Nits to Pick

[dgs]

Since someone suggested that there are 100's of issues with Pro/E (and I'd agree), I thought I'd start a 'Nits' thread. Keep them specific, but bring us your nits.

Here are some of mine (based on WF3 & WF4), off the top of my head:

1. Dialog boxes that are small when almost all users have large monitors. The find dialog comes to mind, it needs to be twice as wide so I can see full feature & model names in the fields
2. Text fields that are highlighted, but typing doesn't produce any text. Family table dialog is a big offender here.
3. Dialog boxes with large expanses of gray, but input fields that aren't large enough to display all of the text in the field. Assy constraints and connection limits are two that come to mind. (related to #1)
4. Assy constraint icons. Component is red outlines on white, assy is gray shaded, or vise-versa. Is the gray supposed to be meaningful or the red? I still can't tell which is which and have to read the text in the field, which is too small, so I have to hover my mouse over it to get the full text to display (see #3).
5. When editing a feature, a double click is required to edit a dimension. In failure mode, when going to modify a dim it's only a single click.
6. When working with features, it's 'edit definition' and 'edit references', in failure mode it's still 'redefine' and 'reroute'.
7. Middle mouse inconsistency. Sometimes next, sometimes new, sometimes cancel, sometimes OK.
8. Inconsistent default picks when canceling, sometimes it's OK sometimes Cancel.
9. Why isn't the 'Window' toolbar shown by default? Makes activating windows cumbersome for new users, who don't understand why this is necessary in the first place.

I know I have more, I'll add them as I think of them. How about yours?


Edited by: dgs

 

[dr_gallup]

Model tree column width settings!!!!!!!!! Why do I have to drag the vertical column divider over in window after window, day after day, week after week, release after release????????

 

[csusie]

Model tree column width
settings!!!!!!!!!

 

[dr_gallup]

Csusie - that's great! I change the width to 80 (no idea what the units are).

Now I need a new nit to pick. Shouldn't take long.

 

[michaelpaul]

why, when I extrude something, is only one distance direction displayed by default instead of showing both directions by default but showing direction 2 as none? it is stupid that if I want to extrude in one direction I can define it directly but to add the second direction I need to go into an options menu.

 

[Freecat]

Any body want to start a new, MCADcentral-based CAD software company?


My suggestion would be tocall ournewproduct "Pro/ENGINEER"...

But this time around the name would really mean something!

Edited by: Richh

 

[csusie]

did you intentionally spell it wrong?

the meaning would be we are pros at spelling things
incorrectly.

 

[Freecat]

Thanks for pointing that outcsusie. I had no deeper meaning to my post,my fingers just got a head of my brain...


One of my biggest Pro/E nit pics of all time. How about improving the undo functionality? You have to admit other programs do this better,and the undo functionalitystill needs a dramaticoverhaulin undo and redo capability.


In AutoCADthere is the ability to useundo until the cows all come home!

and if you want, you can redoto put all the cows backin the barn. You justdon't have many restrictions un-doing or re-doinga modeling session step-by-step.Having good undo/redo functionalityis very important to improving ease-of-use.


I understand that versioning files in Pro/Ecan accomplish some of the same things in part and assembly mode,butthat justdoesn't workin all modules. What it can be is a totalpain.


CoCreateOSDMhas a nice undo engine. Hopefully PTC learns from that strengthand applies thatto the Creo family.


In my opinion there should be better undo and redo capability throughout. Especially in drawing mode!

 

[moriarty]

Center-click (MMB) to accept a sketch - works everywhere
else - why not in sketcher

 

[moriarty]

No UNDO in Appearance manager (WF5)

 

[moriarty]

Surface selection tools dont work in Appearance manager
(WF5)- Shift Select, Solid Surfaces etc

 

[moriarty]

Internal PDF generation still problematic in WF5 - why do
we still have to use 3rd party software? Lack of default
settings.
Edited by: moriarty

 

[moriarty]

Truetype fonts do not work properly - see discussions
elsewhere on foreign languages. Special characters still in
stroked fonts - how about TTF option.
Edited by: moriarty

 

[moriarty]

Pens, pen tables, and line widths, pen colors - whats a
pen?

Works as sweet as a nut but so out of date.
Edited by: moriarty

 

[moriarty]

Styles - anyone know how they work?

 

[moriarty]

Mechanica - results screen in a separate window

- it
should just overlay the model. PTC need to go and look at
FloEFD - the integration is beautiful. In fact they need
to buy FloEFD.

Edited by: moriarty

 

[zpaolo]

Some of this nits are just "personal preferences", for example I rarely have to extrude in both directions, so always showing the second direction looks like a waste of dashboard space TO ME. The same goes for PDF creation, I've never had an issue with PDF creation from WF5.0, and I do a lot of PDFs...

One thing I HOPE Creo will enhance is rendering interface, camera management and so on. Make the "camera" a feature I can place on a coordinate system, or make it a "part" I can add in an assembly and orient like I want. Don't lose my camera settings if I switch from perspective to ortho view.

A thing I want so bad is: options to sketch an ellipse or ellipse arc from foci, options to sketch an hyperbola from foci. These will save my day, but I understand that they are VERY peculiar requests

Paolo

 

[dgs]

Center-click (MMB) to accept a sketch - works everywhere

else - why not in sketcher

There's a reason for that, I think. MMB in sketcher has meaning, as you sketch you MMB to cancel out of dimenion mode, or constraint mode, or ... That makes it hard to implement a MMB to exit sketcher without field ing a lot of complaints that sketcher always exits prematurely.

Pens, pen tables, and line widths, pen colors - whats a
pen?

Works as sweet as a nut but so out of date.

Great point which reminds me that a lot of the configuration in Pro/E, from the config.pro files to system colors, model tree configuration, BOM formats, drawing options, etc are contrioled by text files. I like that, they are easy to manipulate. However, I don't think any of them exist out of the box. None. Why not create a directory, either in the install folder or in the user's 'May Documents' folder, and place all of these files in there with the default settings (or blank). That would allow the user to see what controls all of this stuff. Config options can override that location if you want. As it is now, you've got to dig for what file controls it, what config option points to it and how to create it.

Some GUI based wizards to walk you through setting them up is another good idea.

 

[dgs]

Zpaolo - I agree, some are preferences. That's the challenge of good UI design, allowing plenty of freedom to work as you want but providing a clean, consistent interface to do so. The depth thing is one of those.

Here are a few more:

1. Drop down lists with dozens of options, but only 4 or 5 are shown. Hole dialog and the extrude depth options come to mind.
2. Weak dims that don't appear in the list of conflicting items when a sketch is over constrained. You have to make them strong first and then they will. If they are weak, they ought to just drop off without comment.
3. Saving a perspective view is ridiculous as it drops out of perspective when you hit save and you have to reset the view before hitting OK.
4. You can't drag an embedded item out of a feature in the model tree unless you position it just right.
5. Layer 'Isolate' command is buried in the menu structure. Much more useful than 'unhide' (BTW - why not 'show'?), but not available in the RMB pop up menu.
6. When redefining an existing feature's sketch plane, the sketch plane is highlighted but when I create a plane, it isn't automatically selected like it is when a feature is initially created. I have to explicitly select it after I've created it. Why does the same action in a slightly different context work differently?

 

[Mindripper]

Chronic inconsistencies in selections: a generally unpolished product, even after some thirty years.


1) 'Delete' and 'Remove' are used for the same purpose in different functions


2) Sometimes the <ctrl> button is needed for multiple selections, and sometimes it isn't


3) Sometimes the <ctrl> button is required for sequential selections, sometimes it isn't


4) Workflow varies from function to function


5) Sometimes upper case is required, sometimes it isn't: sometimes just the first character is capitalized


6) Some functions have decent graphical user interfaces, others are still menu-based: not updated in the last fifteen years


Dinosaur technology: hello PTC - this is the New Millenium!


1) It's just amazing to me that this product is still not WYSIWYG


2) Graphics are unchanged since before 1996.


3) Not a Windows-based Product: no interaction between windows, Unix-based rules are still used in many (but not all) places, such as filenames and feature names. Clipboard is of limited value compared to it's competitors.