Inconsistent Settings

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on Windows.

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Generic
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Inconsistent Settings

Post by Generic »

I received a Space Navigator SE yesterday to assist me in Inventor 11 SP2 and I'm having trouble with the settings in the control panel overriding each other or returning to their defaults.

Specifically:
"Device Configuration" Tab: Set the zoom direction to Up/Down.
"Advanced Settings" Tab: Disabled zoom all together.
Additionally, I set the buttons to something other than their defaults (I've tried many different entries in the list).

This allows me to do everything other than zoom in and out on the part, which is exactly what I want. I notice on the "App Configuration" Tab the Pan/Zoom check box is grayed out. I assumed that the advanced settings are overriding this Tab.

The problem arises when I close a part in Inventor and open another. In the new part the pan function no longer works. When I look back at the control panel the Pan/Zoom check box is now unchecked, and the profile has renamed itself from "Inventor" to "Inventor - myname". Also the two button keys I've assigned have returned to their defaults.

I've made sure the "Automatically Save Configurations" option is active. I've tried to save the settings under a new profile before working. I've also tried deleting all the profiles and starting over. But none of these keep the control panel from doing this after I change part files.

I've also tried leaving everything active and simply turning down the sensitivity of the zoom all the way down while turning the rest of the settings to their max. When I resume work, the settings seem to stick, BUT now the right key binds itself as escape or both keys will return to their defaults (it's not consistent).

I encountered the same problem when switching application focus when I had the Mech '07 package installed for the Navigator (I've since uninstalled the Mech package as I have no use for it). When I switched from Inventor to Mech and back, the control panel would forget my settings.

This is a new machine w/ fresh installs of both Autodesk packages. I'm currently running the v3.09 driver. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

|| edited for grammar/spelling ||
agoenczi
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Inconsistent Settings

Post by agoenczi »

Hi Generic,

please try to reinstall the driver just activating the "Update Assistant" under "Extras".
Generic
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Re: Inconsistent Settings

Post by Generic »

agoenczi wrote:Hi Generic,

please try to reinstall the driver just activating the "Update Assistant" under "Extras".
I don't see "Update Assistant" in the 3Dconnexion control panel nor program directories in Windows' Start menu.

I and a co-worker did use "Update Wizard" under the "Tools" menu. It ran without any errors or messages other than it successfully validated my installation.

The bug persists. I've noticed that as long as I have at least one file open in Inventor, the control panel remembers my button assignments. The buttons return to their defaults only when I close all the active files, or Inventor itself.

Everyone in the office that uses the Space Navigator (7 of us total) is having the same issue. The movement settings are retained, but the buttons are returning to their defaults between sessions.

We are on a network install of Inventor 11, two of us on new machines, the rest on machines 2 years old; all Dell workstations.
agoenczi
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Inconsistent Settings

Post by agoenczi »

Hi Generic,

I have reproduced this issue in-house. I have opened an internal bug (#4274) to help track this issue. I hope it will be solved soon.
Generic
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Post by Generic »

Thank you kindly.
inspiringfallacy
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Post by inspiringfallacy »

not sure if this will help you, but spacenavigator stores the mappings for the program and config files in the registry at

“My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\3Dconnexion\3DxWare\Applications\”

This is what I would recommend:
1. Save your the setup you like to the “C:\Program Files\3Dconnexion\3Dconnexion 3DxSoftware\3DxWare\en_us\profiles\default” (this might be different, if your language isn't english)

2. Go to the Run dialogue (I assume you're using windows) and run "regedit" - then try navigating to the previously mentioned registry key (screenshot) and try changing everything with your software's .exe to the name of your saved config file.

3. Test it out and let me know what happens =]

best of luck to you =]
Use SpaceNavigator as a Mouse or Joystick (or even MIDI device to be implemented)
http://blog.ifallacy.com
Generic
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Post by Generic »

inspiringfallacy wrote:not sure if this will help you, but spacenavigator stores the mappings for the program and config files in the registry at

“My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\3Dconnexion\3DxWare\Applications\”

This is what I would recommend:
1. Save your the setup you like to the “C:\Program Files\3Dconnexion\3Dconnexion 3DxSoftware\3DxWare\en_us\profiles\default” (this might be different, if your language isn't english)

2. Go to the Run dialogue (I assume you're using windows) and run "regedit" - then try navigating to the previously mentioned registry key (screenshot) and try changing everything with your software's .exe to the name of your saved config file.

3. Test it out and let me know what happens =]

best of luck to you =]

I tried to do as you asked:

- I set the device to my preferences, then saved it as "test".
- I navigated to "C:\Documents and Settings\etc etc\Profiles\Test.scg"
- I copied that file into the directory you mentioned.
- I set the default and inventor.exe strings in the registry to my profile.

However, when switching sessions (closing Inventor, or closing active files so only the Inventor.exe is left open -- then opening a file) the buttons return to their defaults as before.

Something is writing "user00.scg" into my Windows "Documents and Settings" profile and assigning that as the value in the registry.

I also tried saving my settings as "user00" and copying that through out, but the behavior persists.

Thank you for the suggestions however!
jwick
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Post by jwick »

Please see this other thread for more information on Inventor button mappings and saved configurations.

viewtopic.php?p=644#644

When an application has an application-specific panel, please use that panel where possible. In this case, you should be using the 3DxInventor panel inside Inventor, not the 3DxWare panel to map the functions to the buttons. I'll admit that we haven't done a very good job of explaining the difference between those two panels. The 3DxWare panel is generic and will override values before they get sent to the application. The panel in the application is the only one that knows about Inventor-specific settings and commands. Use the 3DxInventor panel when at all possible. Only resort to the 3DxWare panel if the functionality you want is not represented in the 3DxInventor panel.

We try to get Inventor users to open the 3DxInventor panel by launching it when the user clicks on the 3Dx systray icon and the Panel button on our devices. I did just notice though that we accidentally connected the Panel button on the SN and SE to the 3DxWare panel not the 3DxInventor panel. This will be fixed in the next release. This could be a source of a lot of the current confusion. In the meantime, open the 3DxWare panel and map the device's panel button to "Inventor Panel"--it will say "3DxWare Panel" now.

In Inventor's case the button assignments are stored by 3DxInventor when you start and stop the applicaiton not the 3DxWare driver. The 3DxInventor plugin overwrites values in the 3DxWare panel. This may be the "resetting" that you are seeing. Multiple button configurations can be kept by 3DxInventor for each mode inside Inventor (as explained in the post referenced above).

The config (.scg) files stored in your %APPDATA% directory are the 3DxWare driver settings. 3DxInventor stores its mode-specific settings elsewhere (the registry under HKCU).

The problem of losing axis selections when you save configurations is a bug. The controls in the App Configuration tab are overriding the controls in the Advanced Settings tab. It will be fixed in the next release. Thanks for pointing this bug out.

Sorry for all the confusion. Hopefully this forum thread will help clear things up. We are continuously working on solutions to resolve the confusion caused by multiple GUIs.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
rasqual
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Post by rasqual »

This bug is still present in the Vista beta. Figured I'd mention it here instead of in the Vista thread.

I'm experiencing it in Google Earth, the only app I have that uses the Navigator.

Is Google Earth going to have its own committed launch panel?
jwick
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Post by jwick »

Yes, the bug is in the beta. I just found the problem yesterday, and I released the beta to manufacturing last week. I'll fix it.

GE Launch panel? Not sure what you mean. GE does have some settings that effect 3Dx devices in Tools->Options->Navigation
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Post by jwick »

This bug has been fixed. It will be in 3DxSoftware 3.1.2.
pgetchel
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Post by pgetchel »

Since the current driver does not work for Inventor and I cannot use the device to the fullest. What is the estimated release date of 3DxSoftware 3.1.2?
jwick
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Post by jwick »

Hi pgetchel,

I'm not sure what you are referring to here. Inventor works fine with any of the drivers, as long as you use the Inventor panel. It is true, that if you use the 3DxWare panel, there is some inconsistency in the use of some of the checkboxes in the Advanced Settings tab.

Inventor works fine. In fact it is one of the absolutely very best applications that use the 3Dx devices. There are very few applications that are as smooth and responsive as Inventor.

The next release will be out shortly. It won't be 3.1.2, though. That candidate didn't make it through QA. It will be some higher number.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
pgetchel
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Post by pgetchel »

Thank you Jim for the quick response. However, I must be missing something. I have the exact problem described in the orignal post. I try to use the panel in Inventor to set custom buttons but as soon as I cose a drawing and open another the settings are gone. Is there something I need to also load in Inventor?
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Post by jwick »

Hi pgetchel,

Take a look at this post to see if it more closely describes your situation.

viewtopic.php?p=644#644

This post is about problems in the 3DxWare GUI settings, not custom button functions.

Let us know if that helps.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
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