Detailed Drawings > Annotating the Drawing > Working with Symbols > Defining Symbols > Setting the Symbol Directory > To Set the User-Defined Symbols Area
  
To Set the User-Defined Symbols Area
Creo Parametric is set up to store and access symbols in two different areas:
user-defined symbols area is the default storage area for special or user-created symbols.
system symbols area is usually designated as read-only and contains standard symbols  provided  with the Detailed Drawings module, such as the Welding Symbols Library.
To specify the directory in which you want to store user-defined symbols, set the configuration file option pro_symbol_dir. This automatically creates a search path to the specified directory. All symbols are saved into and retrieved from this directory by default if you add this option to your configuration file. If you change the location, the system does not delete symbols used in the drawing; once you add them, it stores the definitions locally in the drawing.
You should establish a single directory as your user library for all standard symbols. If you do not specify one, the system searches in the current working directory. You can change the default area for user-defined symbols by entering a new value for the pro_symbol_dir configuration file option. When you change this directory, you do not have to modify the configuration file; however, this change is valid only for the current session. Use this option to define new symbols that you store in a local or temporary directory; you can still easily retrieve symbols from the standard symbols area.