Custom Property Tab Builder not reading the property.txt 2

[SBaugh]

I moved to my latest job about 7 months ago I introduced and started using the CP tab builder. Nothing like this had been done there yet, everything was still a manual operation. At the time I was using my personal Precision workstation using SW 14. Once our current machine was out the door, I switched over to our new M6800 PC's using SW 15. A few months later I needed to make a change to the CP tab builder and I found that the property text file would not update. Not meaning that I could not update the *.txt file, but that the tab builder would not see the new save. Its still pulling the old property.txt file. Nobody can figure this out. its only on my PC and our VAR is stumped, as is SW. They blamed the PC as being the problem, so I formatted it last weekend and the one thing I needed fixed was this issue, but its still not working.

I have tracked Registry entries using Process monitor and tried moving the *.txt file to a new location (even default) nothing works... no idea where it is pulling the information from the text file.

I am curious if anyone else has seen anything like this and if so, did you find away around it?

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[EEnd]

Have you tried using Process monitor with Path, ends with, property.txt to see if it is being loaded and from the correct location?

Eric

 

[ctopher]

This happened to me once. I renamed the file to "properties.txt", it fixed it.

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks '15
SolidWorks Legion

 

[SBaugh]

ctopher,

I renamed it to properties.old. I did a search on my entire system and found several others under ProgramData. I renamed all files under the name Properties.txt. Then I opened the Tab builder and it still pulls all the default properties into the program... it makes no sense where its getting this data from.

I have installed SW 2014, 2015 and Beta 2 2016 and all 3 are acting the same way. It seems to be a PC issue, but why a reformat wouldn't fix it IDK.

EEnd,

I will have to go back and look and see what I did, but I think I just tracked the Process for the Tab builder and not the text file. If I have any trouble setting it up I might ask for some help and getting it setup.

Thanks guys!

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[SBaugh]

Here is a video of what I am seeing...

http://www.screencast.com/t/LVWmzon04t

EEnd,

I setup the Process monitor, but I zero hits on anything in the filter. Make sure I have setup Process monitor filters correctly:

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[ctopher]

Go to System Options/Custom Property Files. Delete your link to the file. Restart SW.
Go back and browse to the new .txt file, restart again.

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks '15
SolidWorks Legion

 

[SBaugh]

Yeah that didn't work either... its like its stuck in memory and just keeps pulling the same information back over and over again, without ever looking at the property.txt file.

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[ctopher]

One other thing that I have tried, make a copy of the file on a thumb drive, then delete off the HD/server.
Delete links from SW.
Reboot PC. Then copy file back, re-link.

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks '15
SolidWorks Legion

 

[SBaugh]

Solidworks does have an SPR# for this - 902779 - But I need a solution ASAP from them, because I need to make changes but I cannot due to this error. If I was still working for Berry Plastics they would have a solution already, but because I am not and the company I am with currently only owns 2 seats, we won't be getting any sort of fix anytime soon.

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[SBaugh]

FYI ctopher - Your last suggestion did not work either.

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[ctopher]

When I had a similar problem last year, what I wrote above fixed it.
There must be something else going on. Some type of memory reference issue?
Maybe try clearing out the temp folder(s)?

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks '15
SolidWorks Legion

 

[Updraft]

VAR not helping you, why I wonder. ~Yoda

 

[EEnd]

SBaugh,

I was thinking you could use Process Monitor to figure out what file the property tab builder was opening. Given what I found on my system, it might help. The shot below is from starting Property Tab Builder 2014. It is reading the properties.txt from my 2013 install. I just checked inside of SW 2014 and the path there is to the 2014 folder. I exported my sldreg file and checked that there were no 2013's in any of the paths. I do not know where the property tab builder is getting its path information from, but it does not seem to be affected by the SW setting. My guess is that it is based on the path that was last used to open or save a properties template. Either way, having Process Monitor tell you the path of the file that is being read might get you through your short term problem.

Eric

 

[SBaugh]

How are you getting that to show up. I set those same filters up and I get no hits when I launch the Tab Builder, add a "List" box, browse to the actual *.txt file and select a property. Some for a "Textbox" and select a property. ProcMon shows nothing in the program.

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[EEnd]

I have Process Monitor running with the filters set up and it set to capture events. Then I start Property Tab Builder 2014, and all of those appear right off the bat. The values are a bit hard to read in the screen capture so I'm including the text here. I am using Process name is <PropertyTabBuilder.exe> and Path ends with <.txt> (ignore the <>'s). Here is the full set of filters. I would start with just the process name one to make sure you are getting something.

Eric

 

[SBaugh]

Here is how messed up this Tab builder is for me...

http://www.screencast.com/t/K4titxWo

I have it setup correctly, but I am not getting anything from Proc Mon. The biggest question is where is it getting this data from??? Currently I am still using what is there to get by for now. It is truly amazing that it still works at all, I just cannot customize the properties.txt file and it be seen by the builder.

Honestly this is the strangest bug I have ever seen and I worked doing SW support for 8 years with a VAR.

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[EEnd]

Remove / uncheck the filter for Operation is RegSetValue. It is requiring the operation to be setting a value in the registry when we are looking for it accessing something in the file system.

Eric

 

[SBaugh]

I fixed the problem... your not going to believe the solution and SW was no help on this either. They just give out SPR's like they are candy now just to shut people up I think.

I noticed that when I launch tab builder currently it goes to "C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS\SolidWorks 2014\lang\english" when I am trying to open one of my tab builder templates.

After seen this it dawned on me how to fix this. I have SW 2014, and 2015 installed since I did my reformat. The path above is of course a 2014 path. Yet I had not opened and changed the location of my 2014 custom properties location. Changing that path in 2014 fixed the issue. I am using the 2015 Tab builder, yet the 2015 code is still looking for and using the 2014 code, at least on my PC this is true. Even after a format and reinstall its the same problem.


Here is my thought on this issue:
It’s has to be in the install code within the next release of the software that is causing the issue. Most people might not be doing a clean uninstall\reinstall (manually), or they are letting SW do the clean uninstall\reinstall for them. That could be forcing the code to re-write the 2014 to 2015 Tab builder registry info. Those of us that have seen this issue might have installed SW 2015 as a fresh New install or we saved the tab builder templates as 2014 or both… Better yet they upgraded their 2014 to 2015 and no one is the wiser, because the 2014 registry data is still there when you do an upgrade.

EEnd - Did you try making a change to you 2014 properties.txt file and make sure the information is showing up in the builder? Because you might be having the same problem I have been having.

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Gryphon Environmental

http://www.2gryphon.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[ctopher]

Good catch!
I read SW is changing the Prop Tab builder for 2016. Hopefully it will be seamless!

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks '15
SolidWorks Legion

 

[curvyrace]

In case anyone else is still having this same problem, your custom properties not showing up in the Name list in Tab Builder, my solution was a bit different. My workstation had a file called propNames.txt in C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKS\sldPropertyTabBuilder. Only when I copied into that file the contents of the properties.txt file on our network did I get the Names list to populate correctly.