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File Types and Templates in Inventor

Understand the structure and use of part, assembly, presentation, and drawing files.

You can open existing files, or start new files using templates. To see the templates, click the Application menu New. In the New File dialog box, templates with predefined units are available in the file types for your application. Tabs in the dialog box contain the different standards.

A template can contain property information, such as part data and drawing views. You can see information stored in a file by viewing its properties.

Tip: Press the Escape key to abort or cancel an operation in process. The time it takes to cancel an operation may vary depending on the feature or data set that is in use. For operations with realistic preview, such as shell or fillet you can interrupt the preview. In Drawings, the creation of a standard view can be interrupted, while high-speed draft views cannot.

Currently, not all operations are interruptible and some operations do not respond immediately when pressing the Escape key. A message displays when the cancellation is complete.

Templates storage folders

  • Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10®: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor LT (version number)\Templates

Subfolders in the Templates folder display as tabs in the Open New File dialog box.

You can create and save custom templates in the Templates folder.

Part (.ipt) Files

When you open a part file, you are in the part environment. Part commands manipulate sketches, features, and bodies that combine to make parts.

Most parts start with a sketch. A sketch is the profile of a feature and any geometry (such as a sweep path or axis of rotation) required to create the feature.

A part model is a collection of features. If necessary, solid bodies in a multi-body part file can share features. Sketch constraints control geometric relationships such as parallel and perpendicular. Dimensions control the size. Collectively this method is called parametric modeling. You can adjust the constraints or dimensional parameters that control the size and shape of a model, and automatically see the effect of your modifications.

The following image shows a single body part (upper half of the image), and a multi-body part (lower half of the image). Notice the different part icons in each image.

Drawing (.idw, .dwg) Files

After you create a model, you can create a drawing to document your design. In a drawing, you place views of a model on one or more drawing sheets. Then you add dimensions and other drawing annotations to document the model.

The templates to use as the starting point for your drawings have the standard drawing file extension (.idw, .dwg).

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