config.pro help please

[Picklefactory]

Hi folks
I'm a complete newbie at ProE, so apologies for any stupid questions in advance.

I have Wildfire 3 and I seem to have managed to install it without setting up any config files. I've done some reading on it, and I think I could really do with these, especially for search paths and standard settings.

Could anyone explain to me how I go about creating these from scratch,as I don't appear to have any set up. When I look in Tools>Options, there is nothing there.

Just to help explain my current setup, ProE is loading from C:\Program Files\proeWildfire 3.0 and I generally will be accessing a network drive to store part files etc. in case that's of any use.

Thanks folks

 

[dgallup]

Pro/E does not ship with any pre-configured config.pro files. You have to make your own. I think there would be a market for an enterprising VAR to sell a simple set of config.pro, config.win, config.sup, drawing.dtl, templates, etc. but that's another story.

All the config.pro files are simple ascii text files. You can create them and edit them with any text editor. You can make them through the Tools/Options interface if you want but it's a little slow & cumbersome. One good thing is it avoids misspelling options & has a search interface.

If you start the help system, go to the fundamentals section and search for config you will find all kinds of info. Here is the fundamental part about how Pro/E reads config files at startup:

Pro/ENGINEER reads configuration files automatically from several areas. If a particular option is present in more than one configuration file, Pro/ENGINEER applies the most recently loaded/read setting.

At startup, Pro/ENGINEER first reads in a protected system configuration file called config.sup. It then searches for and reads in configuration files (config.pro, config.win, menu_def.pro) from the following directories in the following order:

loadpoint/text (loadpoint is the Pro/ENGINEER installation directory) - Your system administrator may have put configuration files in this location to support company standards for windows configuration settings, formats and libraries. Any user starting Pro/ENGINEER from this loadpoint uses the values in this file.

Login directory - This is the home directory for your login ID. Placing your configuration files here lets you start Pro/ENGINEER from any directory without having a copy of the files in each directory.

Startup directory - This is your current or working directory when you start Pro/ENGINEER.

Note: The local configuration files (config.pro, config.win, and menu_def.pro) in your startup directory are the last to be read; therefore, they override any conflicting configuration file option entries. The config.pro file does not, however, override any config.sup entries.

You can create and store custom configuration files in your current working directory. These custom configuration files usually apply to specific projects.

 

[Picklefactory]

Thanks dgallup
I did trawl through the help files and found too much info, such that I'm non the wiser. It seems they can be placed in various locations, I need a config.sup and possibly a config.win. It tells me a config.pro can be in my loading directory, where ProE lives, and also in various working directories, which one it uses depnds on latest date etc. It all seems very complicated and I have yet to find where it shows me HOW to make one and what, exactly, to put in it. Is there no simple way of doing it?

 

[looslib]

You may or may not need a config.sup. This file is used to set company settings that the CAD Admin does not want changed.
Config.win is your window postion settings. I have never used one. (Ducks from all the people who will tell me how beneficial they CAN be.)
The variuous directories that contain the different config.pro files help control things like compnay, project and user settings. They load in that order with the lates setting being the final one that is set when you use Wildfire.

Your best bet is to get an example file and look at the options that have been set. I have one on a CD I can email you tonight. I'm not using Pro/E at this job.

If you want it, email me at: looslib-tx <at> earthlink.net



"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[Picklefactory]

Thanks looslib, that could be useful. I think the main issue I have is search paths, I'll be sharing certain existing models with a colleague who does the heavy duty stuff, most of these are on various network drives. Is there another way to do that other than config.pro. I'd like that example file if you don't mind, thanks.

 

[looslib]

You will have a line in your config.pro pointing to a search.pro file.
Search.pro contains the paths to the folders you want to search for assembly components in the order you want them searched.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[Picklefactory]

Thanks again Ben
That sounds fairly simple, but do I need this config.sup? If so, what goes in there and where should that live and where should I locate my shiny new .pro file I will create?
Thanks for the advice.

PS I PM'd you my address in case you get chance to send a sample.

 

[looslib]

Config.sup is optional. It would go in your Wildfire <loadpoint>/text folder, which is where one of the config.pro files goes.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[Picklefactory]

OK, back again. Thanks again for those files Ben.

Right, again apologies for being think, but just for clarification for a dummy (Me)

Load point - Does that mean where WF3 resides on my HDD, in my case C:\Program Files\proeWildfire 3.0\text, I think that's correct, but just checking

Next question(s), I can have more than one config.pro. Where do the others live and how many should there be and why so many? Why not just have one in the loadpoint to set all my requirements?

Cheers
John

 

[Picklefactory]

Hmmm. Just been looking at the config.pro example from Ben. It looks scary and complicated to me. I was really hoping to start off with something simple initially, or am I just being simple? )

I also ran my work colleagues config.pro file at

http://www.proesite.com/newframe.htm?/UTIL/view_config.html

It came up with a whole heap of errors, whereas Ben's came out clean as a whistle.

I'm not sure I'm capable of editing the sample I have to suit our set up at work (Filepaths, units options etc), is there just some basic info I can start with to get me going, or can I cherry pick certian features from the example I have and delete all that is beyond me without impairing ProE functionality?

 

[dgallup]

The reasons for having so many file locations and so many options are to allow setting corporate standards, work group standards, project standards & personal preferences. You don't need all the files, you don't need any of them. Pro/E will run just fine as it comes out of the box with no config files. For every config option there is a default behavior that you will get if you over ride it with a setting.

You can take a larger, complex config.pro file & dumb it down by putting an exclamation point (!) at the start of each line you want to deactivate. The leading exclamation point turns that line into a comment line & Pro/E ignores it.

While the config option system is complex, it is versatile and allows CAD admins to enforce standards, something that is sadly lacking in many other CAD systems.

 

[davidinindy]

Your search.pro will be dependent on your network and where your files are stored. There would be no generic file for it.
Google search config.pro and you'll find some free basic config files out there people have posted.
I've got a couple of my own, but generally modify the companies to suit my style and habits.

David

 

[Picklefactory]

OK, thanks folks. I'll have a dabble.

 

[Picklefactory]

Cheers for all the info folks, beginning to see the light now. I have my config and search files up and running and just starting to look at all the various options available.
I think I can count this one as resolved.