Macros vs. Journal in NX8.5

[OldCADPOPro]

Hello All,

I was searching for an existing forum on this topic, with little success. Therefore I would ask this question.

I am creating a series of macros to simpify things like changing the format size of a drawing (including the imported border), adding part attributes to models and drawings etc... My question is really more along the lines of using a Journal over a Macro. Can anyone shed some light on which one is better or more editable?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Richard Andrew
Aerojet Rocketdyne

 

[looslib]

Macros are usually version dependent as they are capturing keystrokes/menu picks.
Journals will allow more flexibility, easier to edit and should work with future versions.
VBA or UGopen C/C++ code can also do what you need, but may be more complex in their programming requirements.


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

Ben Loosli

 

[cowski]

Journals allow you do to things like looping and branching fairly easily. Where you might create a macro for each template size you use; a journal could be made to query the drawing sheet size and import the correct template size automatically for each sheet.

www.nxjournaling.com

 

[OldCADPOPro]

Thanks all for the feedback. I have been evperiencing some issues with macros so I created a journal to test adding attributes to models and drawings. Now I want to add them to a User Tool. What is the callout for a journal file for the TYPE to run a journal file? The NX documentation only has MENU_BUTTON, MACRO, GRIP, UFUN, or USRT. Strange thing is i can call a journal file with a customized toolbar in NX. Any Help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Richard Andrew

 

[DSikes]

This is how I call out journal files.

Toolbar File (.tbr)
BUTTON <B1>
LABEL <Label>
ACTION <Path to journal file>

Menuscript File (.men)
BUTTON <B1>

LABEL <Label>​

MESSAGE <Description of button>​

ACTIONS <Path to journal file>​

Just replace what's in the <> with whatever you need and do not include the <> in your file.


Daniel Sikes
Design Engineer
Young Touchstone
NX 8.0.3.4

 

[OldCADPOPro]

Hello Daniel,

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I am thinking of converting my old user tools to updated menus. Attached is a picture of my current setup. I am assuming I need to create a new .men file that then points to several toolbar options. Any advise on structure is appreciated from anyone.

Thanks,

Richard

 

[DSikes]

See attached for an example of how to have nested menus using the menuscript. This is from the NXCustom set of files that I downloaded from the Siemens community forums here. This may not be exactly what you are looking for but hopefully it's useful. I think there is a way to add icons to them as well but I don't know the format for that offhand. I would definitely recommend having a look at the NXCustom setup for your version of NX and see if there is anything that might help/be useful for you.

Daniel Sikes
Design Engineer
Young Touchstone
NX 8.0.3.4

 

[markrief]

Richard,
In the Siemens community, there is forum for customization like this, where you should get some good feedback.
[URL unfurl="true"]http://community.plm.automation.siemens.com/t5/NX-Customization-and-Programming/ct-p/NXProgramming[/url]

If you are on NX9 or newer, it might be time to switch over to a custom ribbon or border bar.

Mark Rief
NX CAM Customer Success
Siemens PLM Software

 

[OldCADPOPro]

Hello All,

Thanks to everyone who provided input to the thread. I have modified our user tools and am migrating away from .UTD files to Toolbars and Menus. Attached is a shout of what I did for us here. Thanks Again for your direction.

Richard