NOOOOOO NX9 use ribbon interface 30

[ppknoop]

Why they switched to a ribbon interface? I hate the ribbon interface. In solid edge the ribbon sucks.
I think that a lot of user are disapointed.

source:

http://www.cadalyst.com/collaboration/product-lifecycle-management/siemens-plm-connection-2013-16687

 

[naeng]

I hope it will be like in solidworks and it will possible choose between ribbon interface and standard interface, i don´t like the ribbon interface too.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Unlike most other applications using a Windows-style 'ribbon' interface, the NX 9.0 implementation will be fully customizable. This customization can be accomplishable either using the normal interactive customization tools and saving the changes in a Role or by creating/editing the 'Ribbon Tab' and 'Ribbon Group' files, roughly equivalent to the old 'Menu' and 'Toolbar' files. In fact, if you've done extensive UI editing in pre-NX 9.0 versions of NX using 'Menu' (.men) and 'Toolbar' (.tbr) files, there will even be tools which will convert these into 'Ribbon Tab' (.rtb) and 'Ribbon Group' (.grb) files so that you can at least get a starting place based on your past file-based customizations.

Now I'm hoping that perhaps some of the people who have been involved in the beta testing of NX 9.0 or who has attended one of the Siemens PLM Connections meetings either here in the US or in Europe, will volunteer their views and opinions of what they've experienced or seen with respect to the new 'Ribbon' interface. I think it would be useful if some of the comments about the NX 9.0 'Ribbon' interface came from average users who've actually seen the inteface rather than either people like me, who's obviously biased, or from people who have not yet even seen NX 9.0 and therefore are commenting based only on their experience with other products.

But before anyone goes completely postal, there will be an option to run NX using the so-called 'classic' interface, at least for the next couple of NX releases. However, those days will be numbered since ALL future functionality will be designed for locating them in the product interface based on what would be best for a 'Ribbon-style' interface and NOT necessarily for a menu/toolbar style interface (and resources will NOT be wasted spending a lot of time trying to optimize BOTH interfaces as part of these future functionality projects). This means that over time the menu/toolbar interface will start to suffer from a sort of software 'arthritis' as less and less care will be taken to keep up with the mainline changes being made to the 'Ribbon' interface.

Anyway, we welcome your questions as well as you concerns, but we would like you to hold off on your final judgment until you've actually had a chance to use NX 9.0. And just so that we know the time frame that we're talking about here, NX 9.0 is planned to be released in about 90 days or so.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[cubalibre000]

First,
you can use Ribbon Interface or decide to stay in old style.
Siemens PLM hasn't removed nothing, only added.
Second,
I like very very very very very very very very very very very much this ribbon interface style.
I use NX9 every day and I'm very satisfied, better then the old interface.
In NX8.5 with advanced role, you can see 170 command.
With NX9 as standard interface, you can access to 320 command.
Before to judge, try it.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[NeilMGW]

So pleased to hear this, I've felt for a long time that NX had outgrown it's UI - only Alias being worse in my experience.

No chance of a screenshot then?

 

[loki3000]

eh, catia v5 is not all that good too.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Here is what NX 9.0 will look like. This is the out-of-the-box presentation for the Modeling 'Home' tab:

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[ppknoop]

It is good to hear that the ribbon interface is fully customizable and that there will be an option to run nx with the classic interface. If the ‘ribbon’ implementation is different and better than Solid Edge, than is it maybe not so bad at all. I’m looking forward to use nx9 over 90days.

 

[asrura1]

I like Ribbon UI in general, but have mixed feeling about it in CAD software.

I used SolidWorks for a number of year and when they added the Ribbon UI, it was not too bad. You still have the "classic" top bar where some functions are always present regardless of which Ribbon tab you are on.

When I used Solid Edge, I find their implementation of Ribbon UI to be HORRIBLE. It was just not intuitive and did not "flow" for me even after 2 years. I curse it every time I need to switch between windows inside Solid Edge because the function to switch windows is under the first tab and the last tab (if my recollection is correct). So, if I am in some other tab and need to switch to another window, I have to go to the first tab first. It was extremely annoying.

Currently, I am using NX and I felt at home with the UI. But I have to say, SolidWork's UI is the best out of all three. Not sure what SolidWorks is like, now. The last version I used was 2010 but I suspect it hasn't changed much...it is a dying software thanks to Dassault.

Anyway, I think NX's UI team should study SolidWork's implementation of the Ribbon interface closely but they probably already did

 

[JohnRBaker]

While using the 'Ribbon' UI, NX 9.0 will also have a 'menu' style optional path to all of the functions based on the 'classic' menu scheme. We expect that existing users who migrate to using the Ribbon UI will still find this menu useful for accessing functions based on their experience with older versions of NX. However, totally new user will probably be more likely to use the full Ribbon, and it's various secondary 'galleries' to find the necessary funtions.

Here is what that 'menu' scheme looks like:

While this is what one of the NX 9.0 Ribbon's 'More' gallery will look like:

And remember, if you use any of these functions on a regular basis, you can use Customize to move them up onto the Ribbon itself where you can optionally show them as a large icon with text, a small icon with text or just a simple small icon without text. or as medium icons without text in an on-ribbon gallery:

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Note that there will also be a quick way (without even having to go into Customize) to copy frequently used items, either temporarily or permanently, to one of the so-called 'side-bars', which you could think of as a sprt of fixed toolbars (which can be toggled ON/OFF):

And these can be just as easily removed or moved to one of the other 'side-bars':

Also there will still be something that we used to call the 'Selection Bar' where you can place popular functions as well as what's called the 'Quick Access Bar' across the top of the NX window where we've also added a full-time direct access to the 'Command Finder' something that people have been asking for since we introduced this feature:

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[asrura1]

Looks great! I am glad there is a Menu for accessing functions the classic way.

Just one question about the screenshots. On the very top, where filename is usually displayed, there is a button called "Window". Is it for switching between windows in NX? If it is, then I probably won't use the classical UI and stick with Ribbon UI...if we ever upgrade to NX 9.

Thanks for the screenshots!

 

[JohnRBaker]

The 'Window' button that you see in the NX 9.0 image is the same 'Window' button that you have on the menu bar in the classic NX interface, it lets you switch the display from one open part in your session to another.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[PeterCrookall]

As an old user of NX I have kept my Roles from version to version.

I too feared the Ribbon Bar.
I like it.
Lots more room as icons can be of different sizes.

I find I have to use command finder often but am using it less and less.

 

[moog2]

I've also used solid edge and hated their ribbon bar, hopefully NX will do it much better, but I may those to use the classic style

 

[NeilMGW]

Much better - glad to see there's still a full screen option too

 

[SDETERS]

HOw does this affect the full screen mode? Or does this toolbar stay the same?

 

[zmedwael]

What's new for Advanced simulation Module ?

 

[DHuskic]

How versatile are journals between major NX releases? We are currently running 7.5 and have some serious man hours put into some of our custom journals. Would there be any upgrades in the software between releases that would impede our journals from working in the newer NX's?

Denis Huskic
Data Prep NX7.5
Kettering University
Class of '17

 

[JohnRBaker]

Much better - glad to see there's still a full screen option too

In addition to the 'Full Screen' option, which works pretty much as it does in current versions of NX, there is also a new 'Minimized' mode which retains the Resource Bar, the so-called 'Selection Bar', the 'Quick Access Bar' as well as the 'tabs'. You still get a larger working display since the 'Ribbon' is removed but it's easier to work with since it does NOT require any keyboard 'gestures' to access your functions since all you do is select a 'tab' which will temporarily force the display of the Ribbon, make you selection and when the dialog appears, the Ribbon is once more removed giving you almost as much display area at does the 'Full Screen' mode. I actually like it much better.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.