Resolve a file search

An automatic resolve process follows a set sequence of steps:

1. Full reference information is provided through an API event, and any interested add-in application, such as a PDM system, is allowed to override the normal Autodesk Inventor behavior.
2. If a library name is stored in the reference, or the source file was opened from a library location, then only the project location associated with a single library name is searched.

   There are three variants of how the library name used to look up the library folder is determined:

   • The source file was not found in a library, but the reference has a library name. In this case, a project library location with the name matching the reference Library Name is searched.
   • The reference is a non library reference and its Library Name is empty, but the source file was found in a library location. In this case, a library location containing the source file is searched.
   • The reference is to a library and the source file was found in a library location. The system generates a list of complex candidate library names, and looks through the list, from longest to shortest, for a library name in the project that matches.
3. Non library references are searched in order through the workspace and each workgroup search path folder. The workgroup folders are searched in the order in which they are listed in the Project Editor.
4. For both library and non library references, if not found using the previous rules, the folder containing the source file is searched.
5. If the reference is still not found, substitution rules are applied from those previously defined in the Resolve Link dialog box (in the same Autodesk Inventor session), and the search process is repeated. You can search for one or more other unresolved references using the same the substitution rule.

   Apply a substitution rule if you have:

   • Moved a set of files or an entire folder from one library to another or between a workgroup, another edit folder, and a library folder.
   • Added or removed a subfolder level within a project folder, or otherwise changed the subfolder path from the most significant project folder to the file.
   • Moved a set of files between a project folder and some folder outside the project.
6. If a file is still not found, the system checks the absolute full path where the referenced file was found the last time the referencing file was saved. If the file is found at that location, and that location is contained on one of the project locations, the reference information is automatically recomputed, or back-resolved, for future use, the source file is marked as needing to be saved, and the reference is resolved.
7. PDM vendors are given another chance to resolve the file whether they take over the process or add on to what Autodesk Inventor already does.
8. If the reference is identical to another that was previously resolved manually by the user choosing a file with the different name, the same replacement is applied.

If a file is still not found, the Resolve Link dialog box opens where you can specify the location of the referenced file. Once you find a file through this dialog box and open it, you can record the location for future use in the form of a library name and/or path substitution rule.

Depending on the reasons that the file was not found, you can take corrective actions:

• Cancel the open and move the file to a location defined in the active project. If you move the folder to a subfolder of a storage location, use the Resolve Link dialog box once to establish the correct relative path.
• If the file exists within a location defined by the active project, use the Resolve Link dialog box to enter the location.
• If the file is temporarily unavailable, such as when a network is unavailable, skip the reference and work without the referenced file.
• If the referenced file has been permanently deleted, skip the reference, and then later delete or replace it. In some Autodesk Inventor applications, you can specify the replacement component directly in the Resolve Link dialog box. Others require that you resolve the reference in the context of the top-level component first.

Non library files are any files you can edit for a project, including the files stored in your workspace and workgroup search paths.

Two strings, Relative path and File name, are used to store references to non library files.

Relative path

From the first edit folder containing the referenced file, or if no such folder exists, the relative path from the folder of the source file, and if that does not exist, the full absolute path to the referenced file.

File Name

When you open a file, Autodesk Inventor searches for components in the following order:

• Library search paths, if a library part is loaded. Otherwise, library paths are not searched.
• Workspace.
• Workgroup search paths.
• The folder containing the project file.

Library references are not searched in project non library folders, and project non library references are not searched in library folders.

When a component (part or subassembly) is placed in a higher-level assembly, the location of the referenced file is saved in the assembly document. The assembly uses this information to locate the referenced components the next time the assembly is opened. The first file found that matches the naming information stored in the parent document is loaded.

If a component is not found, an automatic resolve process follows a set sequence of steps to resolve the search. If the search is not successful, the Resolve Link dialog box opens, where you can add a substitution rule and repeat the search process. Once the component is found and the referencing file is saved, the location is automatically recorded for future use.

To resolve a file search

Depending on the reasons a file is not found, you can take corrective action:

• Move the file to a location defined in the active project. If you move the folder to a subfolder of a storage location, use the Resolve Link dialog box once to establish the correct relative path.
• If the file exists within a location defined by the active project, use the Resolve Link dialog box to enter the location.

In the Resolve Link dialog box, choose an option:

Library folders are intended for read-only files that you reference, but not edit. Each library file reference contains:

• Library Name
• Relative Path from the library folder
• File Name

Additional information used to resolve the reference includes:

• Source library name in which the referencing file was found (or an empty string if it was not found in a library at all)
• Folder path

Library component reference resolution includes providing the full reference information to any interested add-in application such as a PDM system. If necessary, the application can override normal Autodesk Inventor behavior. The full reference information includes a custom byte array that a PDM system might have given Autodesk Inventor previously to identify the reference file through an API event.

A reference is treated as a library reference if there is a reference library name or a source library name. A library folder that includes Library Name as a component is searched for the reference. If a library folder is found, two candidate paths are generated:

• Library folder + relative path + file name
• Library folder + file name

In all cases, if a file is found at the current candidate path, the search is stopped, and any remaining candidate paths are dropped. Also, if the relative path is empty, the second candidate is dropped, since it would be identical.

The resolve mechanism cycles through the following searches in order:

1. The file is searched relative to the source file folder, path + file name.
2. Edit location paths, in order, through the:
   • Workspace folder
   • Workgroup folders.
3. The file is searched relative to the source file folder.
4. Any cached, matching substitution rules are applied, and the search is tried for each. You can resolve a file that was moved by instituting a restructuring rule, and then applying it to further references being resolved in the same session and the same project. It includes moving files from one library to another or between edit folders and library folders, adding or removing a subfolder level within a project folder, or otherwise changing the relative path from the most significant project folder to the file.
5. The absolute full path where it was found the last time the referencing file was saved. If the file is found, the reference information is recomputed from the full path, the source file is marked as needing to be saved, and the search is resolved.

Finally, the Resolve Link dialog box shows the recorded reference information and asks where the intended file is. You can skip that or all unresolved files, or cancel and end the initial save altogether, or you can use the options to enter the location where the file can be found. In the same session, and in the same project, if other files have unresolved references to that same path, they are also resolved.

After you find a file using the Resolve Link dialog box, save the source file to record the references for future use.