Property Editor - Instance Properties

The Instance Properties Property Editor (IPPE) provides an environment to efficiently create and edit Instance Properties at all levels of the currently open assembly. The Instance Properties Property Editor can only be activated when an assembly is the active Autodesk Inventor document. You access the IPPE from the iPropWiz Property Editor (PE). When you open the IPPE, the PE is hidden. A toolbar button in the IPPE enables you to close the IPPE and return to the PE.

Access: On the iPropWiz Property Editor toolbar, click the Instance Properties Property Editor tool.

Options

Click to open the Instance Properties Property Editor Options dialog.

Lock instance property editor to Inventor window	Check this to lock the editor to the left or right edge of the Inventor window. This is similar to the iPropWiz Property Editor behavior.
Show property type image in column header	Check this to display the glyph indicating the property type in the column header.
Apply expression to all occurrences on load	If a text type instance property definition has an expression applied, check this to have the expression applied to the cell for the instance property in all occurrences when the assembly is first loaded. If unchecked, the expression will be shown in the Property Tools cell and can be applied to selected occurrences.

Return to iPropWiz Property Editor

Click to close the Instance Properties Property Editor and restore the iPropWiz Property Editor.

Assembly Selection

A hierarchical list of assemblies is shown in this panel. The top level assembly is the active Autodesk Inventor document. This is the top level assembly shown in the current document tab in Autodesk Inventor. All subassemblies are displayed as child assemblies of their immediate parent assembly.

Note: Because Autodesk Inventor Instance Properties are stored in the immediate parent assembly and not in any higher level assembly, there may be multiple occurrences of the same assembly shown in this list. The instance properties for the occurrences in any assembly are stored in the parent assembly. Because of this, you cannot provide different instance property values to occurrences when the parent assembly appears in multiple locations or levels in the assembly hierarchy.

There are two methods to select which assembly is active in the Instance Properties Property Editor (IPPE).

1.Select the assembly in the Assemblies list in the IPPE. The adjacent properties tree updates to show all first level occurrences of the selected assembly. You are not required to activate (edit in-place) this subassembly in the Autodesk Inventor window.

2.Optionally, edit a subassembly at any level in-place in the Autodesk Inventor window. The assembly is automatically selected in the IPPE and its first level component occurrences are displayed in the properties tree.

Occurrence Selection

The selected assembly is shown in the top-level tree node. All first level component occurrences (parts and subassemblies) are displayed as child nodes. Because there can be many instances of the same component in an assembly, individual components are placed below a group node of the same name.

Active Assembly Node

The selected assembly from the Assemblies tree list. Check / uncheck this node to select / unselect all component occurrence nodes.

Component Occurrence Group Node

A container for all first level occurrences of the same part or subassembly in the active assembly. Check a group node to select all occurrences of the component. Uncheck the group node to clear all check marks from all components below the group node.

Individual Occurrence Node

These nodes correspond to each occurrence of the part or subassembly in the active assembly. You can check / uncheck individual nodes to include / exclude the occurrence during the application of a property tool (i.e. apply a value generator, apply entered value, apply default value). If the occurrence is contained within a component occurrence pattern, a pattern glyph is displayed to the left of the occurrence name. You can check all occurrences within a single pattern from a context menu. In addition, hover over the occurrence name to see the name of the containing occurrence pattern.

Important Note: When you use any of the property tools (i.e. apply a value generator, apply entered value, apply default value), only those component occurrences that are checked in the Occurrence Selection column are affected by the application of the tool. This enables users to pick and choose which occurrences will be included in the application of the tool. Individual value cells can be edited if the value is not currently locked.

Instance Property Columns

Each instance property definition in the current iPropWiz configuration is shown in a separate column in the IPPE. Tools for quickly applying values to multiple occurrences are shown in the top cell of the column, and individual instance property values can be entered in the cell associated with a specific occurrence.

Property Tools Row

Each property type (text, date, number, and yes/no) has tools to greatly reduce the time it takes to apply values to multiple occurrences. See the Instance Properties - Property Tools page for more information.

Instance Property Value Cell

You can enter a instance property value for a specific instance property in the cell at the intersection of the property column and occurrence row. The cell editor ensures that only valid values for the property type can be entered. If the instance property already exists in the occurrence and the property values in the column are locked you may be prevented from editing the value. See the Instance Properties - Property Tools page for more information on locking and unlocking existing values.

Property Management Tools

	Click to apply cell values to instance properties in all first level occurrences. If the property is missing from the occurrence it is added. The IPPE is then closed.
	Click to reset all cell values to the current instance property values in all first level occurrences.
	Click to apply cell values to instance properties in all first level occurrences. If the property is missing from the occurrence it is added. The IPPE remains open.