All,
I'm one of the people who's been hectoring Jason with complaints since we switched to WF5, so I figured I ought to provide some of my feedback to the general public here.
First, let me say that I think the changes PTC's made to the modeling side of Pro/E are great - the Dynamic Edit, the on-the-fly Appearance Editor, and especially the improved Failure Diagnostics module are terrific. Really, I don't have any complaints with the new functionality or the other, more minor enhancements to the modeling side of things.
But, my stars, the drawing module certainly got screwed up. This is a direct result of the switch to the so-called Ribbon interface. It starts with the big swath of screen space eaten up by the ribbon and its icons. Now, the actual space you have to do drawing work is reduced by the model/drawing trees, the dashboard, and the ribbon. Sure, you can hide it - that's the very first thing I do upon opening a drawing - but that brings up the next issue.
You now have to be on the correct ribbon tab to do tasks. This was clearly a decision made by somebody who has never worked on a drawing before, ever. In the normal process of building a drawing, I'll find myself adding some dimensions, then maybe adding another view, then moving the dimensions from one view to another, then maybe adding a symbol, etc. etc. I shift from one type of task to another quickly and frequently. But now I need to remember to go up and select the proper tab in between tasks. Where is the value added here? What does this do for me? It seems obvious to me that this software direction was mandated by marketing, because I don't see how it adds any value to the end user.
Furthermore, showing/erasing/deleting dimensions has been given a new layer of hassle, with more mouse clicks and movement. My usual way of building a drawing involved opening up the model tree, right-clicking on a feature, and showing the dimensions, one feature at a time. I'd go ahead and show them, then position them on the view(s) as necessary, adjust tolerances, add GTOL frames, etc., then move to the next feature. Well, now, you can't just "show" the dimensions - you have to navigate a dialog box that, naturally, opens on the far side of the screen. I'm sure somebody out there has done or will do a comparison of the total mouse travel distance needed to make a drawing between WF4 and WF5, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's doubled with this new release.
I'll give it this - the drawing tree can be handy. But the dimensions are listed as strings of numbers that make no logical sense. Can we at least have the ability to switch them to dimension values? Or show by feature, rather than by drawing view?
I could go on, but you get the point. I love the new modeling enhancements, but the drawing mode is a disaster. And the news that WF6 is going to be incorporating this idiotic ribbon in the modeling side, too? Can we roll back to WF4 instead? Change for the sake of change isn't a good thing, unless actual problems are getting resolved in the process. To me, I can't say what problems are being addressed with the new interface.
Tim
