Select multiple operations w/ shift key

[MIL-TFP-41]

Select multiple operations w/ shift key appears to not work in X2MR1. you can do it with the control key...but then you have to select EACH operation one at a time instead of several at once

 

Any Thoughts??

[William Grizwald]

I just installed MR1 myself but I've found this to be an issue back with X and X2 when the number of operations starts to grow (100+). After using the file for a while, selecting several operations was almost impossible. Sometimes I could not even select one without trying several times. I found if I just quit MCX and restart, all was good again. Try it yourself an see if that fixes it.

 

--

Bill

[Matt Berube at Ferron Mold]

Lets see if I can do this without violating my beta agreement...

 

Uh...

 

Well I can't really think of a way to do that but rest assured there are changes coming...

 

[gcode]

James, this function comes and goes.

Aftr reading your post, I tried it and it would not work. An hour later in a new session, it worked fine.

I have not been able to pin down what breaks it.

Copy and pasting OPs may have something todo with it, and I think creating new groups may cause a problem as well.

[Thee Rickster ™]

Same here... but sometimes it works for a couple

of new jobs all the way through.

 

i noticed it sometimes acts up after i delete

paths.

[gcode]

quote:

---

it sometimes acts up after i delete

paths.

---

I agree.. deleting toolpaths can cause affect the abilty to select toolpaths.

Sometimes if I delete a toolpaths, I cannot select any other toolpath in that group.

Clicking on a toolpath in a different group

seems to reset things.

[Colin Gilchrist]

Ususally running RAM saver will clear this up without forcing you to re-start Mastercam.

[Guest]

Colin,

 

I see you recommend using RAM Saver for almost everything. The truth of it all is it does not clear up many of the problems seen but worse it doesn't get to the underlying problem.

 

There IS a problem here and has been for awhile, it's supposed to be be addressed but with each new release when?

 

We should NOT have to keep hitting a button and waiting and if your file is larger you do wait for this to do it's thing, whatever it is doing.

 

I am not attacking you Colin but somethings need to be addressed in my opinion before we continue moving forward, I think the things that are wrong now should be fixed.

[Colin Gilchrist]

John,

 

I'm in total agreement. It should be fixed. The reason I recommend RAM saver in instances where the Ops manager is acting up is that it is usually faster than re-starting Mastercam and re-opening the same file. The reason I keep repeating it is that most people don't know about it or fail to use it.

 

Why do I keep recommending it? Because it works for a lot of things. Not everything, but its a nice shortcut to get Mastercam out of a funk sometimes without requiring a restart.

 

I want these issues addressed just as bad as you do. Part of what I'm trying to show people is that there are ways to maximize your use of Mastercam and make your use of it more efficent.

 

I've had to use work arounds in Mastercam since I started using it almost 10 years ago. I'm sure you do as well. Mastercam is great software, but I have yet to see any software that is bug free.

 

Thanks,

[Matt Berube at Ferron Mold]

I don't know what I am doing wrong but any time I ever tried to use RAM-Saver I ran out of patience before it ever finished RAM-Saving.

 

In my experience I can shut down Mcam AND re-boot my PC faster than using RAM-Saver.

 

You guys get it to work faster than this ?

[Guest]

Matt,

 

Like I said above the larger more complex the file the longer it takes. If you have a LOT of geometry it's going to take a couple of minutes.

[Thee Rickster ™]

My CNC prgrammer tried using Ram saver as suggested

and lost some very important geometry.

 

His Autosave causes crashes and sometime

when opening a backup it is corrupt.

 

I think that service packs should be a higher

priority than Maintenance. They can always give

maintenance customers a break while the make the

software more resource friendly and reliable.

 

IMO

[gcode]

quote:

---

His Autosave causes crashes

---

Autosave seems to work OK with small files.

The problems I've had with Autosave involve big files.

A large file with lots of surfacing or 5X OPs and large solids can take from 30secs to a couple of minutes to save.

So Autosave kicks in and starts a save, the operator doesn't know its happening and continues to bang away at his keyboard.

The computer is trying to save a huge file and proccess new commands simultaneously. It can't do

it , locks up and and three days work is gone

This happened to me a lot in V9 and I quit using autosave. I've never tried it in X.

 

The new backup feature in X has worked flawlessly for me, but I've never needed it. I have never lost a file in X.

 

When working on big projects,I still adhere to my V9 school of hard knocks habits though. Every morning , the first thing I do is save my file appended with the date (123OP2_04-08-07)

Coming back from lunch, I overwrite this file.

Following this proceedure, a worst case crash

will cost me a half day's work.

 

These habits were learned the hard way in V9. I still use them, but I have never lost a file in

X or X2.

I am convinced that the main cause of file loss

in X and X2 is the "write a bitmap during save"

option. This proceedure depends on the video card

and video driver taking a screenshot and including

it into the file save process.

If the videocard burps you save afile with 0 bytes.

If you have autosave on and "bitmap" on you are going to get hurt sooner or later.

You are working away, autosave is trying to save, bitmap is trying to take a screen shot. You don't know any of this is happening and contiue to work.

Bitmap is trying to capture an constantly changing image, autosave is trying to save a

constantly changing file. The result is a crash

or worse yet, the successful save of a file containing 0 bytes.

[Todd Tracey from Fastech]

Don't use autosave, it can cause a lot of headaches if you change something while it is running in the background. Colin wrote a GREAT deal of info on this subject in another thread.

[Thee Rickster ™]

G,

 

Mastercam creates large files, thats for sure.

I do side by side testing with another software,

same tolerancing same paths.

I get 20 to 50 meg with the other software

and 150 to 200 meg on MC.

 

I think that is why MC has so many issues.

(It uses way to complex of an infrastructure

resulting in huge files)

 

Autosave should halt all processes for what should

be no more than 5 to 20 sec and resume once

the save is complete.

 

Backup files so far are not 100% reliable either.

So I save about every 15 min and save as:

job_1,job_2 every 3 hrs.

 

I find that is is only reliable way to use MC

for emergency backup.

 

Untill I started using MC I rarely used a backup

or auto saved file, maybe once in a year.

Only time I ever really needed it was before I

had a battery backup power supply.

 

JM2C

[Tim Johnson]

I haven't loaded MR1 yet (waiting for my new puter) but with the other X's when I can't grab multiple ops I just click on any single operation besides the one that's highlighted. When that op is highlighted I am able then to use Ctrl or Shift to grab the multiple ops I need.

[Kelly Burns]

HIJACK:

 

quote:

---

There IS a problem here and has been for awhile, it's supposed to be be addressed but with each new release when?

---

quote:

---

I think the things that are wrong now should be fixed.

---

John,

I would like to borrow a couple of things you have posted in this link, it is not an attack, but its funny how I have felt about a few things for awhile and you have just been the lucky one to make these comments:

 

We have let our maintenance expire for the short term for this very reason. We are tired of things that work on one release go to hell on the next.

A couple of examples that come to mind are 2-D sweeps, and WCS. Two very common items used daily by all in our shop. With X2 SP1 wcs comes and goes, with the release of X2 2d-sweeps come and go. I have sent a few files into qc, but usually with the same outcome."Problem cannot be re-created".

 

As a result of these items and many more like it:

 

We feel it is in the best interest of our shop that if we know what the bugs are at least we can have a predictable outcome. With each release should we be expected to "experiment" and find out what works this time around?

 

I personally believe that I should have stopped upgrading at X MR2. For the features that our shop uses of MasterCam, I believe this was the cleanest copy of the software, again, for our use.

 

I dont belive that I am the only one with these feelings, and as a shop we know that we will eventually pay the cost for the maintenance, we would just like to see some justification for the cost of doing so.

 

This is posted as informative customer feedback and is in no particualar way a degredation to CNC software or any of the members of this forum. It is my personal belief and that of others users in the shop at which I am employed. This is posted with professionalism in mind, and should be treated as constructive criticism only.

 

HIJACK OFF:

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

quote:

---

...We feel it is in the best interest of our shop that if we know what the bugs are at least we can have a predictable outcome...

---

That's funny (ha ha - coffee through the nose on the monitor funny)... ESPECIALLY the "...predictable outcome..." part.

 

Ok, now that I've wiped off my monitor... often times results are not predictable due to software/hardware issues. Different video drivers act differently on different PC's. I don;t mean to make light of the situation. I do agree that there are numerous issues that need to be addressed, absolutely. But issuing bug reports is not necessarrily the answer either because what may work for one company and their hardware may not work for another. Personally I have NEVER had problems with Autosave and I use it religiously. Perhaps I am very vigilant in watching my HDD light on my laptop and don't do things when the HDD is working, perhaps my laptop is well tuned for what I do, there's at least another dozen what if's I could name but they are things that work for me and won't necessarrily work for others... I don't know. I have ALWAYS had "save bitmap" on since it's intruduction in V8. Never had an issue with it so I'll continue to use it. Autosave... it works awesome for me. In the handful of crashes I've experienced with X2... it's saved me a number of hours and cost me none. My Autosave settings are as follows... AutoSave - Checked, NO OTHER CHECKS PERIOD!!! Interval 10 minutes, file name "backup". This has been rock solid FOR ME. It may not be for somebody else and their configutation.

 

 

JM2C

[doyleg]

About the ram saver, I have had probs with it losing operations and also rearranging the other ops so that I had to go back to the last time that I had saved it. It is a pain and also alot of wasted precious time. I do not use auto-save because it does interfere with what is currently being done. I do save after 1/2 an hour or so without the auto-save

[doyleg]

also , the mass copying(shift key) has been a problem since X came out for me.

[Kelly Burns]

James,

 

O.K. How about a "somewhat" predictable outcome? I dont have saving issues, just what works in one release doesnt in the next, or vice versa.

 

Sorry about your monitor.

 

Peace...

[MIL-TFP-41]

just to ressurect this topic...this is friggin annoying as hell....not being able to select multiple ops with shift sucks xxxx. Closing mastercam works for a bit, but should we have to go through this hassle/time waste?