CATIA Object Manager
(CO1) - P1,  (COM) - P2, (CO3) - P3
CATIA COM 1 to 2 Extension (C12) - P1

 

For information on Component Catalog Editor issues, click here.

 

General Issues

VRML
Textures cannot be imported in VRML 1.0 files.
Graphics Performance Enhancement for V5 Products
V5R18SP2 is taking more benefit from the graphics hardware (GPU). Graphics performance of V5 is enhanced thanks to the support of the OpenGL feature, Vertex Buffer Object (VBO).

This performance gain matches perfectly the requirements of V5 Products like:

  • Real Time Rendering: large model and gpu-consuming advanced materials based on CgFX shaders
  • Digital Mock Up: very large mode with a great number of triangles to draw

This graphics optimization is only available on Windows XP 32-bit & 64-bit and by exporting the following environment variable in your V5 install:
set CAT_VBO_ALLOWED=1

It is strongly recommended to switch on this optimization on the latest hw graphics having at least 512 MB of video memory like:

  • Nvidia Quadro FX4500, Quadro FX 5500, Quadro FX4600, Quadro FX 5600, Quadro FX 3700, Quadro FX 4700 X2, Quadro FX4800, Quadro FX 5800, QuadroFX 1700M, Quadro FX 2700M, Quadro FX 3600M, Quadro FX 3700M.

It is recommended to install the NVIDIA 182.08 driver series or later.
 

  • ATI FireGL V7300, FireGL V7350, FireGL V5600, FireGL V57600, FireGL V8600, FireGL V8650, FireGL V7600, FireGL V7700, FireGL V7750, FireGL V8700, FireGL V8750, Mobility FireGL V5600, Mobility FireGL V5700.

   It is recommended to install the ATI FireGL 8.543 driver series or later.

Refer to the DS certified configuration website to check your configuration.

View Mode Customization
We do not guarantee an identical triangulation of meshes between releases and from one Service Pack to another.
Printing using the Microsoft Office Document Image Writer printer
When printing documents using the Microsoft Office Document Image Writer virtual printer, it is recommended to select the Monochrome mode in Version 5 (click the Options... button in the Print dialog box):

Otherwise, selecting the TIFF-Monochrome Fax option in the printer's Advanced Parameters may lead to a crash.
This is due to a problem with the Microsoft driver and is not related to Version 5. This problem will be corrected with Microsoft Office 2007.

Language-Specific Fonts
Korean and Chinese characters may not be well rendered if you are working on UNIX.
Memory leaks for GDI objects
Memory leaks may occur for Graphics Device Interface (GDI) objects when you create and destroy child windows.

For more information, browse the following Internet site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;319740

Digital Rights Management
For security reasons, there is no downward compatibility between DRM-protected data created from V5R19 SP6 and DRM-protected data created in previous releases. Therefore:
  • V5R19 SP6 DRM-protected data cannot be read on previous V5R19 levels.
  • DRM-protected data created before V5R19 SP6 cannot be read on V5R19 SP6 level and upper levels.

To make DRM-protected data compatible again, security HotFixes are available on all previous levels. To do so, follow the instructions below:

  • Apply the dedicated HotFix to the previous level. This will restore the compatibility between DRM-protected created in V5R19 SP6 and the fixed level.
  • V5R19 SP5 clear data and clear data from previous levels should be protected again with this fixed level.

Note that on all levels lower than V5R19 SP6, native DRM-protected data will no longer be compatible with the corresponding fixed level. Therefore, it is very important to keep a clear version of this data to be able to protect them again through the DRM capability.

VBA
When using VBA in a 64-bit environment, you may encounter an error message from VBA indicating memory allocation problems or may not even succeed in loading your VBA project. These problems can be removed by upgrading to the most recent version, VBA 6.5.

The VBAIDEinst.exe executable allows you to install the latest version of VBA. To perform this upgrade:

  1. Select Start > Programs > Command Prompt to open a Command Prompt window.
  2. Go to the directory of the installation CD 1, then to the Intel or win64 folder.
  3. Enter the command:

    VBAIDEinst.exe
Print Settings
The settings displayed in the Print dialog box can be modified through the Print dialog box only. The Windows Printer Properties dialog box does not reflect the settings used for printing (e.g. number of copies, page setup, etc.).

Open Issues

Screen dimensions on Vista
When using some Vista configurations, the size of the screen is not correctly computed, which may lead to a bad visualization: for instance, points may disappear.

Workaround: Store your screen dimensions in the following two variables:

  • set CATWidthMMOfScreen=width_in_millimeters
    set CATHeightMMOfScreen=height_in_millimeters

You have to do these measurements by yourself using a tape measure. The screen dimensions correspond to the horizontal measurement followed by the vertical measurement.
If your computer does not use the full screen for display (e.g. if there is a strip on the left side and right side of your screen), you have to measure only the part of the screen used for display.

DLNames
The following commands do not support the DLName environment: File > Print..., Tools > Image > Capture..., Tools > Image > Album... and Tools > Image > Video....
Anti-Aliasing Full Scene
The Anti-Aliasing Full Scene option available in Tools... > Options > General > Display > Visualization  is not compliant with Object-to-Object shadows in the Real Time Rendering Product.
Viewing objects
When you set a white background color in Tools... > Options > General > Display > Visualization, annotations, texts and lines with a white color cannot be seen.
Using Russian fonts on SUN
  • When undocking toolbars, the title is not display at its full height and is partially truncated.
  • The Sketcher Tools toolbar is partially hidden by a white banner when creating a sketch.
Recording videos on Windows 64-bit
In the Video Properties dialog box you open through Tools > Image > Video, there is no access to DirectShow codecs on Windows 64-bit. The only accessible codecs are VFW (Video for Windows) codecs.
Off the shelf VFW 64 bit codecs are very rare and most often not compatible with Version 5. Consequently, a Version 5-compatible MJPEG VFW codec for 64-bit is provided. The DirectShow MJPEG codec is not provided on Windows 64-bit.
Refer to the official documentation for more information about how to install this codec.
Large memory allocation
When printing large documents, the printing process tries to use the dpi value defined in the raster driver's settings and checks if memory allocation is possible before printing.

However, note that the detection of large memory allocation is available on Windows 32-bit only.

Capturing images in Screen Mode on UNIX
On UNIX, the Screen Mode available via Tools > Image > Capture supports only 24-bit visuals (TrueColor or DirectColor): it does not support 8-bit visuals (PseudoColor or StaticColor).
Workaround: use the xdpyinfo UNIX command to check the current visual characteristics. If this visual is 8 bits, then change the settings of the Windows Manager to a 24-bit visual.
Printing/Capturing using the Print white vectors in black/Capture white in black option
If you print documents with the Print white vectors in black option activated or if you capture images with the Capture white in black option activated, white specular spots displayed on parts in Shading rendering mode appear in black.
Printing 2D drawings
When the text has overlapping contours, some of the contours are not correctly tessellated. Below are two examples:

Example 1

Example 2

Printing using the Rasterization rendering mode
  • This functionality is not supported in batch mode.
    Workaround: use VB commands
  • For large formats (i.e. > 4A0), if the amount of allocated memory is exceeded, you may encounter problems when using 3D PLM raster printers
  • For documents of type 2D Layout, note that:
    • on Windows, 2 GB of RAM is the minimum recommended amount of memory
    • on UNIX, performances may be decreased when printing large formats (i.e. > 4A0).
Print Batch utility
  • The Print Batch utility as well as any utilities customized via VB Script macros do not support the print of documents generated with the 2D Layout for 3D Design product. Documents can only be printed from an interactive session.
  • You cannot print in batch mode a document with a scale that does not correspond to the session scale. If you try to do so, some geometrical data will not be loaded, and the printing process will fail without displaying any error message.
    Remote printing has some limitations for documents with a non-standard scale. For instance, to print a Small Scale document in remote mode, the remote computer must be in a Small Scale session (i.e. Small Scale option selected in Tools > Options > General > Parameters and Measures > Scale).
    Loading and printing processes are done by the remote computer and therefore, the scale of the document must correspond to the scale session of the remote computer. This implies that when you are in a local Standard Scale session, you can print in remote mode a Small Scale document on the remote computer if the remote scale is in a Small Scale session. Moreover, no error message is displayed if the scales of the local/remote computers do not fit, or if the scale of the document and the remote scale session do not fit (in this case, the print will fail)
Printing clipped entities
The clipping of entities is not correctly supported by the vector rendering mode named Dynamic Hidden Line Removal.
Workaround: use the Hidden Line Removal rendering mode instead.
Print variable
The PRINT_CAPTURE_DPI variable is ignored when saving a CATDrawing to a Tiff file. The DPI stored in the settings is used instead.
Saving a document with multiple sheets in single vectorial file
When using the Save multisheet document in a single vectorial file option available in Tools > Options... > General > Compatiblity > Graphic Formats, note that the only Version 5 viewer supporting multisheet information is the TIFF viewer. Other Version 5 viewers for GL2, GL, CGM, SVG and PS do not support this feature.
Copying/Pasting .CATDrawing documents on UNIX
On UNIX, note that when pasting an existing drawing to a new one, the viewer of the new drawing may not be correctly dimensioned.
Workaround: resize manually the viewer, or use the Maximize capability to resize the viewer.
3D XML

Saving in 3D XML format - General information

  • When working on 3D XML files from 3DLive, note that:
    • the review structure is changed at save: different reviews on a same level will be merged into a single one and the reviews on assembly nodes will be saved under the root
    • 3D XML V4 format allows more markup than supported by CATIA V5R17 SP5. A V4 3D XML  file received from another source could have such information (such as spline, big arrows...). If this 3D XML is modified in R17 SP5, such markup will be lost. A warning message is displayed to inform the user when such information is present in a source 3D XML
  • DMU contents (Scene, Presentation, Measure, Section and Annotated Views) are now treated as one (Design Review).

DMU Navigator

For open issues specific to the DMU Navigator product, see the DMU Navigator Program Directory.

Materials

For open issues specific to materials, see the Real Time Rendering Program Directory.

CATDrawings

For open issues specific to CATDrawings, see the Interactive Drafting and Generative Drafting Program Directories.

Scenes and Presentations

  • User-defined attributes of scenes are not saved in 3D XML format
  • If a Presentation references applicative data which cannot be saved in 3D XML, then the links to these applicative data are removed from the .3dxml file. A warning message is added in the conversion log.
  • Presentation rendering styles supported in 3D XML format are (all other rendering styles will be converted to Shading with Material with edges and points in the 3D XML file):
    • Shading with Material
    • Shading with Material, edges and points (custom mode)
    • Wireframe (NHR)
    • Triangles shading, no edges & points (custom mode)
    • Gouraud shading, edges, dynamic hidden line removal (custom mode)

Measures (Item and Between)

  • When saving in 3D XML format a product containing Measure Between or Measure Item stored in a complex DMU Review structure (with sub-reviews), the measures between are also saved in the 3D XML file. However, when reopening the 3D XML file, the Measures are created in a default DMU Review: the complex DMU Review structure is not retrieved.
    • Associativity is not retrieved when saving in 3D XML. The re-created measure between is broken and thus non associative.
    • when saving in 3D XML format a product containing Measure Between or Measure Item stored in a complex DMU Review structure (with sub-reviews), the measures between are also saved in the 3D XML file.
    • The customization of the repositioning of lines and text for a measure (green-colored) is not retrieved in the 3D XML file: when reopening the 3D XML file, all measures appear in the default position
    • The customization of the measure display is not retrieved in 3D XML format: when reopening the 3D XML file, all values are saved and the measure is displayed using the current customization.
    • Only Measure Item and Measure Between can be exported to 3D XML format. Measure Thickness and Measure Arc (by 3 points) are not taken into account. In Measure Between, the angle measured is not exported either.
    • Measures with names such as "MeasureBetween.5" or "MeasureBetween.XXX" will be saved as "MeasureBetween.1", "MeasureBetween.2", etc.
    • Maximum Distance cannot be saved in 3D XML format.
    • When saving in 3D XML format a product containing Measure Between or Measure Item stored in a complex DMU Review structure (with sub-reviews), the measures between are also saved in the 3D XML file.

Sections

  • The selected objects that are cut are not exported.
  • The behavior of Sections with respect to the associativity mechanism and/or the Section Freeze mode is not exported.
  • The information related to the grid (activated, values, behavior) is not exported.
  • The applicative data under a Section are not exported. This means that measures, distances, 3D annotations and 2D annotations are not exported if they are stored under the Section.
  • New product > Insert a 3D XML containing a section:
    • The section appears in the specification tree but is not valid.
    • The section is not displayed in the geometry.
Double-clicking a document on Windows
When double-clicking a document icon using the Windows Explorer or My Computer, the following error message may appear, even though the double-clicked document is correctly loaded in session:

Ignore the message.

Interrupting batches on UNIX
Using the Interrupt contextual command in the Processes tab of the batch monitor lets you interrupt batch execution. When you interrupt a batch on UNIX, an abnormal end is generated.
Ignore the abnormal end.
Rendering styles
When using View > Render Style, the Customize View mode appears twice:

This mode should be named Customize View Parameters as explained in the documentation and should appear only once in the list.
This will be fixed in a forthcoming release.

Knowledgeware
xlsx files (Excel 2007) used by Design Tables cannot be saved in ENOVIA. Only Design Tables that use .xls files can be saved.

Documentation

DLName support in Macros
The section "Automating Repetitive Tasks Using Macros" in the Infrastructure Users Guide now includes the following remark about DLName support:

"Furthermore, DLNames are now supported. If you set the DLName option to Current via the Tools>Options>General>Document tab, and access Directories as Library Type using the Macros... command and click the "Add existing libraries" button, the DLName window is displayed. For more information about setting DLNames, refer to the DLName documentation section in this guide."

Macros
The External References screenshot has been replaced with the correct icon:

Viewing Tools
The SpacePilot PRO is supported from R19 SP4.

Just like the SpacePilot, the SpacePilot PRO can be used, in addition to the mouse, to perform graphic viewing manipulations (zoom, pan, rotate, etc.) in one single motion.

To download the latest 3Dconnexion software, browse the following Internet site:

http://www.3Dconnexion.com

SpacePilot PRO is supported on Windows XP SP2/SP3 and Vista (all editions) x86 and x64. It requires a 3DConnexion 3DxSoftware 3.7.6 (minimum level). 

SpacePilot PRO developed by 3Dconnexion is an advanced 3D Mouse equipped with a color LCD panel which, among other features, labels the functions of the device buttons.

This new device offers more capabilities such as: advanced MCAD navigation (standard views and 3D Mouse settings keys), LCD Workflow Assistant (e-mail, calendar, function key feedback, and more) ; dual-function keys for frequently used commands ; superior comfort for long work sessions.

Device buttons are mapped using the dedicated Button Customize dialog box. Whenever you change a button function in the 3DxWare driver, this change appears on the color LCD panel and in the Button Customize dialog box.
Inversely, whenever a change is made in the Button Customize dialog box, the new button function is displayed on the color LCD panel and in the 3DxWare driver.

For detailed information on this device, browse the following Internet site:

http://www.3Dconnexion.com

Increased Similarity between HLR and HRD when Printing Documents

Customizing Print Settings

  • In the Various tab of the Options dialog box, The Use 3D accuracy check box is now also activated when working in Default rendering mode.
  • In the Various tab of the Options dialog box, when using the Hidden Line Removal rendering mode, the No smooth edges rendering style of the window is now taken into account when generating the plot.

About HLR Algorithms

  • HLR and Dynamic Hidden Line Removal are not computed the same way because Dynamic Hidden Line Removal (HRD) is primarily based on the graphics card. Therefore, discrepancies might appear between the two results.
    For instance, on screen in 2D Layout for 3D Design in HRD mode, the intersection profile of an object with a front cutting plane or a back clipping plane is not displayed. However, the HLR print result shows this intersection profile:
 
 Shading with Edges HRD HLR
 
  • Note the following restrictions:
    • HLR behaves badly when the Display all elements using Z-buffer depth option is selected in Tools > Options... > General > Display > Visualization.
    • HLR behaves badly with points, certain kinds of line, texts and images as soon as they are in Z mode (i.e. they participate in the Z-buffer).
    • Smooth edges cannot be removed when using HLR if the three following conditions are fulfilled at the same time:
      • The model has been designed in Version 5 (e.g. a CATPart).
      • The model was first created before V5R16.
      • The V5 session uses the cache management option OR only the CGR file of the CATPart model is inserted in the Product, not the CATPart itself.
    • Smooth edges cannot be removed when using HLR if the window viewpoint is CONIC.
  • In Exact mode, the smoothness of edges can now be switched off or on.
  • In Polyhedral mode, the smoothness of edges can now be switched off or on.
  • Regarding clashing bodies, the Polyhedral mode is a lot more robust than the Exact mode although it does not strictly support all clashing configurations.
  • Specific geometric elements such as curved pipes or cylinders are now affected by clipping views, sections or polygonal traps during the HLR rendering process.
Automatic disconnection after ... minutes

Restriction: on Windows operating systems, if a message popup box is displayed, then automatic disconnection does not occur.

Lighting with a low-angle camera
When visualizing a surface with a low-angle camera, visual artefacts might appear. This is due to the lighting computation which is done per vertex. In that case, the standard OpenGL lighting mode is used.

The OpenGL lighting model is hard-coded in the graphics card and works as follows: given the color of the three vertices, the color of pixels within a triangle is computed as a linear combination of the color at the three vertices of the triangle. Of course, it is an approximation of the real computation.

Below is an example showing how white stripes are triangle-dependent:
Fixed sag = 0.001
No zoom:
After zooming.
No visual artefact:
After zooming in.
Visual artefact appears:
Conclusion.
This is due to triangles:
This visual artefact might be removed by using an advanced material (such as a CgFX material) because the texture fetch is performed at pixel level, and not at vertex level. For detailed information about advanced materials, refer to the Version 5 - Real Time Rendering User's Guide.

The pictures below show how the visual artefact disappears when applying advanced materials:
Aluminium material.
No shader:
Chroma polished advanced material.
Made of CgFX shader:
Aluminium brushed advanced material.
Made of CgFX shader:
Decreasing the sag value (which makes the tessellation more accurate) in Tools... > Options > General > Display > Performance reduces the visual artefact because there are more triangles, these triangles are smaller and therefore, the density of vertices is higher.

However, if you keep on zooming in, this visual artefact will reappear when the camera is getting closer to the mesh.

The only way to reduce this visual artefact is to modify the tessellation settings (i.e. the 3D accuracy and the curves' accuracy ratio) and to reduce the material reflectivity.