Tool Palette Support File Actions with BricsCAD Not Running
Are there any tool palette support file actions where it is recommended not to have an active session of BricsCAD running?
I had seen this mentioned on this forum but cannot locate the thread.
Thanks,
Clint
Comments
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Hello.
The tool pallete files are, basically, xml files.
If you want to edit them as such, then, indeed, you could close Bricscad first.However, this way of working is not recommended because it is prone to errors.
Usually, to work with the tool palette files, you need to start a Bricscad session and create a new drawing.
Then, the Tool Palettes panel can be displayed.
From there, you can perform various actions with the tool palettes - edit, change, import, export, ...1 -
Just a comment " tool pallete files are, basically, xml files." your CUI files are xml files and a cuix think Acad is actually a zip of a cui. Ren CUIX to zip and can look inside.
As mentioned the xml files are very complex repeating patterns, edit at your own risk.
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The tool palette files are cached during your BricsCAD session, and written out to disk on closing. Any edits you made during the session would be blown away.
With BricsCAD closed you can work with the xml files. The main thing I change is stripping out explicit path references, so just the filename is left. I then add the related folder to the SRCHPATH. this gives the flexibility of sharing the tool palette setup with other uses that may have different folder paths.
Jason Bourhill
CAD Concepts Ltd
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Hi Jason,
I intend to share the custom tool palette files with our users storing them in the default tool palette folder in the installation directory. Are there any reasons not to place the custom tool palettes here?
Your suggestion to strip out explicit path references appears to be critical to a successful release to my user base.
Regards,
Clint Hill
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Hi Alan,
I intend to strip out explicit file paths only per Jason's comments.
Regards,
Clint Hill
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If your running on a server based network for all users then only have one tool palette and save it on the server, and as suggested add a support path much easier, if you make a changes to the tool palette or a menu etc the next time a user starts cad the changes will be there. Our area was 8 users so could do an update adding a feature say a new lisp go to a user who requested and just get them to close CAD and reopen so they could test. Our server had all mnu's blocks, std dwg's and more in 4 directories.
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Alan,
Thank you.
The plan is to have engineering users access this BricsCAD customization from files stored in the company cloud in a secure area that will contain all custom files including the custom tool palettes.*
QUESTION
To confirm my understanding prior to testing:
With tool palettes set up on my local computer drive and the BricCAD default installation support path, will these tool palettes work on others' computers without changing paths in the internal tool palette file code?
An internal programmer will allow BricsCAD users to access and download the customs stored in the cloud to their hard drive and notifications will be sent to have users initiate these cloud downloads. After initial download, subsequent updates to the custom files will be based on file dates, installing the later dates.
I am working with a outside contract developer to code the BricsCAD custom startup. This includes code within two (2) key files:
on_start.lsp
on_doc_load.lsp
(*) The company LAN supports manufacturing staff network at our manufacturing plant only.
Regards,
Clint Hill
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We have a sample BricsCAD setup that includes examples of tool palettes.
I haven't tested in recent releases, but potentially you just need to ensure that the files referenced by your tool palettes are available on your search path. If this is the case, then you don't need to edit the tool palette files.
To allow users to create their own tool palettes and keep them separate from company ones, you can set the TOOLPALETTEPATH to multiple folder locations. BricsCAD defaults to creating new tool palettes in the first folder listed on the TOOLPALETTEPATH. If you set this to a user location, followed by the company location, then it will create this separation.
If your tool palettes are mainly for simple block insertion, then I would check out using the content browser as an alternative. It is more dynamic than tool palettes.
Jason Bourhill
CAD Concepts Ltd
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"With tool palettes set up on my local computer drive" like lisp files wether there on a user pc or on a server I only had the lisp name not the path, so you had to set the support path for them to work. You could run yours locally by just having a support path at top of list pointing to your local drive, the support path reads from top to bottom once found stops looking in support paths.
We had 2 users with laptops so they needed to work remote so you can set up two icons in the desktop icons you set the profile that will be used, one has all the paths set to the laptop the other profile has the paths set to the server. You could set yours up this way so make a new program and test on your pc, then copy to cloud and run the other profile so your looking on cloud. it should be a \P "c:\myargs\alan.arg"
Click on your desktop icon use Ctrl&c then Ctrl&v and you will have your new icon I renamed the new icon in properties eg Laptop.
Oh yeah a ps in Acad profiles are in Options. in Bricscad its "PROFILEMANAGER"
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Jason,
I will check out the content browser. I need to investigate the options the content browser has compared to those that are available with the tool palettes such as preset properties and ability to explode and rotate at insertion.
Thanks,
Clint Hill
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Hi Alan,
I will investigate your intriguing points.
Thanks very much!
Clint Hill
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Hello Jason B.,
My custom tool palettes were removed and had to be imported after installing and accessing the CCL custom content installation and its tool palettes. Why? What type of mechanism maintains the availability of custom tool palettes even if the user adds their own tool palettes?
The mastery of the tool palette is proving elusive to date.
Best regards,
Clint Hill
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Alan, Jason
Are there types of customizations where the profile (.ARG file) is not advantageous to company- customization?
Best regards,
Clint Hill
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The profile remembers your current settings like support paths, so loading a different profile can be totally different support paths the same applies also to workspaces. Plus I am sure more.
I never used cloud or toolspace so at a disadvantage. Can only comment that I supported around 15 users but had fibre optic server backbone, so speed was never a problem and never used cloud or toolpalette.
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I have am familiar with profiles and workspaces for my own use in the past. With this customization, the plan is to make available company-custom CAD content and programs while the user maintains their own personal settings by using a partial company CUI and by adding a tool palette support file path to make tool palette content. This likely will involve some type of profile.
The tool palette has unique custom insertion options such as property assignment (layer) and exploded/non-exploded, rotate option, etc.
FIRST TIME…
First time rolling a mass customization supporting at least two dozen users (have a contract developer to assist).
First time using tool palettes instead of a block library.
First time in an organization that has a majority of remote users working off a cloud-based network.
I appreciate your continued concern and interest. I am still building content for the tool bar and also have about a dozen LISP-based programs to include in menus and buttons for toolbars, ribbon panels, etc.
Regards,
Clint Hill
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Assume that you have run our sample BricsCAD setup
To avoid upsetting any existing BricsCAD setup, this has been setup by design to run in isolation to any existing BricsCAD setup.
You should be able to switch back to your setup by going to the User Profile Manager and setting your profile as the default. The installer offers to create shortcuts on your desktop to do this too.
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Profiles (.ARG) files work great when the folder locations on the user machines are the same. If users are downloading your customisation to a different folder location, then the profile will not work.
Jason Bourhill
CAD Concepts Ltd
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Jason I agree, we had Laptops that were taken out of the office so they had two desktop icons, one for in office, the other for out of office, each icon had a different profile setting. The menu's etc were different depending on the profile used. A simple user choice.
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