02 - Navigating The User Interface
02 - Navigating The User Interface
Settings .................................................................................................................... 8
File ......................................................................................................................... 16
Edit ......................................................................................................................... 16
i
Table of Contents
View ....................................................................................................................... 16
Insert ...................................................................................................................... 16
Operation ............................................................................................................... 17
Window .................................................................................................................. 18
Help........................................................................................................................ 18
Selecting Options from the Menu Bar with the Keyboard ....................................... 18
Customizing Menus................................................................................................ 33
ii
Navigating the User Interface: Introduction
iii
Navigating the User
Interface
Navigating the User Interface:
Introduction
This section introduces the main areas of the PC-DMIS user interface. This section also
highlights ways to customize some of PC-DMIS's graphical options to best meet
individual needs. (Additional information on these available options can be found in the
"Editing the CAD Display: Introduction" section.)
Each topic listed below illustrates a specific feature of the interface. The following are
covered in this section:
PC-DMIS provides the flexibility for you to use the mouse or keyboard to enter
commands or select options. PC-DMIS also provides shortcut menus and shortcut keys
to frequently-used commands. See the "Using Shortcut Keys and Shortcut Menus:
Introduction" section.
1
Navigating the User Interface
1. The title bar displays the PC-DMIS version information, its Offline or Online state,
and if it's in administrator mode. If PC-DMIS is Online, it also displays the name
of the machine.
2. The menu bar contains the menus and menu items available from the PC-DMIS
application. For information, see "The Menu Bar".
2
The User Interface
3. The toolbar area contains toolbars with frequently used commands. You can
right-click in the toolbar area to access these toolbars. See "The Toolbar Area".
4. The Graphic Display window presents graphic representations of the part (the top
view is shown in the illustration). The size of this area remains constant.
However, you can divide the display area into as many as four different views of
the part. For information, see "The Graphic Display Window".
5. Dialog boxes are the main communication channels between PC-DMIS and the
user. Available features appear in the dialog box, and you can enter most input
data through it. For information, see "Dialog Box Description".
6. The Edit window displays the measurement routine. This window allows you to
access specific commands within the measurement routine and make changes to
meet individual specifications. See the "Editing a Measurement Routine:
Introduction" and "Using the Edit Window: Introduction" chapters for fully
documented operations of the Edit window.
7. The status bar displays information important to the current operation. This
includes information such as the probe's current position, the probe calibration
data, standard deviation of the last feature measured, the number of hits, and
other information. It also contains a message area to display prompts and
pertinent information about the operation in progress. For more information, see
"The Status Bar".
3
Navigating the User Interface
The Home page is the first screen you see in PC-DMIS before you open a
measurement routine. It's also the screen you see if you close all measurement routines
but not the application. The Home page contains different views (such as Home,
Recent, Favorites, Open, and Discover) that let you access measurement routines on
your computer and perform other actions. The Home page also provides useful links to
community sites, news, and product videos.
You can still use File | Open and File | New to open and create measurement routines.
By default, the Home page is visible when you start PC-DMIS and you don't
load a measurement routine. If you don't see it, you may need to enable it. To do that,
mark the Show Home Page check box in the General tab of the Setup Options dialog
box (Edit | Preferences | Setup). For information, see "Show Home Page" in the
"Setting Your Preferences" chapter.
4
The Home Page
• Home - This view provides tiles to create or open measurement routines. It also
has its own Recent and Favorites embedded views. Recent here shows a row
of tiles for the most recent measurement routines. Favorites here shows a row of
tiles for the most recent items that you marked as favorites.
• New - This view shows templates from which you can create new measurement
routines. When you first use PC-DMIS, this view contains these out-of-the box
templates:
o Blank Template - This creates a simple measurement routine, similar to
the measurement routine creation from the File | New menu.
o Portable Execution Template - This creates a measurement routine
intended for execution by portable devices.
o Q-DAS Export Template - This creates a measurement routine with pre-
existing statistics and tracefield commands to export measurement info to
the Q-DAS software.
You can also modify any existing measurement routine and use it as a template.
For more information, see "Using Measurement Routine Templates" below.
• Recent - This view shows tiles for all the recent measurement routines. It can
show more than the single row of recent measurement routines available in the
Home view.
• Favorites - This view shows tiles for all the items that you marked as favorites. It
can show more than the single row of recent favorites available in the Home
view.
• Open - This view shows tiles for any measurement routines or sub-folders within
defined folders.
By default, PC-DMIS shows the contents of this folder for the current
version:
C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Hexagon\PC-DMIS\2020 R1
You can define additional folders or hide folders from Settings if you run
PC-DMIS as an administrator.
• Discover - With an Internet connection, this view shows these two tabs:
o Videos - This tab provides a list of videos that showcase items, such as:
o PC-DMIS product highlights
o PC-DMIS how-to videos
o Related products
o Example Routines - This tab provides a list of example measurement
routines with commands already in them to perform specific tasks or
5
Navigating the User Interface
o You can use the ... menu on the tile to download measurement
routines to the default measurement routine directory and add them
to Favorites. You can also hover your pointer over measurement
• Settings - This view shows the settings for the Home page.
Initial View
Initially, from the Home page's right pane, you can see links for these items. Most of
these require an Internet connection to access:
• What's New
• Visit the Forums
• Got a Suggestion?
• Newsletter (available only if you have a current Software Maintenance
Agreement)
6
The Home Page
• Need Support?
• Online Shop
Path - This text shows the folder path to the selected measurement routine.
Preview Pane - This area displays the CAD preview image if the measurement
routine uses a CAD file. You can click Set image as thumbnail to create a
thumbnail from the CAD preview image. You must run PC-DMIS as administrator
to change this thumbnail.
Favorite - In this area, you can click the star icon to add the measurement routine
to favorites or to remove it from favorites.
Nickname - This box lets you type a nickname for the measurement routine. The
actual file name in your folder structure is unaffected. The nickname only affects
the name that you see in the Favorite view.
Open Online - This option determines whether to open the measurement routine
in Offline or Online mode. This option appears only if you have Online and Offline
on your license.
Include CAD - This option determines whether you want to open the CAD file
associated with the measurement routine.
Open Folder Explorer - This button appears when you access the Discover tab
from the left pane and then click on an example measurement routine. This button
opens File Explorer to the folder for the downloaded example measurement
routine. The button becomes unavailable once you download the example
measurement routine.
7
Navigating the User Interface
Once you select a template from the New tab, the right pane changes to shows details
for the measurement routine you want to create. The New Measurement Routine
dialog box from File | New contains this same information:
Nickname - This box defines the nickname for the measurement routine. By
default, this matches the name of the template you selected. For more
information, see "Nickname" above.
Part Name - This box defines the name of your part. The .prg file that PC-DMIS
creates also uses this same name.
Location - This box defines the folder where you want to create the measurement
routine.
Serial Number - This box defines the unique serial number for the part. This item
is optional.
Revision Number - This box defines the revision number for the part or the
measurement routine. This item is optional.
Units - This list defines whether the measurement routine uses millimeters or
inches for the units of measure. The units needs to match the units of the template
tile you selected.
Create - This button uses the above information and creates the measurement
routine in the location folder.
Create Online - This option defines whether the measurement routine is an offline
measurement routine (not connected to the machine) or an online measurement
routine (connected to the machine).
Settings
From the Home page, these are the available settings. To access the settings, you need
to meet these conditions:
8
The Home Page
General Settings
Current Theme - This changes the look of the application between Dark and Light.
You must re-start the application to see the new theme.
Internet Access - These two options let you customize Internet access for the Home
page:
Allow Automatic Internet Access (News) - This option enables the top-right
news panel.
Allow Manual Internet Access (Links) - This option enables all links to the
Internet, these include the links on Home and the measurement routines and
movies on Discover.
When disabled, the Home page has no access to items on the Internet.
Folder Explorer
PC-DMIS Routine Locations - In this section, you can click Create New User Folder
to create new user-defined folder settings with pathways to folders with pre-defined or
custom extensions. You can only make changes in this section if you run PC-DMIS as
an administrator.
Label - This option provides a simple label for the folder that appears under the
folder in the other views. If you don't type anything here, the software uses the
default file or folder name.
Path - This option shows the pathway for the user-defined folder. You can define
the pathway when you create it. If you want to change the path, you need to
delete the specific user-defined folder setting and recreate it.
Extensions - This box filters the files that PC-DMIS shows in the Home page. You
can define this filter when you click Create New User Folder. You can add
multiple filters as long as you separate them with commas. For example, you can
type or select *.prg to show PC-DMIS measurement routines. You can type *.* to
show all the files. If you want to change the extension, and you've already defined
a user-defined folder setting, you need to delete the specific user-defined folder
setting and recreate it.
9
Navigating the User Interface
- Toggle Folder Visibility - This option changes the visibility state of the user-
defined folder. With this option, you can hide folders so they don't appear in This
PC.
- Delete This Setting - This option removes the user-defined folder setting.
The actual folder in Windows Explorer remains untouched.
Create New User Folder - This linked text adds a new user-defined folder setting
that you can define.
The ... menu resides on top of measurement routine tiles on the Home page. To show
the ... menu, click on a measurement routine tile. This menu shows a list of common
actions you can do with the measurement routine. Some of these options are identical
to those contained on the Details pane. You may find these options useful if you don't
want to use the Details pane to perform them:
• Open - This menu item opens the routine for edit or execution.
• Add Favorite - This menu item adds the routine to the Favorite view.
• Add Template - This menu item only appears if you run PC-DMIS as an
administrator. It creates a template from the measurement routine. An Add
Template dialog box opens so that you can type a name and description for the
template. A template is helpful if you have commands you want to use over and
over in new measurement routines. You can set up those commands in a
measurement routine and create a template from it. For more information on this
process, see "Using Measurement Routine Templates".
• Remove Favorite - This menu item removes the measurement routine from the
Favorite view.
• Remove Recent - This menu item removes the measurement routine from the
Recent view.
10
The Home Page
• Edit Template - This menu item only appears if you run PC-DMIS as an
administrator. It shows an Edit Template dialog box so that you can modify a
template description.
• Remove Template - This menu item removes the template from the New view.
Creating a Routine
1. From the Home page, click Home.
2. Click the New Routine tile to show the New Measurement Routine dialog box.
3. Fill out the dialog box and click OK to close the dialog box.
By default, the template includes all the commands from the first LOADPROBE and TIP
commands to the end of the measurement routine.
PC-DMIS stores the template in a folder that matches your template name at this
location:
C:\ProgramData\Hexagon\PC-DMIS\2020 R1\Templates\
11
Navigating the User Interface
If you want to include only parts of your measurement routine as template commands,
you can control that with some special start and end Document comments.
The commands between the template start and template end comments
are what PC-DMIS adds into the new measurement routine when you create it
from the template. PC-DMIS excludes commands that are outside of those
comments.
1. From the Home page, from the left pane click New to show the available
templates.
2. From the New view, choose the template from which you want to create a new
measurement routine.
3. From the right pane, fill out the following:
• In Part Name, type the name for the part. PC-DMIS uses this in the
measurement routine's filename.
• In Location, define where to store the measurement routine.
• Fill out Serial Number and Revision Number as needed.
• In Units, select the same units as used by the template.
• If PC-DMIS is in Online mode and you have the PC-DMIS functionality for
offline measurement routines, decide if you want to connect the
measurement routine to the machine or if it's an offline measurement
routine. If you want it to connect to the machine, turn on the Create
Online option. If you want an offline measurement routine, turn off the
Create Online option.
4. Click Create to create the measurement routine.
12
The Home Page
1. In the File Explorer, navigate to this folder where PC-DMIS stores the templates:
C:\ProgramData\Hexagon\PC-DMIS\2020 R1\Templates
2. Locate the folder for your template. The folder name is the same as the template
name.
3. Inside that folder, open either the MM or Inch folder.
4. Double-click the .prg to open it inside of PC-DMIS.
5. Modify and save that .prg.
Another way to modify the template is to modify the original measurement routine, and
then re-create the template with the same name.
Removing a Template
From the New view, you can modify the template's description:
Opening a Routine
1. From the Home page, click on one of these views: Home, Recent, Favorites, or
Open.
2. Double-click on the tile that you want to open. Or, you can click once on a tile,
and from the ... menu, click Open.
13
Navigating the User Interface
You can also use the ... menu to add an item to Favorites. For information, see "The ...
Menu".
You can also use the ... menu to remove an item from Favorites. For information, see
"The ... Menu".
14
The Menu Bar
The next time you close all your routines, you won't see the Home page.
The topics below give a brief description of each menu. For additional information, see
the appropriate chapter as needed. PC-DMIS also provides a variety of shortcut menus.
15
Navigating the User Interface
These menus are discussed in the "Using Shortcut Keys and Shortcut Menus:
Introduction" chapter.
To get help on specific menu items, position your mouse pointer over the menu item,
and press F1.
File
The File menu lets you open, save, and print files, access the Edit window, run
measurement routines with the Execute Mode, and exit out of current measurement
routines. See the "Using Basic File Options: Introduction" and "Using Advanced File
Options: Introduction" chapters for more information.
Edit
The Edit menu allows you to edit your measurement routine preferences, your
measurement routine, or the CAD display.
View
The view menu allows you to access all the windows, editors, and toolbars available to
PC-DMIS. See the "Using Other Windows, Editors, and Tools: Overview" chapter for
complete information.
Insert
The bulk of a measurement routine's commands can be accessed from the Insert
menu.
16
The Menu Bar
Most of the chapters comprising this documentation come from the options and
submenus displayed on this menu.
Operation
The items on the Operation menu are discussed in various topics of the
documentation.
17
Navigating the User Interface
Window
The Window menu allows you to manage the display of all open measurement
routines. See the "Navigating and Displaying Multiple Windows" chapter.
Help
The Help menu provides these menu items:
Index - This item opens the PC-DMIS help file. The help file provides comprehensive
information about PC-DMIS commands, dialog boxes, menu items, messages, and so
on. To activate the PC-DMIS help file, select this item from the Help menu, or press F1
at any time. The first time you run the Help after installation, it may take several
seconds. Thereafter it opens more quickly.
Using Help - This item opens the PC-DMIS help file to the "Using the Online Help"
chapter. The topics there provide hints and tips about searching for and locating
information in the help.
Offline Help - This item determines whether PC-DMIS shows the offline help whenever
you access the Help content. A check mark next to this menu item means PC-DMIS
uses the offline help even if you have Internet access. No check mark means PC-DMIS
uses the online help. If you don't have Internet access and you don't have the offline
help installed, a message appears informing you that you need to either connect to the
Internet or install the offline help.
Release Notes - This item shows the readme.pdf that ships with this version of the
software. The readme.pdf contains information about this version of PC-DMIS.
About - This item opens the About dialog box. This dialog box gives you specific
version and license information. It also provides a unique Machine ID for your
computer, which may be used in some status and notification messages.
18
The Toolbar Area
To open the View menu using the keyboard, press ALT and V (the underlined
letter). Options can be selected from the menu in a similar manner. Simply press the
underlined letter to the corresponding option (i.e., Cut: press the T key).
To do this:
Shortcut keys also have been assigned to many of the options. The shortcut key is
shown to the right of the command or option.
See the "Using Shortcut Keys and Menus" chapter for more information.
1. Select the View | Toolbars submenu and select a toolbar from the menu
provided.
2. Right-click on PC-DMIS's Toolbar area and select a toolbar from the shortcut
menu provided.
Once you have a toolbar in the toolbar area, you can move the toolbar by first clicking
on the space between the left or right edge and a button and then dragging the toolbar
to a different location.
For in-depth information on all of PC-DMIS's toolbars, see the "Using Toolbars" chapter.
19
Navigating the User Interface
The Graphic Display window is an integral part of PC-DMIS. For information on editing
the Graphic Display window and altering the screen display, see "Editing the CAD
Display" chapter.
A. Message Box: The left-most box displays instructions and other information
regarding the current procedure or command.
B. X, Y, and Z boxes: These boxes show the X, Y, and Z position of the probe.
Clicking on any of the three coordinate displays within the status bar will cause
the Auto Move Point dialog box to appear. (See "Inserting a Move Point
Command" in the "Inserting Move Commands" chapter for additional information
regarding DCC Move Point.)
C. W: Angle of Rotary Table.
D. A, B, and C boxes: These boxes show the A, B, and C wrist angles for a three-
axis wrist probe such as a CMS probe. Your wrist probe may only support two
axes. In that case, this portion of the status bar only shows A and B.
E. SD: This shows the standard deviation of the last feature measured.
F. # of Hits: This shows the number of hits currently taken.
20
Dialog Box Description
G. IN/MM: This shows the current unit of measurement used for the measurement
routine.
H. Line: This box displays a number that indicates the current line where the cursor
is located in the Edit report. Col: This text displays a number that indicates the
current column where the cursor is located in the Edit report.
• To increase the size of the status bar, select View | Status Bar | Large. Due to
its increased size, this large status bar only displays the Message, the XYZ , the
SD, the # of Hits:, the Line:, and the Col: boxes.
• To put the status bar back to its normal size, select View | Status Bar | Normal.
• To hide or show the status bar, select View | Status Bar | Hide Status Bar(s).
The graphics illustrate some features common to most dialog boxes in PC-DMIS.
21
Navigating the User Interface
B - List Box
22
Dialog Box Description
D - Check Boxes
E - Command Buttons
F - Tabs
Edit Box
An edit box allows you to type in a desired value or name. In this documentation, edit
boxes are simply referred to as "boxes". Edit boxes common to many of PC-DMIS's
dialog boxes are listed here:
ID= [Feature]
This box shows the Feature or Dimension identification or name for the features or
dimensions to be created.
• You can change only the number portion of the ID and reset the dimension
counter to a desired count.
• You can change the text portion of the ID and set it as the default text for
subsequent dimensions. (See the ID Setup tab of the Setup Options dialog box
in the "Setting Your Preferences" chapter.)
Search ID
23
Navigating the User Interface
In the Search ID box you can type the feature (or dimension) IDs to use in the current
operation. You can use this box to search using meta-character search options. The
feature or dimension IDs will be highlighted in the appropriate Feature List box (or
Dimension List box).
If you type a feature's ID in the Search ID box and press ENTER, PC-DMIS selects that
feature from the Feature List or Dimension List box.
Select Last #
In the Select Last # box, you can select the last of a certain number of features (or
dimensions). For example, if you wanted to select the last four features that were
created, simply type 4 and press the TAB key. PC-DMIS will highlight the features
selected in the Feature List box.
List Box
A list box is similar to an edit box; however, changes cannot be made to the listed
values. This documentation refers to either "list" or "box" for the list box. Lists common
to many of PC-DMIS's dialog boxes are listed here:
A feature list box contains a list of the available features within a measurement routine.
PC-DMIS uses the selected features to define alignments, construct new features,
create dimensions, and perform other tasks. You can select features by following the
24
Dialog Box Description
instructions in the "Selecting Features Using the Graphic Display Window" topic in the
"Editing the CAD display" chapter.
You can also use the Graphical Hit Selection method to select inputs to your
alignment, construction, or dimension. For details, see "Graphical Hit Selection
Method".
You can add new features while the dialog box is open if you use the QuickFeature
functionality. PC-DMIS selects the features in the list as you create them. For more
information on creating QuickFeatures, see "Creating QuickFeatures" in the "Creating
Auto Features" chapter.
A feature displayed in red text with an asterisk (*) to the left of it represents a feature
that has been skipped during measurement routine execution.
You can deselect selected (highlighted) features with the Clear or Clear List buttons.
Clicking the drop-down arrow button located at the top of the Feature List box displays
the various sorting methods available as shown below.
Once a selection is made, the list is automatically sorted based on the selected option.
As new items are added to the list, clicking on the Sort button will re-sort the list based
on the currently sorted options shown on the button. Re-clicking the button will sort the
list in reverse as shown be the up or down arrow to the right of the displayed sorting
method.
25
Navigating the User Interface
• Type - Sorts by feature type. In this case, the feature's ID is used as a secondary
sort criteria.
• Routine - Sorts the list based on the order the feature appears in the
measurement routine.
• Time - Sorts the list based on the times the features were last measured.
The Dimension List box contains a list of all the dimensions that were created within a
measurement routine. You can edit or analyze a dimension by selecting the desired
dimension in the list box and selecting the desired changes or options in the associated
dialog box. You select multiple dimensions at a time by holding down Ctrl or Shift and
clicking on another dimension.
Inside the Edit Dimension Info dialog box, if the dimension already has a Dimension
Info box associated with it, PC-DMIS shows an asterisk (*) symbol next to the
dimension ID in the list. If the dimension info is hidden in all current views, it adds a
number sign (#) symbol next to the ID.
For example, suppose you have a roundness dimension named RND1 for a circle
named CIR4. If the roundness dimension already had a DIMINFO box associated with
it, yet that DIMINFO box was hidden from all views in the Graphic Display window, the
ID in the list would look like this:
26
Dialog Box Description
Option Buttons
The area containing option buttons displays available choices for the dialog box. You
can switch between available choices by clicking on the desired button. When an option
is chosen, a black dot appears to the left of the selected option and all other options are
cleared. You can only select one option button in that area.
Check Boxes
Click on check boxes to turn options on or off. The option is considered "on" when a
check mark appears inside the box. You can select multiple check boxes.
A command button carries out an action. The command buttons that are common to
most dialog boxes in PC-DMIS are listed here:
Apply - This button applies your selections to the dialog box but keeps the dialog
box open for further changes.
OK - This button saves, applies the changes, and closes the dialog box. On some
dialog boxes, this button inserts commands into the Edit window.
Cancel - This button ignores any changes and closes the dialog box.
Delete - This button removes items (such as created features, dimensions, probe
files, alignment information, and so on) from certain list boxes. In the Delete CAD
dialog box, the Delete command button deletes selected nominal features. For
more information, see "Deleting CAD".
Last - This button selects the last item in the associated list box.
Last Two - This button selects the last two items in the associated list box.
Select All - This button selects all the items in the associated list box.
Default - This button updates the default settings of several parameters. When
you create a new measurement routine, it reflects any changes that are stored as
the default values.
The default values are stored in the system registry. You can update these
parameters through the appropriate dialog box or use the PC-DMIS Settings
Editor to edit the registry itself. This application is included with your PC-DMIS
install set. For more information, see "Modifying Registry Entries".
27
Navigating the User Interface
• If you click the OK button without clicking the Default button, the defined
parameters applies only to the active measurement routine and will not
affect the registry entries.
• If you change a parameter and then click the Default button, PC-DMIS
updates the registry entries to redefine the default to the current entry.
The Default button allows you to store and apply new default values to new
measurement routines created later on.
Recall - This button calls back the original factory settings as long as the original
values haven't changed through clicking the Default button. In that case, PC-
DMIS returns the stored values in the registry.
For information on how to use the Machine Options dialog box to restore original
factory settings by reading them from the controller, see "Setting Up the Machine
Interface" in the "Setting Your Preferences" chapter.
Create - This button applies changes made in certain dialog boxes and creates
features, dimensions, scans, and so on. It then places the created item into the
Edit window and the Graphic Display window.
The Create button won't close the dialog box. To close the dialog box, click the
Close button.
Close - This button closes the dialog box. The OK, Apply, or the Create button
doesn't automatically close the dialog box with some dialog boxes (where you may
want to select further options).
Clear - This command button clears the highlight of any selected item from the list
boxes. In some cases, this button completely removes items from certain list
boxes (such as the AB positions from the New Angles List box).
In some dialog boxes and tabs, the Clear button clears any values that were
entered or changed before either the Apply or the OK button was clicked, and
restores the "built in" values in PC-DMIS. If you have used the Default button to
store default values, then PC-DMIS restores those values.
Undo - This button reverses changes that you made using the Apply button (or
the Generate button in DCC scans). Once you click the OK button, you cannot
reverse the changes.
Help - This button opens the online Help topic associated with the current dialog
box.
28
Dialog Box Description
The Edit window has scroll bars for viewing additional data in the window.
To scroll:
29
Navigating the User Interface
PC-DMIS scrolls the text in the scroll arrow's pointed direction. For example, to scroll
down, select the down scroll arrow with the pointer and click the left mouse button.
See the chapters "Editing a Measurement Routine" and "Using the Edit Window" for
complete information regarding the Edit window.
PC-DMIS stores the last position of the various PC-DMIS dialog boxes. When you re-
open the dialog box, it opens the dialog box at the last used location, even across
multiple monitors.
If you move PC-DMIS to another monitor, PC-DMIS resets the dialog box
positions. This means it opens the dialog boxes in their default position on that monitor.
You can dock some dialog boxes and other interface elements inside the rest of the
user interface. You may need to undock these items before you move them. For details
on how to dock and undock UI elements, see "Docking and Undocking User Interface
Elements".
30
Customizing the User Interface
1. Close PC-DMIS.
2. Navigate to the directory where you installed PC-DMIS.
3. Access the directory that corresponds to your Windows user profile.
4. Delete the file named menu_xxx.dat where xxx refers to the three letter code for
the language you're running. For English, delete menu_eng.dat.
5. Restart PC-DMIS. It will use the default user interface.
31
Navigating the User Interface
To modify font attributes, access the Font Setup dialog box by selecting the Edit |
Preferences | Fonts menu option. Use this dialog box to change font attributes,
including font, size, and style for the main user interface; for the Graphic Display
window; and for the Edit window.
• Application Font - This changes the font of the main application. This
includes the lists on the Settings toolbar, the Preview window, the
Readout window, the status bar, message boxes, and so on.
• Graphic Font - This changes the font for text in the Graphic Display
window. This affects feature labels, Dimension Info and Point Info text
boxes, and so on. The Color list on the Font dialog box that appears sets
the background color for CAD GD&T characteristic IDs. For information on
these characteristic IDs, see "Working with CAD GD&T Callouts" in the
"Editing the CAD Display" chapter.
32
Customizing the User Interface
• Edit Window Font - This changes the font for the Edit window. For a
recommended font for the Edit window, see the note below.
3. From the Font dialog box, use the lists and select your font changes.
4. Click OK to close the Font dialog box.
5. From the Font Setup dialog box, click OK to accept your change.
You can use any font available on your computer system; however, some fonts
don't have a uniform spacing. This can make some components more difficult to read.
For the Edit window text, we recommend that you use a monospace, fixed-width font,
such as the Courier New font. Otherwise, characters, lines, and headings may not line
up as expected.
This slider scales the size of any GD&T CAD elements that appear in the Graphic
Display window. Each increment above or below the midpoint increases or decreases
the font by 10%. The font size changes dynamically as you adjust the slider. Click OK to
keep the changed font size.
Customizing Menus
To customize the menus on the menu bar:
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option.
2. Select the Menu tab.
33
Navigating the User Interface
You can use this tab to add new menu items, move existing menu items, or remove
menu items from the menu bar altogether.
You can use the Use large menus check box to show all menu items in a larger font.
PC-DMIS will need to restart to apply the large menu sizes.
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option, and click the Menu tab.
2. Navigate to the menu item you want to move on PC-DMIS's actual menu bar (not
the tree view menu list in the Menu tab).
3. Select the desired menu item.
4. Drag it to the new position. As you drag the item through the menu structure, a
small red arrow appears, indicating where you want to add the item.
5. Release the mouse button. The menu item is moved from its original location to
the new location.
6. Click OK to accept your changes and close the Customize dialog box.
34
Customizing the User Interface
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option, and click the Menu tab.
2. Navigate to the menu item you want to remove on PC-DMIS's actual menu bar
(not the tree view menu list in the Menu tab).
3. Select the desired menu item.
4. Drag it off of the menu bar area.
5. Release the mouse button, and the menu item is removed from the menu.
6. Click OK to accept your changes and close the Customize dialog box.
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option, and click the Menu tab.
2. Navigate in the Menu tree view list to the menu item you want to restore.
3. Select the menu item and drag it up onto PC-DMIS's actual menu bar. As you
drag the item through the menu structure, a small red arrow will appear
indicating where the item will be added when you release the mouse button.
4. Release the mouse button to insert the menu item.
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option.
2. With the dialog box open, click on PC-DMIS's menu bar.
3. Select a menu and then right-click on the menu item you want to change on PC-
DMIS's actual menu bar (not the tree view menu list in the Menu tab). The Edit
Menu Item dialog box appears.
35
Navigating the User Interface
4. Modify the menu item using this dialog box and then click OK.
5. Click OK on the Customize dialog box.
6. Verify your change.
In the Menu Text box, the letter that follows the ampersand sign (&) indicates
that the letter is used with the Alt key to quickly select that menu item (for example
selecting Alt + F + N accesses the New menu item from the File menu).
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option, and select the Menu tab.
2. Click the Create Item button. The Custom Wizard / Script / Tool dialog box
appears.
3. Click the ‘…’ button. An Open dialog box appears.
4. From the Files of Type list, select the type of file you to insert.
5. Navigate to the directory containing the custom application, batch file, BASIC
script, and so forth.
6. Select the file to insert, and click Open. The Open dialog box closes and the
Custom Wizard / Script / Tool dialog box displays the default information
associated with the custom program you selected.
36
Customizing the User Interface
Command File:
This box shows the pathway to the command.
Menu Text:
This box allows you to specify the name used on the menu for this item.
Help Desc:
This box allows you to define information that PC-DMIS displays in the status bar
when you move your mouse over the item.
Tool Tip:
This box allows you to specify the tooltip text displayed for this item when you
hover your mouse over it. This only works if the custom item is added to a
toolbar, not a menu.
Function:
This box remains unavailable for selection unless you are using a custom BASIC
script. Once the box becomes enabled, you can use it to define the function or
subroutine that runs from the loaded .bas file. Type the routine name without
parenthesis. For example, typing "TestFunction" launches the TestFunction
routine when the BASIC script is executed.
Change Icon:
This button allows you to change the icons displayed for this menu item.
37
Navigating the User Interface
Customizing Toolbars
To customize the toolbars that appear on the toolbar menu:
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option.
2. Select the Toolbars tab.
You can use this tab to add new toolbars and new toolbar icons, add new pulldown
toolbars, remove custom toolbars, remove toolbar icons, and reorder toolbar icons on
existing toolbars.
You can use the Use large toolbars check box to show all toolbar icons in a larger
size. This change happens automatically when you click OK or Apply. PC-DMIS does
not need to restart.
38
Customizing the User Interface
Existing toolbars must have at least one icon on them. If you remove the
last icon and click Apply or OK, the icon still remains on the toolbar.
Click the Reset button. As long as the OK or Apply buttons haven't been clicked, the
toolbar reverts to its previous state.
To remove all customized toolbars and restore the layout shipped with this
version:
Click New. The Custom Wizard / Script / Tool dialog box appears. Select item to add.
This documentation covers the process of adding custom items in the "To Add a New
Menu Item" topic above.
39
Navigating the User Interface
To rename a toolbar:
1. Select the toolbar from the Toolbar definition list.
2. Click Rename. A New Toolbar Name box appears.
3. Type a name in the box and click OK.
PC-DMIS also allows another way to rearrange or delete items from any custom toolbar
on the fly. This is by using the Shift key. Consider the following:
Since existing toolbars must have at least one icon on them, if you remove the
last icon in this fashion, it only remains removed until you restart PC-DMIS. After
restarting, the icon reappears.
To add a separator:
To delete a separator:
40
Customizing the User Interface
1. Access the Customize dialog box by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize
menu option.
2. Select the Keyboard tab.
41
Navigating the User Interface
You can use this tab to modify the shortcut keys used to call commands within PC-
DMIS and add new shortcut keys for custom menu and toolbar items.
42
Docking and Undocking User Interface Elements
As in the other tabs, you can use the Create button to first create a command
and tie it to a custom program. You can then select this command by clicking on User
Defined from the Menu Selection list. All user-defined commands appear in the
Commands list.
Some items, such as the Edit window, contain a right-click menu item (Docking View)
that allows you to dock or undock that item. If the right-click menu item is not selectable,
close any open dialog boxes and try again.
You may need to cascade (Window | Cascade) or tile (Window | Tile Horizontally or
Window | Tile Vertically) your windows and then click and drag a window's title bar to
float one over another.
43