- Files incorporated into an assembly from a different folder should be properly loaded into the assembly on reload. Currently, any file not in the same folder and an assembly will be missing every time the assembly is opened, requiring manual relocation. This is even true if the file is in a subfolder of the folder the assembly is in. Manual library tinkering can be used to fix this, but it should be automatic.
Again, Josh has explained this well. If not using Windchill or another data management tool, search paths can and should be used to manage common or shared models. This is a Creo strength, not a weakness.
I must VEHEMENTLY disagree here. I am not saying that creo should go digging through the entire computer to find a part if you move it. However, the exact part that is included in the assembly should always be loaded if it has not been moved, regardless of where it is. I should not have to set a search path to do this. It already reloads all the items from the same folder when you find any one of them using "retrieve missing component", and once you do this once it should be able to find the part everytime until you move it again. This should be automatic.
- Closed files should be cleared from the environment. Currently there is a massive memory leak. Even if you close a file, it is still in memory so long as Creo is. If you are forced to move a file due the having saved it in the wrong place, need to reuse a name of a file that you stopped making or did not save, etc., you have to completely close creo and open it again because the name clashes with the closed version. Also generates a huge memory footprint that cannot be reduced without closing and restarting.
Many users would be extremely upset if closing a window meant their model was remove from memory. The erase tools found in File> Manage Session should be used to manage which models are open in memory and which are not.
The most common place where this is an issue is mistakes. Usually happens when I have the wrong window in focus when I go to make a drawing (see comment about window switching), and now I have to restart the entire session because even though I never saved the file the name is reserved. At the very least, in a situation like that where there is nothing but a name in memory left, the name should be cleared.
The other issue this causes is if I have two parts with the same name in different files in different assemblies that need to be opened at once. The names then clash and whichever one was opened first takes precedence. The assemblies should know that part a goes in assembly A and part b in assembly B, regardless of if they have the same name. This is very common if you copied the part from assembly A to B's folder and modified it. Since there is no way to rename the part once it is in B without removing and redoing all the connections (which could potentially destroy large parts of B due to dependency), you are now stuck with being unable to ever open them together. this makes parts non-portable.
- There is no way to tell whether you have saved a file or not. You get a warning that anything unsaved will be lost when you go to close the last creo window, but nothing when you close individual files. Files need to be treated individually, not as a monolithic session, particularly since there is no way to tell creo to save all versions in memory if newer than saved versions from this last window.
I am used to seeing this in my title bar because I typically work with Creo linked to Windchill. It is unfortunate that it is not visible when not using Windchill. That said, if an open part or assembly is saved, it will be saved whether the model has been changed or not. If an assembly is open and saved, by default in Creo, only the assembly and any modified models will be saved, not all the models. You can use Save a Backup to save every component in an assembly to your current working directory or a new folder.
This is needlessly obfuscational. Just as with, for example, any MS office program, if I have made changes and not saved before I close a window, I should be TOLD so. If there is no way to save them at the end of the session when you receive the only warning, you need to be sure they are saved when the windows are closed. I cannot count the number of extra copies of files I have made because I have to continually save them over and over to avoid losing anything. Not having a warning dialogue incurs a workflow (continually stopping what you are doing to save so you don't forget), memory (excessive numbers of save files with no differences between them) and related time penalties. This is not an assembly issue, it is a general user interface problem.
- Window switching should change focus, or creo should be one window. Currently, even though creo creates a separate window on the taskbar for each open file, clicking on the taskbar icons does not change focus; the in program pulldown menu must be used. This completely defeats the purpose of having multiple windows. Either enable switching with the taskbar (preferable), or have Creo occupy only a single taskbar icon.
I too sometimes wish I could active windows from the taskbar. However, with large assemblies, I find it useful that I can view (pan, spin, zoom, etc) an open window (from the taskbar) and not activate my large assembly. If you mistakenly try using the taskbar (as I do from time to time), it’s easy to activate it using the Windows drop-down menu.
This is bad user interface communication. The interface for the entire windows operating system says "if there is a window button in the taskbar and I click it, the window gets focus". Changing this behavior for a single program creates confusion, wastes time, and makes your program harder to use. If it is a memory issue then use statefulness to not actually load in the file until you go to use a function other than visual, but continually forcing the use of the window selector and blocking the OS paradigm makes the program clunky. Especially since you put the close window button right next to it, leading to accidental closing. Either there should be one window with a switcher required or the taskbar should be functional.
- Allow for showing and hiding of axes, planes, etc. on individual parts in assemblies. To do this currently, you have to spend a large amount of time creating layers for each part to do this. It should be an inherent property of the assembly instance.
The default layers included in the PTC template models enable you to do this. The display of datum features in designs throughout the world are managed using this functionality.
If this is in here I can't figure out how to do it.
- Allow for window switching while in feature specification mode. For example, if creating a hole, it should be possible to start the hole, jump to another file to position or size information, then jump back. Currently, one must completely abort the hole, switch files, and then restart. Especially annoying if multiple parameters need to be taken.
You can only perform/edit one operation at a time. I am not sure how this would be managed if a feature were able to be in a state of definition in multiple windows.
I'm not talking about the same feature, I am talking about the matching feature. For example, part A has a bolt circle and part B needs to match up, so I have to grab the sizing and positioning info from A and use it in B. Currently this involves making a random hole on B and then copying and regenerating the dimensions one at a time (even slower due to the way window switching works). It would be nice to be able to have the features open side by side to make this quick. Even better would be the ability to copy a feature from part to part (needs a reference selector dialogue). Currently you can't even move a hole form one side of a part the other in it's own feature without memorizing the reference coordinates.
- Allow for mixed Inch/Metric units. Being able to specify dimensions for a part in both will vastly simplify making mixed parts, as well as produce better quality drawings. Currently, one must simply perform the conversion outside the program and hope there are enough decimal points to achieve the needed accuracy.
Agreed, this would be nice, especially for standard inch sized holes in metric unit components.
I have to do this on virtually every single part I make, not just for holes but for everything. For example, I often have to make parts with metric OD but Inch length. It is the single biggest problem with the program. The current solution is to manually add the metric dimensions to the drawing, which of course destroys any updating.
The -you- here is PTC and certainly not me. 
