Browse & sessions

Quick Place

Place parts from favorite folders with a double-click, via thumbnails in a dockable panel.

Location in Inventor: Thundercad tab → Browse panel (Assembly)

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What this tool does

Quick Place is a dockable side panel that lets you drop frequently used parts and assemblies into your assembly in a flash. You add folders as tabs; each tab shows thumbnails of every .ipt and .iam file located directly in that folder (subfolders are not scanned).

The thumbnails come straight from the Inventor file; if that fails, Quick Place falls back to the Windows preview or the file icon. Your tabs are preserved between sessions.

How to use it

Open an assembly and click Quick Place on the Thundercad tab. The panel appears on the right.
Click + and choose a folder. That folder becomes a tab with thumbnails of the parts and assemblies inside it.
Double-click a thumbnail. The part is placed interactively: you click where it goes and can place several instances one after another.
Switch between folders using the tabs. Close a tab with the cross (×) or a middle-click; right-click gives you Remove tab and Open in Explorer.

Settings

Make a copy before placing

An option in the panel itself, not a separate settings tab.

Make a copy before placing

First makes a copy of a part ({naam}_Copy1, incrementing, in the same folder) and places it. Works only for .ipt; for an assembly, Quick Place points you to Copy Design.

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Tips

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Add your standard hardware and profile folders as permanent tabs, so you have them at hand in every project right away.

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To copy an entire assembly with all its references, use Copy Design, not the copy option here.

Try this tool yourself, free for 30 days

The full toolbox, no payment details needed. Works with Inventor 2025 and higher.

Download the installer See pricing

Questions about this tool?

We're happy to help you get started.