Autodesk Inventor 2011(Build 239)
February 26, 2010
Release Notes - Read Me file
Autodesk, Inc.
This file contains information that became available prior to releasing Autodesk Inventor 2011,
or information that is useful while using Autodesk Inventor. If you experience problems not covered
in this Readme, please visit the Autodesk Product Support Website, or contact your dealer/reseller.
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- Please update your Operating System before you install Autodesk Inventor 2011.
Reboot your system after all security updates are installed. Do not update your Operating System when you install
or un-install the software.
- We strongly recommend that you close all Autodesk
applications before you install, maintain, or un-install the software.
- DWG TrueView is a required component for Inventor. Uninstalling DWG TrueView can result in Inventor functionality not working.
- Appending or merging a Hotfix into a deployment image is not supported. This is only supported for service packs.
- Do not use Asian characters as the user name and organization name when creating a deployment.
- In the Planning Your Installation guide, the references to AutoCAD Mechanical apply only to the Autodesk Inventor
Suites. AutoCAD Mechanical is not included in Autodesk Inventor (standalone).
- Do not save any files to \Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Materials2011. Uninstalling the Autodesk Materials Library
using Add/Remove programs removes all content from the Materials folder.
- For Electronic fulfillment users only:
- If you download source file to a local folder with a name that contains non-English characters, please make sure the language
in Regional setting is consistent with the one of name of local folder.
- For Windows 7, if you end the Explorer.exe process during installation or uninstallation,
occasionally Explorer.exe will not automatically restart resulting in the Desktop UI (icons, Start button, etc) disappearing.
To display your Desktop UI you must start Explorer.exe manually using the keyboard to access Task Manager. To use the keyboard,
follow the steps below:
- Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to start the Task Manager.
- Select File>New Task(Run...) from the pulldown menu.
- Enter "Explorer" in the text field and click OK.
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- Autodesk Inventor 2011 supports Windows 7 32bit,
Windows 7 64bit, Vista 32bit SP2, Vista 64bit SP2, XP 32bit SP3
and XP 64bit SP2. If your operating system does not meet these requirements,
please update it before you begin the installation.
- Verify you have administrator privileges on your
local machine to install Autodesk Inventor 2011.
- For Windows Vista installations, disable the User
Account Control feature.
- For Windows 7 installation, select Never Notify
Me in the User Account Control settings.
- For Electronic fulfillment users only:
- A minimum of 11GB of free disk space for the 32-bit version and 13 GB of free disk space
for 64-bit version of Autodesk Inventor 2011 is required on the drive where your temporary files
are directed for the extract self-extracted Inventor 2011 package.
- The recommended minimum RAM for using Inventor Tooling is 3GB. For complex models,
complex mold assemblies, and large assemblies (typically over 1,000 parts) the recommended minimum RAM is 6GB.
- The multimedia learning solutions require Flash
Player 10 (or higher). Download from the Adobe Flash Player Web site.
- Adobe Reader is required to read documentation provided in PDF format. Download from get.adobe.com/reader.
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Before you begin...
- Install all Windows Updates that are pending on your machine, and then
reboot:
- For Windows XP, use the Windows Update utility located
in the Control Panel.
- For Windows Vista and Windows 7, use the Windows Update utility located in the Control
Panel, and on the sidebar.
- Please verify enough disk space is available on your machine to install Autodesk Inventor 2011 before starting the install.
To uninstall Autodesk Inventor 2011 Beta Builds:
- Uninstall any previous Beta versions of Autodesk Inventor 2011, Content Center Libraries 2011,
DWG TrueView 2011, and three Material Library components.
The Autodesk Inventor 2011 Beta Uninstaller
tool is provided to make it easier to remove all installed Sikorsky Beta components.
To uninstall Autodesk Material Libraries:
If you uninstall the Autodesk Material Libraries using Add/Remove Programs, the libraries must
be uninstalled in the reverse order from how they appear in Add/Remove Programs. Uninstall the
libraries in the following order:
To install Autodesk Inventor 2011:
For Electronic fulfillment users only:
- Download all appropriate Autodesk Inventor 2011 installation files to a temporary location on your computer hard drive.
- Double click the self-extracting executable file to access the installer. The files are temporarily extracted to the Temp folder. If this temporary location is nested too many levels deep, the install fails. It is recommended that the extracted destination folder path is less than 84 characters long.
- We recommend that you use the default destination folder, which is "C:\Autodesk\Inventor_2011\x86" or "C:\Autodesk\Inventor_2011\x64", as the self-extract destination folder name. After the file is extracted, the Inventor installer wizard launches automatically. If it does not launch, browse to the folder where all files were extracted and double-click setup.exe.
- In the Begin Installation dialog box, click Configure to set preferences.
- After configuration, start to install.
- When the installation is done, click Finish.
- If required, reboot the system after the
installation is finished.
For ISO users only:
- Insert the DVD marked Disc 1.
- The Inventor installer wizard launches automatically. If it does not launch, open the DVD disk and double-click setup.exe to start the installation.
- In the Begin Installation dialog box, click Configure to set preferences.
- After configuration, start to install.
- When the installation is done, click Finish.
- If required, reboot the system after the
installation is finished.
While every attempt is made to fully support the migration of files created with or saved
using a Beta version of Autodesk Inventor 2011, these files are not guaranteed to migrate to this
release version of Autodesk Inventor 2011, or any of the subsequent releases.
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- We recommend that you use a certified graphics card. See the Autodesk
Inventor 2011 graphics cards and drivers.
This site also includes useful information that was not available at the time this document was written.
- On Windows Vista & Windows 7 operating systems, disable User Account Control (UAC)
to change the serial number in the Product Information. This applies to all Autodesk products.
- If you installed Inventor 2011 on Windows Vista or Windows 7, and you want
User Account Control (UAC) enabled, right-click the Inventor icon, and then select "Run as Administrator"
to start Inventor after installation. This ensures all necessary subcomponents are registered correctly.
- If you install Inventor 2011 beside existing installations of Inventor 2008, Inventor 2009 or
Inventor 2010 on Windows Vista or Windows 7, and want to switch between versions, use "Run as Administrator"
if User Account Control (UAC) is enabled, or your current user is not an Administrator group. This also
applies for using the Add-in manager to change add-ins in Vista.
- If you install Inventor 2011 beside an existing installation of Inventor 2008
on a 64-bit operating system, do not use the Autodesk32-bitExplorerLauncher.bat shortcut icon when
Inventor 2011 is active. This desktop shortcut icon (which starts 32-bit Windows Explorer) is only for
Inventor 2008. Inventor 2011 works with the 64-bit version of Windows Explorer.
- In Windows Explorer, for the document window title, Inventor 2011 follows the setting "Hide Extension for known file
types" like Microsoft Word or Excel.
- When working with very large assemblies on a 64-bit system, up to an additional 20 GB or more
of temporary free space is required for Inventor at run time, depending on the size of the assemblies.
At a minimum, we recommend 2 GB. For 32-bit systems, this requirement is 1 GB.
Styles:
- To migrate the Style Library:
- Back up the Style Library folder (Design Data folder).
- Make sure the Studio addin is enabled (load on startup).
- Start the Style Library Manager.
- Navigate to the target Style Library folder, and click Migrate.
After migration, make sure the styles defined in the library and in the templates are in sync.
If you use a legacy project that has its Style Library path set to something
other than the default, a warning dialog box displays on AEC exchange style. If the datasets of the
project are migrated using the Task Scheduler, this dialog box displays repetitively, preventing
migration.
There are three ways to overcome this message:
- Manually copy the 'AEC Exchange' folder, located in the Inventor 2011 "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Autodesk\Inventor 2011\install location\Design Data" folder, to the design data folder in the project.
- If you do not use AEC Exchange, Unload AEC Exchange add-in in Add-In Manager.
- Use the Styles Library Manager to migrate this style library before using the Task Scheduler.
Some Autodesk Inventor utility programs, such as Task Scheduler, require Autodesk Inventor software libraries to be preloaded. You can preload the libraries by running and exiting Autodesk Inventor prior to running a utility program. This process is generally required only one time after each computer restart. Subsequent use of the utility programs reuses the cached libraries loaded earlier in the Windows session.
If you have multiple releases of Autodesk Inventor installed, run and exit the Autodesk Inventor release that matches the version number of the utility program you want to run. Running and exiting a specific release of Autodesk Inventor sets a value in the Windows registry so the utility programs can detect which installation is active.
Shell Extensions (for example, Design Assistance, iProperties, Pack & Go, and so on) sometimes do not show in the Autodesk Inventor file context menu. You can run Autodesk Inventor using Admin account to correct it (select Autodesk Inventor application icon using Windows Explorer, then right-click, and select "Run as...").
If the Style Library Manager generates an error during initialization, restart your system, launch the stand-alone Project Editor (from Windows Start menu), and then close it to correct it.
On Windows Vista, Import image into a sketch fails when MS Paint is not the default editor. You can disable User Account Control (UAC) to register MS Paint as your default editor.
Windows Themes and VB 6.0 Add-Ins:
- Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP, and Vista provide new themes (or visual styles).
You can define the visual style or appearance of controls and windows from simple colors to textures and
shapes. Inventor takes advantage of this. Visual themes are enabled by default for the Inventor application.
- However, Visual Basic 6.0 does not support themes or visual styles on Windows 7, Windows XP,
or Vista. Click here for details. You can enable
Visual Basic 6.0 applications to support a theme or visual style on Windows 7, Windows XP, and Vista, but you can encounter
unexpected behavior. For instance, if you place option buttons on top of a Frame control with the visual
theme option enabled, the option buttons on the Frame control appear as black blocks. A work around for
this issue, is to overlay a PictureBox control over the Frame control before adding the option buttons.
The picture box border style can be set to "None" so it is not visible.
- We stongly recommend that you port VB 6.0 Add-ins to VB.NET.
Note: To disable visual themes for Inventor, access the Properties dialog box through Windows Explorer. Go to ...\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2011\Bin\Inventor.exe. Right-click, select Properties, and then click the Compatibility tab. Select the "Disable visual themes" check box, and then click OK.
SDK:
- The SDK directory is created when Inventor is installed. The location of the SDK directory depends on the Operating System on which Inventor is installed. On Windows XP, the SDK is installed in [install directory]\Inventor 2011\SDK. On Windows Vista the SDK is installed in %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Autodesk\Inventor 2011\SDK.
- The contents of the SDK are packaged into two installable components (each represented by an msi file):
Direct Translators Supported File Versions:
| Translator |
Import |
Export |
| Alias |
v10 or Later |
|
| CATIA V4 |
All Versions |
|
| CATIA V5 |
R6-R19 |
R10-R19 |
| IGES |
All Versions |
5.3 |
| JT |
7.0; 8.0; 8.1; 8.2; 9.0; 9.1; 9.2; 9.3; 9.4 |
7.0; 8.0; 8.1; 8.2; 9.0; 9.1; 9.2; 9.3; 9.4 |
| NX |
3-6 |
|
| Parasolid |
Up to 22.0 |
9.0-22.0 |
| Pro/ENGINEER |
Up to Wildfire 5.0 |
|
| Pro/ENGINEER Granite |
Up to 6.0 |
1.0-6.0 |
| Pro/ENGINEER Neutral |
N/A |
N/A |
| SAT |
4.0-7.0 |
4.0-7.0 |
| SolidWorks |
2003-2010 |
|
| STEP |
AP214, AP203E2 |
AP214, AP203E2 |
| STL |
|
N/A |
| XGL/ZGL |
|
N/A |
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Cable & Harness
- It can take noticeably more time when in-place editing legacy harness assemblies. This is an optimization to boost performance in subsequent operations.
- We recommend that you open the Nailboard from the project it belongs to. Otherwise, the Nailboard commands are sometimes disabled.
- To import Harness Data or import/export Cable & Harness library definitions through .csv files, we recommend that you use the default list separator from Control Panel > Regional and Language Options. Otherwise, import/export can fail.
- To edit the Nailboard sketch in the Ribbon Bar, you must switch to the Nailboard panel after entering the Nailboard sketch environment.
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Dynamic Simulation
- Assembly Constraints with Limits option can lead to incorrect conversion to joints under certain circumstances.
- Dynamic Simulation browser is grayed out on activation of the construction mode with the
mechanical status dialog box open. Before you activate the construction mode, close the mechanical status dialog box.
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Frame Analysis
- Torsional Section Modulus does not calculate for some specific section shapes, such as rectangular and square Tubes.
- If the Compute Preloaded Modes option for modal analysis is selected, errors can occur for some models on simulation.
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Stress Analysis
- There are several meshing improvements in this release. Some datasets that could not
be meshed in previous releases can now be successfully meshed. You can regenerate the mesh by
either copying the simulation or by tweaking the mesh settings.
- The number of automatic contacts that are detected can change for some assemblies,
as compared to the results obtained in Autodesk Inventor 2010.
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Tooling
- To ensure the mold library functions correctly, load the Metric, Imperial, and Meusburger libraries in the active Inventor project.
- Autodesk Inventor Tooling does not refresh Content Center data changed within the same Inventor session. To update the content data list,
shut down and restart Inventor.
- Design failure can occur if Mold Content is copied and modified manually before it is consumed.
- The trim result of the rectangle Ejector Pin on PZ1 is incorrect if the core and cavity are combined first.
- The runoff surface is generated incorrectly after setting the shrinkage in some cases.
- In cases when memory capacity approaches the limit in Inventor Tooling, please save all documents and restart Inventor.
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Tube & Pipe
- In certain circumstances, Tube & Pipe routes do not respond to the changes of related components. We recommend that you use Rebuild All to update them.
- To reduce the time to browse a fitting, we recommend that you remove unused content libraries.
- GOST flanges with custom parameters are not supported when defining Tube & Pipe styles.
- The decimal symbol in the Tube & Pipe style does not follow the settings from Control Panel > Regional and Language Options.
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API
- FileDialog.FilterIndex works only for the first time use against a dialog box filter.
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Assembly Modeling
- The Weld features in the authored iCopy templates are lost after instancing iCopy.
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Content Center
- F2/F3/F4/ESC keys do not work when placing a part from the Content Center using Autodrop on Windows 7 Operating Systems.
- Content Center libraries on the Vault server cannot be replicated to other sites.
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Design Accelerator
- The shape of teeth is not exact. An arc is used for the tooth side. This inaccuracy causes interferences between gear models.
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DWG/DWF
- Exported DWF/DWFX does not support the Autodesk Material Library in Inventor 2011.
- Markup sometimes does not display well if the Software or OpenGL graphics hardware is used.
- The color bar and contour in Autodesk Design Review can be different from Inventor if publishing FEA results with contour shading.
- Tables do not publish correctly if the column header is empty.
- The Markup browser icon cannot be closed after closing the markup set.
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Framework
- The constraint type does not switch when you press the space key
while using ALT + Drag to place a constraint on two subassemblies in the
Ribbon UI.
- Ribbon appearance style reverts back to normal after you change the
Windows theme.
- The New, Save, Save As, and Open commands are enabled in the Custom View environment.
- ALT key cannot be used to navigate through Ribbon Bar items while the Ribbon Bar is in "Minimize to Panel Titles" mode.
- A floating Ribbon Bar positioned outside the viewable area of the system display, due to a change in display settings, does not reset to inside the viewable area when Inventor launches.
- Inventor crashes when migrating some large assembly files on a 32bit machine. To resolve this
issue, turn on the 3GB mode switch, or move to the 64bit platform.
- Linking to Excel .xls files can fail on 64-bit Windows 7 systems. To fix the problem, log in as an administrator and run Inventor once.
- Using "By Access Date" and "By Size" shows incorrect results.
- The second level tooltip shows the wrong date in the Menu Browser and the Switch Window dropdown.
- The display name is not localized for Realistic Appearance in the Styles Editor dialog.
- The content of an Infotip can be configured by editing an .xml file. This .xml configuration file is
created when the Inventor Infotip is displayed for the first time. The file is located at:
- For Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Inventor 2011\InfoTip.config.
- For Windows Vista and Windows 7: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Inventor 2011\InfoTip.config.
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Inventor Studio
- In some cases, the camera rotates when animating a camera along a path.
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Licensing and Activation
- Autodesk Inventor cannot obtain a network license when a client computer running Windows 7 or Windows
Vista is also being used as the network license server. To work around this issue, map the
computer IP address to its name in the "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts" file.
- Installing an Autodesk 2011 product and an Autodesk 2010 product side by side may cause
the offline (manual) license activation process to display registration-activation error 0015.111. The activation was actually successful. Close and restart the product to use it.
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Part Modeling
- Inventor Fusion Technology Preview may not launch to edit Inventor Base Bodies if
Windows 7 or Vista User Accont Control (UAC) settings are enabled, or if Inventor is not run
as Administrator. Please modify your UAC settings from the Windows 7 or Vista Control Panel.
- When you measure an angle for an extrusion taper, the angle value is entered into the
extrusion distance dimension field.
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Sheet Metal
- A transposed sketch in a Flat Pattern sometimes positions incorrectly if the source face is unfolded.
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Task Scheduler
- Content Center files cannot be downloaded from Vault using Migrate from Vault. This may lead to an unresolved reference error.
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Translators
- 3D Print Preview: The Browser bar and Panel bar are not adjustable
in the 3D Print Preview environment.
- CATIA V4 Translator: "Tube & Pipe" is not supported.
- CATIA Mesh Translation: Unicode in the CGR file path is not supported.
- When an Inventor drawing is exported to DWG, the dimension tolerance can show a negative zero.
- When diameter dimensions with architectural style are exported to DWG, the sometimes have a different appearance in AutoCAD.
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Vault
- ProE files cannot be filtered out when performing an Open/Place from Vault.
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Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Vault Professional, Autodesk Data Management Server,
Autodesk Productstream, Autodesk Autoloader, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical,
Mechanical Desktop, and AutoCAD Electrical, are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the United States and/or other
countries.
Windows 2000, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, Windows
Vista, Windows 7, Microsoft Office XP, Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Office
2003, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and
Microsoft Excel are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Portions of this software copyright 1996-2008 Acresso Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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We thank all our customers who identify issues and report them to us. These
reports give us the opportunity to improve the product and provide you with
the best solution in mechanical design. We also thank you for your continued
business and for the feedback regarding the content of this update release.
Respectfully,
Autodesk Inventor Product Team
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Copyright © 2010 Autodesk, Inc.