Hi John, Thanks for the G2M offer. I certainly believe you. If you're already working with Colin, he's your best bet. I'm not in the Tech Support area here at CNC. I'll keep an eye on this thread in case there's something I can add to or edit in our documentation regarding this issue. Have a great weekend! Karen

Hi All, Maybe you've already tried this and it didn't work for you, but as stated in the AutoCursor help topic: "Note: If you undock AutoCursor when you are not using a function that requires it, AutoCursor will disappear. It will reappear each time you initiate a function that requires interaction. For example, creating geometry using Sketcher functions." I just made sure it worked this way in X6, and it did. I undocked AutoCursor, it disappeared, I clicked the "Create Rectangle" button (or you can choose pretty much any function from the Create menu like Create>Point), and AutoCursor reappeared. Hope this helps, Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

G10X0Y0Z0 is absolutely correct! 1. Get into the Help any way you want. (Help menu or ? button on a dialog) 2. Click the "Search" tab in the left pane. 3. Type "Defining geometry for a custom lathe tool". 4. Hit "Enter". HTH! Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

Hi Guys, We had some pretty bad storms around here this weekend. We lost power for about 24 hours, but everything should be up and running normally now. Thanks for your patience! Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

Hello, Go to the Settings menu and choose "Configuration." Then click "Screen" in the list of pages on the left. Check or uncheck the "Large Buttons" check box on the right of that page. Hope this helps, Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

_________________________________________________ "There is not a situation on earth with lathe work were a ID tool would retract from deep buried in part straight out in X Only in MC World! You have to use ref points, but this is never pointed out in any of the help files. You only learn this buy experience. Wrecked tools and lots of reset time. It will kill someone one day!!!!!" ________________________________________________ Hi George, Thanks for reporting this … we appreciate all feedback. Although we strive to make our documentation complete and accurate, we cannot cover every situation. Backplot and Verify simulate machining and provide ways to prevent loss of time and materials. Lathe improvements are planned and we will document them as they’re implemented. Thank you for choosing Mastercam. Mastercam Tech Docs

Hello Phil and Everyone, I'm sorry that the information that you needed is not easily found in the Mastercam Help. I will make sure that this is fixed for our next release. Thank you! Karen L. Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

Hi Brian & Chris, Brian, from your answers, I'm going to have to assume that your problem is due to a "weak" computer. Your system paths are set up correctly and Mastercam is accessing the Help successfully, just slowly. I'm sorry that I don't have any quick answers for you other than updating your PC. As far as the educational NetHasp setup that Chris is talking about, it doesn't surprise me that the Help takes a while to open, especially the first time. HTMLHelp systems (.CHMs) rely on temporary files to "remember" where you were in the Help the last time.....kind of like cookies or bookmarks. If a bunch of people are logging on and off for fairly short periods of time and using the Help more often than someone who is more familiar with the product, those temporary files need to be overwritten more often, and that takes a bit more time. I wish that I had more helpful answers for you, but at least you’re both experiencing behavior that sounds “normal.” If you have any other troubles accessing the Help, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks, Karen

Hi Brian, Sorry you're having problems. You're right, this may be due to the fact that your PC needs to be updated, but I'd like to try to help you just in case it's not. Please provide me with answers to the following: 1. Do you have multiple installs of different versions of Mastercam? 2. If you're working with multiple versions of Mastercam, does the Help on the other versions work OK? 3. What is your install path for the version Mastercam that isn't working correctly (i.e., C:MCAMX)? 4. For the version that's not working properly, do you have a "Help" folder directly under your Mastercam install folder (i.e., C:MCAMXHELP)? 5. If so, do you have a bunch of CHM files there (probably about 38 CHM files)? 6. When the Help finally shows up, is it the right topic? 7. Are you having problems getting the Help just from the Help menu at the top of Mastercam, just from the Help buttons, or both? Let's start there. OK? Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

Hi Ken, Welcome! In the Help menu at the top of your Mastercam screen, there's a link to a document called "Reference Guide." There's a bunch of info in there under the "Setting Planes/Views/WCS" chapter that might be helpful. There are also many topics in the Help that cover planes and views....like the "Views, planes, and coordinate systems" topic. Just open the Help (Help>Contents) and use the Search tab to search for words like "views", "planes", or "WCS" and you'll get a list of topics to choose from. Hope these tips help! Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

Hi k, By default, fields in which Mastercam's built-in calculator is active have a yellow background. You can change this color on the Colors page of the System Configuration dialog box. Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC SOftware, Inc.

Hi Mike, Not that this will help you out now, but I will make sure that we document the chevron-on-the-ribbon-bars thing better in the Help and the Reference Guide. Thanks for bringing this to our attention! Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software

Well......when it comes to Vista, I guess that's better than saying "Be afraid, be very afraid!" or maybe "Run away. Run far, far, away!"

Hi Jim, Here's a URL to some information on our Mastercam Web site that will answer your questions regarding Vista support. http://www.mastercam.com/Support/TechTips/...sta-support.htm Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.

Hello, There are many Help topics covering Mastercam default files and how to edit them. In this case, use the Search tab in the Help and search for "Editing a toolpath defaults file". This is a step-by-step procedure with a link to a video and other related topics. Karen Graf Senior Technical Writer CNC Software, Inc.