Pointing Creo at shared config.pro file

[AH_8269887]

Is it possible to point deployments at a central, config.pro file? Currently we'd overwrite the local version on the computer if a change was needed, but can it instead point to a version say hosted on a server to read the settings?

Also can you alter the settings before deployment, so the version of the  config.pro file deployed already has these changes?

Thank you.

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

answer to Q1 ... no

answer to Q2 ... no

[BenLoosli]

If you understand the order that Creo reads config.pro (and config.sup) files in there are some things that can be done so everyone reads common files.

The order of reading config files is:

Config.sup from the folder:  <Creo_Loadpoint>/Common Files\Text

Config.pro from the folder:  <Creo_Loadpoint>/Common Files\Text

Settings in config.sup may not be overwritten by subsequent config.pro files being loaded. The config.sup and config.pro settings will apply to all users.

Config.pro from the user's home folder as defined by the system variable USERPROFILE

Config.pro from the folder defined as the StartIn folder for the icon that launches Creo.

Users should not have write access to the <Creo_Loadpoint> folders, so those files are protected from being overwritten by user changes.

The other 2 files do allow the user to write to. I recommend that they only change the one in the StartIn folder.

In my setup, when Creo is launched, I run a copy command that will overwrite the config.pro file in the user's home folder. Since I run multiple versions of Creo and Windchill, this allows me to tailor a 'group' specific config.pro and load it depending on what function the end user is doing.

I do run a network install of Creo, so there is only one <Creo_loadpoint> folder (well, one for each version of Creo) to worry about. The user's home folder config.pro takes care of any company/group/project settings.

The config.pro in the StartIn folder is free for the users to add any special settings they feel they need to make their job easier that I have not already set. 

Most users are not aware of what congfig.pro settings are even available unless they do some research into the various options.

[TomU]

Yes***.  There is a new, additional config location that has been added to Creo Parametric 9.0.  It is controlled with an environment variable named PTC_CREO_ALT_SETTINGS_PATH.  When set, Creo will load the config files in the following order:

1. <Install Directory>\Common Files\text\config.sup
2. <PTC_CREO_ATL_SETTINGS_PATH>\config.sup
3. <Install Directory>\Common Files\text\config.pro
4. <PTC_CREO_ATL_SETTINGS_PATH>\config.pro
5. <Home Directory>\config.pro
6. <Working Directory>\config.pro

Using this environment variable will allow you to have one central set of configs that are used by all installations of Creo 9.0 without needing to modify each installation manually.  Keep in mind that the last config file read (of each type) 'wins'.  Values in the users home directory or working directory will override all previous config.pro values in this new directory and in the install directory unless they are 'locked' by one of the config.sup files.

*** No documentation about this new variable has been publicly released yet, so it's probably best to consider this 'hidden' or 'unsupported' until that happens.

[BenLoosli]

Tom,

Looking at this PTC CS article: Article - CS384810 - Is it possible to read / load Creo Parametric configuration files (*.pro, *.sup & *.ui) from a location other than &lt;creo_loadpoint&gt;Common Files ext directory ? (ptc.com)

It states that:

• PTC_CREO_ALT_SETTINGS_PATH path takes precedence over all the other paths, and overrides all other config.pro and config.sup settings.
  • Creo reads the files specified under PTC_CREO_ALT_SETTINGS_PATH at the very end after reading all other configs specified (user home, Common files\text and start-in).
  • Hence, the final value considered by creo for a configuration options would be the value specified in the configuration files present in the path set by PTC_CREO_ALT_SETTINGS_PATH.

This leads me to think that Creo will load all files from the <Loadpoint>, then Home and Start-in before reading the files from the alternate settings path location.

[Alex_the_K]

For the first issue, we've done that with windows hardlinks, works pretty good.  We have linked the original config.pro in installation folder to our central config.pro which is on our server. Following points are important:

- start Creo with a desktop-link where you specify the "execute in"-folder like this: "C:\CREO\USER\%username%/CreoStart" -> here is a user-specific config.pro too

- edit the config.pro that all folders that are user-specific have a "dynamic" link like this:  trail_dir C:\CREO\USER\$username\CreoStart\

The trail files are deleted by an external batch that is executed with every logon in windows.

We are not using windchill, I don't know if it works with that too?!

Maybe not the full solution for your problem, but goes in the direction.