Autodesk.inventor.interop.dll 〈QUICK〉
autodesk.inventor.interop.dll is a assembly. Autodesk Inventor’s core Application Programming Interface (API) is written in native C++. However, most modern customizations and add-ins are written in .NET languages like C# or VB.NET. Native C++ and managed .NET code cannot talk to each other directly. The Interop DLL acts as a translator.
If your application only needs to read file properties, data, or structure without opening the full, resource-heavy Inventor user interface, use the Apprentice Server API instead. It is accessed through the same interop DLL but runs significantly faster because it operates entirely in the background without rendering the 3D graphics window. Conclusion autodesk.inventor.interop.dll
The assembly contains the metadata for the Inventor API. When you reference this DLL in your Visual Studio project, you gain access to: autodesk
Inventor.Application inventorApp = (Inventor.Application)Marshal.GetActiveObject("Inventor.Application"); PartDocument partDoc = (PartDocument)inventorApp.ActiveDocument; WorkPlane xyPlane = partDoc.ComponentDefinition.WorkPlanes[3]; Native C++ and managed
At its core, autodesk.inventor.interop.dll is an . Interop assemblies act as a translator, allowing .NET managed code (your program) to interact with unmanaged COM components (Inventor's API). When you reference Inventor's type library in Visual Studio, the development environment automatically generates this interop assembly, which contains a set of .NET-compatible wrappers for every function, class, and interface exposed by Inventor.
Insert custom tools and buttons directly into the Inventor user interface (UI).
The following production-ready C# example demonstrates how to safely connect to an active session of Autodesk Inventor or spin up a new instance if it isn't running.