One of my favorite enhancements with Autodesk Inventor 2024 is the new workflow to create section views in your Inventor parts and assembly models. Hint hint... the best part of this is that you can now EDIT a section if it is in a design view. Read on to learn how and learn about the new workflow that has now transitioned to the mini-toolbar!
- As was done previously, you select the view type in the drop-down list (View tab>Visibility panel).
2. Select the plane to section about. The updated mini-toolbar appears in the graphics window. This now includes more tools that were previously available only on the right-click menu.
3.If required, move the selected plane by dragging the arrow that appears on the section plane or enter a value in the Offset field in the mini-toolbar. Ensure 
is selected to move the plane.
4. If required, select 
and use the same techniques to rotate the selected section plane.
5. If required, select 
to flip the sectioning direction.
6. If you are only creating a half section view, click 
to complete the section. If creating a quarter or three quarter section view, click 
to continue and select an additional plane to section about. The mini-toolbar updates with additional options when a quarter or three quarter section view is being created. If required, enter an offset value (move or rotate) or flip the direction of the new plane using the same techniques mentioned above.
7. To further modify the offset from a selected plane, the correct plane must be active. In the mini-toolbar, select 
or 
, as needed, to switch the active plane and then modify as required.
8. Right-click and select OK (Enter) or click to complete the section view.
As you can see, the mini-toolbar is now more convenient and contains more options. Some additional tips are:
- To return to a view of the entire part, select Delete Section View in the Section View drop-down list.
- You can still scroll in the Offset field to incrementally change the offset value of a plane. To change the scroll increments when modifying section plane placement, right-click in the graphics window and select Scroll Step Size, enter an increment value, and click .
- During section plane creation, you can toggle between a quarter section or a three quarter section view in the mini-toolbar by selecting
(Three Quarter Section View) or 
(Quarter Section View), as needed.
As has always been the case, section views are still temporary unless used in conjunction with design views. However, now (queue the drum roll) if the section view is in a design view, you can modify the section by right-clicking its name and selecting Section View > Edit to gain access to the same mini-toolbar so that you can make changes. You can also select Suppress to suppress the section view in the design view.
I hope that this is helpful.
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