Lesson 2 – Adding a Button and Hiding a Component

In this lesson, it expands on the basic Add-In created in Lesson 1 by introducing user interaction. You will add a Ribbon button that hides selected component occurrences in an assembly.

The Add-In operates only in the Assembly Document environment and demonstrates safe handling of user selections.

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Lesson Objective

In this lesson, you will learn how to:

• Implement the ApplicationAddInServer interface
• Create a custom Ribbon tab and panel in the Assembly environment
• Add a command button with icons
• Handle button execution events
• Access the active Assembly document
• Modify component visibility using the Inventor API

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Prerequisites

Before starting this lesson, you should:

• Have completed Lesson 1: Creating and Registering an Add-In
• Be familiar with:
  • C# and Visual Studio 2022
  • Basic Inventor UI concepts
  • Assemblies and component occurrences
• Have Autodesk Inventor installed and running

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Lesson Description

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Step 1 – The Add-In Server Class

Every Inventor Add-In must implement the ApplicationAddInServer interface.

public class StandardAddInServer : Inventor.ApplicationAddInServer

This class serves as the main entry point for communication between Inventor and your Add-In.

Key Responsibilities

• React to Inventor loading and unloading the Add-In
• Create UI elements
• Handle command execution
• Release resources properly

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Step 2 – Add-In Identification

[Guid("fe90d295-8acd-48e7-9735-f9dc6736a982")]

Each Add-In requires a unique GUID:

• Used by Inventor to identify the Add-In
• Must match the Windows Registry entry
• Should never be changed once deployed

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Step 3 – Storing the Inventor Application Object

private Inventor.Application m_inventorApplication;

Inventor provides access to its API through the Application object.
This reference is stored during activation and used throughout the Add-In.

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Step 4 – Activating the Add-In

public void Activate (ApplicationAddInSite addInSiteObject, bool firstTime)

This method is called when Inventor loads the Add-In.

What Happens During Activation

• The Inventor application object is obtained
• A button definition is created
• Button icons are assigned
• The button execution event is registered
• The UI is created (only the first time)

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Step 5 – Creating a Button Definition

buttonDef = m_inventorApplication.CommandManager
    .ControlDefinitions.AddButtonDefinition(
        "Hide Component",
        "LessonButtonName",
        CommandTypesEnum.kNonShapeEditCmdType,
        button_client_ID,
        "Button to hide the Component",
        "Hide Component",
        smallPicture,
        largePicture);

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Step 6 – Creating the Ribbon User Interface

private void CreateUserInterface()

This method creates:

• A custom Ribbon Tab
• A Ribbon Panel
• A Button placed on the panel

Target Environment

Ribbon ribbon = m_inventorApplication
    .UserInterfaceManager.Ribbons["Assembly"];

The UI is intentionally added only to the Assembly ribbon.

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Step 7 – Adding the Ribbon Tab and Panel

If the tab already exists, it is reused.
Otherwise, a new one is created:

ribbonTab = ribbon.RibbonTabs.Add(
    "MyFirstPlugin",
    "AssemblyDocTab",
    tab_client_ID);

A ribbon panel named Lesson 2 is then added, and the button is placed inside it.

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Step 8 – Handling Button Execution

buttonDef.OnExecute += ButtonDef_OnExecute;

When the button is clicked, Inventor calls the following method.

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Step 9 – Hiding Selected Components

private void ButtonDef_OnExecute(NameValueMap Context)

Execution Flow

• Access the active Assembly document
• Check if a selection exists
• Loop through selected objects
• Cast each object to ComponentOccurrence
• Set visibility to false

compOcc.Visible = false;

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Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you learned how to:

• Create a custom ribbon tab and panel
• Add a button to the Assembly ribbon
• Handle button execution events
• Work with selected component occurrences
• Control component visibility