Enhancement Requests for Creo - Summer 2013 TC Meetings

[BrianMartin]

Hi Everyone...

Starting directly after the PTC Live Global conference in June (9th-12th), PTC/User is holding it's bi-annual "face to face" Technical Committee ("TC") meetings. These meetings are held twice a year- once in January at PTC Headquarters and again at the PTC Live Global (in Anaheim this year).

For those of you are not familiar with what these committees do, here's a description:

Volunteers from PTC customers and other interested individuals comprise the membership of these Technical Committees. Working closely with PTC, the Technical Committees provide product feedback, enhancement requests, and other information that helps to influence future software development. At the face-to-face meetings,Technical Committee members have direct access to PTC software developers and Product Line Managers. These are the people responsible for enhancements, upgrades, and future functionality for all PTC products including Creo/ProE, Windchill, and Creo View.

There are well over a dozen different TC's of which I'm a member of about 7 of them. Obviously my main goal in joinging was to share NASA's feedback, comments, and concerns with the software developers and other committee members. In January, I sent out an open solicitation to all users on PTC Community to submit their feedback, insights, comments, concerns, and enhancement requests. I gathered those contributions and took them to the meetings with me. Many of them made it in front of the developers and were well-received.

The goal is to make positive contributions and hopefully influence future enhancements to the software. This isn't intended to be another "gripe" thread. Let's please focus on bringing something positive to the discussion. These are professional meetings held at the pleasure of PTC and it's employees and we're invited guests. Please remember that ultimately I'm representing my employer and I need to maintain a professional demeanor. I can't just go into a TC meeting and start tearing into the PTC people for every complaint and issue you have with Creo. However, I can go in there with a reasonable request supported by sound logic and a true business need and make a case for a software enhancement.

The first time I attended one of these meetings, many people just sat there quietly. The second time, we had some really productive conversations and I feel we made some real progress. The goal is to continue this trend. We have the PTC Product Line Managers standing there asking for feedback and we want them to hear our concerns and note them for future consideration. This is a rare opporunity to speak directly to the programmers, managers, and those in charge at PTC.

If there's an enhancement you really need... or a problem you're having... or some piece of feedback you really want to make it up the chain of command, now is the time to say something!

Add to this thread and send in your feedback and requests. I'll do my best to get it in front of the developers. I'll catalog the requests and post a synopsis and a final report after the meetings similar to what I did the last time. Remember to keep it positive if possible... but let's hear what you have to say!

Thanks!!

-Brian

PS: I am currently a member of the following Technical Committees so I can address topics in any of these areas:

• Routed Systems - Cabling/Piping & Schematics
• Core Modeling
• Model Based Definition (ASME Y.14.41 Standards)
• System Administration
• Detailing
• Creo View / Visualization
• Windchill

PPS: If you're interested in joining a TC, go to the PTC/User Website, create a login, and sign up!

This thread is inactive and closed by the PTC Community Management Team. If you would like to provide a reply and re-open this thread, please notify the moderator and reference the thread. You may also use "Start a topic" button to ask a new question. Please be sure to include what version of the PTC product you are using so another community member knowledgeable about your version may be able to assist.

[TomD.inPDX]

I'd like to put this Idea before the committee and get their feedback.

Symmetric Extrude - taper: bidirectional control

This would make so much sense in definining plastics and castings.

[rohit_rajan]

Hi,

the "save a copy " assembly window is a nightmare in creo 2.0. whenever i open it..it only shows half of the window..either the top half or the bottom half.

i tried to reason with the customer support, they told me the resolution of monitor should be atleast 1024*1280.

i agree the resolution on the monitor is not what they say.

but they can atleast add a scroll bar..so that i can scroll down.

the window is not diagonally or vertically scalable also..which again restricts me..this is soo crazy.

[BrianMartin]

Hi Rohit...

For accessibility, I concur. I understand that PTC is trying to dictate a minimum resolution but this is poor design practice. I'm pursuing several degrees right now and one of them is in Computer Science and Digital Media. When developing modern applications (both web based and native), one of the primary goals is accessibility. It's drilled into our heads to write code that can be parsed by screen readers and assistive technologies.

Modern applications must be flexible for those who need large font sizes, larger icons, etc. You can't just say "increase your resolution" to someone who is visually impaired and needs to have things magnified. Any application written for the Federal government absolutely must be designed for accessibility by law.

Certainly a scroll bar should be included at minimum. Or, alternately, the window should be resizable. I'll bring your concerns to the developers and see what they say.

Thanks!

-Brian

[rohit_rajan]

Hi Brian,

as usual you have expalined it so much better as to what i am trying to say.thanks a lot.

Imagine if sales guy goes to sell Creo 2.0..and shows the "save a copy" window for new features,

and he has not set the required resolution...that would be bad.

We are into certified training with PTC. we have 15 systems with 19 inch wide screen monitors and none of them open the "save a copy" window properly... 🙂

two more requests from last time....

1.ability to fill/hatch wrapped sketches....our work sometimes is related to medial equipments..where we need wrapped sketches for "dose numbering"....at present we have to manually fill the wrapped sketches in detailing after using the use edge option.

2. and the "use edge" option in detailing does not have "loop" or "chain" selection option as in sketcher mode.

Brian I have been also accepted as core modelling TC member. I even mailed you,but it must have gone into spam.But I am India..so far.

[BrianMartin]

Hi Rohit...

I didn't see anything come through in email from you. I'm sorry I missed your message. Have you been receiving any correspondence from the Core Modeling TC? You should see an occasional email. Some of the TC's are more active than others. If I can manage it, one day I'd like to be a chairperson for one of them. It takes quite a bit of time, patience, and luck for that to happen though.

Welcome to the TC... I'll add your requests to the list. I'll do my best to get them raised in the meetings or at least get them submitted for future consideration.

Thanks!

-Brian

[ptc-5044466]

Hi Brian,

You have my vote 500% to become the chairperson of the TC. In my personal opinion you are the best and the most deserved to be the chairperson.

take care!

[rohit_rajan]

1.ability to fill/hatch wrapped sketches....our work sometimes is related to medial equipments..where we need wrapped sketches for "dose numbering"....at present we have to manually fill the wrapped sketches in detailing after using the use edge option.

2. and the "use edge" option in detailing does not have "loop" or "chain" selection option as in sketcher mode. this if i want to solid fill that wrapped sketch in creo drawing.

i have attached some creo files with this, to get you to try this on you own.

there are two part files and one assembly file.

[BrianMartin]

Yuck Rohit...

You're right... it's bad. I tried every trick I know and it's just ugly. On a Wrap, the properties tab on the Sketch Setup window is just gone. I even tried a Warp (not a wrap but a warp) and a cross-hatched curve bends... and leaves the cross hatches floating out in space. The boundaries bend and the hatch lines stay straight. Amazing.

Just for the record, here's what I tried:

• Boundary Blends from wrapped curves (used these to make surfaces and color them)
• Reference Datums (Intent Curves, Intent Surfaces)
• Cosmetic Sketches with/without hatching
• Regular sketches with/without hatching
• Decals/textures wrapped around the cylinder
• In drawing mode, I tried all manner of selecting edges, curves, surfaces, etc to choose the volumes to hatch. The only way to hatch these volumes was to manually pick them using the Use Edge command. This was very painful and very cumbersome when you have numerous hatch areas.

I concur Rohit... this needs to be addressed.

One thing- I complained about the lack of a loop/chain feature for hatching in drawing mode. I believe this is addressed in Creo 3. I know I complained about it but I think I recall seeing a demonstration showing that this has been fixed. I may be confusing this with the ability to choose hatch areas in the symbol editor which was a huge pet peeve of mine for years. I know that has been fixed... maybe I am confusing it with the loop/chain feature in regular drawing mode.

Either way... good suggestions. There's no reason hatches can't be provided. I mean... it just seems like an oversight but I'm sure there was some reason it wasn't done previously.

Thanks!

-Brian

[rohit_rajan]

Hi Brian,

where are you?how are you? i think you are extremely busy...nothing just waiting for you enhancement request excel.

[rohit_rajan]

where are you Brian? or did i miss the enhancement request excel?..............

[gkrishna]

1. Ability to intersect already intersected "curve". once the intersections is done,it's all over,one can't change it further.

2.Ability to undivide a line in sketcher.

3 Making current directory as working directory with right click,otherwise have to travel one level up

4 Just by long shot ,not sure if i am asking too much,but can creo have interoperability with this application http://www.grantadesign.com/products/ces/

it's a material selection application and very good one i guess.

I have no idea what is compulsion behind not having these or wide user base is affected by it.

[BrianMartin]

Hi Gopal...

I want to understand your submissions further and provide some feedback of my own. I'll be happy to add these to the list. First, I wanted to say I checked out the Granta software and they already offer a module that ties directly into Pro/E. Here a link to the software. I can tell you from experience that PTC will not add anything to the base product to tie into the Granta software... especially because Granta has already done it and they are offering the product for sale. Granta would probably not want PTC to add this.

As for the other three suggestions:

Curve Intersections:

What changes would you like to make to an already-intersected curve? Can you explain this further? What could be a good example of a reason for this request?

Undivide Command for Sketcher:

I understand your request for an "un-divide" command but I also see some technical hurdles in offering this. For example, to be able to "un-divide", sketcher would have to know that something was divided in the first place. This means the sketch has to retain information about how the geometry within the sketch was originally created. This seems like it would be a large change to the way things work now.

As it works now, you can sketch a single line and then divide it. Once it's divided, there are vertices at the places where the line was divided and you're left with two colinear straight segments. However, what if you just sketched two small lines colinear to each other in the first place? In this case they have not been divided, they were just sketched as two lines. Should the undivide command work in this case as well... or not? Plus... what happens if you've used those individual segments for other "child" features. How does Creo handle those children if the original geometry is "un-divided"?

I think this offers a significant technical challenge. The question will be... is there a great enough need to warrant development of this feature? A workaround of sorts might be to use the Replace feature already in sketcher. I can see PTC offering this as a way to achieve a "poor man's un-divide" rather than devoting development resources to an all-new feature but I will be happy to bring it to the TC meetings.

Set Working Directory Shortcut:

I agree, this would be helpful. I think this could easily be added. At Creo 3 you may be able to add this command on your own using some of the new menu editing features that will be available. For people not working in Windchill, this would be a nice addition.

Thanks for your input... I'll add your suggestions to the list!

Best regards,

-Brian

[dveljkovic]

Brian, here is the list of annoying things that should be fixed. Mind them, these are not new capabilities we are asking. These are issue that slows us down. I could not make screen shots because it does not show the real issue. It would have been better to use screen/mouse capture software but I do not have that. All of these issues are easily repeatable.

1. Select detail/assembly - right click - select edit - Dimension is shown outside of visible area on the screen. You have to search for it. Why dimension(s) cannot be shown within visible area on the screen?

2. Select detail/assembly - right click - select edit - selecting filter is set to ALL. It should be set to DIMENSIONS.

3. Moving assemblies to a different order - you cannot place it in between two other assemblies very easy. I always end up placing assembly inside other one instead in between.

4. When distance is measured, measurement is shown BEHIND measurement window and you have to move the window before seeing the value.

5. Importing STEP or any CAD exchange file - if you select template file it will be also used when you make new detail. And system is set to use our standard template for new details not for purchased details. You have to change it back to standard template. But, if you import STEP file again, template previously selected for previous STEP file does not change, which is OK. So, why it changes when I want to make new detail?

6. Make a detail and a drawing for that detail. Save detail several times. Rename detail and see what you'll get. All instances of detail are renamed but drawing file is not. Creo knows there are additional instances of detail and renames them but it does not know that drawing file exists? Why we cannot have DRW and PRT/ASM linked together?

7. When working on one detail/assembly, all of the sudden, Creo changes focus to different detail/assembly that is also opened. And it is out of focus as well. I have to re-select my previously active window.

8. Order of opened details/assemblies is wrong. I open several assemblies/details windows. When I work on assembly and I open detail to work on it, after I close that window I want Creo to return to previously opened window, not the very first one that was opened.

9. In drawing mode, unless you are on right tab, you cannot select items on the drawing. For example, you have to select Table tab in order to be able to select table. It should be other way around. When table is selected, Creo should put focus on Table tab.

10. Why "Mate" name contrain is removed? Now, I have to think twice before I choose right contrain to alter.

11. When two surfaces are constrained NORMAL constrain is default instead of mate (or should I say coincident?).

12. Notification windows should not display anymore after I select check box "In future do not show this message". But, it still does.

13. When pressed Esc buton while in skecth mode, Creo will go out without asking to confim it. On other hand, it asks to confirm cancel command even when it is not needed.

14. When measuring, after pressing middle button (as in WF4) measurement window does not close.

15. With AMD graphics cards, model three window goes black an you have to click on each item/feature blindly until they show up.

16. Who cares if file name is in CASE letters or small ones?

17. What is the longest file name we can use in Creo? Why the limit? At least, make it 256 char long.

18. When holes are patterned as a threaded ones, you cannot change them to plain ones unless you remove pattern first. Why?

19. Why do I have to select part before assigning color?

20. When working with config files, the changed configs, arent saved to the file they are set in, nor to your personal dir. They are sent to the current workdir. This means that a user can change someting, and either it will have no effect (because its overwritten from his personal config.pro) or a change in general settings won't be enabled, because they are set in the normal config.pro

21. No way of creating read only libraries of std parts (I found one, but it aint pretty)

22. Menumanager comes up, with an "accept", "ok" or "continue" and nothing else. Now i have to go to the faaaar left of my screen, to click.

23. Poooooor integration with windows. Changing from one window to the other, makes windows unresponsive

24. when creating symmetric constrain in sketcher,why there is need for center line,it should be select this and this and it's symmetric,same problem for mirror in sketcher.why do we need center line,and that center line won't even be datum,one that's used for mirror and symmetry.

25. I have divided a line in sketcher using a point,why is it not possible to un-divide it.

26.many forms or menus doesn't even give least clue if they are selected by default or user have to input something,feels really dumb to have an epiphany "oh software is asking for input" after 5 mins of starring at it.

27.form menus should have one convenient place for appearing regularly ,not all over the the screen,hiding everything behind them.like when sketcher has to be initiated menus should appear on lower left corner ,why does user have to drag them diagonally across the screen.

28.only function of form menus appearing in sketcher is to cancel the feature altogether,for exiting sketches they are not even required.still they appear in sketcher windows.above sketch tools.

29.relations don't highlight where did they find error,it's like postmortem everything.just one vague statement.

30. set working directory,why is not possible to set the opened directory as working directory,have to travel one level up,find that directory in browser then set it.

31. Idea for HOLE command:

How to make a C'bore hole in Creo currently:

1. Click Hole button

2. Select first handle and move it to first reference

3. Select second handle and move to second reference

4. Click "Create standard hole icon" button

5. Select hole size

6. Click Counter bore button (this is where you should be done clicking)

7. Click Through hole button

8. De-select Thread button

9. Click "Create clearance hole" button

10. Select Shape tap

11. Select Medium fit

12. Click Check mark button

It takes TWELVE clicks for one simple c'bore hole?!?!?

There should be MAX 4 clicks. Select hole icon, select hole size and select hole shape (c'bore, c'sink, plain-default).

If plain hole is selected, you just have to select yes/no for thread (default YES) and depth either in ratio option "THRU, 1D, 2D, 3D" or to type in value for hole and thread depth. I would like to be able to select default value for RATIO option.

If C'bore or C'sink hole is selected, thread option is set to NO and depth is set to THRU. If you wand to change something you have options but this should be default. If you want to have thread in C'bore hole, thread by default should be through.

How often do we use M50X2.5? Or maybe M26x1.5? Make an option to have favorite hole sizes (user's choice) in list (not drop down combo box) and we can select the most used hole sizes very quickly and easy. Like, M3x0.5, M4x0.7, M6x1, M8x1.25, M8x1.0, etc.

Also, about selecting references. Why we shouldn't use CONTROL key on my keyboard? I click on HOLE button, select surface to place the hole and while holding CONTROL key I select two references, and I am done. You can leave handles but this is more natural approach.

All other options can stay as they are so we still have different capabilities and features for holes but at least for the ones we are using every minute we should have something easy and quick.

So, lets say PTC did what I asked.

Here we go again:

How to make a C'bore hole in Creo (not very long in future):

1. Click Hole button and select surface

2. Press CTRL + Reference 1 + Reference 2

3. Select hole size from FAVORITE list

4. Select hole SHAPE

5. Click ACCEPT (Green check mark) or middle mouse button

FIVE clicks for C'bore/C'sink hole!

How to make a regular threaded hole in Creo (not very long in future):

1. Click Hole button and select

2. Press CTRL + Reference 1 + Reference 2

3. Select hole size from FAVORITE list (default is threaded hole, 2D depth)

4. Click ACCEPT (Green check mark) or middle mouse button

FOUR clicks for regular threaded hole!

Can it be any easier than this?

32. Make datum planes in a way we can change their size (just like in SolidWorks). Sometimes, for no apparent reason, planes becomes huge relative to the part and when you select to fit everything on screen assembly becomes very small.

33. There should be an option to specify hole depth from opposite side. Not from the side hole is made from. Just like with handles for hole location, maybe we can have a handle that can define surface that bottom of hole is taken from.

34. Make CREO works WINDOWS way. There are still a lots of things that are coming from Unix era in this Creo.

[BrianMartin]

Hi Danilo...

This is a massive post and it will take some time to discuss each of your requests. Some of them I understand and agree with. Some of them I do not quite understand. Still some others actually have solutions already. And finally, there are a few I don't think can be reasonably addressed. I will bring them all to the technical committee meetings but I think it would be helpful to go through them and make sure we're on the same page. I'll go through them by number. Your text will be in red, mine in black.

1. Select detail/assembly - right click - select edit - Dimension is shown outside of visible area on the screen. You have to search for it. Why dimension(s) cannot be shown within visible area on the screen?

I totally agree with this. This is especially a problem with angular dimensions. There's no reason this shouldn't be fixed.

2. Select detail/assembly - right click - select edit - selecting filter is set to ALL. It should be set to DIMENSIONS. I agree. I spend a good deal of time right-clicking to get a dimension when it's obvious I wanted to edit. There's no other reason to use the edit button except to bring up dimensions so they can be viewed and/or changed.

3. Moving assemblies to a different order - you cannot place it in between two other assemblies very easy. I always end up placing assembly inside other one instead in between. PTC is going to say "be more careful when dragging your assemblies". Basically this feature does work. It's just a bit touchy. You have to really be careful where the little arrow is pointing in the model tree. It's easy to place objects inside of another assembly. I'll bring this to them but I expect it will not go anywhere.

4. When distance is measured, measurement is shown BEHIND measurement window and you have to move the window before seeing the value.Agreed. In my opinion, I like some of the things in the new measure tool. One thing I do not like is that measurements no longer appear in the message window. Everything appears in the measurement window... nothing appears in the message window anymore. I don't see why the measurement can't appear in both places. And the measurement should not appear behind the tool. That's just poor window placement and it should be fixable.

5. Importing STEP or any CAD exchange file - if you select template file it will be also used when you make new detail. And system is set to use our standard template for new details not for purchased details. You have to change it back to standard template. But, if you import STEP file again, template previously selected for previous STEP file does not change, which is OK. So, why it changes when I want to make new detail? I'm not sure I totally understand this one. I'll have to try it for myself. One thing that confuses me in this thread... when you say "detail", you mean part model (as in a single component rather than an assembly). Is that correct?

6. Make a detail and a drawing for that detail. Save detail several times. Rename detail and see what you'll get. All instances of detail are renamed but drawing file is not. Creo knows there are additional instances of detail and renames them but it does not know that drawing file exists? Why we cannot have DRW and PRT/ASM linked together? If you were using Windchill, Creo would know each and every drawing where the model was used. When you work without Windchill, Creo has no way of knowing which files are linked to each other. The relationships between files are managed using Windchill- this was the original main function of Windchill. This primary goal has since greatly expanded. When you work standalone, the files themselves have no way of knowing which other files are related.

For example, imagine you wrote a document in Microsoft Word called "12345.doc". Then imagine you wrote a second document called "work instructions.doc" that contained a reference to 12345 with a note that said "See document 12345 for further instructions". Now, if you rename "12345.doc" to something else, what happens? "12345.doc" gets renamed but the note inside "work instructions.doc" still says "See document 12345 for further instructions.". This is because Microsoft Word documents are "dumb" in that they are not intelligent enough to recognize relationships between files. Creo files are like this when working in standalone mode.

Having said this, there are some config.pro options that cause Creo to rename drawings with parts and assemblies. The only caveat is that the drawing and model must have the same name. If you have this option set, your drawings will be renamed. I'll add the option to another email as I do not have Creo running right now to get the option name.

7. When working on one detail/assembly, all of the sudden, Creo changes focus to different detail/assembly that is also opened. And it is out of focus as well. I have to re-select my previously active window. I have not seen this happen. If I can reproduce this, I will make a video to demonstrate. I suspect unless other people report this, PTC will assume you're doing something incorrectly and that this is an isolated issue. I'll look for it as I work and see if it happens to me.

8. Order of opened details/assemblies is wrong. I open several assemblies/details windows. When I work on assembly and I open detail to work on it, after I close that window I want Creo to return to previously opened window, not the very first one that was opened. I understand that this could be frustrating. I believe PTC will see it as a minor issue that may not be worth the effort to fix. Still, I'll gladly suggest it ... perhaps it's one of those things that can easily be resolved.

9. In drawing mode, unless you are on right tab, you cannot select items on the drawing. For example, you have to select Table tab in order to be able to select table. It should be other way around. When table is selected, Creo should put focus on Table tab. This would be a nice convenience. Maybe the smart filter can be adapted to switch tabs automatically? Also... just for your own information, you CAN select a table on ANY tab if you hold down the ALT key as you're selecting. This works for other objects, too. Holding down ALT overrides the tab restrictions.

10. Why "Mate" name contrain is removed? Now, I have to think twice before I choose right contrain to alter. I doubt they're going to change this. They've renamed the option. I'd expect it's going to stay that way. PTC never looks back when they make a decision like this. I personally hate that they are constantly doing this... but I would not expect them to change it back.

11. When two surfaces are constrained NORMAL constrain is default instead of mate (or should I say coincident?). I thought there was already a configuration switch to handle this. I'll have to double check.

12. Notification windows should not display anymore after I select check box "In future do not show this message". But, it still does. Agreed.

13. When pressed Esc buton while in skecth mode, Creo will go out without asking to confim it. On other hand, it asks to confirm cancel command even when it is not needed. You can turn off certain confirmation windows. I thought you could turn off the confirmation to cancel window but I guess I have neve tried it. I agree, there should be consistency across the entire product.

14. When measuring, after pressing middle button (as in WF4) measurement window does not close. Again, consistency would be nice. I can direct this right to the measurement product line manager.

15. With AMD graphics cards, model three window goes black an you have to click on each item/feature blindly until they show up. I do not understand this one. Can you explain? If it's an AMD issue, I have some contacts at AMD who would probably be very happy to investigate any odd problems Creo has with their cards. Please let me know more about this one.

16. Who cares if file name is in CASE letters or small ones? This is a long standing issue. I'm 99% certain this is being worked on... as well as the ability to use spaces in file names. I was 100% certain until I wrote this now I can't recall where I heard it. I think I got that directly from one of the PTC Product Line Managers at the last Technical Committee meetings.

17. What is the longest file name we can use in Creo? Why the limit? At least, make it 256 char long. Not sure of the status of this request... I'll ask. The limitation could have something to do with Oracle/Windchill and other issues.

18. When holes are patterned as a threaded ones, you cannot change them to plain ones unless you remove pattern first. Why? Agreed. We have mentioned this multiple times in the Core Modeling Technical Committee. I know this is on PTC's radar because I personally mentioned this in June 2012 at last summer's TC meetings.

19. Why do I have to select part before assigning color? You don't have to select the part first. You can grab the color, select the part from the model tree, then hit the middle mouse button to apply it. I'll double check but it's been that way since the Appearance Manager came on the scene in Creo Elements/Pro 5.0

20. When working with config files, the changed configs, arent saved to the file they are set in, nor to your personal dir. They are sent to the current workdir. This means that a user can change someting, and either it will have no effect (because its overwritten from his personal config.pro) or a change in general settings won't be enabled, because they are set in the normal config.pro. PTC is going to say... be careful where you save your changes. Basically if you save them in the correct location, they will stick. Config files are typically read from 3 locations in this order: (1) Creo loadpoint, (2) user's HOME directory, (3) Working Directory. It's always been this way. If you want your changes to be universal, make sure you save them to your home directory or back into your Creo loadpoint (Common Files) directory.

21. No way of creating read only libraries of std parts (I found one, but it aint pretty). One word - Windchill. Working without a data management system has its drawbacks. This is one of them. I highly doubt they're going to put resources into changing this when Windchill does this already.

22. Menumanager comes up, with an "accept", "ok" or "continue" and nothing else. Now i have to go to the faaaar left of my screen, to click. Can you give an example of when this happens? Actually, this kind of thing has happened since the early days of Pro/ENGINEER. You'd sometimes have to click Done, then Done-Return, then Done-Return again! Menu manager needs to go away. Creo 3 should be the final nail in it's coffin.

23. Poooooor integration with windows. Changing from one window to the other, makes windows unresponsive. This does not happen for me. I will try to reproduce it. This is like that other Windows issue. Basically if other people can reproduce it, we can get some attention focused on fixing it. If it's a one-off problem that cannot be reproduced, it's going to be tough to fix.

24. when creating symmetric constrain in sketcher,why there is need for center line,it should be select this and this and it's symmetric,same problem for mirror in sketcher.why do we need center line,and that center line won't even be datum,one that's used for mirror and symmetry. :Sigh: This is one of my pet peeves. I agree with you. Back in Wildfire 2.0, you could sketch symmetry WITHOUT the centerline. In Wildfire 3, they made the centerline for symmetry mandatory. I tried to bring this up in January at the TC meetings but got shot down by other members who did not remember the way it worked in Wildfire 2. This was frustrating. I'll try again to get support for this one.

25. I have divided a line in sketcher using a point,why is it not possible to un-divide it. See other post about the undivide command. I think this is a long shot due to the complexity and availability of a workaround using "Replace".

26.many forms or menus doesn't even give least clue if they are selected by default or user have to input something,feels really dumb to have an epiphany "oh software is asking for input" after 5 mins of starring at it. I understand what you mean but this is a pervasive issue throughout the software. If you don't know where to look, you'll be oblivious to the fact that the software is waiting for input. Not sure how to suggest this as an enhancement.

27.form menus should have one convenient place for appearing regularly ,not all over the the screen,hiding everything behind them.like when sketcher has to be initiated menus should appear on lower left corner ,why does user have to drag them diagonally across the screen. What do you mean by "form menus"? I'm not sure I understand this issue. Please help me understand so I can address it.

28.only function of form menus appearing in sketcher is to cancel the feature altogether,for exiting sketches they are not even required.still they appear in sketcher windows.above sketch tools. Same as the last one. What do you mean by this one? I'm a bit confused.

29.relations don't highlight where did they find error,it's like postmortem everything.just one vague statement. Many programming languages just give you a line number and nothing else. This vagueness is not unique to Creo. Given that relations and Pro/Program are really really old, I can't see this changing any time soon. We need a new programming language that can be easily manipulated to perform work in Creo.

30. set working directory,why is not possible to set the opened directory as working directory,have to travel one level up,find that directory in browser then set it. Agreed. This should be an easy one to fix.

31. Idea for HOLE command. Too much to list here. In general we've dealt with suggestions for the hole command multiple times recently. Changes are already in the pipeline. I'm excited to see what Creo 3 incorporated.

32. Make datum planes in a way we can change their size (just like in SolidWorks). Sometimes, for no apparent reason, planes becomes huge relative to the part and when you select to fit everything on screen assembly becomes very small. You can already do this. Edit the properties of the datum plane. You can drag handles on the corners of the plane or set the size by reference to another feature. Does this functionality not work for you... or are you asking for something different?

33. There should be an option to specify hole depth from opposite side. Not from the side hole is made from. Just like with handles for hole location, maybe we can have a handle that can define surface that bottom of hole is taken from. You can already choose "Up to Selected" and then make an offset datum on-the-fly to achieve this. In fact, the on-the-fly offset datum option was removed back when Wildfire came along and it took us 5 revisions to get it put back!!

34. Make CREO works WINDOWS way. There are still a lots of things that are coming from Unix era in this Creo.Can you give specific examples? I need to have some real concrete examples to take to the meetings. If I go in with general statements, they basically get ignored.

Sorry for the length of this. I wanted to specifically address each of your issues and make sure you knew I've read and tried to understand each of them.

Please clarify where noted above and I'll be glad to add these issues to the master list.

Thanks and best regards,

-Brian

[LukaszMazur]

Brian Martin wrote:

17. What is the longest file name we can use in Creo? Why the limit? At least, make it 256 char long. Not sure of the status of this request... I'll ask. The limitation could have something to do with Oracle/Windchill and other issues.

Just to chime in about this - I'm not really sure if that's a problem related to Windchill. After all, Windchill objects (WTParts or CAD Docs) accept names up to around 80 characters and with spaces.

And when it comes to suggestions, I'd reiterate the one that has already been posted on this forums (I think) - why PTC doesn't allow ANY characters other than plain ASCII in filenames (I checked some time ago - Windchill doesn't have this problem )? I mean, I'm not able to create part with name like "płyta" (plate in Polish) for example. I think only Chinese/Japanese versions use different encoding French, German, Polish etc. are left with standard ASCII characters.

Another thing is also related to character encoding - when you create a drawing and again, use in notes non-ASCII characters and try to export drawing to PDF - instead of non-standard characters it's usually a blank placeholder character (empty rectangle). There is a workaround for this - to use a "Stroke All Fonts" option when exporting to PDF, but this option actually "draws" fonts as lines and they are thicker than regular font lines. Also, PDF size is increased. What's more, this problem doesn't exist when printing drawings, so some of my customers ended up with installing PDF printers on their systems and printing drawings to PDFs instead of exporting them.

[dveljkovic]

3. Moving assemblies to a different order - This is not an issue when assembly is small. But it becomes HUGE issue with large assemblies because Creo is slow and lag is present making it harder to set position.

5. Importing STEP or any CAD exchange file - Our system is set that when you press New it will open window with USE DEFAULT TEMPLATE (our standard with all parameters, material, etc. already set):

Comm_part is a template for any purchased part when imported as STEP or any other non-Creo file. Van_part is our standard template for detail (model) part.

When I open STEP file I select comm_part as template. This teplate had all parameters ser for purchased components.

Now, if I want to make new model (part), unless I select van_part for template, default will be comm_part and my model will have parameters for purchasd part instead for new made part.

6. Make a detail and a drawing for that detail - All our DRW filenames are exactly the same with exception for DRW extension. If DRW file gets reamed CREO should not try to rename it, obviously, but at least it can try to find it and rename it if there is a file with same name in same folder.

7. This happens when large assemblies are used.

8. Here is the issue. I have DRW file with lots of surfaces. It takes forever to refresh once its opened. I open other model/part and its DRW file. When I close this DRW file instead of focusing on model it will take me to the DRW file with lots of surfaces and before I move to model I will have to wait for this DRW to refresh.

10. Mate constrain should be BACK. When I use repeat command I have to guess which one is really mate or coincident (flat or hole).

20. - 30. Other users posted these. I just collected them.

31. Hole command is very important.

32. I would like to see EDIT option where corners of plane would highlight and then you can grab them and move them as you like. Currently, i have to go to edit definition, properties tab and then move plane edges.

33. Having to add plane just to define a hole depth is a little bit frustrating. Extra step that is not needed.

I have another one. Print preview is the worst I have ever seen. WYSIWYG is not incorporated in here.

[dveljkovic]

One more thing. If assembly fails, pattern should too. I see no reason why pattern is not marked in red as failed assembly.

[JWayman]

Yes,

I am sure that, in earlier versions (back in the old pre-wildfire days), if a pattern didn't regenerate, it told you. Now, the Model Tree tells me the whole model has regenerated, but sometimes, when I expand the pattern, I find none of the pattern instances are regenerated.

Must be progress, I suppose.

WF4, M220 here, but I doubt that it has changed in C2, by the sound of it.

[BrianMartin]

Hi John...

I understand this issue well. I think what's happening is that the model is actually regenerating but the pattern instances are failing. The little red "stop light" at the bottom of the window is supposed to alert you to the fact that there are failures. You should see a small box at the bottom which pops ujp in the event of a pattern failure. the box should warn you that some features failed to regenerate. Is this not happening for you?

Thanks!

-Brian

[dveljkovic]

Click on dowel pin (white circle), right click and select edit command. And then search for dimension. Hint: Look for white arrow. Also, although selected EDIT command filer (red arrow) is still set to ALL (instead of DIMENSION).

[dveljkovic]

Fix the parameter window. Why do I have to reposition it every time? And resize columns?

Return showing the model name in status bar when hoover over the model.

[BrentDrysdale]

Hi Danilo,

It is possible to save a parameters configuration file to some degree

In you config (one of them) use something like

parameter_dialog_setup_file Z:\config_files\wildfire5\rp_config.xml

and that xml file is generated from the parameters dialogue box itself; set it up at the size and columns you want then save this into the location you want and call it up with that config something like that I have shown.

Not the whole story but helps.

Regards, Brent

[BrentDrysdale]

Oh yeah,

I just realised that it resets the parameter box size default BUT does not fix the column widths. Why oh why does PTC have such issues with column widths (example the perenial first column width in the model tree when all other column widths in that same tree can be set)

As usual the promises of increased productivity overlook the extremely low hanging fruit.

Deep sigh.

Brent

[dveljkovic]

Brent,

Thank you for the hint, but, as you said, it does not fix the most annoying thing: resizing columns. Who knows, maybe in Creo 250 it will be solved.

[ptc-5044466]

Hi Brian,

"24. when creating symmetric constrain in sketcher,why there is need for center line,it should be select this and this and it's symmetric,same problem for mirror in sketcher.why do we need center line,and that center line won't even be datum,one that's used for mirror and symmetry. :Sigh: This is one of my pet peeves. I agree with you. Back in Wildfire 2.0, you could sketch symmetry WITHOUT the centerline. In Wildfire 3, they made the centerline for symmetry mandatory. I tried to bring this up in January at the TC meetings but got shot down by other members who did not remember the way it worked in Wildfire 2. This was frustrating. I'll try again to get support for this one."

I do not think that is possible in wildfire 2.0 also.

[BrentDrysdale]

Hi Danilo,

In general this is a very good list of concerns. Many of them I am very familiar with

Brent

[JonathanHodgson]

Hi Brian,

Possibly just adding to some points already mentioned, but I'd like to add some more specifics to window order management.

1. The table editor (as in Pattern Table) is very prone to disappearing behind the model window, even though the editor is the active window. I'm very glad that I know about Alt+Esc to get it back - most users don't.

2. I've had a quick go at reproducing this one, and failed - but I'm sure that I frequently see it. Basically, if I have multiple Pro/E windows open and I click on a non-Pro/E window (we run dual monitors, so I usually have something else on the secondary one which I consult frequently) one of the non-active Pro/E windows sometimes jumps to the top of the pile, thus hiding the one I was actually working with.

We're on WF4 so it's possible this is out of date... but I'd be a little surprised.

Also, here's an new request: make the licensing work on a per-user or per-computer basis, not on a per-instance. There are a number of good reasons to run multiple sessions, not least different project configs; importing large STEP files on a 'spare' CPU core; and simple stability (if one session crashes it wouldn't take the rest down with it). I did post about this some while ago (http://communities.ptc.com/message/175270#175270) and seem to recall I discussed it on the phone with someone representing PTC, but I've heard nothing further.

I'm afraid I'm out for a week after this evening UK time, so won't be able to hold any further discussion unless it's today - but hopefully this is something that others will recognise too.

Thanks!

[dveljkovic]

Licensing should be per PC not per instance. I strongly agree with this. Sometimes, I have to wait for command to finish before I can do something else. And it takes minutes, not seconds. This way, while I am waiting, I can do something else. Right now, as I am writing this, I am waiting for one big step file to get opened in Creo.

Also, since it is common to use two monitors, I wonder why this "activate" button exists. Model should be activated as soon as it gets in focus of the mouse. This is what I was talking when I said that Creo should start working more Windows way, not Unix.

[TomD.inPDX]

If ribbon improvement is open in this discussion:

Allow the ability to update all applicable ribbons with a new command.

Since the ribbons are all custom for each filetype, you should be able to apply a newly defined ribbon to drawings, assemblies, parts, sheet metal... etc. without having to do this separately. Then you should be able to choose a "mode", or which menu type you want to edit.

In other words, editing the ribbon should be disconnected from the current session and make it a stand-alone app that can be accessed anytime with the current session as the focus.