Creo 1.0 Config File Limitations

[dgschaefer]

We have a client that is migrating to Creo 1.0 this quarter. I've been
trying to sort out how to maintain our config files with the new Creo
config editor and have come up with some pretty serious limitations. I
thought I'd share them here in case others have found work-arounds. In
the very least, others will be aware of these issues as I suspect they
will affect many others. I have opened a case with PTC.



The short summary is that Creo no longer allows you to save changes to a
specific config file if you load more than one. The only thing you can
do is save ALL the current session config options to a file.



Additionally, if you choose to export the config information to an
existing file, the contents of that config file are REPLACED with the
config settings for the current session. You can choose to save to the
<load point=">/text/config.sup and replace the contents of that file as
well. There is no warning or 'Are you sure?' message, the file is
simply replaced. Thankfully, our company files are copied from the
server at startup, however the user files are not so a user can corrupt
their entire file with one click.


We have users that tweak or add a setting occasionally. In the past,
I'd walk them through selecting their file in the tools -> options
dialog, finding the setting they need to add or change and saving it to
their file. The new or changed setting would be added to the end of
their file, the rest of the file would be untouched. Now, they must
save the entire session's config settings to a file. We typically have
4 config files loaded, company config.sup & config.pro, user config.pro
and client config.pro. If they want to add a single setting, they then
get the entire contents of all 4 files. Then they must open that file
in a text editor, pick through and find the setting they changed and
copy and paste it into their file,



If multiple files are loaded at start up and then exported, they export
in order loaded. However, if a file is loaded manually after start up
and then the settings exported, the settings get mixed up and jumbled
together. I've verified that some comments are lost in the process, but
haven't confirmed that actual settings get lost. I suspect (hope) that
they do not, but the resultant file is such a mess that it is near
impossible to be sure.



What this means is we have a serious likelihood of having config files
corrupted accidentally, the only real practical means of changing config
options is via a text editor and maintaining company, user and client
files is going to be a lot harder. The ease of configuring Pro/E
companywide has always been a strength of Pro/E (SW essentially has no
capability here) and with Creo it has taken a major step backwards.



Has anyone else looked into this and found any work-arounds? I'll let
the group know what PTC says.



Doug Schaefer

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[dgschaefer]

Heard from PTC, there is already an SPR on this:



https://www.ptc.com/appserver/cs/view/spr.jsp?n=2095844

[jnelson]

Doug
Thanks for the original posting (great heads up), and for the follow up.

According to the SPR:
Description: Saving current configuration settings file adds all options from the current session to user config.pro file in Creo Parametric 1.0. This is causing user inconvenience and confusion.

Causing user inconvenience and confusion?
I think that is a major understatement!!!

[davehaigh]

I now have Creo Sketch, Creo Direct, and Creo Parametric installed on my computer.

When PTC labeled the Common Files folder, they were not kidding.

[cid:image003.jpg@01CCD9EA.FC8D6000]

Both Direct and Parametric both use the same config.pro in the Common Files/Mxxx/Text Directory.

If you set them up to start from the same directory, they both write a file called trail.txt.x to that same directory
Direct Trail file:
!trail file version No. 1500
!Creo TM 1.0 (c) 2012 by Parametric Technology Corporation All Rights Reserved.
< 0 1.348741 1421 0 0 1138 1600 0 0 1200 13
!mem_use INCREASE Blocks 515341, AppSize 56195340, SysSize 66821496
< 0 1.118815 1212 0 0 944 1600 0 0 1200 13
< 0 1.091000 1091 0 0 944 1600 0 0 1200 13
< 0 1.091000 1091 0 0 942 1600 0 0 1200 13
!%CIWelcome to Creo Direct 1.0.

Parametric Trail file:
!trail file version No. 1500
!Creo TM 1.0 (c) 2012 by Parametric Technology Corporation All Rights Reserved.
< 0 1.348741 1421 0 0 1138 1600 0 0 1200 13
!mem_use INCREASE Blocks 455409, AppSize 53574219, SysSize 64409576
< 0 1.118815 1212 0 0 944 1600 0 0 1200 13
< 0 1.091000 1091 0 0 944 1600 0 0 1200 13
< 0 1.091000 1091 0 0 942 1600 0 0 1200 13
!%CIWelcome to Creo Parametric 1.0.

This is not what I expected.

Suppose you have Direct m010 and Parametric m020 installed. Now upgrade Direct from m010 to m020. You get this message:

[cid:image006.jpg@01CCD9EA.FC8D6000]

Obviously deleting the directory would mean you lose all your config settings.

There is also the issue of adding or removing options in one application and potentially adversely affecting the other application.

I haven't had a chance to compare the config options for Direct and Parametric. I'm wondering if there are options for one that will be illegal in the other. I don't need a lot of meaningless errors in my std.out file.

Anyone know if PTC has a document on using Direct and Parametric in combination?

David Haigh
Phone: 925-424-3931
Fax: 925-423-7496
Lawrence Livermore National Lab
7000 East Ave, L-362
Livermore, CA 94550

________________________________

[davehaigh]

Still not fixed in Creo 2.0-F000

David Haigh