How do I make a custom appearance (material/texture) globally available across Autodesk Inventor files and templates?

Yes, you absolutely can sell your Inventor add-in, and Autodesk provides a formal channel for doing so through the Autodesk App Store. Here’s what you need to know:

Selling Your Add-In via Autodesk App Store

• Eligibility
• Submission Process
• Monetization Options
• Guidelines

To avoid false positives, you can check if the link is still active before trusting the Mirror property:

Dim oDerivedPartComp As DerivedPartComponent
Set oDerivedPartComp = oCompDef.Features.DerivedPartComponents.Item(1)

If Not oDerivedPartComp.ReferencedFile Is Nothing Then
    If oDerivedPartComp.Definition.Mirror = True Then
        ' Valid mirrored derived part
    End If
Else
    ' Link is broken — don't trust Mirror property
End If

This ensures you're only evaluating the Mirror flag when the derived part is still linked to its source.

Here is your content converted into **HTML format** with clean structure and preserved VBA code: ```html

Setting Model State via API (for non-iAssembly documents)

Here’s how to set the active Model State for a part or assembly document:

Dim oDoc As Document
Set oDoc = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument

Dim oModelStates As ModelStates
Set oModelStates = oDoc.ComponentDefinition.ModelStates

' Activate a specific model state by name
Dim targetState As String
targetState = "CustomState1"

If oModelStates.Item(targetState).Name <> oDoc.ComponentDefinition.ActiveModelState.Name Then
    oModelStates.Item(targetState).Activate
End If

Inventor Release 11 and later support saving PNG images using the SaveAsBitmapWithOptions method. This was not available before Release 6, but by R11, it's fully functional.

Here’s a working example adapted for R11:

Sub SaveIsometricViewAsPNG()
    Dim oView As View
    Set oView = ThisApplication.ActiveView

    ' Set camera to isometric view
    With oView.Camera
        .ViewOrientationType = kIsoTopRightViewOrientation
        .Fit
        .Apply
    End With

    ' Define PNG export options
    Dim options As NameValueMap
    Set options = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateNameValueMap
    options.Value("TransparentBackground") = True ' Optional: set to False for solid background

    ' Save as PNG
    Dim ImgFname As String
    ImgFname = "C:\Temp\MyPart.png"
    Call oView.SaveAsBitmapWithOptions(ImgFname, 400, 400, options)
End Sub

Step-by-Step: Enable 18' Pipe in Tube & Pipe Routes

1. Edit Content Center Family
   • Open Content Center Editor from the Tools tab.
   • Locate the pipe family you're using (e.g., ANSI B36.10 Steel Pipe).
   • Right-click → Edit Family.
   • Add a new row with:
     • Nominal Diameter: 18
     • Outside Diameter: 18.0 (or per spec)
     • Wall Thickness: as required
     • Ensure all required parameters are filled.
2. Publish the Family
   • Save and publish the updated family back to Content Center.
   • Restart Inventor if needed to refresh the library.
3. Update Tube & Pipe Style
   • Go to Tube & Pipe Styles.
   • Select your style (e.g., "Steel Pipe").
   • Click Edit next to the pipe component.
   • Click Change Size → Select the new 18' size.
   • Apply and save the style.
4. Create Route with 18' Pipe
   • Start a new route.
   • Select the updated style.
   • The 18' pipe should now be available for placement.