Introducing Sketch-Based BreakOperations for Drawings in Autodesk Inventor 2026 API

by Chandra shekar Gopal,

Autodesk Inventor 2026 continues to expand its API capabilities, offering even greater flexibility for developers and design automation experts. A notable enhancement in this release is the introduction of the new BreakOperations.AddBySketch method and the BreakOperation.BreakLineSketch property. These features empower users to define drawing view breaks using custom sketch geometry—improving automation workflows and enabling more precise visual control directly within the drawing environment.

🔧 What’s New in Inventor 2026?

🆕 BreakOperations.AddBySketch

This method, new in Inventor 2026, allows you to create break views based on sketch geometry instead of selecting two points manually. It offers higher design flexibility and parametric control.

🆕 BreakOperation.BreakLineSketch

Also introduced in Inventor 2026, this property returns the sketch used to define the break lines, enabling custom inspection and editing.

💡 Use Cases and Capabilities

✅ Legacy Compatibility

• Supports traditional two-point break creation.
• A hidden sketch is automatically generated to preserve legacy behavior.

✏️ Sketch-Driven Breaks

• Create breaks using a sketch that contains two vertical or horizontal lines.
• Break orientation is inferred from the sketch—no additional input is needed.
• Supports constraints and parametric control for precise documentation layout.

⚠️ Editing Behavior

• Editing break start/mid/end points attempts to update the sketch geometry.
• Constraints may limit modification impact—some edits may have no visible effect.

📜 Sample Code: Creating a Break Using a Sketch (Inventor 2026)

Sub CreateBreakOpertionBySketchSample()
' Open a drawing document and place a drawing view on the active sheet before running this sample.
Dim oDoc As DrawingDocument
Set oDoc = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
Dim oView As DrawingView
Set oView = oDoc.ActiveSheet.DrawingViews(1)
Dim oSk As DrawingSketch
Set oSk = oView.Sketches.Add
oSk.Edit
Dim oLine As SketchLine
Dim oPt1 As Point2d, oPt2 As Point2d
Set oPt1 = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(-oView.Width / 6, oView.Height / 2)
Set oPt2 = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(-oView.Width / 6, -oView.Height / 2)
Set oLine = oSk.SketchLines.AddByTwoPoints(oPt1, oPt2)
Set oPt1 = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(oView.Width / 6, oView.Height / 2)
Set oPt2 = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(oView.Width / 6, -oView.Height / 2)
Set oLine = oSk.SketchLines.AddByTwoPoints(oPt1, oPt2)
oSk.ExitEdit
' Create break operation based on sketch
Dim oBreak As BreakOperation
Set oBreak = oView.BreakOperations.AddBySketch(oSk, kRectangularBreakStyle)
End Sub

📘 Summary of Benefits

🔍 Final Thoughts

The new sketch-based break functionality in Autodesk Inventor 2026 adds powerful flexibility for creating cleaner, more controlled documentation. Whether you’re automating drawing creation or defining parametric break behavior, these features offer a better way to express design intent visually.