MFG468330

I Want It My Way: Customizing the Inventor Content

Center
Pete Strycharske
D3 Technologies

Learning Objectives
• Set the stage for customization with complete control over Content Center
structures and properties.
• Utilize efficient techniques to use customize table data and pare down parts lists for
lean design.
• Publish your own family tables with components your company specifically uses.
• Learn how to create custom filters and tailor selection options to improve end-user
experiences and efficiency.

Description
The Inventor Content Center is a powerful tool that enables centralized storage and
management of standard parts within a company, as well as providing a springboard to efficient
design tools such as Frame Generator, Bolted Connections, and Tube and Pipe. However, to
make the tool as flexible as possible, the Content Center uses highly technical names for
components (ANSI, and so on). Perhaps you like to label your pan head machine screws as
“ANSI.B18.6.3…” but that doesn’t work for many others. Additionally, while the out-of-the-box
Content Center is extensive, it does not contain any of our specific components. So, whether
you decide to use a vendor’s or your own part numbers, or you want to utilize existing data or
add your own, this is the class for you. In this course, we’ll cover how to build custom Content
Center structure, how to modify existing data or publish our own data, and how to simplify the
end user’s experience and ensure data serves downstream processes. In every way, we will
make the Content Center our own!

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Speaker(s)
I am an implementation consultant with D3 Technologies, a Platinum Autodesk Partner and
Authorized Training Center, based out of our Minneapolis office. I focus primarily on the
following areas engineering design and manufacturability, design automation and configuration,
process efficiency and manufacturing layouts. Typically, I will partner with clients to perform an
assessment of a design or process, determine some improvements, propose a path forward and
develop content / mentor users to implement the project. I'm also an Autodesk Certified
Instructor and professionally certified in AutoCAD, Inventor Professional and Fusion 360. I
frequent the Inventor and Factory Design Forums / Idea Stations, so if you ever have a
question, please just ask! Privileged to have attended and taught at Autodesk University; love
sharing the crazy stuff I work on and always looking to learn more from all the excellent
sessions!

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Table of Contents
The Goal .....................................................................................................................................4
Why is this even important?.............................................................................................4
What are we going to cover? ...........................................................................................4

Controlling Content Center structure ...........................................................................................5

Create a custom Content Center library...........................................................................6
Copying an existing family .............................................................................................10
Copying structure only and adding custom sub-categories ............................................ 12
Create new top-level categories ....................................................................................14

Customize Content Center family data ......................................................................................19

Edit family properties .....................................................................................................19
Add custom data columns .............................................................................................22
Controlling part numbers and file names .......................................................................27
Pare down lists for lean design ......................................................................................34
Replace family templates for added flexibility ................................................................39

Publishing new Content Center Families ...................................................................................47

Publishing standalone components ...............................................................................47
Publishing iParts ............................................................................................................57
Authoring components for special usage .......................................................................62

Improving the end user experience ...........................................................................................70

Add custom columns to aid in component selection.......................................................70
Create custom filters to highlight company specific components ................................... 72

Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................78

Appendix A: Weblinks to video demonstrations .........................................................................79

Appendix B: Weblinks to Relevant Articles ................................................................................80

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The Goal
Why is this topic even important?
The Content Center (referred to as CC from now on) is a vast repository of parts that can be
used in virtually any design scenario. These parts range from generic, everyday parts like
fasteners to highly specialized piping equipment. Since there can be such a wide array of
different components, Content Center provides huge advantages since it is a centralized
location to store and utilize all these components, which reduces the maintenance workload and
ensures that all designers are pulling the correct parts.

Besides these general advantages to using the CC, there are specific modules within Inventor
that utilize CC components. These design accelerators automate the creation of content,
allowing designers to focus on the more custom portions of a design. Some examples include:

DESIGN ACCELERATOR EXAMPLES: FRAME GENERATOR, BOLTED CONNECTIONS AND TUBE & PIPE RUNS

While the out-of-the-box CC is extremely useful, to maximize the benefits, we MUST make the
CC our own! Customizing the CC unlocks the full potential to improve our design efficiency as
well as downstream business processes.

What are we going to cover?

CC is a vast tool, so to customize it to our needs, we’re going to focus in on the following areas:

• Controlling the structure of the Content Center

• Refining and modifying the family table data to better suit our needs
• Adding new Content Center families for company specific designs
• Improving the designer’s user experience by customizing selection choices

By working systematically through the customization of the CC, we can quickly bring
changes online and ensure the desired results.

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Controlling Content Center structure
Content Center structure is very important because each design accelerator requires the
components to be stored in a certain location. While the overall structure is set for these
categories, opportunities exist to customize the structure to better accomplish our design goals.
Some examples of CC Structure are shown below.

CC STRUCTURE EXAMPLE SHOWING THE FASTENERS CATEGORY AND ASSORTED SUB-CATEGORIES

CC STRUCTURE EXAMPLE SHOWING THE TUBE & PIPE AND FITTINGS SUB-CATEGORY

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Create a custom Content Center library
To customize the Content Center, either to create new structures, modify existing libraries or
publish new content, a custom library must be created. There are a couple of different ways this
can be accomplished, depending on whether one is using Vault or not. If working with a
network drive or on your own computer, the creation of the custom library can be accomplished
in the Projects tool. If using Vault, then the Vault admin must create the library in the Autodesk
Data Management Server (ADMS) Console.

Create a Desktop Content (network or single computer) library

Custom libraries created on networks or on a single computer can be created within the
Projects tool inside Inventor.

WITHIN THE PROJECTS TOOL, THE CC LIBRARIES CAN BE CONFIGURED OR CREATED

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 The Content Center Library Configurator tool allows us to determine which libraries are
active for use in this project file. Therefore, if your team doesn’t use the DIN library, then
simply uncheck the box next to the DIN library and it won’t be available when placing
components from the CC.

Important Note: this library selection process works whether the libraries are located on
the network, on a local computer or in the Vault.

USE THE CC LIBRARY CONFIGURATOR TO CONTROL WHICH LIBRARIES ARE AVAILABLE WHEN PLACING CC PARTS

Custom CC libraries can also be created within the CC Library Configurator, which will
set the stage for the customizations that will be the primary focus for the rest of this
presentation.

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 CREATE A CUSTOM LIBRARY FROM THE CC LIBRARY CONFIGURATOR

THE CUSTOM LIBRARY HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE ROSTER AND CAN BE DEACTIVATED LIKE ANY OTHER CC LIBRARY

Create a custom CC library in Vault

To create a custom library for use in Vault, the Autodesk Data Management Server
(ADMS) Console must be utilized. Only the Vault admins can accomplish this, and this
process must be completed on the server.

LAUNCH THE ADMS CONSOLE TO ACCESS THE VAULT SERVER MANAGEMENT TOOLS

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 RIGHT CLICK ON THE “LIBRARIES” NODE AND CREATE A NEW LIBRARY

NAME THE LIBRARY AND VAULT WILL STORE IT IN THE PROPER PARTITION

THE RESULTING CUSTOM LIBRARY HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE VAULT ROSTER

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Copying an existing family
Copying an existing family is a great way to get started with a custom CC category structure,
because when a family is copied, the structure is copied as well. Simply choose the family you
wish to modify later and choose the Copy To option to create a linked family copy, along with
the corresponding structure, to your custom CC library.

Important Note: You can choose the Save Copy As option to create an independent, non-linked
family copy to your custom library. This should be done if both libraries must be visible for end
users and you do not wish to link the families in any way.

IF NO FILES ARE OPEN, LAUNCH THE CC EDITOR FROM THE TOOLS TAB

IF THERE ARE OPEN FILES, LAUNCH THE CC EDITOR FROM THE MANAGE TAB

TOGGLE THE ACTIVE LIBRARY TO THE CUSTOM CC LIBRARY AND NOTE THERE IS NO FILE STRUCTURE

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 SWITCH TO “MERGED VIEW”, NAVIGATE TO AND RIGHT-CLICK ON THE FAMILY AND USE THE COPY TO OPTION

IN “MERGED VIEW” THE FAMILY HAS BEEN COPIED AND CERTAIN CATEGORIES ARE HIGHLIGHTED AT THE LEFT

IN THE ACTIVE LIBRARY VIEW THE FAMILY AND STRUCTURE HAVE BOTH BEEN COPIED

By copying the family, we set the stage for further structure customization, as well as family
editing later one.

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Copying structure only and adding custom sub-categories
Copying families is the right approach if we wish to editing existing family tables, but if we only
wish to publish our own content, then the category structure itself can be copied to our custom
library and modified as desired.

IN MERGED VIEW, NAVIGATE TO AND RIGHT CLICK ON THE CATEGORY AND USE COPY CATEGORY STRUCTURE TO TO
COPY THE STRUCTURE TO THE CUSTOM CC LIBRARY

THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE PATH HAS BEEN COPIED TO THE CUSTOM LIBRARY

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IN THE CUSTOM CC LIBRARY (REQUIRED) RIGHT CLICK ON THE DESIRED STRUCTURE LEVEL AND CREATE
CATEGORY

NAME THE CATEGORY AND LOAD FOLDER IMAGES, IF DESIRED

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 THE CATEGORY RESULTS WITH SMALL IMAGE IN THE CATEGORY VIEW AND THE LARGE IMAGE IN THE MAIN VIEW

The folder images can come from anywhere, 3D CAD models, photos off the web (verify
copyright protection, of course), etc. The small image is used for the “Category View” at the left
and the large image is used for the “Main View” at the right. This custom sub-category will be
used to publish our own PEX fittings to be used with Tube & Pipe designs.

Create new top-level categories

If you’re planning on using any of the Design Accelerators (Bolted Connection, Frame
Generator, Tube & Pipe, etc.) then you should either copy families or the existing structure
when customizing the Content Center. However, if you are truly creating something new, that
isn’t going to be used in a Design Accelerator, then there are two options.

First, one can create any required sub-categories in the “Other Parts” category. The “Other
Parts” category serves as a catch all for CC storage. Parts published here have no
requirements and so pretty much anything can be placed in this location. For example, piping
components require the “ND” parameter for nominal diameter, so parts without this property
cannot be published to the “Tube & Pipe” category.

OTHER PARTS CATEGORY WITH MISCELLANEOUS COMPONENTS STORED WITHIN

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For example, note the difference between the category parameters for “Tube & Pipe – Conduits”
and the “Other Parts”. If you’re unfamiliar with category parameters, these are data
requirements to publish content into these categories. For example, if the “ND” or nominal
diameter is missing from a pipe iPart that you wish to publish to “Tube & Pipe – Conduits” then
you will not be able to publish that component. We’ll investigate category parameters in more
detail shortly, when we create a new category.

A VIEW OF THE CATEGORY PARAMETERS FOR THE “TUBE & PIPE – CONDUITS”

A VIEW OF THE CATEGORY PARAMETERS FOR THE “OTHER PARTS”

Another approach is to create a new category from scratch, which will give us the ultimate
flexibility to configure the CC as desired. We can specify our own structure as well at control
which parameters are required for publishing content. Please see the following example.

IN YOUR CUSTOM LIBRARY, RIGHT-CLICK ANYWHERE BELOW “HISTORY” TO CREATE A NEW CATEGORY

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 NAME AND APPLY LARGE & SMALL IMAGES (OPTIONAL)

SWITCH TO THE PARAMETERS TABLE AND RIGHT-CLICK IN THE TABLE TO ADD A PARAMETER

NAME AND CONFIGURE THE PARAMETER. REQUIRED PARAMETERS MUST BE PRESENT IN A PART TO BE PUBLISHED

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 CREATE ALL DESIRED PARAMETERS

THE “PLANKS_AND_PLATES” CATEGORY HAS BEEN ADDED

Creating new categories is straightforward, but I have a hefty caution to add. Once a category
has been created, the parameter list can NOT be modified. Due to the importance of the
parameters for ensuring data consistency, changing after creation is not allowed. If a parameter
has been missed, the only alternative is to recreate the category… Therefore, great care and
planning should be exercised when creating a new main CC category.

RIGHT-CLICK ON THE CATEGORY TO ACCESS THE CATEGORY PROPERTIES

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 CATEGORY PARAMETERS CANNOT BE EDITED AFTER CATEGORY CREATION AND ARE “GREYED OUT”

After recreating the category with all the desired properties, then I publish my first family, a
Wood_Plank. We’ll cover how to create and publish our own families later, but wanted to give a
preview for what is possible.

RECREATED “PLANKS_AND_PLATES” CATEGORY WITH ALL DESIRED PARAMETERS

PUBLISHED FAMILY DISPLAYED IN THE “PLANKS_AND_PLATES” CATEGORY

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Customize Content Center family data
The backbone of the Content Center are the family tables that contain all the information
required to select and create the parts that designers require. The out-of-the-box CC families
are great, but there are some realities that limit the utility of these families for many users.

• The tables do not have every size that a designer may require
• In some instances, the tables contain too much data, that we don’t want designers to
use
• Part numbers are very generic, often with highly technical values, which doesn’t work for
most business processes

In this portion of the presentation, we’ll customize family tables to address the concerns above
and tailor them to suit our needs.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please note that if you’ve already placed many CC files, you may only
wish to edit some of the properties and merely update the placed CC files. For more
information on this topic, please see the video link “Inventor - Update Existing Content Center
Files With Better iProperty Data” in Appendix A, before proceeding.

Edit family properties

The first step to editing the families is to customize the overall properties that all members of the
family share. Items such as the family name itself, or the folders where generated CC files are
placed are all controlled by the family properties. To illustrate the possibilities for editing the
family properties, we’ll edit the pan head fastener that we copied earlier.

RIGHT-CLICK ON THE COPIED PAN HEAD FASTENER TO ACCESS THE FAMILY PROPERTIES

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 THE GENERAL TAB CONTROLS FAMILY & FOLDER NAMING, AS WELL AS STANDARD INFORMATION

THE PARAMETER MAPPING SHOWS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CATEGORY PARAMETERS AND THE PART
PARAMETERS (TABLE COLUMNS)

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 CHANGE THE THUMBNAIL IMAGE IF NECESSARY

VIEW THE LINK INFORMATION, IF THE FAMILY IS LINKED TO A PARENT FAMILY

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 EDIT THE DESIRED PROPERTIES ON THE GENERAL TAB

Editing these properties will give greater control over where the files are stored and used.
Merely the presence of simplified family name can help designers find the correct information
more quickly when placing CC parts.

Add custom data columns

The data found within the family table itself often will need to be modified, as the available data
may be incomplete for downstream business processes or we may want to add data to aid
refining other properties, such as the Part Number. We’ll approach this a couple of different
ways: adding a column that we’ll map to an iProperty and adding a column for use in the Part
Number.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is best to “unsuppress” any suppressed rows when adding new data
columns to ensure that all data is entered, PARTICULARLY IF EDITING VIA EXCEL.

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RIGHT-CLICK ON THE COPIED FASTENER FAMILY AND EDIT THE FAMILY TABLE

CREATE A NEW COLUMN FOR THE “VENDOR” AND POPULATE AS SHOWN

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 RESULTING “VENDOR” COLUMN CREATED

THE “VENDOR” CC COLUMN DATA IS MAPPED TO THE VENDOR IPROPERTY

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The second example of adding column data regards configuring information that will be used for
generating the File Name and Part Number columns. For these fasteners, there are #8, #10,
etc. values for the “Thread Description” column and I want to note those values in the Part
Number, but without the “#”. This modification seems simple but will require the use of Excel to
improve the efficiency of the task.

THREAD DESCRIPTION VALUES INCLUDING THE “#” AND CLICK ON THE EXCEL EDITOR TOOL

INSIDE EXCEL CREATE A NEW COLUMN NAMED “FASTENER_SIZE” AND FORMAT THE CELLS TO BE “GENERAL”
VERSUS TEXT, OTHERWISE EXCEL FORMULAS WILL NOT WORK

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 UTILIZE THE SUBSTITUTE FUNCTION WITHIN EXCEL TO REMOVE THE “#” FROM THE THREAD DESCRIPTION AND
STORE IT IN THE NEW COLUMN CALLED FASTENER_SIZE. VALUES WITHOUT A “#” ARE UNAFFECTED

FOR SIZES THAT HAVE ADDITIONAL TEXT, SUCH AS THE #0 FASTENER, UTILIZE THE MID FUNCTION TO DISPLAY ONLY
THE RELEVANT SIZE

AFTER SAVING AND CLOSING THE SPREADSHEET, THE CHANGES ARE PROPOGATED BACK TO THE FAMILY TABLE

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IMPORTANT NOTE: If you’ve already suppressed rows, you’ll have to “unhide” those rows in
Excel and apply the formula to those cells as well. Otherwise, you’ll encounter errors when
trying to publish changes to the family table in Inventor. These rows will have to be suppressed
in the family table if they’ve been exposed in Excel.

The Excel functionality is a powerful tool to help tailor the data to align exactly with the design
goals. However, the Excel formulas utilized do not remain inside the family table after closing
Excel; meaning the next time the table is edited via Excel, the formulas would need to be
recreated. If you’d like to utilize the power of Excel, but don’t want to lose the formulas, please
review one of my previous AU class, “Making the Content Center Do More for You” which offers
strategies to effectively utilize Excel within the Content Center. Please see Appendix B for a link
to this course.

We’ll utilize the “Fastener_Size” column in the next step to better control the Part Number and
File Name properties.

Controlling part numbers and file names

As we’ve seen so far, the Content Center is an excellent tool that helps to centralize and
standardize many design components. However, there is one big hurdle that must be overcome
before the Content Center can actually be utilized effectively, the Part Number.

Everybody on the planet has a Part Number for their fasteners. Some they generate
themselves, some utilize a vendor number, such as Fastenal, but one thing is clear; there are a
myriad of Part Number options across the full spectrum of companies and industries. To make
things as flexible as possible, Autodesk has chosen to use the highly technical Part Numbers
utilized by standards organizations, such as ANSI. While this is technically correct, I don’t know
of many clients who use the “ANSI.B18.6.3” as the Part Number for their Pan Head Machine
Screws in the ERP system. To fully realize the benefit of the CC, we’ll have to edit the Part
Numbers and File Names inside the family table.

There are actual two ways to modify the Part Number within the family table and I’ll cover the
most straightforward method first, manually assigning data.

EDIT THE FAMILY TABLE TO ACCESS THE PART NUMBER COLUMN

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 NOTE THE ORIGINAL PART NUMBER FOR THE #10-32 FASTENER

TABLE VALUES CAN BE MANUALLY MODIFIED, IN THIS CASE THE FASTENAL PART NUMBER HAS BEEN ENTERED

The first method is very straightforward and is utilized whenever specific values are required for
the Part Number. However, this method can be quite tedious and time consuming, especially if
there are many rows that must be modified. As we saw in the previous section, this can be
expedited by using Excel, if the Part Numbers follow some sort of pattern.

The second method involves building an expression that utilizes other column data to compile a
complete Part Number. While this method takes a bit of time to configure, all rows are updated
simultaneously, and any new rows will utilize the Part Number configuration. An example Part
Number process is illustrated below.

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 RIGHT-CLICK ON THE PART NUMBER COLUMN HEADER AND SELECT THE COLUMN PROPERTIES OPTION

THE PART NUMBER IS BEING SET BY AN EXPRESSION COLUMN

The Part Number is being defined by a combination of text and the {SIZE} property. In the
Expression Column simple text must be designated within quotation mark “ “ and the &
(ampersand) allows multiple properties and text to be combined. Our goal is to replace the
technical ANSI code with a Part Number that’s more descriptive. In this example, we’ll utilize
the “PN_PH_HD_MS” designation from our family properties in combination with some of the
other column properties to accomplish that goal.

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ALTER THE TEXT TO MATCH THE FAMILY PROPERTIES AND COMBINE WITH THE CUSTOM COLUMN “FASTENER_SIZE”

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 COMPLETE THE ENTIRE EXPRESSION WITH ADDITIONAL TEXT AND DESIRED PROPERTIES

THE PART NUMBER HAS UPDATED FOR ALL COLUMNS WITHOUT MANUAL OVERRIDEN TEXT

Utilizing an expression is the most efficient way to populate the column properties, yet still allow
manual overrides when appropriate. An expression column can be very simple as well, merely
linking up to another column property, as in the example of the File Name shown below.

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RIGHT-CLICK ON THE “FILE NAME” COLUMN HEADING TO ACCESS THE COLUMN PROPERTIES

SET THE FILE NAME EQUAL TO THE PAR NUMBER PROPERTY

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 THE RESULTING FILE NAME

Changing the File Name to match the Part Number makes sense much of the time, but not all
the time. I merely wanted to show the possibility exists to do so. Everything is looking good,
except for the Part Number assigned to the #10-32 x ½ fastener, which is still utilizing the
Fastenal value. To reinstate the expression for that particular value, simply delete the manually
applied text and the expression will be reapplied.

DELETING THE MANUAL VALUE FOR PART NUMBER REVERTS TO THE EXPRESSION VALUE

This technique can be applied to any column but is especially fitting for the Part Number and
File Name properties. As a reminder see the “Inventor - Update Existing Content Center Files
With Better iProperty Data” video link in Appendix A, if you’ve already placed LOTS of CC files
and merely want to update the Part Numbers for existing parts.

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Pare down lists for lean design
Once the family properties have been modified as desired, it’s time to turn our attention to the
data within the family itself, the family table. The family table itself is just a large database of
unique versions for a particular class of component. For example, a fastener family table may
contain all sizes ranging from a #6 through a 1/2. With some family tables having hundreds of
rows, we need to pare down the list of available versions for the designers to select. This will
improve inventory flow, design for manufacturability and overall design consistency.

THE FAMILY TABLE IS A DATABASE WITH POTENTIALLY HUNDREDS (OR THOUSANDS) OF DATA ROWS

Depending on the designs, a #0 fastener may never be used at your company. Personally, I’ve
never used anything smaller than a #6 fastener. In addition to this, there are several lengths of
fasteners shown for each fastener diameter. Many of these lengths may never be used by a
design department and by standardizing on specific lengths, downstream ordering and inventory
systems can be simplified.

There are two options for paring down the number of available data rows, deleting or
suppressing them. I recommend and will be demonstrating in this presentation the suppress
technique, which offers long-term flexibility. If I suppress a row, I can unsuppress it later, if the
need for the particular fastener arises. However, if I delete the row and require it at some later
day, I’ll have to recreate that row. See the following example:

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 LEFT-CLICK ON THE ROW 1 INDICATOR AT THE LEFT

PRESS AND HOLD THE SHIFT KEY WHILE LEFT CLICKING ON ROW INDICATOR 217 TO SELECT ALL ROWS FROM 1
THROUGH 2017

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 RIGHT-CLICK ON ONE OF THE SELECTED ROW INDICATORS AND CHOOSE THE SUPPRESS OPTION

SUPPRESSED ROWS DISPLAY IN PALE GREY AND THE APPLY BUTTON WILL PUBLISH THE CHANGES FOR ALL USERS

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 SUCCESSFUL PUBLISH

UTILIZE “CTRL” AND “SHIFT” CLICKING TO SELECT SPECIFIC LENGTHS OF #10-32 FASTENERS TO SUPPRESS

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 PLACING THE FASTENER FROM CC IN THE ASSEMBLY REVEALS THE PARED DOWN SELECTION LIST, NOTING NO
SIZES BELOW #10 AND ONLY THE SPECIFIED LENGTHS REMAIN

As you can see, paring down the selection list reduces the risk of designers utilizing parts that
are not stocked and helps to standardize component usage. This is merely the first step in
aligning the CC to meet the requirements of the design department, but it is a very important
one.

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Replace family templates for added flexibility
We’ve worked hard to configure the family properties and edit the family table, but sometimes
work must be done to even set the stage for this important work. Perhaps some of the
geometry needs to change or maybe some new iProperty values need to be added to the table.
Even through the family tables are databases, they are based on a model definition. If aspects
of the model need to change or new iProperties must be linked into the family table, then the
model definition for the family table needs to be updated. This can be accomplished using the
Replace Family Template tool.

To replace the family template, we must first gain access to a generated content center file and
make all the necessary modifications. To illustrate this process, we’ll look at the ANSI structural
square tube to make changes to the length parameter formatting and to add a custom iProperty
to aid in a downstream business system. I’ve had customers ask how to implement fractional
feet and inches into structural member part lengths and how to implement abbreviated material
codes, so we’ll specifically cover those scenarios.

To make any changes to a family table, we must make a copy into our custom CC library.
Normally, we would use the Copy to command, but we’ll use Save Copy As because we don’t
want changes to the original, linked, family table to override changes we make to the CC family
template.

WITHIN THE MERGED VIEW OF THE CC EDITOR, SELECT THE “ANSI AISC (SQUARE)” FAMILY AND LAUNCH THE SAVE
COPY AS TOOL

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MODIFY THE SETTINGS AND EXECUTE THE SAVE COPY AS

RESULTING CUSTOM FAMILY TABLE

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 PLACE A VERSION OF THE CC FAMILY AND SAVE “AS CUSTOM”

Saving the CC file “As Custom” will allow us to make the necessary modifications without having
to use second project file or any other tricks to make the CC file “Read / Write”. We’ll start by
jumping onto the Parameter table to change the format of the length parameter.

INSIDE THE PARAMETER TABLE, RIGHT-CLICK ON THE “G_L” PARAMETER AND SELECT THE CUSTOM PROPERTY
FORMAT OPTION

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 MODIFY THE PARAMETER FORMAT TO UTILIZE FRACTIONAL FEET AND INCHES

ENSURE THAT THE PARAMETER IS CHECKED AS AN “EXPORT PARAMETER” IF YOU PLAN ON USING THIS IN THE
CUSTOM IPROPERTIES

The next modification will require us to create a custom iProperty for the material code that can
be linked within the CC family table.

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CREATE A CUSTOM TEXT IPROPERTY NAMED “MATERIAL_CODE” & NOTE THE PRESENCE OF THE “G_L” IPROPERTY

Once the modifications have been saved within the component, the family template can be
replaced, and the new data can be utilized within the family table.

WITHIN THE CONTENT CENTER EDITOR, RIGHT-CLICK ON THE COPIED SQUARE TUBE FAMILY AND SELECT REPLACE
FAMILY TEMPLATE

NAVIGATE TO AND SELECT THE MODIFIED / PLACED CC FILE AS THE SOURCE FOR THE REPLACEMENT

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 REPLACING THE FAMILY TEMPLATE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES

After successfully replacing the family template, we can put the new values to use by creating a
new column and then modifying the part number to utilize the new column and the fractional feet
& inches length value.

EDIT THE FAMILY TABLE AND RIGHT-CLICK ON THE PART NUMBER COLUMN AND CHOOSE ADD COLUMN

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 CONFIGURE THE COLUMN PROPERTIES, ENSURING THAT PROPERTY IS MAPPED TO THE NOW AVAILABLE
“MATERIAL_CODE” CUSTOM IPROPERTY

EDIT THE COLUMN PROPERTIES TO INCLUDE THE “MATERIAL_CODE” AND THE “G_L” VALUES. TO USE THE “G_L”
PARAMETER, THE TEXT STRING MUST BE ENCLOSED BY “<G_L>”

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THE RESULTING COLUMN TEXT WILL LOOK STRANGE, BUT THE CORRECT VALUES WILL BE PASSED TO THE PLACED
CC FILES

THE RESULTING PLACED CC PART WITH ALL THE DESIRED MODIFICATIONS

Using the Replace Family Template tool allows us to make critical changes to the model that
can then be utilized within the family table, as we demonstrated above. All the techniques that
have been demonstrated in this section will allow the customization of the out-of-the-box CC
families, enhancing their value to everyone.

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Publishing new Content Center Families
In the previous section, we covered several techniques that will allow customizations to the out-
of-the-box CC families, greatly enhancing their utility. Eventually, however, the need will arise
to add new families that are specific to each design department requirements. In this section,
we’ll cover the information required to add author and publish new families to the Content
Center.

Publishing standalone components

The CC is a great place central location that is relatively easy to manage that can store
components that the design department uses all the time. Ideally components stored in the CC
shouldn’t change much, or if changes are possible, those changes must be applied in a
controlled fashion. Therefore, CC probably isn’t the right place for highly customized designs
(there are other better ways to manage those types of components) and we’ll focus on single
parts that can have some controlled variation.

When publishing to the CC, one must make some important decisions. First, one must
determine which CC category to publish to. As we saw in the first section of the report, each
category has a unique roster of required and optional properties. In this example, we’ll utilize
the “Planks and Plates” family from earlier and verify the required properties.

RIGHT-CLICK ON THE CATEGORY TO ACCESS THE CATEGORY PROPERTIES

THE PARAMETERS THAT ARE REQUIRED

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The component that is to be published must have parameter values that will eventually line up
with the requirements of the target category. In this example, since the “Material” is a required
property, we’ll also utilize the material selection from the material library.

SAMPLE WOOD PLANK COMPONENT WITH THE WOOD MATERIAL ASSIGNED AND KEY USER PARAMETERS PRESENT

IMPORTANT NOTE: I strongly recommend creating a folder and storing all the base models
used for publishing to the CC. This way, if wholesale modifications are required during testing
or if I need to publish a one-off version, the original model can greatly expedite those
operations.

SAVE THE CC BASE MODELS FOR FUTURE USE AND EDITS

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Once the component has been prepared with the material assignment and parameter
generation, the time has come to publish the component. Since we’re using the custom
category that was created earlier, there are not any additional authoring requirements. If one
wishes to publish a component for a Design Accelerator, such as Tube & Pipe, special features
need to be authored and we’ll cover that scenario later in this presentation. For every
component that gets published to CC, the process is the same and I’ll demonstrate the process
in the following steps.

ACCESS AND LAUNCH THE PUBLISH PART TOOL

CHOOSE THE DESIRED CUSTOM LIBRARY

IMPORTANT NOTE: One can utilize more than one custom CC library. A library can be
created for all piping components and a separate library for hardware, for example. Be sure to
choose the proper library when publishing to CC!

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 CHOOSE THE DESIRED CATEGORY

LINK EACH REQUIRED PROPERTY TO THE CORRESPONDING PARAMETER

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FOR CERTAIN CATEGORY PROPERTIES ONE MUST MAP TO COMPONENT IPROPERTIES, SUCH AS THE MATERIAL IN
THIS EXAMPLE

MAP ALL THE PARAMETERS

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 ADD AND ORGANIZE KEY COLUMNS TO AID DESIGNERS IN MAKING EFFICIENT CC COMPONENT SELECTIONS

CONFIGURE THE FAMILY PROPERTIES AS DESIRED. LISTING YOUR COMPANY NAME AS THE “MANUFACTURER” WILL
AID IN BUILDING FILTERS LATER ON

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 CHANGE THE THUMBNAIL IMAGE, IF DESIRED, AND PUBLISH THE COMPONENT TO CC

RESULTING FAMILY IS CREATED BY THE PUBLISH PROCESS

So, with the first important decision made and component published to the desired CC category
we must turn our attention to the next important question, what do we want designers to modify?
CC files can be manipulated in one of two ways by a designer, either by selecting a particular
version or modifying specific properties on the fly. The first option is made available by creating
new rows within the family table either via Excel or inside the family table itself. Since we’ve
already looked at editing a family table with Excel, we’ll focus on creating a new row within the
table.

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ACCESS THE FAMILY TABLE FOR THE NEWLY PUBLISHED COMPONENT

THE INITIAL ROW GENERATED FROM THE PUBLISH PROCESS

RIGHT-CLICK ON THE ROW INDICATOR TO ADD A NEW ROW

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CHANGE THE MATERIAL TO “PINE” IN THE NEW ROW AND USE IDENTICAL SIZING VALUES. NOTE TO GAIN ACCESS TO
THE “PINE” MATERIAL ONE WILL HAVE TO UTILIZE THE “AUTODESK MATERIAL LIBRARY”

IF DESIRED ONE CAN ALSO UPDATE THE PART NUMBER COLUMN PROPERTIES

THE RESULTING SELECTION OPTIONS WHEN PLACING THE COMPONENT FROM THE CC

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Besides simply choosing a configuration based on existing rows within the table, we can also
provide designers the option to edit certain values when placing the component. Again, to
reiterate, for CC this must be a controlled process and should be limited in scope. If changing
the width of a component impacts the length of the component, and other such changes, this
component is also not well suited to the CC. In our example, we’ll allow the designers to modify
the length of the plank when placing from CC. To accomplish this, we’ll have to utilize a custom
column for the “Length” column.

ACCESS THE COLUMN PROPERTIES FOR THE LENGTH AND CREATE A CUSTOM COLUMN EXPRESSION

A CUSTOM COLUMN EXPRESSION PROVIDES CONTROLS OVER THE VALUES THAT DESIGNERS CAN ASSIGN DURING
CC FILE PLACEMENT

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 THE RESULTING PLACEMENT OPTIONS WHEN USING A CUSTOM COLUMN EXPRESSION

By allowing designers to choose different configurations and controlled manipulation of property

values, CC parts become much more flexible to fit a variety of design situations. So even
singular components can be greatly expanded after being published to the CC.

Publishing iParts
Sometimes we have LOTS of rows to add or many properties to keep track of, so the publishing
process can take advantage of iParts when building CC families. iParts are a great way to
quickly build lots of component configuration because iParts contain an embedded Excel table
that preserves any Excel functions.

Some design groups use iParts independent of the CC, but these can also be published to the
CC for a more centralized approached to managing these components and helping to enforce
more consistent design practices. There are also some advantages to switching to the CC from
a computer performance standpoint, which is covered in a previous AU class “Making the
Content Center Do More for You”, which I’ve linked in Appendix B.

In this example, we’ll look at rapidly adding data to our Wood Plank component via an iPart
table and discuss some additional steps that will improve the publishing process.

CREATE A NEW IPART

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 FULLY CONFIGURE THE FIRST ROW OF THE IPART TABLE

CLOSE OUT OF THE IPART TABLE AND THEN EDIT THE TABLE WITHIN EXCEL

USE THE CONCATENATE FUNCTION TO BUILD A MORE COMPLEX TEXT STRING (ALONG WITH OTHERS SUCH AS
LEFT), UTILIZING THE PROPERTIES FROM THE IPART TABLE

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 BUILD OUT THE REST OF THE EXCEL TABLE USING ROW “DRAGS” AND COPY / PASTE FUNCTIONALITY

EXCEL EDIT RESULTS ARE REFLECTED IN THE IPART TABLE, WITH EXCEL DRIVEN VALUES SHOWN WITH REDDISH
COLORED CELLS

Editing iParts with Excel makes the process of adding more versions very efficient, but we can
also prep the iPart to allow for controlled parameter controls, via the use of a “Custom
Parameter Column”. In this example, we’ll provide designers with the ability to change the
length, in similar fashion to placing from the Content Center. In fact, the controls we add to the
iPart “Custom Parameter Column” can be used to populate the “Custom Column Expressions”
information when publishing to the CC.

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 RIGHT-CLICK ON THE LENGTH IPART COLUMN HEADER AND SELECT THE CUSTOM PARAMETER COLUMN OPTION

Setting the column to be a Custom Parameter Column will allow designers to place
customizable iParts, so the best practice is to apply some controls to these values.

RIGHT-CLICK ON THE LENGTH COLUMN AND SELECT THE SPECIFY RANGE FOR COLUMN OPTION

SET THE RANGE OF ACCEPTABLE VALUES FOR THE LENGTH

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 (OPTIONAL) SET AN INCREMENT VALUE FOR SIZING, EVERY ¼ INCH FOR EXAMPLE

Once the iPart table has been completed the part can be published to the Content Center with
the same procedure as the standalone component. The only difference is that we’ll be mapping
the CC category properties to iPart columns.

UTILIZE IPART COLUMNS WHEN MAPPING TO CC CATEGORY PROPERTIES

COMPLETED IPART COLUMN TO CC CATEGORY MAPPING

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 THE RESULTING PUBLISHED FAMILY, BASED ON THE IPART

Configuring an iPart table is an excellent way to configure components for CC publishing and in
some cases the only way, such as a Tube & Pipe house. The “Custom Parameter Column” also
translates directly into a “Custom Column Expression” in the CC family.

Authoring components for special usage

For some of the design accelerators and CC categories, there are special characteristics that
need to be applied to components prior to publishing to CC, as the publishing process will be
the same as for standalone and iParts.

In this section we’ll look at an example from the Tube & Pipe environment and in Appendix A I’ll
include a video one from the Frame Generator.

Tube & Pipe components are essential for creating piping runs and like other CC components,
the initial library components are a nice start, but nowhere near enough to complete most
designs. Therefore, perhaps more than any other design accelerator, components will need to
be published to CC before this module becomes truly effective. We’ll tackle a custom hose
component to demonstrate the authoring process.

Any tubular component can be a candidate, but there must be certain parameters inside the
model and most importantly, the component MUST be an iPart to be published as a hose, pipe
or formed tube.

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CREATE THREE PARAMETERS: “ID” FOR INNER DIAMETER, “OD” FOR OUTER DIAMETER AND “PL FOR PART LENGTH

CREATE A TUBE SKETCH WITH THE “ID” AND “OD”

EXTRUDE THE TUBE SHAPE WITH A LENGTH OF PL

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 CREATE THE IPART TABLE AND ADD COLUMNS “ND” FOR NOMINAL DIAMETER AND “SN” FOR SCHEDULE NUMBER

COMPLETE THE IPART TABLE AS DESIRED

Once the iPart Table has been completed, the Tube & Pipe authoring process begins. Each of
the authoring tools will require different parametric and geometric inputs, based on the specific
category.

SELECT THE TUBE AND PIPE AUTHORING TOOL

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THE INITIAL TUBE & PIPE AUTHORING DIALOG

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SET THE TYPE TO HOSE, ASSIGN AN END TREATMENT AND MAP ALL THE CORRESPONDING PARAMETERS TO IPART
TABLE COLUMNS

DEFINE THE CONNECTION INFORMATION FOR SIDE 1, BY CHOOSING THE OUTER CIRCUMFERENCE AS THE
CONNECTION POINT AND THE AXIS DIRECTION. FLIP THE AXIS, IF NEEDED, AND ASSIGN THE CONNECTION AS
FEMALE, AS THE HOSE BARB WILL BE INSERTED INTO THE END OF THE HOSE. FINALLY SET UP THE ENGAGEMENT
CRITERIA

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 CONFIGURE CONNECTION POINT 2 AS DESIRED, IN THIS CASE IDENTICAL TO CONNECTION POINT 1

A CONFIRMATION IS DISPLAYED WHEN A COMPONENT IS SUCCESSFULLY AUTHORED

After a component is authored for Tube & Pipe, the publishing process to CC is the same as the
components we’ve already looked at. There are just a couple of items to double check during
the publishing process.

ENSURE THE PUBLISH LOCATION IS CORRECT

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CC CATEGORY MAPPING TO IPART COLUMNS

ESTABLISH THE KEY CC COLUMNS

CONFIGURE THE FAMILY PROPERTIES

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After publishing the hose to the CC, a new Tube & Pipe style can be created to utilize the
custom hose in new routes. Please see the “Video Link for Tube & Pipe Style Creation”
in Appendix A for a demonstration of this process.

SAMPLE HOSE ROUTE WITH THE NEW CC HOSE COMPONENT

By authoring and subsequently publishing custom CC components, the Design Accelerators can
be made more effective and the CC, in general, can truly be made your own.

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Improving the end user experience
While the most impactful modifications to the CC involve customizing existing families or
publishing new custom content, the CC can be modified to help improve day-to-day
performance for the design team.

Add custom columns to aid in component selection

One helpful modification is to add new columns in the family table that can help improve the
component selection process. In the following example, we’ll create a column to help clarify the
fastener thread pitch selection.

WHEN PLACING A FASTENER NOT EVERY DESIGNER WILL HAVE MEMORIZED THE UNC, UNF, ETC. VALUES FOR EVERY
FASTENER SIZE

DETERMINE THE COLUMN NAME FOR “THREAD PER UNIT”

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 DETERMINE THE COLUMN NAME FOR “THREAD TYPE”

CREATE A NEW FAMILY COLUMN AND UTILIZE AN EXPRESSION COLUMN

ACTIVATE THE KEY COLUMN SELECTOR, REMOVE THE “THREAD TYPE(TS)” AND ADD “THREAD_PITCH”

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 THE RESULTING CC PLACEMENT NOW SHOWS BOTH THE THREAD PITCH AND DESIGNATION

Now the thread type is a bit clearer, as both the thread pitch and designation are present, the
result of a custom column that has been set as a key column. Columns that are used to control
the size and configuration are very important but may not be the best candidates to use for CC
selection. Therefore, custom key columns may be a necessity besides a more efficient
selection tool.

Create custom filters to highlight company specific components

Sometimes the sheer volume of components in the CC can be daunting. However, as we
customize more and more of the CC, there are a couple of ways to limit the number of
components to work with. One method is to turn off the CC libraries that aren’t required, but this
only becomes an effective strategy if all the desired families have been customized. Another
method, the one that we’ll be focusing on, is to create a set of filters that will allow us to home in
on certain components, while leaving all the libraries available when needed.

The easiest type of filter to set up is one based on a combination of “Manufacturer” and the
“Standard Organization”, as the Standard Organization is set for all the existing families and the
Manufacturer can be added when editing the family properties.

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 ACCESS THE FILTER EDITOR TOOL

CONFIGURE THE FILTER BASED ON THE “MANUFACTURERS” AND “STANDARD ORGANIZATIONS”

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CHOOSE THE CATEGORIES THE FILTER WILL IMPACT

THE RESULTS OF THE FILTER ON THE FASTENER LIST

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 THE FILTER HAS ELIMINATED THE CUSTOMIZED SQUARE TUBE

When items disappear from a filtered view, the reason is typically that one of the fields is
missing or misspelled. Deactivating the filter will reveal the family for editing.

LEFT-CLICK ON THE FILTER ONCE MORE TO DISABLE THE FILTER

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ADD THE MISSING MANUFACTURER INFORMATION

THE FILTER NOW SHOWS THE STRUCTURAL TUBE

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 THE FILTER WORKS FOR PLACING COMPONENTS AS WELL

Creating these filters will allow designers to quickly find the components required, without
requiring lots of extra effort from the CC manager. One can create as many fittings as desired,
so filters can accomplish unique goals for specific design situations.

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Acknowledgements
I cannot accomplish all of this on my own and I am blessed and thankful to recognize the
following people who helped to make this course possible.

• God Himself for this wonderful opportunity to serve others and literally every breath that
take!
• Scott Dibben, my boss, for allowing me the time and space to explore these topics in
more detail
• My colleague Dan Hunsucker, who helped me to better understand the formatting of
Inventor Parameters and how the Replace Family Template tool worked
• My customers who have attended our CC classes and have asked such insightful
questions, as these help to drive much of my research

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Appendix A: Weblinks to video demonstrations
Video Link to the Overview of the Class
https://youtu.be/AuLilux-RcQ

Video Link for Custom CC Library Creation

https://youtu.be/QUhYDn9Hfog

Video Link for Copying an Existing Family and Editing the Properties
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-sG_NggcbQ&t=3s

Video Link for Creating New CC Categories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiAGG9udHG8

Video Link for CC Family Edits (New Columns, Part Numbers, Paring Down Selection Lists, Key
Columns Modifications)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J9gM1Q1_Ss

Video Link for Editing Family Tables with Out-of-the-Box File Naming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_btQ82wlwA&t=136s

Video Link for Replacing the Family Template

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUGA01imWcM

Video Link for Authoring and Publishing a Tube & Pipe Hose
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/screencast/1b79fc16-d0e3-4fc7-b087-
d7330e43b4a8

Video Link for Authoring and Publishing a Frame Generator Shape

https://youtu.be/iXuTu4cMIPA

Video Link for Tube & Pipe Style Creation

https://youtu.be/EoZGfW_wglk

Video for Custom Key Columns

https://youtu.be/ciZCkS-IoYE

Video for CC Filters

https://youtu.be/PvUykIPp7jo

Video for Modifying the CC Display Names in an Assembly

https://youtu.be/UKPLi_9UK_M

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Appendix B: Weblinks to supplemental articles
AU2019 “Making the Content Center Do More for You” course
https://www.autodesk.com/autodesk-university/class/Making-Content-Center-Do-More-You-
2019

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