Data Management > Data Management > Opening Objects and Documents > About Opening CAD Documents in a Creo Application of Your Choice
About Opening CAD Documents in a Creo Application of Your Choice
You can use the File > Open in Creo option from the Actions menu or right-click a CAD Document or server object on a Windchill page and select the Open In > Open in Creo action to open the server objects and CAD Documents in their native Creo applications. To open the server objects and CAD Documents in additional Creo applications, you can use the Open with action in the Creo embedded browser or the standalone browser.
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It is recommended that you set the Open With Creo App server preference to yes so that the Open with action is available in the Creo embedded browser and the standalone browser and you can select a Creo application of your choice for the CAD Documents or server objects. If you do not set the Open With Creo App server preference, the Open with action is not available and you can only open the CAD Documents or server objects in their native Creo applications.
The Open With dialog box opens when you right-click a CAD Document or object on a Windchill page in the Creo embedded browser or the standalone browser and select the Open with action on the shortcut menu. The Open With dialog box lists the Creo applications that are appropriate and valid for the file type of the selected server object or CAD Document. The application that is most appropriate by default for the file type of the selected server object or CAD Document is the first on the list followed by other Creo applications that were previously added. You can select the default Creo application or one of the recommended Creo applications that is installed on your computer in the Open With dialog box. For example, if Creo applications such as Creo Direct, Creo Simulate, and Creo View are installed on your computer in addition to Creo Parametric, you can open a .prt or .asm file in Creo Parametric, Creo Simulate, or Creo Direct with Creo Parametric set as the default application for the.prt and .asm files. You can include Creo Elements/Direct as another valid application in the Open With dialog box. Similarly, you can open a .drw file in Creo Elements/Direct or Creo View with Creo Parametric set as the default application.
When applications share the same file extensions, a Creo application is defined by default on your computer for these server objects and CAD Documents. You can set an application as the default when you install various Creo applications on your computer. For example, Creo Parametric is the default application for .prt and .asm files even if they were created and last saved in Creo Direct. You can change the default Creo application in the Open With dialog box and include other valid Creo applications.
When you use the Open with action from a standalone browser to open a server object or CAD Document in a Creo application that is in session, the Open with action opens a new session of the Creo application. If the Creo application you select in the Open With dialog box is not running on your computer, the Open with action launches the application on your computer.
When you use the Open with action from the Creo embedded browser to open the server object or CAD Document in the Creo application in which the browser is embedded, the server object or CAD Document opens in the current session of the application. However, if you select a Creo application that is different from the application in which the browser is embedded, the Creo embedded browser launches the selected application.
If the selected object or CAD Document belongs to an inactive workspace of a registered server, you are prompted to activate the workspace for the object. In addition to opening server objects and CAD Documents in the appropriate Creo applications, you can also view the server information in the standalone browser.