Interface_Config

About Interface

The Interface Help describes the procedures for importing parts and assemblies created in other CAD programs to Creo applications and for saving Creo parts and assemblies to other file formats. Refer to these help topics for information on Interface capabilities, configuration options, and techniques.

For a detailed overview, skim the help contents.

About Data Exchange in Creo

Using direct data exchange and industry-standard translators, you can share and reuse engineering data by importing geometry to Creo applications and exporting geometry from Creo applications. The Creo applications have direct geometry translators for ACIS, Adobe Illustrator, AutoDesk Inventor, CADDS 5, CATIA, CDRS, ICEM, JT, Neutral, Optegra, Rhinoceros, Parasolid, PDF, MEDUSA (3D ASCII format), NX, SolidWorks, and AutoCAD DXF/DWG.

Industry-standard translators in Creo support the following data formats: IGES, STEP (AP202, AP203, AP214, AP242 - including Associative Drafting), VDA, ECAD (IDS2.0, 3.0), CGM, COSMOS/M, PATRAN and SUPERTAB geometry files, SLA, CGM (MILSPECMIL-D-28003A), JPECT, TIFF, Creo View, RENDER, STL, VRML, INVENTOR, ACIS, STHENO/PRO, and XPATCH.

About Configuring Interface

You can customize 2D and 3D import and export options in the Creo Parametric Options dialog box to configure the Interface for data exchange in Creo Parametric. Most configuration options that control the import and export of 3D models are configured as import and export settings in the import and export profiles. Import and export profile editors that include the 3D import and export options and their system-defined default values are available in Creo Parametric. You can access the import and export profile editors in the Creo Parametric Options dialog box to create import and export profiles. Configuring the import and export tasks with the use of profiles eliminates or reduces the need to explicitly set the corresponding 3D data exchange configuration options in the config.pro file.

The 2D data exchange settings section of the Creo Parametric Options dialog box includes 2D config.pro configuration file options that control the exchange of 2D data. Instead of explicitly setting the 2D data exchange configuration options in the config.pro file, you can set the corresponding 2D user interface options to appropriate values in the 2D data exchange settings section of the Creo Parametric Options dialog box. Options in the Creo Parametric Options dialog box also enable you to create import and export log files.

You can also configure the retrieval of CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, and Creo Elements/Direct part and assembly models as non-Creo models in the Creo Parametric Options dialog box. If you select the Open by default check box options for each of these file formats in the Creo Parametric Options dialog box, you can open part and assembly models of these formats as non-Creo models by default in Creo Parametric.

Though most 3D config.pro configuration file options are configured as import or export profile options and 2D configuration options as UI options in the 2D data exchange settings section of the Creo Parametric Options dialog box, you can use the Configuration Editor to explicitly set the 2D and 3D configuration options to appropriate values in the config.pro file.
 

About Creating Profiles for Data Exchange Tasks

You can create and use profiles for the data exchange tasks of import, open, and export of 3D models. Creo provides import and export profile editors containing options that correspond with the 3D import and export configuration options and their system-defined default values. Customize model, entity, and format-specific import and export options and preferences in the import and export profile editors to create the import, open, and export profiles. You can save the customized import, open, and export profiles to disk and use the profiles to configure, control, and manage the data exchange tasks without prior knowledge of the corresponding import and export configuration options.

You can create profiles before you begin the import, open, and export of 3D models or at runtime, after you begin the data exchange tasks. Use the following options on the 3D data exchange settings page of the Creo Parametric Options dialog box to access the import and export profile editors and create the import, open, and export profiles before you begin importing, opening, or exporting the models:
• Setup Import and Open Profiles
• Setup Export Profiles

After you begin the import and export tasks, you can access profile editors in the Import New Model, File, and Save a Copy dialog boxes to create the import and export profiles.

You can include and exclude model, entity, and format-specific import and export options and preferences and modify the system-defined default values of the options in the import and export profile editors. The options in the import profile editor are common across formats and you can create a single import profile for all the file formats that Creo supports for import. You can also use the import profile to append and assemble models and for batch operations using Creo Distributed Batch. You can additionally use the import profile when you open non-Creo models with Creo Unite and designate the import profile as separate default open profiles for each of the supported formats of Creo Unite. That is, you can designate the import profile as the individual default open profiles for CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, and Creo Elements/Direct. However, unlike the creation and use of a single import profile by all the supported formats, the export of part and assembly models to the various file formats that Creo supports requires format-specific profiles. Based on the type of entities exported and the representations of entities and models after export, format-specific profile editors are available in Creo with which you can create export profiles for each format.

You can save the import, open, and export profiles by the following file extensions:
• Import and open profiles by the *.dip extension.
• Export profiles by the *.dep extension followed by the format name, such as def_profile.dep_<format>.

Before you create profiles, it is recommended that you set up the profiles directory to store the import, open, and export profiles. You can specify the path to the profiles directory in Profiles directory on the 3D data exchange settings page of the Creo Parametric Options dialog box, alternatively, click Browse and browse to any other location or folder, or use the intf_profile_dir configuration option to set up the profiles directory. You can then, by default, store profiles in this directory or folder, load stored profiles, or select profiles to designate as the default profile from this directory or folder.

After you have saved the customized profiles, you must click OK in the profile editor to confirm your changes. If you do not click OK in the profile editor, the changed settings of the profiles are only applied to the current session of Creo.

You can then use the customized profiles in the current session of Creo or designate them as the default import, open, and export profiles for use by default in the subsequent sessions of Creo. You can designate a customized import profile as the default import profile for all the supported import formats in Default Import Profile. However, you must individually designate the customized open and export profiles for each supported format in the Open profiles and Export Profiles sections of the Creo Parametric Options dialog box. When you designate the customized profiles as the default profiles, a message window asks you whether you want to save the customized settings in the import, open, or the export profiles to the config.pro configuration file or whether you only want to apply the settings in the current session. If you click Yes in the message window, the profile settings are saved in the config.pro file. The customized profiles that you designate as the default import, open, and export profiles are then used by default for subsequent import, open, and export tasks in the future Creo sessions.

For in-session changes, load the profile in the profile editor and click OK in the profile editor during the export of a model or select a stored profile at runtime after you begin the import of a model.

About Creating and Editing Import Profiles

Import profiles are XML files with the *.dip extension. You can click File > Options, select Data Exchange on the Creo Parametric Options dialog box, and click Setup Import and Open Profiles to access the import profile editor and create import profiles. When you import, append, and assemble models, you can click Details on the Import New Model, File, or the Add From File dialog box to access the import profile editor, view the import profile in use, and modify the import options for the task in session.

The options in the import profile editor are set to values that are the same as the default values of the corresponding 3D import configuration options set in the config.pro file. You can customize the options in the import profile editor to create or modify import profiles. If you defined a folder or location as the profiles directory, the new and the modified import profiles are saved by default in the profiles directory. You can, alternatively, save the import profiles in the last-browsed folder or location of the current session or the working directory.

You can open the import profiles in the following order of precedence:
• Import profiles that are stored in the profiles directory, sorted in alphabetic order.
• Import profiles that are located in the last saved or accessed location of the current session, sorted in the alphabetic order.
• Import profiles in the working directory.

You can designate one of the *.dip files in the profiles directory as the default import profile for all the supported import formats or scroll to the end of the *.dip list of files in Default Import Profile, click Browse, and select a *.dip file as the default import profile from alternate locations. You can, alternatively, use the intf_in_profile_default configuration option to set the default import profile.

In a session, the import, append, and assemble tasks use the current profile by default, especially when you import models for the first time. The Import New Model and the File dialog boxes display the current import profile as Current Profile - Import Profile in the import profile editor. When you customize the import options in the current profile, the profile with the changes are automatically saved with the imported features and models and are listed as the embedded profiles. The legacy Translated Image Models (TIMs) and import features use the current import profile of the session when you use Associative Topology Bus (ATB) for their associative update and reload. The TIMs and the imported features also store the current profile as their embedded profile. The File and the Add From File dialog boxes display the embedded profiles stored with the imported models when you redefine the imported features, reload their source files, or perform an associative update.

* If you click Details on the Import New Model, File, or the Add From File dialog box and modify the import options of the current profile in use, the changes are not saved to disk. The changes made at runtime are only valid for the tasks in session.

When you use Creo Distributed Batch for the import, append, and assemble tasks, you must specify a single import profile as the configuration file for the batch operation. Alternatively, you can use a config.pro file that designates a default import profile and its location. All computers in the network identified for the batch operations must access the default import profile you have specified.

To Create an Import Profile or Modify an Existing Profile

1. Click File > Options. The Creo Parametric Options dialog box opens.
2. Click Data Exchange.
3. In Profiles directory, specify the path to a location or folder to set up a common profiles directory to store the default, new, and modified import, open, and export profiles. Alternatively, click Browse and browse to a location or folder using the Select Directory dialog box to define an alternate storage directory for the profiles.
4. Click Setup Import and Open Profiles. The Current Profile - Import Profile profile editor opens with the import options set to the system defaults on the following tabs: