The Life of a CATIA V5 CATSettings

Administrator

Laura Boyle,
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
CAD Development & Support
Software Engineer

This is the true story of what life is like for the Lockheed
Martin Aeronautics (LM Aero) CATIA V5 CATSettings ADMIN.
Lets follow the ADMIN as they
Give an overview of the CATIA V5 CATSettings hierarchical

concatenation mechanism and the LM Aero architecture designed

around this functionality

Make and Distribute CATSettings changes - The process and

management of CATSettings changes across the LM Aero Enterprise

Migrate CATSettings for a new release of CATIA V5 The BIG

Game

Enhance CATIA V5 performance using CATSettings

Provide Lessons Learned

Overview(1 of 4): CATIA V5 CATSettings Hierarchy

CATIA V5 uses a hierarchical concatenation mechanism to
define the directory paths to CATSettings files that store
customized attribute values
The CATReferenceSettingPath and CATUserSettingPath CATIA V5

Environment variables define location of customized CATSettings files

LM Aero Startup
creates CATIA V5
Environment file
based on user inputs

CATReferenceSettingPath=P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\CATSettings\LMAeroBase;
P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\CATSettings\F35;
P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\lmapps\CATSettings;
P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\CATSettings\cmi
CATUserSettingPath=U:\catv5\v5r17\CATSettings

Overview(2 of 4): CATIA V5 CATSettings Hierarchy

How does Hierarchical concatenation work? Dependent on list of
paths defined
1st path : Dassault Hard Coded Defaults
Superseded by all customized attribute values defined at CATIA start
2nd thru N paths: Defined by CATReferenceSettingPath variable
Store customized attribute values known as ADMIN settings
Use LOCKS to control attribute values

Last path: Defined by CATUserSettingPath variable

Store users customized attribute values which supersede all previous
attribute values unless LOCKED
rd party
Example:
Example: Paths
Paths defined
defined based
based on
on Program,
Program, 33rd
party application
application choices
choices

CATReferenceSettingPath=P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\CATSettings\LMAeroBase;
P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\CATSettings\F35;
P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\lmapps\CATSettings;
P:\Is\Apps\Catia\LM\v5r17\prod\CATSettings\cmi
CATUserSettingPath=U:\catv5\v5r17\CATSettings

Overview(3 of 4): LM Aero Strategy for Customizing

CATSettings
LM Aero ADMIN
The flexibility in customizing the CATSettings CATSettings directories
FOR PROD MODE
attribute values drives the creation of many
ADMIN paths for a variety of users tasks
Our CATIA V5 CATSettings are customized by

Site, Program, CATIA V5 Release,

License/Discipline, and 3rd Party Application
choice
We have created over 200 customized
CATSettings files

200 files x avg 5 attributes per file customized =

1000 customized attributes!

Overview(4 of 4): LM Aero Strategy for Customizing

CATSettings
To ensure that users meet key company
design practices and industry standards,
WE MUST CONTROL AND
MANAGE OUR CATSETTINGS
CATIA V5 at LM Aero is started via

our CAD V5 Startup application to

control the CATIA V5 Environment
and CATSettings paths our users use to
do their tasks

The LM Aero CATIA V5 CATSettings ADMINs are solely

responsible for maintaining and modifying the CATIA V5
CATSettings across the company

How do we make changes to our CATIA V5

CATSettings? The LM Aero way (1 of 3)
Step 1: The Requests Roll in..and need to be Documented!
Types of change requests
Emergency requests: These requests are to be implemented as
soon as possible in support of production users
CATIA V5 Domain/Discipline Subject Matter Expert (SME)
requests: These requests are made for unique Domain/Disciplines
(ie Electrical, NC, Tubing, etc) Workbenches
Program approved requests: These requests are made by program
users or CAD Development & Support group on behalf of the
program
Groups of CATSettings attribute changes are gathered together

(except for Emergency changes) and rolled when convenient

How do we make changes to our CATIA V5

CATSettings? The LM Aero way (2 of 3)
Step 2: LM Aero CATSettings ADMIN
stages changes in LM Aero TEST
CATIA V5 Environment
Changes to the CATSettings are staged

in our TEST environment for testing and

evaluation prior to production turnover
Starting CATIA V5 in ADMIN mode and

making CATSettings changes has been

automated and tailored via our CAD V5
Startup application

Changes made to Tools->Options panel

in ADMIN mode are stored in one of

the .CATSettings files

Administratively
Locked

And the Fun partfiguring out the

.CATSettings file that contains the

change you made!

The CATIA V5 CATSettings ADMIN

documents changes made in TEST

Not
Locked

How do we make changes to our CATIA V5

CATSettings? The LM Aero way (3 of 3)
Step 3: CATSettings changes made in TEST Environment are
reviewed and approved/disapproved by CATIA V5 SMEs and
other important Points of Contact.
A virtual review is typically held via email with a file attachment of

the CATSettings change documentation

Step 4: Prepare proposed CATSettings for Production turnover

Coordinate and communicate the files required to be moved to

PRODUCTION Environment
Notify CATIA V5 production users affected by the ADMIN
CATSettings modifications

Our CAD V5 Startup application provides the functionality to flag users

with important messages such as CATSettings changes.

The Big Game-Migrating CATSettings for a new

release of CATIA V5 (1 of 5)
Performance issues resulted when using CATIA
V5R12 version of CATSettings with CATIA V5R14
Use of CATIA V5R12
VisualizationRepository.CATSettings ADMIN file doubled
the time to generate CGRs (6 min to 12 min)
Use of CATIA V5R12 version of cke.CATSettings ADMIN
file resulted in user not being able to change units of
measure

CATSettings files are not upwardly compatible from

earlier releases
IBM/Dassault recommended using 2 applications
within basic CATIA V5 install to migrate
CATSettings
CATBatGenXMLSet exports .CATSettings file to .XML
CATSettings file format
CATBatImpXMLSet imports .XML CATSetting file format
to .CATSettings file

The Big Game-migrating CATSettings for a new

release of CATIA V5 (2 of 5)
Heres what happened when LM Aero ADMIN used tools to migrate
CATSettings (CATIA V5R17 to CATIA V5R18 migration)
TEST with the COMMON LM Aero ADMIN Settings = 114 files
CATBatGenXMLSet Errors : Setting X is Empty errors on 2 files
(CATProduct.CATSettings and VRCommands.CATSettings)
CATBatImpXMLSet Errors : None reported from utility and all 114
CATSettings files created
During validation of the migrated CATSettings in CATIA V5 R18, found

some customized attributes values did not get migrated correctly

Used V5R17 To V5R18 migrated CATSettings files to test generation of
XML files for future migrations
Upon examination of V5R17 To V5R18 CATSettings in XML format, we

found that only the customized attribute values were exported to XML files

The Big Game-migrating CATSettings for a new

release of CATIA V5 (3 of 5)
Analysis of migrated files..lets look at LineTypeRepository.CATSettings
One of missing locks on migrated file found in this CATSetting file
Printout of LineTypeRepository.CATSetting file in XML format
V5R17
LineTypeRepository
(V5R17)
CATBatGenXML Output

6 attributes

V5R17 To V5R18
LineTypeRepository
(V5R18)
CATBatGenXML Output

EMPTY

V5R18 From Scratch

LineTypeRepository(V5R18)
CATBatGenXML Output

6 attributes

Missing Attributes and Locks = Create CATSettings from Scratch

The Big Game-migrating CATSettings for a new

release of CATIA V5 (5 of 5)
Everybody wins when you create CATSettings from scratch!

For some CATSettings files with a large number of customized attribute

values, we do use the utilities

Cke.CATSettings file = 205 attributes of which we customize 98 values (use

115 Dassault default values)

Improvements/Help Requested from Dassault with CATSettings

migration
Can we get documentation on the new CATSettings/attributes at each

release? (PMR 47551,004,000 Documentation on CATSetting/Attribute)

Reply to PMR was that this request for documentation was an enhancement

Enhancements we would like to Migration utilities

Utilities need to migrate all or as many of the CATSettings as possible without

missing attribute values or locks

Better error messages that tell us when a file hasnt migrated correctly
Enhancement that displays Dassault Default values of CATSettings attributes
These utilities should be part of the Utilities/Batch Monitor option

Enhancing CATIA V5 performance with CATSettings

Depending on the CATIA V5 task, performance can have
different meanings
Performance could mean the time it takes to load a CATIA V5

document (ie CATProduct)

Performance could mean whether or not there is enough Memory
available to create drawing views of Large Assembly CATProduct.
Performance could mean the behavior of CATIA V5 with other
Microsoft applications in a users Windows session.
We have implemented 3GB MS Windows XP initialization change
to allow usage of additional memory
64 Bit Hardware/Operating system available with CATIA V5 R17
There are some CATSettings attribute values that can help or
hurt CATIA V5 performance, based on how they are set

Decreasing CATProduct Load Time to Enhance Performance

(1 of 2)
Turn ON work with cache management
Use the release cache management

For large CATProduct visualization tasks,

use large 3D accuracy value to create cgrs
faster: To realize this time savings, user
must re generate CGRs with modified value

Decreasing CATProduct Load Time to Enhance Performance

(2 of 2)

The document search order found under

Linked Document Localization can hurt
performance as well as loading out of
date parts

Reducing memory usage to enhance Large Assy/Drafting

performance (1 of 2)

Turn OFF all Automatic Updates

Use Approximate View Generation for

Large Installation Layouts ONLY
Turn OFF Exact preview and Turn ON
Enable occlusion culling

Reducing memory usage to enhance Large Assy/Drafting

performance (1 of 2)

Set Undo Stack size to LOWER

value

Corrupt CATSettings will hurt CATIA V5 performance

Having CATIA V5 problems? Try going back to the defaults!
When users customize CATSettings, they can inadvertently cause

adverse CATIA V5 performance

It is critical for users to understand how to save their customized

CATSettings and restore default ADMIN CATSettings

LM Aero Startup has ability to

remove users CATSettings

In CATIA V5, user can reset defaults

from Tools->Options panel

Some Lessons Learned by the LM Aero CATSettings ADMIN

Dont forget about the hierarchy of CATSettings: Dassault hard
coded defaults superseded by ADMIN superseded by user
settings
CATSettings are release specific and could lead to performance
issues in future releases
The CATBatGenXMLSet and CATBatImpXMLSet utilities may
not completely migrate CATSettings to new releases, but they have
value!
Beware workbench flags that may override user and ADMIN
settings
It is critical that a CATSettings ADMIN control and manage some
of the CATSettings attribute values to help users perform tasks
efficiently in CATIA V5

Detail Information

Overview(1 of 4): CATIA V5 CATSettings Hierarchy

CATIA V5 uses a hierarchical concatenation mechanism to define the directory paths

to CATSettings files that store customized attribute values

CATSettings files store attribute values customized during session of CATIA V5.

The CATReferenceSettingPath and CATUserSettingPath CATIA V5 Environment variables define the

location of customized CATSettings files

CATSettings are stored when user accesses Tools->Options panel or when they set default paths and data when using
any of workbenches or CATIA V5 functions.
These variables are set in the CATIA V5 Environment Start file and define location of customized CATSettings files
CATReferenceSettingPath variable is used to set the ADMIN level customized CATSettings directory paths
CATUserSettingPath variable is used to set the users customized CATSettings directory path
At LM Aero, we use an in-house developed Startup application to customize the CATIA V5 Environment Start file
with LM Aero CATIA V5 environment paths based on users choice of Site, Program ,CATIA V5 Release,
License/Discipline, and 3rd Party Application choice prior to CATIA start

A single CATSettings file contains MULTIPLE attribute values.

LM Aero Startup creates

CATIA V5 Environment
file and starts CATIA
session

CATReferenceSettingPath=P:\
CATReferenceSettingPath=P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\CATSettings\
CATSettings\LMAeroBase;
P:\
P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\CATSettings\
CATSettings\F35;
P:\
P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\lmapps\
lmapps\CATSettings;
P:\
P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\CATSettings\
CATSettings\cmi
CATUserSettingPath=U:\
CATUserSettingPath=U:\catv5\
catv5\v5r16\
v5r16\CATSettings

Overview(2 of 4): CATIA V5 CATSettings Hierarchy

How does Hierarchical concatenation work? Dependent on list of paths defined

1st level : Dassault Hard Coded Defaults which are superseded by any customized attribute value
defined in Start file

One BIG PROBLEM for LM Aero: The default settings units are metric, not English units. There is NO WAY
to permanently alter the Dassault default values and if customized attribute value is not found, metric will be
used.

2nd thru N levels: ADMIN Paths set to define location of customized CATSettings files
CATSettings values defined at the N level supersede N-1 level, N-1 supersede N-

21st level unless LOCKED at any previous level

CATSettings values defined at the N level supersede N-1 level, N-1 supersedes N-2etc

Last level: User CATSettings found in CATUserSettingPath directory location supersede all ADMIN
level CATSettings values UNLESS LOCKED in ADMIN CATSettings

Example:
hoices
Example: Paths
Paths defined
defined based
based on
on Program,
Program, 3rd
3rd party
party application
application cchoices
CATReferenceSettingPath=P:\
CATReferenceSettingPath=P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\CATSettings\
CATSettings\LMAeroBase;
P:\
P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\CATSettings\
CATSettings\F35;
P:\
P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\lmapps\
lmapps\CATSettings;
P:\
P:\Is\
Is\Apps\
Apps\Catia\
Catia\LM\
LM\v5r16\
v5r16\prod\
prod\CATSettings\
CATSettings\cmi
CATUserSettingPath=U:\
CATUserSettingPath=U:\catv5\
catv5\v5r16\
v5r16\CATSettings

Overview(3 of 4): LM Aero Strategy for Customizing

LM Aero ADMIN
CATSettings

The flexibility of customizing CATIA V5 via the

CATSettings attribute values drives the creation of many
ADMIN paths for a variety of users tasks

Our CATIA V5 CATSettings are customized based on Site, Program,

CATIA V5 Release, License/Discipline, and 3rd Party Application
choice
We have created over 200 customized CATSettings files

We found for our common usage of the CATIA V5 application,

which includes standard CATIA V5 functionality (Part Design,
Assembly Design, Generative Shape Design, Drafting), as well as
DELMIA, NC Programming, Tubing and Digital Mockup
Navigator, we have created over 200 customized CATSettings files.

200 files x avg 5 attributes per file customized = 1000 customized attributes!

The avg 5 attributes per file is a ROM as some files, like

cke.CATSettings have 80+ customized attributes

CATSettings directories
FOR PROD MODE

Overview(3 of 4): LM Aero Strategy for Customizing

CATSettings

To ensure that users meet key company design practices

and industry standards, WE MUST CONTROL AND
MANAGE OUR CATSETTINGS

CATIA V5 at LM Aero is started via our CAD V5 Startup

application to control the CATIA V5 Environment and
CATSettings paths our users use to do their tasks
Only key attributes to meet our standards are managed to
ensure the fidelity of the users CATIA V5 session and of the
products they produce

The LM Aero CATIA V5 CATSettings ADMINs are solely responsible for

maintaining and modifying the CATIA V5 CATSettings across the company

How do we make changes to our CATIA V5

CATSettings? The LM Aero way (1 of 3)
Step 1: The Requests Roll in..and need to be Documented!
Types of change requests
Emergency requests: These requests are to be implemented as soon
as possible in support of production users
CATIA V5 Domain/Discipline Subject Matter Expert (SME)
requests: These requests are made for unique Domain/Disciplines
(ie Electrical, NC, Tubing, etc) Workbenches
Program approved requests: These requests are made by program
users or CAD Development & Support group on behalf of the
program
Personal preference requests are flushed out

Groups of CATSettings attribute changes are gathered together

(except for Emergency changes) and rolled when convenient

How do we make changes to our CATIA V5

CATSettings? The LM Aero way (2 of 3)

Step 2: LM Aero CATSettings ADMIN stages changes in

LM Aero TEST CATIA V5 Environment

Changes to the CATSettings are staged in our TEST

environment for testing and evaluation prior to production
turnover

And the Fun partfiguring out the .CATSettings file that

contains the change you made!

Running CATIA V5 in ADMIN mode and making CATSettings

changes has been automated and tailored via our CAD V5 Startup
application
We prefer to start and use an ADMIN session of CATIA V5 rather
than the CATOptionsMgt.exe

The ADMIN attribute changes you make with the Tools->Options

panel are stored in one of the .CATSettings files
One thing to note: multiple attribute changes on one Tools->Options
panel may create multiple .CATSettings files updates to track
For example, the panel shown creates the following
.CATSettings files when the OK button is
CATAutoLogoff
CATMemWarning
Conferencing
WarmStart

Administratively
Locked

The CATIA V5 CATSettings ADMIN documents changes

made in TEST

A PowerPoint document of images that show the NEW and

OLD CATSettings attribute values works well for
communication.

Not Locked

The Big Game-migrating CATSettings for a new

release of CATIA V5 (1 of 5)

We experienced issues when using CATIA V5R12 version of

CATSettings with CATIA V5R14

Use of CATIA V5R12 VisualizationRepository.CATSettings

ADMIN file doubled the time to generate CGRs (6 min to 12 min)
Use of CATIA V5R12 version of cke.CATSettings ADMIN file
resulted in user not being able to change units of measure
For details, contact Laura Boyle for presentation given at NTXCOE
RUG November 11, 2005

CATSettings files are not upwardly compatible from earlier releases

IBM/Dassault recommended using 2 applications within basic

CATIA V5 install to migrate our CATSettings

CATBatGenXMLSet exports .CATSettings file to .XML

CATSettings file format

CATBatImpXMLSet imports .XML CATSetting file format to

.CATSettings file

Create XML files of CATSettings files using earlier CATIA Release(e.g. - v5r17)

Create .CATSettings files from XML files using later CATIA Release (e.g. v5r18)

Per CATIA V5R18 Help Documentation, the following files can not
be exported or imported via these utilities

FrameConfig.CATSettings actually does get migrated successfully

FrameGeneral.CATSettings actually does get migrated successfully
DLNames.CATSettings (should use CATSysDLExport tool).

The Big Game-migrating CATSettings for a new

release of CATIA V5 (2 of 5)

What happened when LM Aero ADMIN used the migrate tools? (CATIA V5R17 to CATIA
V5R18 migration)

Started with the COMMON LM Aero ADMIN Settings (used by all users) = 114 .CATSettings files

Created simple MS DOS Scripts to run the CATBatGenXMLSet and CATBatImpXMLSet utilities on
directory of files
CATBatGenXMLSet Errors -> Setting X is Empty errors on 2 files (CATProduct.CATSettings and
VRCommands.CATSettings)
CATBatImpXMLSet Errors->None reported from utility and all 114 CATSettings files created

During verification of the migrated CATSettings, found some attributes values that did not get
migrated correctly

First signs of invalid migration discovered in the form of missing locks when looking at the V5R17ToV5R18
file in interactive session Tools->Options panel vs. the V5R17 file interactive session Tools->Options panel.

15 Locks missing out of 90 total locked attributes (same results for CATIA V5R16 To CATIA V5R17)
Locks missing were on Dassault default attribute values

SymbolicLinks Other Folders customized values were not migrated

Used V5R17 To V5R18 migrated CATSettings files to test generation of XML files for future migrations
We created XMLs of the migrated files and got Set X is Empty Errors on 24 files (including
CATProduct and VRCommands file)
Upon examination of V5R17 To V5R18 CATSettings in XML format, we found that only the
customized attribute values were exported to XML files

Some Lessons Learned by the LM Aero CATSettings ADMIN

Dont forget about the hierarchy of CATSettings: Dassault hard coded
defaults superseded by ADMIN superseded by user settings
CATSettings are release specific and could lead to performance issues in
future releases
The CATBatGenXMLSet and CATBatImpXMLSet utilities may not
completely migrate CATSettings to new releases, but they have value!

We use these utilities to create XMLs and determine in which .CATSettings

file the attributes are stored.

Also helpful in the validation of critical CATSettings attribute values (latest
enhancement to our CAD V5 Startup application)

Beware workbench flags that may override user and ADMIN settings
Tubing workbench in V5 R17 had flag that overrode CATSetting value

It is critical that a CATSettings ADMIN control and manage some of the

CATSettings attribute values to help users perform tasks efficiently in
CATIA V5