Creo11 and Mapkey pro

[Wheelsofsteel]

We have just installed Creo 11 in our office and have now found the it is stripping the Mapkey from the Config.pro files and placing them in the App data setting folder as a new Mapkey.pro.

This is a big problem for us....

We have multiple start up shortcut that point to different folder that has different Config.pro & search.pro files depending on the task we are working on, and each Mapkey in the config.pro points to a different file location to set the working directory.

I don't have a problem with the Mapkey being placed in a separate file, but I hope we have the option in the config file to point to a different location so we can mange the different options.

Peter

[tbraxton]

It would appear that PTC still supports multiple files where mapkey definitions can be read from:

https://support.ptc.com/help/creo/creo_pma/r11.0/usascii/index.html#page/fundamentals/fundamentals/About_Mapkeys.html 

The enhancements to the mapkeys include:

•Two levels of mapkeys that can be saved in two locations:

◦Admin-level mapkeys: within the installation directory structure.

◦User-level mapkeys: in the user settings directory.

An administrator can define a set of mapkeys that are automatically stored in the Mapkeys.pro file (located in AppData\Roaming\PTC\ProENGINEER\Wildfire\.wf\.Settings). The administrator can place the Mapkeys.pro file in the installation directory or in an alternate folder, if it is set up. The mapkeys defined by the administrator are controlled only by the administrator, and any modifications made by a user to the administrator mapkeys are not saved.

A user can also define their own personalized set of mapkeys. By default, all user-defined mapkeys are automatically saved to the Mapkeys.pro file that is located in the <user>\AppData\Roaming\PTC\ProENGINEER\Wildfire\.wf\..

[tbraxton]

I am not using Creo 11 yet, but I hope that mapkeys can be loaded on the fly by executing a mapkey, if not then none of the "toggle" type mapkeys will work. I know that this issue (among others) was raised with PTC when they asked for feedback on moving mapkeys out of the config.pro.

If anyone is running Creo 11 and can you confirm that toggle type mapkeys still work?

[Wheelsofsteel]

Hello Tbraxton

I can see what PTC is trying to do, but that isn't any help for how we are using Creo...

As we use Creo to manage a production plant with forging equipment , product design and CNC machines , we have found the best way to manage our operation is to have Program start shortcut that point to Creo, but with the option to start in a specific folder based on the session we are starting, not the user.

We have for each type of operation , a separate start shortcut, see below.

in this short cut, we point to a folder that stores our search.pro & config.pro files for the type of session we are about to open.

  

This works fine for us, as we found trying to had one search pro & config pro files wasn't a good idea, as it was trying to load everything into memory, so this arrangement allowed us to have session based setup for the task we are doing.

This include Mapkey that was setup based on the sessions needs, like setting the working directory and other folder locations for the tasks we are about to do.

All we need is to have an option in the config.pro to set where the Mapykey. Pro file is stored, like everything else, this will give us the flexibility to manage the mapkey based on the session started, and not who the user is.

I hope this is fixed in future releases of Creo 11, otherwise it is a step backwards for us.

Peter 

[tbraxton]

Have you opened a call with PTC tech support on this issue? I understand it is a step backward if there is not a workaround to deal with your scenario. I was involved in some discussions with the PTC product manager when they were planning for this change to mapkeys. The issue you are having was disclosed to them at the time. I am hoping there is a solution, and it is just not documented in the help files.

If you open a case, post the case # here if they are not able to resolve it for you. If it remains unresolved, I will make sure the product manager knows about this.

[Wheelsofsteel]

I have copied this thread to our support rep and asked him to raise the support call.

We only swapped over yesterday, as we had been running Creo 9  0.2.0 up to this point, so this is new to us.

Peter

[RandyJones]

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@tbraxton wrote:

Have you opened a call with PTC tech support on this issue? I understand it is a step backward if there is not a workaround to deal with your scenario. I was involved in some discussions with the PTC product manager when they were planning for this change to mapkeys. The issue you are having was disclosed to them at the time. I am hoping there is a solution, and it is just not documented in the help files.

If you open a case, post the case # here if they are not able to resolve it for you. If it remains unresolved, I will make sure the product manager knows about this.

---

We have opened a case about mapkeys.pro not following the same rules for loading as config.pro:

"mapkeys.pro does not load from start-in directory. Seems to only load from Common Files/text and %APPDATA%/Roaming/PTC/ProENGINEER/Wildfire/.wf/.Settings or %PTC_WF_ROOT%/.Settings if PTC_WF_ROOT is set.
This file definitely needs to follow the same rules as config.pro for loading."

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS416002

I am not sure who thought that putting the user mapkeys.pro by default in one of the .Settings directory was a good idea. The current functionality is plain  broken for the user controlled mapkeys.pro. The system mapkeys.pro that loads from the Common Files/text works good however loading the user created mapkeys is not usable at this point.

Using the Creo Parametric tools you can't even save one except in some hidden hard to find .Settings directory whose location which is dependent on if %PTC_WF_ROOT% set or not.

Breaking out mapkeys to a separate mapkeys.pro file is a good idea. The mapkeys.pro not following the same rules as config.pro to load is a very bad idea.

[bmancini]

Hi tbraxton,

like many others, I also find many problems with the introduction of mapkeys.pro.
Which is why I haven't switched from Creo 9.0 to Creo 11.0 yet.
1- PROBLEMS IN THE INITIAL SETTINGS: I manage an office with multiple workstations and having a single folder on the network where all the settings can be loaded is fundamental for me, it is unreasonable for me to save the settings locally. By doing some tests, in my case what was suggested by "MartinHanak" might work by managing the startup by loading a TRAIL file. In this case I appreciate the fact that no configurations are copied locally and all the macros are "User".
2 - PROBLEMS WITH "TOOGLE" MACROS: I have a doubt about what you mean by "toggle type mapkeys", I mean that they are macros as described in this post (https://community.ptc.com/t5/System-Administration/Creo-2-Snap-to-Grid-mapkey/td-p/107038") In Creo 9.0 it works fine but I couldn't get it to work in Creo11.0. Having difficulty loading a new mapkeys.pro from a macro (problem 2.1), I still managed to get the new mapkeys.pro loaded by running a TRAIL file. So I created two TRAIL files that respectively load the mapkeys.pro which should activate or deactivate the grid, but strangely (problem 2.2) on the first run it works, but not on the second... and I didn't understand why.

In conclusion: in my opinion the situation has worsened despite I don't know what advantages. I hope that some other users will find the time to share their experiences and perhaps their solutions here with us.

[MartinHanak]

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@bmancini wrote:

Hi tbraxton,

like many others, I also find many problems with the introduction of mapkeys.pro.
Which is why I haven't switched from Creo 9.0 to Creo 11.0 yet.
1- PROBLEMS IN THE INITIAL SETTINGS: I manage an office with multiple workstations and having a single folder on the network where all the settings can be loaded is fundamental for me, it is unreasonable for me to save the settings locally. By doing some tests, in my case what was suggested by "MartinHanak" might work by managing the startup by loading a TRAIL file. In this case I appreciate the fact that no configurations are copied locally and all the macros are "User".
2 - PROBLEMS WITH "TOOGLE" MACROS: I have a doubt about what you mean by "toggle type mapkeys", I mean that they are macros as described in this post (https://community.ptc.com/t5/System-Administration/Creo-2-Snap-to-Grid-mapkey/td-p/107038") In Creo 9.0 it works fine but I couldn't get it to work in Creo11.0. Having difficulty loading a new mapkeys.pro from a macro (problem 2.1), I still managed to get the new mapkeys.pro loaded by running a TRAIL file. So I created two TRAIL files that respectively load the mapkeys.pro which should activate or deactivate the grid, but strangely (problem 2.2) on the first run it works, but not on the second... and I didn't understand why.

In conclusion: in my opinion the situation has worsened despite I don't know what advantages. I hope that some other users will find the time to share their experiences and perhaps their solutions here with us.

---

Hi,

I can test your problem 2.2, if you explain what grid are you turning on/off. Also it would be useful to upload mapkey.pro files related to 2.2 problem.

[bmancini]

Thanks Martin Hanák for being available, but today I managed to solve it.
In the "mapkeys.pro" file write this macro:

mapkey gr11 @MAPKEY_LABELGrid snap toggle (Creo11);\
mapkey(continued) xxx Imposta nel config "Grid_snap: yes" xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Select `main_dlg_cur` `appl_casc`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Close `main_dlg_cur` `appl_casc`;~ Command `ProCmdRibbonOptionsDlg` ;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Select `ribbon_options_dialog` `PageSwitcherPageList` 1 `ConfigLayout`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Activate `ribbon_options_dialog` `ConfigLayout.SearchOpt`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Input `find` `EnterKeyword` `grid_snap`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Update `find` `EnterKeyword` `grid_snap`;~ Activate `find` `FindNow`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Open `find` `Values`;~ Close `find` `Values`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Select `find` `Values` 1 `yes`;~ Activate `find` `Apply`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Activate `find` `Close`;~ Activate `ribbon_options_dialog` `OkPshBtn`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ FocusIn `UITools Msg Dialog Future` `no`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Activate `UITools Msg Dialog Future` `no`;\
mapkey(continued) xxx Imposta colori sfondo griglia OFF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx;\
mapkey(continued) xxx Questo blocco serve per avere il cambio di colore fin dalla prima;\
mapkey(continued) xxx attivazione xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Close `main_dlg_cur` `appl_casc`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Command `ProCmdRibbonOptionsDlg` ;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Select `ribbon_options_dialog` `PageSwitcherPageList` 1 `colors_layouts`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Activate `ribbon_options_dialog` `colors_layouts.system_colors_file_open`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Trail `UI Desktop` `UI Desktop` `DLG_PREVIEW_POST` `file_open`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Input `file_open` `Inputname` `Q:\\Config_CREO9\\syscol_griglia.scl`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Update `file_open` `Inputname` `Q:\\Config_CREO9\\syscol_griglia.scl`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Command `ProFileSelPushOpen_Standard@context_dlg_open_cmd` ;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Activate `ribbon_options_dialog` `OkPshBtn`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ FocusIn `UITools Msg Dialog Future` `no`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Activate `UITools Msg Dialog Future` `no`;\
mapkey(continued) xxx Esegue il TRAIL xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx;\
mapkey(continued) xxx Per far funzionare il TRAIL questo deve essere l'ultimo blocco xxxxxxxxx;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Select `main_dlg_cur` `appl_casc`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Close `main_dlg_cur` `appl_casc`;~ Command `ProCmdUtilTrailTrain` ;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Trail `` `` `DLG_PREVIEW_POST` `file_open`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Input `file_open` `Inputname` `Q:\\Config_CREO9\\grid_yes_Creo11.txt`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Update `file_open` `Inputname` `Q:\\Config_CREO9\\grid_yes_Creo11.txt`;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Command `ProFileSelPushOpen_Standard@context_dlg_open_cmd`;

In practice, set the "Grid_snap: yes" option in the config, then change the color of the graphic area to notify that the grid is active and finally execute the TRAIL to set the macro switch. (N.B. To ensure that the trail works it is essential that the execution of the TRAIL is carried out at the end of the macro, this was the issue that didn't work for me in the previous post).
I also attach the service files to perform the switches.

Obviously it is advisable to edit in the macro and in the service files to redefine the paths to the files.

[BenLoosli]

I opened an idea for a setting in config.pro to point to a specific mapkey.pro file.

Mapkey config.pro - PTC Community

[Wheelsofsteel]

Hello Benloosli

I have just copied my reply from above,  into thread you opened on the Mapkey issue.

Thank you

Peter

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

I hope I "resolved" your problem ...

I use E:\users\creo11_parametric as working directory for Creo 11.0.

In this directory I have _cr11_000 shortcut

Target field contains

"E:\PTC\Creo11_000\Creo 11.0.0.0\Parametric\bin\parametric.exe" "E:\users\creo11_parametric\mapkeys_01_trail.txt"

This command forces Creo to run mapkeys_01_trail.txt trail file during startup.

Start in field contains

E:\users\creo11_parametric

mapkeys_01_trail.txt

This file contain code which imports mapkeys from E:\users\creo11_parametric\mapkeys_01.pro file.

See rows 73, 74, 76. You can change paths/names in these rows according your situation.

[MartinHanak]

Additional information ... it is not necessary to use absolute paths. That means the same trail file can be used in all projects.

Target field can contain

"E:\PTC\Creo11_000\Creo 11.0.0.0\Parametric\bin\parametric.exe" mapkeys_02_trail_relative.txt

mapkeys_02_trail_relative.txt is attached.

[RPN]

Personally I have no clue why PTC is doing such a change. I guess that the responsible person has no clue what the people are doing to save time, on getting things done, instead of dying in a click battle.
I would completely agree to separate, but NOT in that way, like already mentioned, same order and placement as config.pro. On top, who can have the idea to place it in that path 😩😩😩. They have so much “Skeletons in the closet“ why not using a path with proengineer in the path name. Creo has hundreds of path configuration options, why the hell PTC does not keep an eye to the user. I would expect a couple of pages long explanation, for the benefit. Not the 3 sentences why it may better to have admin mapkeys. For me it smells fishy.

I’m sure this will end up that the mapkey.pro will be deleted, when ever people working with mapkeys, upfront. Even if the is located in such a famous path:

%AppData%\Roaming\PTC\ProENGINEER\Wildfire\.wf\.Settings

My recommendation would be, create the folder “mapkey.pro” here, that’s it with saving the users mapkey file at this location 😉

Don’t forget the doc says “CAN”

Oh I oversaw that this famous path already has ProEngineer in the path name 😂😂😂

[tbraxton]

The Sr. Director Product Manager responsible for this function within Creo Parametric is following this thread. It has visibility to the people who can address it directly within PTC. Stay tuned, I do expect a response on this issue from PTC.

[Wheelsofsteel]

All I want to see is the following of the same config.pro option for the search.pro file in the options table.

If we had this, we can control where the Mapkey.pro fil is managed, and we can have the setup the way we need it.

Peter

[MartinHanak]

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@Wheelsofsteel wrote:

All I want to see is the following of the same config.pro option for the search.pro file in the options table.

If we had this, we can control where the Mapkey.pro fil is managed, and we can have the setup the way we need it.

Peter

---

Hi,

I'm just curious...

Did you test my suggestion (2024-05-15 05:10 PM) to apply trail file during Creo startup?

[aputman]

I solved this by using a batch file.

In my pro_stds directory (on a network drive), I have 2 files for starting Creo11. 

"Start_Parametric11.vbs"

set oShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
set oEnv = oShell.Environment("PROCESS")
oEnv("SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS") = 1
oShell.Run """Y:\Creo\ptc_startup_creo11.0_x64.cmd""",0,True
oEnv.Remove("SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS")

 "ptc_startup_creo11.0_x64.cmd" has a couple of copy commands and then calls parametric.exe

copy /Y "<<PATH TO config.pro>>" "d:\Documents\Creo11\config.pro"
copy /Y "<<PATH TO mapkeys.pro>>" "c:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\PTC\ProENGINEER\Wildfire\.wf\.Settings\mapkeys.pro"

"C:\Program Files\PTC\Creo 11.0.0.0\Parametric\bin\parametric.exe"

The <<path to config.pro>> and <<path to mapkeys.pro>> reference my pro_stds/config directory on network drive.

Any number of copy commands can be executed here.  If you have multiple tasks requiring different configs, duplicate these steps for each task and change the copy commands accordingly. 

Now, just point your shortcut to the VBS file and set your loadpoint as the Start In directory. Change the icon using the Parametric.exe as the icon source.

[CA_10146793]

Here is a method that seems to work for me, as I have been using a separate mapkeys file "the poor man's way" for some years in conjunction with a custom startup batch file, similar to the previous reply.

1. instead of using the default program app icon shortcut to "target" the Creo exe file in the bin directory, the same shortcut is modified so that the "target" field path points to a custom batch file (described below) and "start in" field points to the desired Creo startup directory.
2. In Creo 10 and prior releases, the batch file would first (a) copy a network-located "config.pro" (reserved for standard creo options) to the local loadpoint director, then (b) copy a network-located "modeling_mapkeys.pro" to "config.pro" (simultaneous copy and rename) in startup directory (thereby overwriting existing copies), then (c) trigger the creo executable with a ".txt" trail argument (if desired).  So Creo would load both configs before running.
3. Now in Creo 11, the batch file command is altered to copy "modeling_mapkeys.pro" to "mapkeys.pro" in the local loadpoint directory where the "config.pro" has already been copied by the previous command.
4. I have confirmed the stated function that the mapkeys are loaded in Creo at runtime without creating mapkeys.pro file copy in the Windows "Roaming" user directory, which is what would have happened if Creo found no mapkeys.pro in the loadpoint.

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

for completeness I am posting a link to the PTC document.

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS416002

• Currently, Mapkeys.pro is only read from :
  • %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\PTC\ProENGINEER\Wildfire\.wf\.Settings
  • %INSTALLDIR%\Creo 11.0.0.0\Common Files\text
  • %PTC_WF_ROOT%\.Settings

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

please read https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS426577