CREO 2 Custom UI ?

[BrianToussaint]

I am setting up/testing CREO2 m020. I am working on a common starting user interface and found that after I create it to set it in the common files\m020\text directory as creo_parametric_admin_customization.ui. My question comes as what do I do to update it with something new. So far when I save the changes, the file comes out smaller than the original in size. First file was 133kb and the second file was 3kb. It is like you have to keep one session open until you have all your company changes then you can copy the file to users machines. I have also noticed that if you change the UI and exit, that your change is there when you come back in and you didn't have to save it.

My question is how do you update the UI and get it to modify your admin_customization file?

Thank you,

Brian Toussaint
CAD Administrator

Hoshizaki America, Inc.
"A Superior Degree Of Reliability"
618 Hwy. 74 S., Peachtree City, GA 30269
Phone: (770) 487-2331 ext. 1216
Fax: (770) 487-3359
www.hoshizaki.com

[mensoheij]

Hi Brian,

Isn't this procedure similar to Creo 1?
In that case you have to follow these steps to update/modify an existing admin_customization file:

* Put the file creo_parametric_admin_customization.ui in your startup folder and make it is the only .ui file read.

* Delete the creo_parametric_admin_customization.ui from your common files\<buildcode>\text folder.

* Start <creo loadpoint=">\parametric\parametric.exe from your startup folder.

* Make the modifications.They will be added to the .ui file in your startup folder.

* Exit Creo and copy the modified .ui file back to common files\<buildcode>\text\creo_parametric_admin_customization.ui

Good luck.

Best regards,
Menso

[DamianCastillo]

I am just curious. Why change the default UI without the users ever using it?

I find the default UI is super simple to use.

I always tell my users to not make changes to a new UI for at least 2 to 3 weeks before adding or changing anything on it. This allows them to learn it first before they decide they don't like something. I had some users that wanted to move the Display Toolbar to a different location from the start. I told them to wait 2 weeks and they all ended up leaving it at the top of the graphics area once they used it for 2 weeks and agreed that the default location was the best.

If users decided to change something in the UI, I discourage changing it drastically. This is important for Collaboration as users sometimes work together looking over each others shoulders on a project. A drastically customized UI will cause issues when users are trying to work together on a project or when I am trying to support them with issues. If I can't tell where any of the commands are and the toolbars are all different, It will waste a lot of my time in trying to help them.

Lastly, I don't force my users into using the UI the way I feel is best for them. I let them use and learn the default UI which is great for 99% of the users and allow them to make the small changes they like to their own UI.

"Too many people walk around like Clark Kent, because they don't realize they can Fly like Superman"

[BrianToussaint]

In a short answer, we have a bunch of mapkeys that we run to do multiple tasks at one time. For these, new UI or not, it is quicker to do a mapkey than multiple picks. An example is that we have a new way to revision drawings. The mapkey automatically places the new revision table without the user needing to go in and find the file and then place the table.

Brian Toussaint
CAD Administrator

Hoshizaki America, Inc.
"A Superior Degree Of Reliability"
618 Hwy. 74 S., Peachtree City, GA 30269

[davehaigh]

There are a number of reasons for changing the UI. I would not advocate relocating existing stuff in the UI, but we have mapkeys that do a number of important functions for the users. The best way to expose those to the user is through the UI.

For example we have a number of different stamps that have to go onto our drawing formats depending on requirements and sensitivity. Our mapkeys place these in the appropriate place. Our BOM is not part of the format. We have some groups that work in metric, others in English. Some want/need to see the part weight in the BOM others don't care. So we have various BOMs you can place on the format. The mapkeys place these in the correct spot. We also have mapkeys to start drawings which create a drawing program to set the drawing parameters equal to the model parameters, and then designate those parameters.

David Haigh

[DamianCastillo]

PERFECT Answers

For some reason I was thinking that you removed tabs, added your own custom tabs, changed icons, etc.

Mapkeys are different and provide a major advantage for repetitive task but I just did not think about them when talking about customizing the UI.

My fault. 🙂

So now my next question is this. Do you create a new Tab with all the Mapkey operations in it? This sounds like it would be a nice way of doing it.

Thanks

"Too many people walk around like Clark Kent, because they don't realize they can Fly like Superman"

[BrianToussaint]

I'm creating a new Tab with our company name and then adding Groups to that based on mapkey functions.

Brian Toussaint
CAD Administrator

Hoshizaki America, Inc.
"A Superior Degree Of Reliability"
618 Hwy. 74 S., Peachtree City, GA 30269

[DamianCastillo]

Brilliant.

I need to consider doing this myself.

Thanks for sharing.

In Reply to Brian Toussaint:

I'm creating a new Tab with our company name and then adding Groups to that based on mapkey functions.

Brian Toussaint
CAD Administrator

Hoshizaki America, Inc.
"A Superior Degree Of Reliability"
618 Hwy. 74 S., Peachtree City, GA 30269

[dgschaefer]

Have you experimented with what happens if a user adds a new tab
themselves in their own *.ui file? Will the two new tabs be combined,
will they both show or only one? With the old config.win, things got
unpredictable if two config.win files were loaded and each tweaked the
same area.



For example, if file 1 added a drop down menu and file 2 also added a
drop down; I don't think the user ended up with 2 menus. I don't recall
for certain, but I believe they got combined. Also, if in file 2 the
user then removed the add on menu, they got no menu. The 'remove menu'
instruction in file 2 would override the 'add menu' instruction in file
1.



We restricted the company config.win to drop down changes only and
prohibited the user from changing drop downs, but allowed changes
elsewhere. This prevented conflicts. With Creo, the UI doesn't break
as naturally, but perhaps it handles conflicts better.



Doug Schaefer

[davehaigh]

Essentially you have to add a new tab. You can't add mapkeys to existing tabs.

David Haigh

[davehaigh]

I did play with having UI customization in the loadpoint and in the users area. They do combine. I didn't do any extensive testing so I don't know what it's going to look like if they add additional things to your company tab. I don't think it's going to break, but it may not result in a layout that you expected. I don't know.

The safer thing would be for the user to create their own tab and add their mapkeys to that.

David Haigh

[BrianToussaint]

It would be nice as an admin to be able to lock a tab/group. That way a user couldn't delete/add to/move a tab that the administrator made. It would be a simple right click in the customization window to lock or unlock. The tough part would be to stop the user from doing the same on something locked in the admin file.

I am all for teaching the users to create their own tab.

Brian Toussaint
CAD Administrator

Hoshizaki America, Inc.
"A Superior Degree Of Reliability"
618 Hwy. 74 S., Peachtree City, GA 30269

[bfrandsen]

Before teaching users to add their personal tab consider that they will have to add and configure it for every available mode of the software. Until now I have discovered the 29 modes listed below. There can be fewer or more depending on available modules.
The Applications [6-10] shares the same Quick Access Toolbar.

1. No model

2. Design Part

3. Sheetmetal Part

4. Skeleton Part

5. Motion Skeleton Assembly

6. Mechanism Application

7. Animation Application

8. Welding Application

9. Simulation Application

10. Piping Application

11. Design Assembly

12. Process Assembly

13. Interchange Assembly

14. Manufacturing Assembly (Covers both NC Assembly and Expert Machinist)

15. Mold Assembly

16. Harness Assembly

17. External Simplified Rep

18. Sketch

19. Drawing

20. Layout

21. Format

22. Activated Design Part in assembly

23. Activated Design Subassembly in assembly

24. Activated Sheetmetal Part in assembly

25. Activated Design Part in External Simp Rep [covers sheetmetal/skeleton/motion skeleton]

26. Activated Design Subassembly in External Simp Rep

27. Activated Workpiece/Reference Part in Manufacturing mode

28. Activated Manufacturing Sub Assembly in Manufacturing mode

29. Activated Sheetmetal Part in Manufacturing Assembly

/Bjarne

[BrianToussaint]

It seems that 22-29 should know to point to the corresponding toolbar that was already customized. Seems to be a short sight on PTC's part. If I work on a sheet metal part it should not care if it is standalone or activated in an assembly. There are a lot of benefits to the new interface, but users will hate it if they have to do so much to customize. 😞

Brian Toussaint
CAD Administrator

Hoshizaki America, Inc.
"A Superior Degree Of Reliability"
618 Hwy. 74 S., Peachtree City, GA 30269