Turning off snap lines via config.pro

Blank the layer. Haven't done it but think I've read you can set layer visibility via config option. Could also create the layer in template and blank it.

Oops. Sorry, I do this all the time; get something set up and forget exactly how it works. I have a def_layer layer_snap_line statement in config pro to collect them.

Hey Mike,

If you are talking about the snap lines while in the sketcher, you can turn off the snap lines with the following option:

grid_snap=no

Curiously though, this option is set no by default which means someone needed to set it in the config.pro to "yes".

If that isn't what you meant you could try (although I have no idea what this does, but Jeff Howard above was talking about layers),

def_layer=layer_snap_line

Hope this helps.

--Adam Joseph Cook, Mechanical Engineer

Drawing snap lines. I hadn't considered the snap / draft grid might be what Mike was referring to.

Something I just discovered: There's some stuff shows on Tools > Environment when in drawing mode (I had no idea it was "context sensitive"). Snap line visibility is one of them. I can't find anything about a corresponding config pro option, though.

"Mike" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...

There are dozens of unconfigurable behaviors in Pro/e. Some, like Snap Lines, have an "Environment" setting to temporarily turn them off. Most have no way to change the default behavior and many have no way to change the behavior at all. Default start parts were a kludgy way of getting around this deficiency, by storing some of the defaults in the part itself. For example, if you could figure out how to change the display of hidden lines and could save it in the part, if you figured out how to change the default modelling "WORLD" size and could save this in your part or you figured out how to change the default shading color and saved that etc. But, in truth, dozens of behaviors are uncofigurable, especially through something like program configuration settings. In fact, you never change the default behavior of Pro/e: every time you start it up, it starts with the same default setting; all that happens is that your Pro/e trips over settings modifications in config.pro, color.map, syscol.scl, ansi.dtl, tree.cfg, smtdsnsetup.smd, layout001.pro, config.mech and a dozen other chintzy, cheap, cheesy, obscure little configuration modification files salted all over your system. None of these chintzy, cheesy little configuration files (including config.pro) will change the default setting of the dimension cleanup routine to uncheck "create snaplines" as the default. Boo on cheap, cheesy, half-assed PTC. They could straighten all this mess out, including giving us a decent default text editor, making OLE objects look and print correctly and provide a decent table/spreadsheet-type editor, if only they could spend the money on Pro/e, instead of buying another company or two, whenever they get a little spare cash burning a hole in their corporate pockets. America: a land of contrasts (cheap and cheesy spendthrifts, for example ~ cheap on you, spendthrifts on themselves, in pursuit of some drunken, deluded fantasy).

Sorry, Mike, the layers suggestion was the best, so far. And that one is, still, very much start part dependent (i.e. doesn't "turn off" snaplines in parts/drawings created with a different start part, doesn't create the layers in parts missing them, doesn't move snap lines automatically to those layers.) Not quite the general solution you were looking for. Maybe there's some Java developers out there that know if a java app run through J-link could do the trick here.

I assume you mean "move existing snap lines automatically ..."? Defining a def_layer will place newly created snap lines on a layer. For existing drawings use the Find function (Look for: Snap Line).

I thought it might be possible to use a blank_layer statement in config.pro to blank the layer when retrieving but I think that might be a wash if ...

Blanks specified layers when you begin a Pro/ENGINEER session. The value is the layer ID. This is valid for layer IDs 1 - 32 only. This is provided for compatibility of pre-Release 9.0 objects. Once the object is stored in Release 9.0 or later, this option is no longer necessary.

... is correct (maybe there was no Save Status prior to 9)?

Anyway I tried "blank_layer snaplines" (my layer name) and it didn't seem to have any effect. Maybe 'twould work if I used layer ID as it says but I don't define ID numbers (I've never figured out if there's good reason to do so or even if "ID" means the number or the name interchangeably).

In the layer tree, under Settings, go to the last item, Setup File. If you have consistently named layers, just do save and it creates a file that saves and will load your default layer status each time you open a file. Don't know for sure if it has to be in the same loadpoint as config.pro. But, as I said before, there's a confusing mishmash of such setup files. BTW, it's just an ASCI file so it invites manual editing. Classy, huh.

That's interesting, will have to look into it. Is it a read on startup or a way to save so you can read it in at a later date like alternate model tree configs (which is all I've use them for)?

Really, though, if controlling visibility via layers is what Mike wants to do he'll just Save Status.

Well, they can certainly be confusing. I've sorta come to grips with them and being able to save project related configurations in start up directories, etc. is something I like. I don't see where being (almost ) man readable detracts anything. One thing I'm sure of: given the choice between Pro/E's configuration file scheme and a Windoze Registry scheme I prefer Pro/E's hands down.

Overall; some interesting, possibly valid, if not universally accepted, perspectives.

Addressing some Snap Line specifics:

Is it possible to create Snap Lines in part or assembly? No, there will be none to find and there's no use for the layer in part or assembly.

That is correct.

Adding a snap_line def_layer to config.pro will do that transparently.

I guess you could say that. Once you've explicitly or implicitly created Snap Lines and their visibility annoys; blank the layer, Save Status, done with it until you want to see them again. Now that I see there's a control in (drawing mode) Environment I'm not so sure a mapkey to toggle wouldn't be just as nifty as using layer visibility control. Dunno, I don't have much more interest than the OP re the subject. Just not a biggie in my book. (My current Biggie is trying to figure out how one might make up for the lack of Xsec Exclude by Rule. Now that's a glaring omission in my book. Any tips?)

I don't know. I'm trying, as time goes by, to figure out how I might best manage drawing setup. I'm drifing away from the use of drawing templates (I have no use for 'predefined' front, top, etc. drawing views) and putting all the border entities in a format. Layers aren't carried from format to drawing. Suppose one might set up a template with predefined layers and visibility status but what's the point, really? I'm going to, during the course of creating the views, be doing a lot of layer manipulation anyway.