Octo for Inventor
Octo can write, test and run the routines that process Inventor parts, assemblies and drawings in batch: STEP, PDF, iProperties, references, iLogic rules. Either with Inventor open invisibly, or through Apprentice, without opening Inventor. You approve the plan and each batch; it prepares the script, the result and the list of what failed for your team to review.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. In all of them, Octo proposes the approach, writes the script and tests it on a sample before the batch.
Opens Inventor invisibly through COM, with dialogs suppressed, and exports STEP (a neutral CAD exchange format) for each part and assembly and PDF for each drawing, using the translators Autodesk documents in the API. Writes an OK or ERROR line per file and closes without saving. Uses a regular Inventor license.
Deliverable: .ps1 batch + STEP, PDF and error listWrites a C# program on top of Apprentice, a free Autodesk component, that reads and writes properties such as Part Number across thousands of files and saves only the properties. Apprentice won't save a file that needs version migration: that one goes on the failure list.
Deliverable: C# program (Apprentice) + reportAlso through Apprentice: replaces references when parts are renamed or moved to another folder, and produces an assembly structure report or a simple bill of materials (BOM). Structure and geometry are read-only; references and properties can be written.
Deliverable: C# references routine + BOMWrites the external iLogic rule (VB.NET) and a batch that runs it on each file in a folder, calling iLogic from outside Inventor. Useful for updating properties or generating product variations by rule. Only saves when the rule returns success.
Deliverable: .iLogicVb rule + .ps1 batchSets up file migration in Inventor's Task Scheduler, with several sessions in parallel, over entire folders or an .ipj project. First, it checks for iLogic rules that fire on save, because they can hang the task; Inventor 2026 has an option to turn them off during the task.
Automatic PDF when a file is released in Vault comes out of the Job Processor, with Inventor Server, without an Inventor license. For a web configurator or a call from a Linux server, the path is Autodesk's Design Automation. Octo compares them and proposes the migration when it pays off.
Deliverable: Vault or APS migration studyThe same Octo cycle, applied to Inventor. Each arm has a narrow role; the decisions are made by a person at your company.
How many parts, assemblies and drawings, in which folders and projects. Which Inventor version is installed (up to 2024, .NET Framework 4.8; from 2025 on, .NET 8), whether there's a Vault and whether Apprentice is installed and registered.
Which iProperties to read or write, the name of each STEP and PDF, each translator's options (the STEP sample published by Autodesk uses the AP 214 protocol) and the columns of the structure report.
COM scripts and iLogic use a regular Inventor license; Apprentice is free. Before any service for third parties, your company needs to read the license agreement. Since Apprentice writes to the file itself, nothing runs without a backup.
Apprentice when properties, references and structure are enough; invisible Inventor when translating to STEP or PDF is needed; iLogic when the rule already exists; Task Scheduler to migrate; Vault or the cloud when there's no license or Windows.
Inventor with Visible = False and SilentOperation = True, which suppresses dialogs. Turns off iLogic triggers when they get in the way of the batch, closes each file without saving and shuts Inventor down at the end.
Runs on a few files and checks by the result: the STEP and the PDF exist and open, the iProperty was written, the rule returned 0 and the file changed as it should.
With your OK and the backup done, it runs the whole folder and checks file by file what came out and what failed, without taking a success message as proof.
Version, runtime, the translator identifiers, what was confirmed on your machine. The next batch starts from this record.
Nothing runs in batch before your OK. Nothing is overwritten without a backup.
The criteria Octo uses to choose. Without full Inventor when possible; with it, invisible, when the task requires it.
| Task | Recommended path | Full Inventor? |
|---|---|---|
| Read or edit iProperties across thousands of files | Apprentice (FlushToFile) | No |
| Replace references when renaming or moving parts in assemblies | Apprentice (ReplaceReference + FileSaveAs) | No |
| Assembly structure report or simple BOM | Apprentice | No |
| Export STEP, IGES, PDF or DWG in batch on a Windows machine | Invisible COM script + TranslatorAddIn | Yes (license) |
| Migrate files to the new version | Task Scheduler (Migrate, Multi Processes) | Yes |
| Generate product variations by rule | iLogic (external rule called through COM) | Yes |
| Automatic PDF or DWF on release in Vault | Vault Job Processor (Inventor Server) | No (no license) |
| Web configurator or call from a Linux server | Design Automation for Inventor | No (cloud) |
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results in your operation.
A proposal, not a promise
On a Windows machine with Inventor, or with Apprentice only, you ask in business terms and get the proposed batch, to approve before it runs.
.ps1 batchThe batch is no longer requested; it runs on schedule, in Windows Task Scheduler or in Inventor's Task Scheduler.
The routines in Design Automation for Inventor, called by API, with no local Windows or Inventor.
Each point below has a source published by the vendor, the project or the responsible agency. The sources are in the next section.
4
points with a published source, each with its reference alongside.
Octo prepares everything, but doesn't sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: spreadsheets, reports, drawings and drafts.
Deliverable: material ready to checkThe licensed professional checks what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the signerOcto does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT (Brazil's professional responsibility records), accountability reports and any official document are still signed by the company's or agency's licensed professional: here, the designer or the engineer responsible for the project.
Sign-off: designer or responsible engineerDocumentation published by Autodesk, used on this page.
The assessment starts by reading your part, assembly and drawing folders and your installation, without changing anything. You get a map of what can be automated and decide with it in hand.