drawing views

On the ribbon, click Annotate tab Dimension panel Dimension .

In the graphics window, select the geometry and drag to display the dimension.

To add a linear dimension for a line or edge, click to select the geometry.

To add a linear dimension between two points, two curves, or a curve and a point, click to select each point or curve.

To add a linear symmetric or linear diametric dimension, select two parallel lines or edges, right-click, and then select
Dimension Type Linear Symmetric or Linear Diametric.

To add a linear foreshortened dimension, select two lines, edges, or points. Then right-click and select Dimension Type
Linear Foreshortened.

To add a radial or diametric dimension, click to select an arc or circle.

To add an angular dimension, select two lines.

To add a foreshortened angular or arc length dimension, select two lines, right-click, and then select Dimension Type
Angular Foreshortened, or Arc Length Foreshortened.
To annotate an arc segment with an arc length, angular, or chord length dimension, click to select the arc. Then right-
click, and then select Dimension Type Arc Length, Arc Length Foreshortened, Angular, Angular Foreshortened, or
Chord Length.

To add an implied intersection dimension, select the first curve, right-click, and then select the intersection. Select the
second curve that defines the implied intersection, and then select the element (or other implied intersection) to
dimension.
TIP:Selected objects in the drawing determine the type of dimension and commands available in the context menu. To
change the settings or use different options, right-click, and click a command on the menu.

Click to place the dimension in the appropriate location.

TIP:When you create a leader line, hold the CTRL key on your keyboard to enable leader line snapping in 15° steps.

Add dimensions in isometric drawing views

On the ribbon, click Annotate tab Dimension panel Dimension .

In the graphics window, select the geometry and drag to display the dimension. Click Spacebar to toggle between inferred
annotation planes.

Optionally, use the context menu to select the annotation plane:

Select Dimension Type Horizontal or Vertical dimension type to align the dimension with the coordinate planes of the
model.

Select Dimension Type Aligned to align the dimension geometry with the selected objects in the drawing view.

To place the dimension on a model work plane, select Annotation Plane Show All Part Work Planes (or Show Visible
Part Work Planes). Then select a work plane in the graphic window. (Available only if the selected model geometry
belongs to one part)

Select Annotation Plane Use Sheet Plane to place the dimension on the drawing sheet plane.

Click to place the dimension in the appropriate location.