Is it possible to build an Inventor assembly file (.iam) offline, without launching the Inventor UI, using ApprenticeServer?

HANDBRAKE is one of the most popular and free video conversion tools.

It is open source, easy to use, and works on Windows and Mac.

Here’s how to make it work more reliably:

1. Initialize Apprentice Properly

   Make sure Apprentice is initialized before loading the control:

   
   Dim appServer As Inventor.ApprenticeServerComponent = New Inventor.ApprenticeServerComponent()
           

2. Use Static Viewing Instead of Interactive Tools

   Avoid using toolbar buttons like Rotate or Zoom directly. Instead, control the view programmatically:

   
   Dim viewCtrl As InventorViewControl = Me.InventorViewControl1
   viewCtrl.ViewOrientation = Inventor.ViewOrientationEnum.kIsoTopRightView
   viewCtrl.Fit()
           

3. Disable Toolbar or Customize It

   If Rotate causes crashes, disable or hide it:

   
   viewCtrl.ToolbarVisible = False
           

   Or selectively enable safe tools:

   
   viewCtrl.ToolbarVisible = True
   viewCtrl.EnableZoom = True
   viewCtrl.EnablePan = True
   viewCtrl.EnableRotate = False ' Disable problematic tool
           

4. Use Try-Catch Around View Manipulation

   Protect your code from runtime exceptions:

   
   Try
       viewCtrl.RotateView(30, 0) ' Example: rotate 30 degrees around X
   Catch ex As Exception
       MessageBox.Show("Rotate failed: " & ex.Message)
   End Try
           

5. Ensure Graphics Compatibility

   Make sure your system supports DirectX 11 and your form has proper DPI and scaling settings. Some crashes stem from graphics context mismatches.

Sheets in Inventor are named using the Sheet.Name property. By default, they follow a simple pattern:

• Sheet1, Sheet2, etc.
• You can rename them manually or programmatically using:

sheet.Name = "Assembly Overview"

You can delete sheets using the Inventor API or iLogic. Here's a VB.NET-style snippet that safely deletes all sheets except the first:

Dim oDoc As DrawingDocument = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
Dim oSheets As Sheets = oDoc.Sheets

' Delete all sheets except the first one
Do While oSheets.Count > 1
    Dim lastSheet As Sheet = oSheets.Item(oSheets.Count)
    lastSheet.Delete()
Loop

Yes, you can edit the text inside a sketch used by an Emboss feature via the Inventor API — and there’s a clean way to do it programmatically.

Sample VB.NET / VBA Code

Dim oPartDoc As PartDocument = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
Dim oCompDef As PartComponentDefinition = oPartDoc.ComponentDefinition

For Each oEmboss As EmbossFeature In oCompDef.Features.EmbossFeatures
    Dim oSketch As PlanarSketch = oEmboss.Profile.Parent

    For Each oTextBox As TextBox In oSketch.TextBoxes
        Debug.Print "Original Text: " & oTextBox.Text
        oTextBox.Text = "Updated Text Here"
    Next
Next

This:

• Navigates to each EmbossFeature
• Accesses the sketch used for the emboss profile
• Loops through all TextBox objects in the sketch
• Updates the text content

Yes, you can detect whether dimensions in a drawing were retrieved from the model (IPT file) using the Inventor API. Here's how to do it:

Sample Code: Check if Dimension Was Retrieved

Dim oDrawingDoc As DrawingDocument = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
Dim oSheet As Sheet = oDrawingDoc.ActiveSheet

For Each oDim As GeneralDimension In oSheet.DrawingDimensions.GeneralDimensions
    If Not oDim.RetrievedFrom Is Nothing Then
        Debug.Print("Dimension '" & oDim.Text.FormattedText & "' was retrieved from model.")
    Else
        Debug.Print("Dimension '" & oDim.Text.FormattedText & "' was manually created.")
    End If
Next

This lets you:

• Identify dimensions linked to the model (IPT)
• Filter out manually created dimensions
• Optionally tag or style them differently