Home Screen Main Window - Home Screen (Part 4) | Autodesk Inventor 2021 IN DEPTH

Summary

In this Autodesk Inventor tutorial, Alex from Engineering Applied guides viewers through the home screen's new projects and recent documents sections. The video offers an organized approach to launching software with default templates, navigating projects with the project navigator, and accessing recent files quickly. It also covers advanced features like custom templates, pinned files for quick access, and layout management, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the home screen interface.

Takeaways

• 📋 The tutorial is part four of the Autodesk Inventor home screen user interface series, focusing on new projects and recent documents sections.
• 📌 The series is broken down into segments for easier digestion and includes timestamps in the description for quick navigation.
• 🚀 The home screen can seem overwhelming at first, but understanding its layout helps simplify usage.
• 📝 The 'New Document' section allows quick access to default templates for part files, assembly files, drawings, and presentations.
• 📂 The 'Project Navigator' compiles all projects in one place, allowing easy switching between them without using Windows File Explorer.
• 📑 The 'Recent Documents' section displays recently accessed files, offering quick access without navigating through file explorers.
• 📍 The pinning feature allows commonly used files to be pinned for quick access, with options to unpin and organize the list.
• 🔍 The interface offers various options to filter, sort, and view documents, enhancing workflow customization.
• ↔️ The 'Flip' and 'Reset' functions allow users to adjust the layout of the home screen to fit personal preferences.
• 🖥️ The 'Tiling' and 'Maximizing' options help manage window layouts efficiently, especially when working with multiple files.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the Autodesk Inventor home screen tutorial module?

The purpose of the tutorial module is to provide an overview of the Autodesk Inventor home screen user interface, focusing on the new projects and recent documents sections, and to deliver relevant content in easily digestible segments for user convenience.

How can users quickly access specific functions in the tutorial?

For quick reference to a specific function, users can check the description of the video for timestamps, which will guide them to the exact moment in the video where the function is discussed.

What is the 'New Document' section on the home screen used for?

The 'New Document' section allows users to launch the software and start a new project using their basic default templates for part files, assembly files, drawings, and presentations.

How does the 'Advanced' tab in the New Document section help users?

The 'Advanced' tab is useful for users who have custom templates such as letterheads or title blocks for their drawings, allowing them to access these templates directly within Autodesk Inventor.

What is the function of the Project Navigator?

The Project Navigator compiles all of the user's projects in one place, enabling them to easily switch between projects during their design process.

How can users quickly access a recently worked-on part file?

Users can quickly access a recently worked-on part file through the 'Recent Documents' section, where the file will appear as an unpinned file, allowing for a fast double-click launch.

What does the 'Remove from List' option do in the Recent Documents section?

The 'Remove from List' option removes the tile from the unpin section of the Recent Documents, clearing it from the list without deleting the actual file.

What is the purpose of the pin icon in the Recent Documents section?

The pin icon allows users to move frequently used files to the 'Pinned Files' section for quick and easy access, and can be unpinned when they are no longer needed for quick access.

How can users customize their view of the Recent Documents section?

Users can customize their view by using the filter types options available in the Recent Documents section to sort and display documents according to their preference.

What is the 'Documents' menu at the bottom-right of the home screen used for?

The 'Documents' menu provides a standardized location to access various open files and allows users to switch between different tabs and views of their projects.

What does the 'Flip' function in the home screen do?

The 'Flip' function inverts the orientation of the new and projects pane with the recent documents pane, allowing users to prioritize which section they want to see at the top of their screen.

How can users restore a previous window layout in Autodesk Inventor?

Users can restore a previous window layout by clicking on the 'Restore Previous Layout' option, which will revert the window arrangement to a previous state, such as a vertical tile layout.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Autodesk Inventor Home Screen Tutorial

Alex from Engineering Applied introduces the fourth part of the Autodesk Inventor home screen user interface tutorial. The video is designed to be easily digestible, with timestamps provided for quick reference. Viewers are encouraged to subscribe for updates on future tutorials, engineering projects, and other content. The home screen's initial complexity is acknowledged, but a basic understanding of its layout is promised to simplify navigation. The 'New Document' section is highlighted, allowing users to launch the software with default templates for part files, assemblies, drawings, and presentations.

05:02

🔍 Exploring Advanced Features and Project Navigator

The tutorial continues with an exploration of the 'Advanced' tab, which is beneficial for accessing custom templates like letterheads or title blocks specific to a business or company. The 'Project Navigator' compiles all projects in one place, facilitating easy transitions between them during the design process. The video demonstrates how to open a project's workspace and access relevant files without using Windows File Explorer. The 'Recent Documents' section is also discussed, showcasing its utility for quick file access and the options available for managing the list, such as pinning files for easy access or removing them from the list.

📋 Customizing the Home Screen and Accessing Documents

This section delves into customizing the home screen by managing pinned files and changing the sorting and viewing formats of recent documents. The video explains how to switch between different document representations and lists. The 'Home' tab's consistent presence is noted, along with its role in navigating between open files. The 'Documents' menu's functionality is highlighted, including the 'My Home' tab for easy access to open files. The video also covers the 'Flip' feature for toggling the orientation of the new projects and recent documents pane, and the 'Reset' option for restoring the home screen to its default state.

🔄 Restoring Layouts and Final Thoughts on the Tutorial

The final part of the tutorial covers the restoration of previous window layouts using the 'Restore Previous Layout' feature, which is particularly useful for those who frequently maximize and minimize their screens. The video demonstrates how to revert to a previous vertical tile layout. The 'Maximize' option is also explained, which adjusts the home screen based on the currently active pane. The tutorial concludes with a prompt for feedback in the comments, an invitation to like and subscribe for future content, and an offer to address any additional topics the viewers might be interested in. The video ends with a reminder of the channel's educational focus and a farewell until the next video.

Keywords

💡Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Inventor is a computer-aided design (CAD) application for 3D mechanical design, simulation, visualization, and documentation. In the video, it is the primary software being discussed, focusing on its home screen user interface and how to navigate various features and functions.

💡Home Screen

The home screen is the main window that appears when Autodesk Inventor is launched. It includes sections such as new projects, recent documents, and various navigation tools. The video explains how to use and customize the home screen to improve workflow efficiency.

💡New Projects

The 'New Projects' section on the home screen allows users to start new design projects quickly. It includes default templates for part files, assembly files, drawings, and presentations. The video demonstrates how to launch new documents from this section and customize default settings.

💡Recent Documents

The 'Recent Documents' section displays files that have been recently opened or worked on. It helps users quickly access their most recent projects without navigating through the file explorer. The video shows how to use this section to efficiently manage and access ongoing work.

💡Templates

Templates in Autodesk Inventor are pre-set formats for various types of files like parts, assemblies, drawings, and presentations. They ensure consistency and save time when starting new projects. The video highlights the importance of templates and how they can be customized and accessed.

💡Project Navigator

The Project Navigator is a tool that compiles all projects in one place, allowing users to switch between them easily. It is especially useful for managing multiple design efforts. The video explains how to use the Project Navigator to streamline workflow and project management.

💡File Explorer

The File Explorer is a system utility for managing and navigating files and folders. In the context of the video, Autodesk Inventor’s built-in navigation tools reduce the need to use the Windows File Explorer for accessing project files, thereby enhancing efficiency.

💡Pin and Unpin

The pin and unpin functionality allows users to keep important files readily accessible by pinning them to the 'Recent Documents' section. Pinned files stay at the top for quick access. The video demonstrates how to pin and unpin files to optimize document management.

💡Document Tabs

Document tabs in Autodesk Inventor allow users to open and switch between multiple files easily. The home screen includes a 'My Home' tab that remains constant for quick navigation. The video covers how to use and manage these tabs to enhance productivity.

💡Flip and Reset

The 'Flip' function in Autodesk Inventor inverts the orientation of the 'New Projects' and 'Recent Documents' panes. The 'Reset' function returns the layout to its default state. The video explains how these features can be used to customize the home screen layout based on user preference.

Highlights

Introduction to Autodesk Inventor home screen user interface tutorial module part four.

Overview of the new projects and recent document sections of the home screen main window.

Segments of the tutorial are broken down for ease of understanding and reference.

Mention of timestamps in the description for quick reference to specific functions.

Encouragement to subscribe and turn on notifications for updates on future tutorials.

Explanation of the new document section with default templates for part files, assembly files, drawings, and presentations.

Detailed instructions on launching a new part file with default settings.

Introduction to the advanced tab for accessing custom templates and title blocks.

Explanation of the project navigator section for managing and switching between projects.

Description of the recent documents section for quick access to previously worked on files.

Options to open, remove from list, and pin/unpin recent documents for easy access.

Different view options for recent documents, including tile and list formats.

Explanation of the documents menu and navigating between open files and home screen.

Introduction to the flip function to invert the orientation of the new and projects pane with the recent documents pane.

Instructions on resetting the layout and managing window tiling.

Conclusion of the tutorial segment and call to action to like, subscribe, and comment for further content.

Transcripts

[Music Playing]

Hey everyone, it's Alex from Engineering Applied! Welcome to part four of the

Autodesk Inventor home screen user interface tutorial module where we'll be

taking a look at the new projects and recent document sections of the home

screen main window. I broke this series down into easily

digestible segments to deliver the most relevant content for your convenience.

For quick reference to a specific function, check the description for

timestamps. If this video doesn't contain what you're looking for go ahead and

check out the other parts to this module. If you want to stay up to date on future

tutorials like this one, or fun engineering projects and other cool

stuff, make sure you subscribe and turn on channel notifications. When you first

open up this home screen it can be a little overwhelming there's a lot of

stuff happening here. But it's really not too bad once you

have a basic understanding of how this is partitioned. In this corner, we just

have our new document. Whatever your basic default templates are for your

part files, your assembly files, drawings, and presentations, this is a nice way to

just go ahead and launch the software and jump straight into something. So

let's say I launch the software I have all my defaults set to a certain setting.

So in this case it's our English units and it's our standard part file. I could

click on part file and launch one right there and you see it's quick and it's

easy to deal with and it's basically pretty self-explanatory there. So we're

going to actually close this window out and we're going to close this out for now. Again

we have our other options here as well. Now, you'll notice you'll see this

"advanced" tab here. If we maximize this and take a look at it. This is really

useful for, if say for example, you have a custom letterhead or title block

arrangement for your drawings internally to your business, or you know the company

that you're working with you, can access those templates in here. So this is

really useful for people that are specifically navigating to a certain

type of format that you're using within your organization. We're actually going to

jump out of this by clicking this minimize arrow. This next section is the

project navigator and what this essentially does

is it compiles all of your projects in one place and allows you to jump back

and forth between them as needed throughout your design effort. So let's

say for example, I'm working on my tablet clip and I've made my revisions to the

part, I've you know saved and closed the part and now I'm ready to work on my

home screen user interface drawing file. So I can actually just double click this

and go to workspace here and it pulls up the file folder in which the relevant

files to this home screen user interface project are stored. This is very useful

because now we don't have to use our Windows File Explorer to actually

navigate to those specific files themselves as we jump back and forth

from project to project. You can create quick access links within your file

explorer to do the same thing, but this gives a built-in method within Autodesk

Inventor to do that here which is very convenient. We're going to actually cancel

this for now and I want to highlight something as we move down here. If we

look in the recent documents section, we noticed that because we were in this

tablet clip part earlier, that, it shows as an unpinned file here and this is

pretty nice because when you open the software again in the future, after

recently working on the part, it allows you to quickly access this part without

having to navigate through your file explorer or through this project window

here. So we could actually just double-click on this part and it will

launch it. So that's a really nice useful feature for just getting into a file

quickly. We're actually going to go back to the home screen and we're going to exit

out of that file. What you'll notice in here is we get a few different options.

Of course, you have your open option. You can open it by double-clicking on the

tile or you could just click "open". You have your "remove from list" option

which essentially just removes the tile from the unpin section. Don't worry, this

doesn't actually delete the file. What this does is it just removes it from

this list to sort of clear things up. Maybe you're done with this design

effort and you just don't want to see it here anymore so you could do that.

You have your "actions" tab so you can open the file with options, opening the

containing folder, and so on and so forth. You have a little pin icon; so say for

example, this is a pretty common program that you are working on. You can click

this pin and it moves it up to the "pinned files" section. All of the various models,

or drawings, or whatever you're working on commonly, you can pin it in this

section so that you can always have quick access to it. And when you're done

with it you can just unpin it and it moves it back to this section. And we

could actually delete that here. Very useful, nice quick way to jump in and out

of files. Moving down, we have some options for the filter types on those

pinned files. So you can play around with these, you know you could change how

you're sorting your recent documents and and whatnot. So those are pretty

self-explanatory. We have some few options here. Let's open up that tablet

clip again and then come back to the home screen. We could look at a list

format for our various documents and various other representations visually

and so these are pretty useful, a useful way to change how you're viewing your

workflow. At the bottom here, you'll notice again we've been using this

pretty commonly throughout this tutorial, but again this is your home tab so that

will always be there as long as you keep that open. The additional tabs and your

other documents that you might be working; this is really useful space to

close out of various part files, assembly files, and such or to navigate and jump

back and forth between them. Moving down to the bottom-right here, we see our

documents menu. We see that we have a "my home" tab checked. So if we jump back into

this part and then come back home, and then click on this again, we can jump

back and forth between our tabs here as well. So this is another standardized

location in which we can access our various files that we have open at the

same time. We can go ahead and jump to this and we can go ahead and close it

from here. So let's go ahead and close this tab and you'll notice that it

closed everything at once. So that's okay, if you want to get your home screen back,

again just come back up here to "my home" and click on home and you'll get

everything that you need back to where it was. So, the last few functions that we

have here is we have our "flip". So when we click "flip",

it'll just invert the orientation of the new and projects pane with the recent

documents pane. So just depending on your preference and you know what you want to

see towards the top of your screen, that'll dictate that. Let's say we want

to get everything back to the way it was, you could just click "reset". We can

maximize "recent", which basically just maximizes the recent location that you

were using within the home page. So we'll go ahead and click "reset" again to get it

back to normal. If you notice here to the right, we have a way to manage how we're

tiling our windows. So you see we're clicking it now, but nothing's happening.

This is because we only have the home window open. So if we come back here and

open this part again, and we click this restore previous layout, it's going to bring

back how we tiled our windows earlier in the tutorial. So if you remember, we did a

vertical tile layout and so it just restores that to a previous view. So this

is useful if you're jumping back and forth between maximizing and minimizing

your screen. So say we maximize it, and okay now we're done with looking at this

full screen, we can go back in tile vertically. If you just want to maximize

your home screen, you can click over here on the left side, and it will change your

options automatically because it knows that you clicked in this pane and not

this one, and we can just hover over maximize here and we're going to

maximize that. That concludes this segment of the Autodesk Inventor home

screen user interface tutorial module. Let me know in the comments if this

helps you obtain a better understanding of the home screen and its user

interface. Don't forget to like this video, subscribe to my channel, and turn

on notifications to stay up-to-date on future content as it's released. And as

always, don't hesitate to reach out and let me know if there's anything else

you'd like to learn about or see on this channel. Thanks for watching, and I'll see

you again soon!

[Music Playing]