Inventor 2011 features a ribbon and other interface components similar to other Autodesk products. Mini-toolbars and manipulators now appear directly adjacent to objects as you edit sketches and features.
A wealth of new features and functions make the latest release one of the biggest ever.
by David Cohn
A lot has changed since I last looked at Autodesk Inventor, so I will admit to being a bit nervous when AutoCAD Inventor Professional Suite 2011 arrived and I began to install the software for this hands-on review. The contents of the box itself seemed a bit daunting: There were nine DVDs, including Inventor, AutoCAD Mechanical, Autodesk Vault and Autodesk’s Fusion Technology preview. But thanks to Autodesk’s AIRMAX initiative—an internal project to standardize aspects of AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit and 3ds MAX—Inventor 2011 was immediately both new and familiar.
Like other Autodesk products, Inventor now sports a ribbon interface, along with an Application menu and Quick Access toolbar, those user interface components having been introduced in the previous release of the software. For example, commands that were formerly found on the Model Feature toolbar now appear on the Model tab. But Inventor 2011 also has some new interface enhancements of its own, including new dynamic input tools in the sketch environment, and direct manipulation mini-toolbars to access frequently used commands and options.
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