If you want to create a permanent Toolbox that is not erased after you exit Creo Elements/Direct Modeling, you must define the buttons in a customize file.
You can use the Toolbox (File > Toolbox) to customize Creo Elements/Direct Modeling to suit the way you work. You can add buttons that start commands, open menus, and so on. By adding frequently used buttons to the Toolbox, you can have quick access to a wide range of operations in a single location. To add a button you must know the exact name of the command or menu.
1. At the top of the screen, click File > Toolbox. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling displays the empty toolbox where you can add your buttons.
2. In the user input line, type ADD_TOOLBOX_BUTTON and press ENTER.
3. Specify the command or menu. type :ACTION and use one of the following two ways:
◦ For command names, type the names in quotes " " - for example, "POLYGON".
◦ For menu names, type the name surrounded by the following syntax "(SHOW-WID \"MenuName\")" - for example, "(SHOW-WID \"MACHINE-DS\")".
4. Specify the button's label (twelve characters can be displayed on a button) by entering :LABEL and then entering the text for the button label in quotes " " - for example, "My Polygon".
5. Click . Creo Elements/Direct Modeling adds the button to the Toolbox. Clicking the button starts the corresponding command or displays the menu.
Example: Adding and removing buttons from the Toolbox
In this example, you will add three buttons to the Toolbox:
My Polygon
Starts the polygon operation.
My Machine
Displays the Machine menu.
My Extrude
Starts the Extrude operation.
You will then remove the My Extrude button from the Toolbox.
1. At the top of the screen, click File > Toolbox. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling displays the empty toolbox where you can add your buttons.
2. Add the My Polygon button to the Toolbox:
a. In the user input line, type ADD_TOOLBOX_BUTTON and press ENTER.
b. Specify the command name. Type :ACTION "POLYGON" and press ENTER.
c. Specify the button's label. Type :LABEL "My Polygon" and press ENTER.
d. Click . Creo Elements/Direct Modeling adds the button My Polygon to the Toolbox.
3. Add the My Machine button to the Toolbox:
a. In the user input line, type ADD_TOOLBOX_BUTTON and press ENTER.
b. Specify the menu name. Type :ACTION "(SHOW-WID \"MACHINE-DS\")" and press ENTER.
c. Specify the button's label. Type :LABEL "My Machine" and press ENTER.
d. Click . Creo Elements/Direct Modeling adds the button My Machine to the Toolbox.
4. Add the My Extrude button to the Toolbox:
a. In the user input line, type ADD_TOOLBOX_BUTTON and press ENTER.
b. Specify the command name. Type :ACTION "EXTRUDE" and press ENTER.
c. Specify the button's label. Type :LABEL "My Extrude" and press ENTER.
d. Click . Creo Elements/Direct Modeling adds the button My Extrude to the Toolbox.
5. Remove the My Extrude button from the Toolbox:
a. In the user input line, type REMOVE_TOOLBOX_BUTTON and press ENTER.
b. Specify the button's label. Type :LABEL "My Extrude" and press ENTER.
c. Click . Creo Elements/Direct Modeling removes the button My Extrude from the Toolbox.
Clicking the buttons in the Toolbox starts the command or opens the corresponding menu.
To remove a button from the Toolbox
1. At the top of the screen, click File > Toolbox. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling displays the toolbox.
2. In the user input line, type REMOVE_TOOLBOX_BUTTON and press ENTER.
3. Specify the button to remove. Type :LABEL and type the text of the button label in quotes " " (for example, "My Polygon").
4. Click . Creo Elements/Direct Modeling removes the button from the toolbox.
To set the maximum height for the Toolbox
1. At the top of the screen, click File > Toolbox. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling displays the toolbox.
2. In the user input line, type SET_TOOLBOX_MAX_HEIGHT and press ENTER.
3. In the user input line, type :height and press ENTER.
4. In the user input line, type the maximum number of rows of buttons to be displayed in the Toolbox.
5. Click . If there are more buttons than available places (2 times the maximum number of button rows), Creo Elements/Direct Modeling adds a horizontal scroll bar so that you can display and click the remaining buttons.
To create a permanent Toolbox by using a customize file
If you want to create a permanent Toolbox that is not lost after you exit Creo Elements/Direct Modeling, you must define the buttons in a customize file. You can do this by creating the file sd_customize and including the syntax for the buttons in the file. You can create the file before loading Creo Elements/Direct Modeling or during a Creo Elements/Direct Modeling session:
1. Click File > Edit File. The File Browser opens.
2. Specify the name for the file, sd_customize. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling displays the contents of the file.
3. Use the editor to add the lines for the Toolbox buttons. For command buttons, the format is:
The button's label can display between nine and twelve characters (due to proportional spacing).
The customize file is automatically loaded by Creo Elements/Direct Modeling the next time you start Creo Elements/Direct Modeling. If you want to load the file without exiting Creo Elements/Direct Modeling:
1. In the user input line, type (LOAD "sd_customize") and press ENTER.
ADD_TOOLBOX_BUTTON :ACTION "POLYGON" :LABEL "My Polygon" COMPLETE ADD_TOOLBOX_BUTTON :ACTION "(SHOW-WID \"MACHINE-DS\")" :LABEL "My Machining" COMPLETE ADD_TOOLBOX_BUTTON :ACTION "EXTRUDE" :LABEL "My Extrude" COMPLETE
Customizing the Dynamic Mouse
If you have window manager functionality connected to the Control button plus a mouse button, you must reconfigure either your window manager or the mouse dynamic translations.
Reconfigure mouse dynamic translations by adding the following lines to the .Xdefaults or VUE resource file:
You can replace Ctrl by any other modifier key, for example, Shift Mod1 ... (Use X-client xmodmap to query or define new modifier keys.) For example, if you want to define function key [F8] as Mod5 use:
Default: 360 - (set-dyn-mouse-z-rotation-boundary circle) 0 < circle < 1
Default: 0.8 = 80 % Circle
Customizing the Dynamic Viewing LISP Functions
The LISP function for customizing dynamic viewing is as follows:
(set-dynamic-redraw-mode :wire)
or
(set-dynamic-redraw-mode :edged)
or
(set-dynamic-redraw-mode :shaded)
or
(set-dynamic-redraw-mode :default)
The default mode is "edged" and "shaded". Setting the mode to "wire", "edged" or "shaded" makes dynamic viewing faster.
Customizing the 3D Note Interface
You can use the following customization routine to register additional 3D Note categories. By default, the 3D Note menu provides the following 3D Note categories at startup:
• Generic
• Engineering
• Manufacturing (Mfg.)
• Inspection
To modify, add to, or delete any of these defaults, it is recommended to include calls to this function in the following customization file:
Key to new 3D Note category to add to the 3D Note interface.
Label[string]
Label to be displayed for the new category in the 3D Note interface.
Selection[select-focus]
Allowed types of select foci to which 3D Notes of this category can be attached.
Delete[Boolean]
If t, then the supplied category is removed from the allowed categories displayed in the 3D Note interface.
• Example 1:
The following routine will add a new 3D Note category labeled Body Note, which allows you to attach 3D Notes of this category only to parts or assemblies.
See
Using mathematical expressions for information about using expressions directly in dialogs. This section explains how to use expressions in LISP macro files and the user input line.
Expressions are what most people call formulas. They can consist of numbers, strings, variables, functions, and operators that can be evaluated down to a single result. For example, 1+1 is a simple expression that can be evaluated to the result 2.
LISP expressions are based on prefix notation (operator and then arguments), the expression 1+1 is not valid but (+ 1 1) is. The table below summarizes some of the more useful expressions and includes examples for each.
Expressions based on angles (sin, cos, tan, and so on) use radian values.
Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Expressions (Examples to Two Decimal Places)
Expression
Means
Examples
(* number number)
(+ number number)
(-number number)
(/ number number)
multiplication
addition
subtraction
division
(* 12 5 4) [240]
(+ 10 20 45) [75]
(- 100 5 75) [20]
(/ 100 5 2) [10]
pi
an approximate value for pi
(SIN number)
(COS number)
(TAN number)
the sine of the argument
the cosine of the argument
the tangent of the argument
(SIN (/ pi 2)) [1]
(COS (* pi 2)) [1]
(TAN (/ pi 4)) [1]
(ACOS number)
principal value of the angle having a cosine equal to the argument
(ACOS 1) [0]
(ASIN number
principal value of the angle having a sine equal to the argument
(ASIN 0) [0]
(ATAN number)
principal value of the angle having a tangent equal to the argument
(ATAN (/ pi 2)) [1.00]
(SQRT number)
the square root of its argument
(SQRT 144) [12]
Creating output files for complementary applications
You can create output files from Creo Elements/Direct Modeling configured specifically for use with complementary applications. With IGES as the standard, you can set up defaults for how the Save IGES option box will be filled out.
You can add additional user interface buttons to the File menu to make it even more convenient to create output files for each complementary application.
To create a button for the complementary application
1. Click File > Edit File. The File Browser opens.
2. Specify the name for the file, sd_customize. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling displays the contents of the file.
The directory personality/partners in the Creo Elements/Direct Modeling environment contains a set of predefined configuration files.
3. Use the editor to add lines similar to the following lines to the file:
(register-iges-output-button "my application name"
"myapplicationname.cfg" "myapplicationname.igs")
The first parameter is for the name of the button, the second parameter is the name of the configuration file, and the last parameter is the name of the IGES output file.
The button's label can display between nine and twelve characters (due to proportional spacing).
The customize file is automatically loaded by Creo Elements/Direct Modeling the next time you start Creo Elements/Direct Modeling.
4. Set up the defaults for the output files created for the application as follows:
a. Click the new button in the External menu (in File).
b. Change the names or set the parameters as desired in the Save IGES option box.
c. Click Save Config in the Save IGES option box to save this configuration as the default.
The Save IGES option box will now display the defaults you just set whenever you create an output file for your complementary application by clicking the new button. You can also modify the configuration file with a text editor. This gives access to even more configuration switches which are not represented in the user interface.
To create a complementary application output file
1. Click File at the top of the screen.
2. Click External (in File).
3. Click the complementary application button you added to the External menu. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling displays the Save IGES option box with the defaults you set up when you created the button.
4. Complete the Save IGES option box and select the items to save as described in
Save or export files.
. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling adds the button to the Toolbox. Clicking the button starts the corresponding command or displays the menu.
Note.