Using the Vault 2014 – Store and Place your iFeatures

One of the new features in Autodesk Vault 2014, is the ability to securely store your iFeatures in the Vault.  Coupled with that in Inventor, is the ability to place them using iFeature From Vault command.  The process is pretty simple, as you’ll see from the directions below.

The first step is to ensure you have your iFeature root locations specified correctly. To do this, select Application Options from the Options panel of the Tools Tab on the Ribbon.

Make sure to copy all of your iFeatures to folders that you create in your Vault Workspace, so that you can Check In these files without getting any Check In Errors.  Next, open the iFeature file(.ide) that you want to add to the Vault.  Select the iFeature Author Table to add different size parameters.  In this case, I want to add different size patterns to make it easy for me to pick from a list when I go to insert the iFeature.

In the iFeature Author dialog box, right-click on row 1 and select Insert Row.  You’ll want to repeat this step for as many size variations you need for this feature.

After creating all the rows, you may want to add a custom column so you can add a name to the various sizes.  To do this, click on the Other Tab and click on the text “Click here to add value”, then rename the Name and the Prompt.

Once renamed, you can then alter the size parameters to reflect your needs.

Click the OK button to complete your work in the iFeature Author dialog box.  At this point you’ll want to check the iFeature in to the Vault. Go to the Vault Tab and select Check In and follow the prompts to chef the file in.  Next, you are going to open a part file in which you will place the iFeature.  Select iFeature from Vault.

Next you will need to navigate to the folder in the Vault where your iFeature is and select it, then click open.

The rest of the process and the dialog boxes are the same as inserting an iFeature in the normal fashion.  I hope you enjoy the new Vault functionality.