MCAD Tools

BOM to PDF

Exports the bill of materials (BOM) and generates PDFs of the drawings associated with the assembly, with merge, watermark, and resolution options.

What it is for

Automates assembly documentation: extracts the BOM to Excel/CSV and produces individual PDFs or one merged PDF of all linked drawings.

Where to find it

Environment Panel Button
Assembly Assembly Tools BOM to / PDF

BOM to PDF button location on the MicroCAD ribbon

Prerequisites

Before clicking Generate files, check the following:

Requirement Detail
Assembly document An .iam must be open and active
Project Number Required in iProperties → Design Tracking Properties → Project. If empty, you will see: "Assembly must have a Project Number to proceed"
BOM Import Template BOM customization XML configured in Settings (see below). Without this file the tool fails
Associated drawings Needed only if you enable Create PDFs
Microsoft Excel Required if you export the BOM as .xls or .xlsx
Valid license Active Inventor Tools key

Important: BOM configuration is not optional in practice. If you do not set a valid XML template in Settings, generating files can show "The Default Template file could not be found. The program will exit."

Step by step

1. Configure Settings (first time)

  1. Open the working assembly.
  2. Go to MicroCAD → Assembly Tools → BOM to PDF.
  3. Click Settings (upper-right corner of the dialog).
  4. On the BOM Settings tab, click Browse next to BOM Import Template File.
  5. Select a BOM customization .xml file (see BOM template).
  6. Configure export format (xls, xlsx, csv), BOM properties, and PDF/watermark options on the other tabs.
  7. Click OK to save the configuration.

Main Generate BOM and Drawing PDFs window

Settings — BOM Settings

2. Generate files

  1. Confirm that the Project Number appears in the main dialog (it is read from the assembly iProperties).
  2. Select the desired Options (update quantities, create PDFs, merge PDFs, etc.).
  3. Click Generate files.
  4. Wait for "The process has completed successfully".
  5. Use Close to open the output folder in File Explorer.

BOM template (XML file)

The tool uses a BOM Import Template (.xml) to define which columns and properties to export from Inventor's structured BOM.

How to get the XML file

Option Description
Export from Inventor In the assembly: BOM → Export → Customize structure, save the customization as .xml
MCAD template Request MTC_BOM_Default.xml (or equivalent) from your administrator or MCAD support
Configured path Must be an accessible path on disk; the setting is stored in Prj_BOM_to_PDF.dll.config

What happens if the template is missing

If BOMPath is not configured or the file does not exist, the tool tries a fallback in the Inventor installation folder:

[Inventor]\Resources\MTC_BOM_Default.xml

That file usually does not exist, so this error appears and the process stops:

Error: BOM template not found

Solution: open Settings → BOM Settings → Browse, select a valid .xml, and try Generate files again.

Main dialog options

Option Description
Assembly Name Active assembly name (read-only)
Project Number Project number (from iProperties); required
Update BOM Quantities Recalculates quantities before export
Create PDFs Generates a PDF for each associated drawing
Merge PDFs Combines all PDFs into a single file
Update Child BOM Item Numbers Updates BOM numbering in subassemblies
PDF resolution Vector PDF resolution (150–4800)
Object lineweights Respects drawing line weights
All colors as black Converts the entire drawing to black

Settings options

BOM Settings

Settings — BOM Settings

Option Description
BOM Import Template File Required XML file — defines BOM columns
BOM Qty Property Name iProperty name for quantities (default: BOMQty)
Has DWG Property Name iProperty that indicates whether the component has a drawing (HasDWG)
Export format xls, xlsx, csv, or Access

PDF Output Settings

Settings — PDF Output Settings

Option Description
PDF Vector Resolution Export resolution
Object Lineweights Line weight in the PDF
All Colors as Black Export in black and white

Watermark Settings

Settings — Watermark Settings

Option Description
Watermark text Watermark text
Font / Color Typeface and color
Location (inch / mm) Position according to sheet size

Watermark location — inches

Watermark location — millimeters

Result

  • Exported BOM file (.xlsx, .xls, or .csv) in the assembly folder
  • Individual PDFs of associated drawings (if Create PDFs is on)
  • Merged PDF (if Merge PDFs is on)

Common errors

Message Cause Solution
The Default Template file could not be found No BOM XML template configured, or the fallback does not exist Settings → Browse → select a valid .xml
Assembly must have a Project Number to proceed Project iProperty is empty Fill in Project in the assembly Design Tracking Properties
The file, [path], cannot be found BOMPath points to a moved or deleted file Update the path in Settings
unable to export BOM to desired format Excel is not installed (xls/xlsx format) Install Excel or switch export to CSV

Notes and limitations

  • Configure Settings before the first use; opening the dialog and clicking Generate files is not enough.
  • Drawings must exist and be referenced correctly in the assembly to generate PDFs.
  • Configuration is persisted in Prj_BOM_to_PDF.dll.config next to the module DLL (see Configuration).
  • Long processes on large assemblies can take several minutes.