Product definition - Author rules

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When creating an Informed Design product definition in Inventor,

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once you have your source content defined and the parameters set in the order you want them,

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you can author the rules you want to use in your product definition.

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Informed Design uses Google Blockly for authoring rules.

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Blockly is a library from Google for building beginner-friendly, block-based programming languages.

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In the Product Definition dialog, on the Rules tab, you can see the rules workspace toolbox on the left.

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The toolbox has a variety of blocks, sorted into categories, such as Logic, Math, Variables, and Functions.

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Click each of these categories to see the blocks you can use in this rule set.

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Ultimately, these allow you to control how the blocks work and what functionality is needed to create your block rules.

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The middle area comprises the workspace canvas, where you define constraints for product customization.

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In this example, there are some constraints defined already.

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There are also tools on the right side of the canvas to help you zoom in or out, or delete blocks.

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You can also drag blocks to the backpack to save them for reuse.

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On the right-hand side, the Form preview lists the adopted parameters in the order defined.

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Values can be entered and edited in these controls to test and preview behavior enforced by rules in the canvas.

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Use the synchronization controls at the top of the Form preview to: update the form, reset to defaults,

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get model values from the Inventor model, or reconfigure the Inventor model using parameter values in the Form preview.

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To create a new rule, simply drag a block into the canvas.

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For this example, click Parameters to see the blocks you can use in this rule set.

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Drag the Height block to the top of the canvas.

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Drag the scroll bar if you need more room.

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Now click Math to see the available blocks.

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Notice that each block resembles a puzzle piece.

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Drag the top Value block and drop it directly onto the corresponding space in the Height parameter on the canvas.

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The Height entry in this block corresponds to the Height entry in the Form preview.

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In the block, you can use the drop-down list to change any entry, if needed.

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For this example, change the Value to minimum, and then enter a value of 20.

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Click Update form, and now the Form preview displays min 20 under the Height parameter.

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In the Form preview Height parameter, enter a value of 18, and then press Enter.

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The value is rounded up to 20, as that is the minimum value that you set for this parameter.

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Click the Information icon to see a more detailed explanation.

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To create your next block, you can use Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to copy and paste the Height block.

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Drag the copy and connect them together.

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You may hear a click to confirm the connection.

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For this block, change the Value to maximum, and then set the value to 90.

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Update the form again, and now the rule under Height displays as 20 to 90.

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Only values between 20 and 90 are accepted for this parameter.

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To change an allowed min or max value, simply update the block with the new value,

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and then click Update form in the Form preview.

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Copy and paste the block two more times to create Width parameters with a min value of 20 and a max value of 46.

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Update the Form preview again, and you can see the rules update.

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Instead of minimum and maximum rules, you can try out some of the other options, such as increment, readOnly, or message.

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By setting up the rules here and publishing, you allow the user to bring the model into the Revit environment

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with these controls as constraint limits set by the product manufacturer.

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To test your rules, from the Synchronization controls,

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click Set model values to update your Inventor model.

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After a moment, you can see the model update in the graphics window.

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With your source content defined, parameters set, and rules authored,

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click Save to save your product definition locally.