CATIA V5 Plug-in ReadMe

1 Plug-in Description

2 Setting the Rotation Center

3 Special functions

• Toggle Rotation Center:
  Select an object in your product. If Toggle Rotation Center is executed once, the rotation center is changed to the center of the part the selected object belongs to, overriding the setting in the Advanced Configuration dialog described in section 2 above. Executing the function a second time switches back to the rotation center defined in the Advanced Configuration dialog.
  
• Toggle Rotation Axis:
  Select a line in your product. If Toggle Rotation Axis is executed once, the rotation is restricted, and you can rotate around this line only. Executing the function a second time switches back to the normal rotation behaviour. (This mechanism works only with true lines, not with other objects.)
• Toggle Object Move Mode:
  Select an object in your product. If Toggle Object Move Mode is executed once, moving the cap will move the part the selected object belongs to. Executing the function a second time switches back to the normal movement behaviour defined in the Advanced Configuration dialog.

4 Change Log

• Due to a change in our SpaceControl DLL the plug-in's performance turned out to be very bad in the former version.
• Bug in Lock Horizon mode fixed: Rotation is done in the correct direction now even if the scene is upside down.
  

• Since the automatic creation of the MNU file is not working any longer with Catia V5 R21 and newer (due to a change in Catia's programming interface), the MNU file is copied from a default one in the installation directory.

• The plug-in is aware of the new device functions "Back", "Left" and "Bottom". By default you can trigger them by double pressing the device keys FRONT, RIGHT and TOP.

• The plug-in is unchanged, this is a new build based on updated versions of the SpaceControl DLLs.

• On some network installations the plug-in could not read out Catia's language setting. In consequence the creation of the file containing Catia's menu items failed and assigning them to the SpaceController's keys has not been possible.

• On some network installations the plug-in could not read out Catia's language setting. In consequence the creation of the file containing Catia's menu items failed and assigning them to the SpaceController's keys has not been possible.

• The plug-in is unchanged, this is a new build with updated versions of the SpaceController's DLLs and configuration files.

• Creation of the file containing all Catia menu items ("catia.mnu") could fail due to missing Catia licenses. The process will not abort in this case any longer, but create the items of the available menus.
• The mechanism to detect the language Catia is using is more reliably now. This is important for creating the "catia.mnu" file.
  

• You can move the objects displayed in Catia's "Smart Move" window. Due to restrictions in Catia's programming interface the movement is not as smooth as in the main window, and you can not move all axis concurrently (i. e. the Dominant Mode seems to be activated).

• All move modes listed in the Advanced Configuration dialog (see above) are supported.
• A heavy bug when zooming "too near" to an object in perspective mode is fixed. Therefore the parameter "maxZoomValue" described below ist not longer needed and removed.
  
• You can scroll in trees and lists with the cap when the mouse pointer is positioned on them.
• More Catia modes are supported now. I. e. you can have separate configurations for products, parts, drawings, analysis' etc. Former versions just provided a 2D and a 3D configuration.
• Each mode has its own set of Catia commands to be dragged to the SpaceController's keys or the Wheel Function Launcher. You can filter for the appropriate commands in the Function Assignment dialog.
• Three special commands are available in Catia's product mode; see section 3 above.
  
• Catia's menu commands are extracted reliably in your desktop's language even if Catia's language setting is "Default".
  

• The plug-in is unchanged, this is a new build with updated versions of the SpaceController's DLLs and configuration files.

• A new parameter can be adjusted in the plug-in's initialization file ("C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\SpaceController\Applications\catia_plugin.ini" under Windows XP or "C:\Users\<user>\SpaceController\Applications\catia_plugin.ini" under Windows 7 or Vista):
  The parameter is "maxZoomValue"; it prevents the user from zooming an object too near to the screen. If this happens Catia can produce graphic errors (heavy flickering and/or the object could become invisible). Larger values (say 1.3) allows to zoom an object nearer to the screen, lower values (say 0.2) will prevent this. This value must be greater than 0.
• Panning and zooming in 2D mode is much smoother now even in large zoom scales.
• A new SpaceController DLL is included in the package.
  

• The stored rotation mode (Object or Screen) was not updated when loading a new configuration.
• The plug-in is incorporated into the driver's new, single installation file now.

• Drawings were moved using the camera's perspective, now the object's perspective is used (as in moving assemblies and parts).
  

• The rotation center for rotating objects may be set by the user. See above for details.
• Attention:
  This version needs a driver version 1.4.0 beta or later and will not work with prior driver releases.
  This version uses a new configuration file format. Configuration files created with prior versions can not be used.

• The plug-in is unchanged, this is a new build with an updated version of the SpaceController's DLL.

• Bug determining Catia's installation directory under Windows XP 64 fixed.

• First published release.