InventorNetAddinWizard

Inventor .NET API: Another Way to Reference Inventor COM Library

We introduced where to find the Inventor COM Interop assemblies for various versions of Inventor previously. In fact, there is another way to reference in the Inventor COM library, through the COM Type Library in GAC directly.

In this article, we are going to focus on this. It’s also simple enough. The Inventor COM Object (Type) Library can be found from the COM tab of the same Add Reference dialog regardless of C# or VB.NET.

When a good version of the Inventor Object Library is chosen and the Add button is pressed, a COM Interop assembly will be created automatically and be referenced into the project accordingly. One thing to note however is that the auto-named assembly name is Inventor this time and it has a bit different properties than the Autodesk.Inventor.Interop.

The same fact makes this approach look not so friendly. Firstly, we have to check the File Version of the Inventor Object Library to know for which Inventor version is the COM library is. Secondly, we’d better change the resultant assembly name to indicate which version it really is as the default Version is always 1.0.0.0 regardless of whatever Inventor COM library it is created from. Thirdly, with Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) handy, why should we take the trouble?

Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) can help generate the Inventor .NET addin project either in C# or VB.NET automatically and professionally in only a few seconds.  The list of its cool features and the link to its installer download can be found from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

Inventor .NET: Where is the API Library (COM Interop Assembly)

Inventor only has COM API, strictly speaking, and its .NET library is the COM Interop assembly actually. Where to find it then?

The Inventor products themselves provide the COM Interop assemblies in recent versions such as 2012 and 2013. The COM Interop Assembly name is Autodesk.Inventor.Interop.dll and it resides in somewhere as follows in case the default installation folder has been accepted.

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2012\Bin\Public Assemblies
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2013\Bin\Public Assemblies

Of course, for different versions, the COM Interop Assembly has different properties such as size, date, and version. Here is what the display version 2013 (internal version 17.0.0.0) of the COM Interop Assembly looks like in the Windows File Properties dialog.

The leading edge Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) will be providing a widget to help find the COM Interop Assembly files and manage them in an easy way.

Embedded Manifest (.X.manifest) Creator Item Wizard of InventorNetAddinWizard

The Embedded Manifest (the .X.manifest file) Creator can be found from the Inventor Addin node of the Common Items in the Installed Templates of both VB.NET and C# Add New Item dialog.
 
When it is chosen and a proper name is given, the following item wizard pages will show up one by one.

The final Embedded Manifest (the .X.manifest file) may look like the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
  <assemblyIdentity
    name="InventorAddinServer"
    version="1.0.0.0">
  </assemblyIdentity>
  <clrClass
    clsid="{c05fe408-080f-4336-a4cc-cf3d4ae9f898}"
    progid="InventorAddinServer"
    threadingModel="Both"
    name="InventorAddinServer"
    runtimeVersion="">
  </clrClass>
  <file name="InventorNetAddinVB1.dll"></file>
</assembly>

The leading edge Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) provides a lot of cool wizards, coders, and widgets to facilitate the development work using the Inventor .NET API. It can be found and downloaded from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

Loader Creator (.AddIn) Item Wizard of InventorNetAddinWizard

The Loader (the .AddIn File) Creator can be found from the Inventor Addin node of the Common Items in the Installed Templates of both VB.NET and C# Add New Item dialog.
 

When it is chosen and a proper name is given, the following item wizard pages will show up one by one.

The final loader (.AddIn file) may look like the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Addin Type="Standard">
  <ClassId>{c05fe408-080f-4336-a4cc-cf3d4ae9f898}</ClassId>
  <ClientId>{c05fe408-080f-4336-a4cc-cf3d4ae9f898}</ClientId>
  <DisplayName>InventorNetAddinVB1</DisplayName>
  <Description>InventorNetAddinVB1</Description>
  <Assembly>C:/Temp/VS2010/Inv2012/InventorNetAddinVB1/InventorNetAddinVB1/bin/Debug/InventorNetAddinVB1.dll</Assembly>
  <LoadBehavior>0</LoadBehavior>
  <UserUnloadable>1</UserUnloadable>
  <Hidden>0</Hidden>
  <SupportedSoftwareVersionGreaterThan>15..</SupportedSoftwareVersionGreaterThan>
  <SupportedSoftwareVersionLessThan>17..</SupportedSoftwareVersionLessThan>
  <DataVersion>1</DataVersion>
  <UserInterfaceVersion>1</UserInterfaceVersion>
</Addin>

The leading edge Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) provides a lot of cool wizards, coders, and widgets to facilitate the development work using the Inventor .NET API. It can be found and downloaded from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

InventorNetAddinWizard Build #0.6.5.0 Released

In this build, all existing features such as the InventorNetAddinWizard project wizard both C# and VB.NET types and various Event Handler item wizards have been enhanced and bug fixed. In addition, two item wizards have been provided, the Embedded Manifest (the .X.manifest file) Creator and the Loader (the .AddIn File) Creator.

 
We will demonstrate these features one by one in detail in the coming posts. Please stay tuned.

The leading edge Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) provides a lot of cool wizards, coders, and widgets to facilitate the development work using the Inventor .NET API. It can be found and downloaded from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

Inventor API & VB.NET: Triad Events

Inventor API provides many events in various objects. The Triad Events can be used to monitor user interface activities such as pre-select, select, un-select, trigger a command, stop a command, terminate a command, pop-up context menu, drag & drop, and so on. In this post, let’s see how to manipulate these Inventor Triad Events using .NET, particularly VB.NET here.

We create the event handlers for each available Inventor Triad Event and provide registers and un-registers like the following:

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Xml
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Windows.Media.Imaging
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.IO
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports Inventor

Public Class TriadEventHanlder1

 Dim mEventsObj As TriadEvents
 Public Sub New(ByVal obj As TriadEvents)
  mEventsObj = obj
 End Sub

 Public Sub Register()

  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnTerminate, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnTerminate_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnStartSequence, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnStartSequence_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnStartMove, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnStartMove_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnSegmentSelectionChange, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnSegmentSelectionChange_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnMoveTriadOnlyToggle, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnMoveTriadOnlyToggle_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnMove, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnMove_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnEndSequence, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnEndSequence_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnEndMove, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnEndMove_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnActivate, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnActivate_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub UnRegister()

  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnTerminate, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnTerminate_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnStartSequence, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnStartSequence_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnStartMove, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnStartMove_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnSegmentSelectionChange, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnSegmentSelectionChange_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnMoveTriadOnlyToggle, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnMoveTriadOnlyToggle_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnMove, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnMove_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnEndSequence, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnEndSequence_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnEndMove, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnEndMove_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnActivate, AddressOf TriadEvents_OnActivate_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnActivate_Handler(ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnActivate")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnEndMove_Handler(ByVal SelectedTriadSegment As Inventor.TriadSegmentEnum, ByVal ShiftKeys As Inventor.ShiftStateEnum, ByVal CoordinateSystem As Inventor.Matrix, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnEndMove")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnEndSequence_Handler(ByVal Cancelled As Boolean, ByVal CoordinateSystem As Inventor.Matrix, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnEndSequence")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnMove_Handler(ByVal SelectedTriadSegment As Inventor.TriadSegmentEnum, ByVal ShiftKeys As Inventor.ShiftStateEnum, ByVal CoordinateSystem As Inventor.Matrix, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnMove")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnMoveTriadOnlyToggle_Handler(ByVal MoveTriadOnly As Boolean, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnMoveTriadOnlyToggle")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnSegmentSelectionChange_Handler(ByVal SelectedTriadSegment As Inventor.TriadSegmentEnum, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnSegmentSelectionChange")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnStartMove_Handler(ByVal SelectedTriadSegment As Inventor.TriadSegmentEnum, ByVal ShiftKeys As Inventor.ShiftStateEnum, ByVal CoordinateSystem As Inventor.Matrix, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnStartMove")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnStartSequence_Handler(ByVal CoordinateSystem As Inventor.Matrix, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnStartSequence")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TriadEvents_OnTerminate_Handler(ByVal Cancelled As Boolean, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnTerminate")

 End Sub
End Class

With all the even handlers put together in a central class and the register and un-register methods it provides, things become all straightforward now. We create an instance of the Triad event handler, register all those events through calling the Register() method of the handler instance in the Activate implementation, and un-register them accordingly through calling the UnRegister() method in the Deactivate() implementation of the Inventor Addin Server.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) can generate Inventor .NET addin projects automatically including addin server interface implementations, COM registry free treatment, a nice sample Ribbon Button, and manifest file creation and deployment.  Right after that, the Inventor addin assembly is ready to be launched by the specified Inventor and debugged by the Visual Studio Debugger simply through pressing the F5 key.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) also provides item wizards to help generate various event handlers including the Triad even handler as demonstrated here automatically and reliably.

The list of its cool features and the link to the installer download can be found from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

Inventor API & VB.NET: Transaction Events

Inventor API provides many events in various objects. The Transaction Events can be used to monitor user interface activities such as pre-select, select, un-select, trigger a command, stop a command, terminate a command, pop-up context menu, drag & drop, and so on. In this post, let’s see how to manipulate these Inventor Transaction Events using .NET, particularly VB.NET here.

We create the event handlers for each available Inventor Transaction Event and provide registers and un-registers like the following:

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Xml
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Windows.Media.Imaging
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.IO
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports Inventor

Public Class TransactionEvents1

 Dim mEventsObj As TransactionEvents
 Public Sub New(ByVal obj As TransactionEvents)
  mEventsObj = obj
 End Sub

 Public Sub Register()

  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnUndo, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnUndo_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnRedo, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnRedo_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnDelete, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnDelete_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnCommit, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnCommit_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnAbort, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnAbort_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub UnRegister()

  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnUndo, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnUndo_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnRedo, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnRedo_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnDelete, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnDelete_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnCommit, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnCommit_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnAbort, AddressOf TransactionEvents_OnAbort_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub TransactionEvents_OnAbort_Handler(ByVal TransactionObject As Inventor.Transaction, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnAbort")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TransactionEvents_OnCommit_Handler(ByVal TransactionObject As Inventor.Transaction, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnCommit")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TransactionEvents_OnDelete_Handler(ByVal TransactionObject As Inventor.Transaction, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnDelete")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TransactionEvents_OnRedo_Handler(ByVal TransactionObject As Inventor.Transaction, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnRedo")

 End Sub

 Public Sub TransactionEvents_OnUndo_Handler(ByVal TransactionObject As Inventor.Transaction, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnUndo")

 End Sub
End Class

With all the even handlers put together in a central class and the register and un-register methods it provides, things become all straightforward now. We create an instance of the Transaction event handler, register all those events through calling the Register() method of the handler instance in the Activate implementation, and un-register them accordingly through calling the UnRegister() method in the Deactivate() implementation of the Inventor Addin Server.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) can generate Inventor .NET addin projects automatically including addin server interface implementations, COM registry free treatment, a nice sample Ribbon Button, and manifest file creation and deployment.  Right after that, the Inventor addin assembly is ready to be launched by the specified Inventor and debugged by the Visual Studio Debugger simply through pressing the F5 key.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) also provides item wizards to help generate various event handlers including the Transaction even handler as demonstrated here automatically and reliably.

The list of its cool features and the link to the installer download can be found from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

Inventor API & VB.NET: Select Events

Inventor API provides many events in various objects. The Select Events can be used to monitor user interface activities such as pre-select, select, un-select, trigger a command, stop a command, terminate a command, pop-up context menu, drag & drop, and so on. In this post, let’s see how to manipulate these Inventor Select Events using .NET, particularly VB.NET here.

We create the event handlers for each available Inventor Select Event and provide registers and un-registers like the following:

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Xml
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Windows.Media.Imaging
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.IO
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports Inventor

Public Class SelectEventHanlder1

 Dim mEventsObj As SelectEvents
 Public Sub New(ByVal obj As SelectEvents)
  mEventsObj = obj
 End Sub

 Public Sub Register()

  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnUnSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnUnSelect_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnStopPreSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnStopPreSelect_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnSelect_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnPreSelectMouseMove, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnPreSelectMouseMove_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnPreSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnPreSelect_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub UnRegister()

  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnUnSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnUnSelect_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnStopPreSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnStopPreSelect_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnSelect_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnPreSelectMouseMove, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnPreSelectMouseMove_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnPreSelect, AddressOf SelectEvents_OnPreSelect_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub SelectEvents_OnPreSelect_Handler(ByRef PreSelectEntity As Object, ByRef DoHighlight As Boolean, ByRef MorePreSelectEntities As Inventor.ObjectCollection, ByVal SelectionDevice As Inventor.SelectionDeviceEnum, ByVal ModelPosition As Inventor.Point, ByVal ViewPosition As Inventor.Point2d, ByVal View As Inventor.View)
  MessageBox.Show("OnPreSelect")

 End Sub

 Public Sub SelectEvents_OnPreSelectMouseMove_Handler(ByVal PreSelectEntity As Object, ByVal ModelPosition As Inventor.Point, ByVal ViewPosition As Inventor.Point2d, ByVal View As Inventor.View)
  MessageBox.Show("OnPreSelectMouseMove")

 End Sub

 Public Sub SelectEvents_OnSelect_Handler(ByVal JustSelectedEntities As Inventor.ObjectsEnumerator, ByVal SelectionDevice As Inventor.SelectionDeviceEnum, ByVal ModelPosition As Inventor.Point, ByVal ViewPosition As Inventor.Point2d, ByVal View As Inventor.View)
  MessageBox.Show("OnSelect")

 End Sub

 Public Sub SelectEvents_OnStopPreSelect_Handler(ByVal ModelPosition As Inventor.Point, ByVal ViewPosition As Inventor.Point2d, ByVal View As Inventor.View)
  MessageBox.Show("OnStopPreSelect")

 End Sub

 Public Sub SelectEvents_OnUnSelect_Handler(ByVal UnSelectedEntities As Inventor.ObjectsEnumerator, ByVal SelectionDevice As Inventor.SelectionDeviceEnum, ByVal ModelPosition As Inventor.Point, ByVal ViewPosition As Inventor.Point2d, ByVal View As Inventor.View)
  MessageBox.Show("OnUnSelect")

 End Sub
End Class

With all the even handlers put together in a central class and the register and un-register methods it provides, things become all straightforward now. We create an instance of the Select event handler, register all those events through calling the Register() method of the handler instance in the Activate implementation, and un-register them accordingly through calling the UnRegister() method in the Deactivate() implementation of the Inventor Addin Server.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) can generate Inventor .NET addin projects automatically including addin server interface implementations, COM registry free treatment, a nice sample Ribbon Button, and manifest file creation and deployment.  Right after that, the Inventor addin assembly is ready to be launched by the specified Inventor and debugged by the Visual Studio Debugger simply through pressing the F5 key.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) also provides item wizards to help generate various event handlers including the Select even handler as demonstrated here automatically and reliably.

The list of its cool features and the link to the installer download can be found from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

Inventor API & VB.NET: Representation Events

Inventor API provides many events in various objects. The Representation Events can be used to monitor user interface activities such as pre-select, select, un-select, trigger a command, stop a command, terminate a command, pop-up context menu, drag & drop, and so on. In this post, let’s see how to manipulate these Inventor Representation Events using .NET, particularly VB.NET here.

We create the event handlers for each available Inventor Representation Event and provide registers and un-registers like the following:

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Xml
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Windows.Media.Imaging
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.IO
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports Inventor

Public Class RepresentationEventHanlder1

 Dim mEventsObj As RepresentationEvents
 Public Sub New(ByVal obj As RepresentationEvents)
  mEventsObj = obj
 End Sub

 Public Sub Register()

  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnNewPositionalRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewPositionalRepresentation_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnNewLevelOfDetailRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewLevelOfDetailRepresentation_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnNewDesignViewRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewDesignViewRepresentation_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnNewDesignView, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewDesignView_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnDelete, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnDelete_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnActivatePositionalRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivatePositionalRepresentation_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnActivateLevelOfDetailRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivateLevelOfDetailRepresentation_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnActivateDesignViewRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivateDesignViewRepresentation_Handler
  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnActivateDesignView, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivateDesignView_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub UnRegister()

  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnNewPositionalRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewPositionalRepresentation_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnNewLevelOfDetailRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewLevelOfDetailRepresentation_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnNewDesignViewRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewDesignViewRepresentation_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnNewDesignView, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnNewDesignView_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnDelete, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnDelete_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnActivatePositionalRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivatePositionalRepresentation_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnActivateLevelOfDetailRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivateLevelOfDetailRepresentation_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnActivateDesignViewRepresentation, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivateDesignViewRepresentation_Handler
  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnActivateDesignView, AddressOf RepresentationEvents_OnActivateDesignView_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnActivateDesignView_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._Document, ByVal Representation As Inventor.DesignViewRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnActivateDesignView")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnActivateDesignViewRepresentation_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._AssemblyDocument, ByVal Representation As Inventor.DesignViewRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnActivateDesignViewRepresentation")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnActivateLevelOfDetailRepresentation_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._Document, ByVal Representation As Inventor.LevelOfDetailRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnActivateLevelOfDetailRepresentation")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnActivatePositionalRepresentation_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._AssemblyDocument, ByVal Representation As Inventor.PositionalRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnActivatePositionalRepresentation")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnDelete_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._Document, ByVal Entity As Object, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnDelete")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnNewDesignView_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._Document, ByVal Representation As Inventor.DesignViewRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnNewDesignView")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnNewDesignViewRepresentation_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._AssemblyDocument, ByVal Representation As Inventor.DesignViewRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnNewDesignViewRepresentation")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnNewLevelOfDetailRepresentation_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._Document, ByVal Representation As Inventor.LevelOfDetailRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnNewLevelOfDetailRepresentation")

 End Sub

 Public Sub RepresentationEvents_OnNewPositionalRepresentation_Handler(ByVal DocumentObject As Inventor._AssemblyDocument, ByVal Representation As Inventor.PositionalRepresentation, ByVal BeforeOrAfter As Inventor.EventTimingEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnNewPositionalRepresentation")

 End Sub
End Class

With all the even handlers put together in a central class and the register and un-register methods it provides, things become all straightforward now. We create an instance of the Representation event handler, register all those events through calling the Register() method of the handler instance in the Activate implementation, and un-register them accordingly through calling the UnRegister() method in the Deactivate() implementation of the Inventor Addin Server.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) can generate Inventor .NET addin projects automatically including addin server interface implementations, COM registry free treatment, a nice sample Ribbon Button, and manifest file creation and deployment.  Right after that, the Inventor addin assembly is ready to be launched by the specified Inventor and debugged by the Visual Studio Debugger simply through pressing the F5 key.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) also provides item wizards to help generate various event handlers including the Representation even handler as demonstrated here automatically and reliably.

The list of its cool features and the link to the installer download can be found from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.

Inventor API & VB.NET: ReferenceKey Events

Inventor API provides many events in various objects. The ReferenceKey Events can be used to monitor user interface activities such as pre-select, select, un-select, trigger a command, stop a command, terminate a command, pop-up context menu, drag & drop, and so on. In this post, let’s see how to manipulate these Inventor ReferenceKey Events using .NET, particularly VB.NET here.

We create the event handlers for each available Inventor ReferenceKey Event and provide registers and un-registers like the following:

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Xml
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Windows.Media.Imaging
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.IO
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports Inventor

Public Class ReferenceKeyEventHanlder1

 Dim mEventsObj As ReferenceKeyEvents
 Public Sub New(ByVal obj As ReferenceKeyEvents)
  mEventsObj = obj
 End Sub

 Public Sub Register()

  AddHandler mEventsObj.OnBindKeyToObject, AddressOf ReferenceKeyEvents_OnBindKeyToObject_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub UnRegister()

  RemoveHandler mEventsObj.OnBindKeyToObject, AddressOf ReferenceKeyEvents_OnBindKeyToObject_Handler
 End Sub

 Public Sub ReferenceKeyEvents_OnBindKeyToObject_Handler(ByRef ReferenceKey() As Byte, ByVal Document As Object, ByRef Obj As Object, ByRef MatchType As Inventor.SolutionNatureEnum, ByVal Context As Inventor.NameValueMap, ByRef HandlingCode As Inventor.HandlingCodeEnum)
  MessageBox.Show("OnBindKeyToObject")

 End Sub
End Class

With all the even handlers put together in a central class and the register and un-register methods it provides, things become all straightforward now. We create an instance of the ReferenceKey event handler, register all those events through calling the Register() method of the handler instance in the Activate implementation, and un-register them accordingly through calling the UnRegister() method in the Deactivate() implementation of the Inventor Addin Server.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) can generate Inventor .NET addin projects automatically including addin server interface implementations, COM registry free treatment, a nice sample Ribbon Button, and manifest file creation and deployment.  Right after that, the Inventor addin assembly is ready to be launched by the specified Inventor and debugged by the Visual Studio Debugger simply through pressing the F5 key.

The Inventor .NET Addin Wizard (InventorNetAddinWizard) also provides item wizards to help generate various event handlers including the ReferenceKey even handler as demonstrated here automatically and reliably.

The list of its cool features and the link to the installer download can be found from the A Wizard for Inventor .NET Addin page.