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[nrollins]

Hi,

I rebuilt my machine yesterday and of course I did not back up the OTHER
creo_parametric_customization.ui file before formatting the HDD.



There is one that I keep in my Dropbox along with config.pro and my formats
and library, .scl and .dmt etc etc... Just for this reason - so I don't
have to worry about forgetting something.



So, I find out that Pro/E now puts another file with the same name in
"user\appData\roaming..."



There is no hope in getting back the ui file I lost - the one that took
hours to build with customized icons and ribbon tabs... but is there a way
to force a different location for this other file, so I don't pull my hair
out again in 2 years when I do another rebuild or get a new pc?



Any tips on config file centralization?



Thanks!



-Nate




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[dgschaefer]

I'd suggest looking up David Haigh's Creo Admin presentations, he talks about this.

Creo is saving them in the "cache" folder; you can change where that is by setting an environment variable. I believe the syntax is:

PTC_WF_ROOT=[path\to\your\desired\cache\folder]

--

[kimndave9]

In the general scheme of things I've set up a local Wiki (TikiWiki) that I copy important items to. While it doesn't automatically update as changes are made to things like the config file, it does offer storage that is secure against any number of problems**, provides a way to keep historical versions of non-versioned files, and a convenient place to include information about why the file is important, where it came from, what the content format is, and why certain option in the file were selected.

It also makes it easy to cross-link to both official and ad hoc documentation.

I still feel as giddy about Wikis for this purpose as I did when I first saw PTC Pro/Engineer from years of working on CADDS IV wireframe models.

Perhaps not as relevant for you, but in larger companies it is so easy for one guy in charge of things to puzzle something out and forget where it was he put notes about it when a problem comes up a few years later, especially if that guy is a new guy taking over from someone else.

**The main thing is that the default Wiki information viewer is not an editor. View a text file with Notepad - it defaults to being able to edit it; same with Word, Excel, Pro/E. With Wikis, the default is just to display or just to export. No matter what the user does, they can't accidently change anything. And when they do change something, that something is automatically a new version; the old version is still available unless specifically deleted, which is a controllable ability via the Admin.

[nrollins]

Thanks Brian, and David,



(I am finally digging into this a bit more...)



I am seeing that the environment settings in Windows is probably the best
way to prevent what happened to me (i.e. The ui customize file got lost in a
PC rebuild - was not backed up...) Setting the local cache location to a
spot that has my attention will be a good thing in the future, I think.



With "load_ui_customization_run_dir yes" set, the "export customization" in
Options>Customize Ribbon>Import/Export, there are two choices now:

Export "only user" and "only run dir"

Is the "run dir" the same as the load point?



AND - how do I dictate, decide or know which options get set to which
location? I THOUGHT all my mods were being saved to the UI file that I was
protecting and backed up. I sadly discovered that, while my mapkeys
(config.pro) and colors (syscol) were saved and preserved, it seems that all
of my UI customizations are gone with the file that was in my %appdata%
.Settings folder... I still have a nicely backed up .ui file - but I am not
sure what it controls.



I did notice that modding my QA toolbar this morning and exporting "only
user customizations" did save to my "start in" folder and the .ui file in my
.Settings folder was not modified. I think that is good news and what I
want.









Thanks for your help and time setting me straight!



-nate

[davehaigh]

I've not figured out a way to tell which ribbon customizations come from which file.

However, you can tell which files got loaded. Go to File, Help, System Information:
Scroll down to the section labled Configuration Information. It will show you what config files got loaded, including the .ui files.

I actually have a custom startup script specifically for editing the .ui file. It's saved me from pulling out what few hairs I have left.

From my Creo Admin 102 talk: