To Work with Forms

You can create a user interface form, make a form modal, add or edit controls on the iLogic browser, copy and paste a form, and use images and resize controls on forms.

You can create a custom user interface and connect it to the parameters, properties, and rules of an Inventor part, assembly, or drawing document. You can add and edit controls in the form and preview the form as you build it. You can also change the appearance of the iLogic Forms (or Global Forms) tab—for example, by organizing controls into groups or by adding an image or tooltip—and you can copy a form within the same document, to another document, or to the Global Forms tab.

Create a User Interface Form

  1. From the iLogic drop-down menu (Manage iLogic), select Add Form.
  2. Enter a name for the form.

    If you want to make the form available in multiple documents, select For All Documents (Global).

  3. Design layout of the form by dragging from the Toolbox.
  4. Add controls by dragging from the Parameters, Rules, and iProperties tabs.
  5. To use the form, click the button added to the iLogic Browser.

Show Me How to Create a User Interface Form

Make a Form Modal

By default, forms are nonmodal: they don’t include an OK or Apply button, and you can interact with the model and other tools while the form is displayed. You can edit a nonmodal form to make it modal.

  1. In the iLogic Browser (Manage iLogic iLogic Browser), right-click the form button and select Edit.
  2. In the Properties area, change the Modal property to True, and select buttons from the Predefined Buttons property.

Edit a Form or the Forms Tabs

  1. Display the iLogic Browser (Manage iLogic iLogic Browser).
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To edit a form, right-click the form button in the iLogic Browser and select Edit.
    • To edit controls in the iLogic Browser, right-click an empty area of the Forms or Global Forms tab and select Edit.
    Do any of the following:
    • Click in a label to edit it.
    • Drag tools from the Toolbox to the design tree, or drag items within the design tree.
    • Collapse sections of the design tree to make them easier to drag.
    • To change a control or tool, select it in the design tree and edit it in the Properties area.
    • To delete an item from the design tree, right-click it in the design tree and click Delete. Before deleting an item, drag subitems out from under it if you want to keep them.
    • To add a button to trigger a rule, drag from the list of rules.
    • In the design tree, drag controls outside a tab area if you want them to always be visible.

Show Me How to Edit a User Interface Form

Show Me How to Add or Edit Controls on the iLogic Browser

Copy and Paste a Form

  1. In the iLogic Browser (Manage iLogic iLogic Browser), right-click the form button and select Copy Form.
  2. Navigate to the document and Forms tab for the new form.
  3. Right-click in an empty area of the Forms (or Global Forms) tab and select Paste Form.

Use Images in a Form

Add static images to the form or set up images to change according to a parameter value.

Show Me How to Use Images in a Form

Resize Controls

  1. Launch the form from the iLogic Browser (Manage iLogic iLogic Browser).
  2. Right-click anywhere on the form and select Resize Controls. Drag the edges of boxes near the empty space; drag button edges.
  3. To stop editing, right-click and select Exit Resize Mode.
  4. To restore the controls to their default sizes, launch the form; then right-click the form and select Restore Default Control Sizes.
    Caution: If you edit the form later, controls revert to default sizes.

Show Me How to Resize Controls