Release Notes – Alibre Design 9

Add-on Application	Add-on Update Required (Yes/No)		Update Instructions
Add-on Application	From 9.1 SP1	From 9.2	Update Instructions
ALGOR DesignCheck	No	No	None
Alibre Design for Rhino	No	No	None
Alibre Motion	No	No	None
Alibre Part Library	No	No	None
Alibre PhotoRender	Yes	No	Uninstall via Add/Remove Programs; install new version.
Engineers Toolbox	No	No	None
Machinist Toolbox	Yes	No	Uninstall via Add/Remove Programs; install new version.
SprutCAM	Yes	No	Uninstall via Add/Remove Programs; install new version.
VisualMill Basic 3.0	No	No	None

NOTE: During install of any add-on, if presented the choice to Modify, Repair, or Remove the current installation, always select Remove.

Update locally installed Alibre Design Help for Alibre Design 9.2 SP1

Alibre Design customers who have installed Alibre Design Help on their system will need to update to the latest version of Help.

The latest version of Alibre Design Help can always be downloaded from https://www.alibre.com/support/downloads.aspx.

To update Alibre Design Help, first uninstall any existing installation using Microsoft Windows’ Add or Remove Programs control panel, then install Alibre Design Help using the installer.

Minimum System Requirements for Installation

Recommended Operating Systems

· Windows XP Professional Edition or Home Edition

· Windows 2000 Professional SP2 or later

· Windows Vista Business or Home Edition

Unsupported Operating Systems

· Windows XP Starter Edition

· Windows NT

· Windows Me

· Windows 98

Other Operating Systems*

· Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

· Windows Server 2003

· Some display related issues when working with the product online are known to exist particularly on the x64 bit edition. In view of this, these operating systems are not recommended for use in production work. We strongly recommend switching to the recommended operating systems.

Software Requirements

· Internet Explorer 4.01 SP2 or later

· Recommended: Latest version of Internet Explorer

· Microsoft Virtual Machine (Microsoft VM)

· Download Microsoft VM at http://www.alibre.com/downloads

· Microsoft DirectX 9.0c

Internet Connection

No Internet connection is required. The design and data management functions of Alibre Design can be used offline.

An Internet connection is required to hold Team Design sessions, securely share data through the Repository and use the Alibre Assistant for support.

· Minimum: 56.6 kbps

· Recommended: Broadband (DSL, cable modem, T1 or faster)

Hardware Recommendations

Minimum Recommended Hardware for less than 500 parts:

· Intel Pentium or equivalent processor: 800 MHz or faster

· RAM: 512 MB

· Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 (800 x 600 for laptops)

· Video Card: 64 MB or higher - Card must support DirectX 9.0c

· Color: 16-bit or 32-bit

· Hard Disk Space: 150 MB

· Virtual Memory: 800 MB

· CD-ROM Drive

· Mouse or pointing device

When working with more than 500 parts, we recommend the following changes:

· Intel Pentium or equivalent processor: 2 GHz or faster

· RAM: 1024 MB or more

· Virtual Memory: 1000 MB

Recommended changes for Windows Vista

· Intel Pentium or equivalent processor: 1 GHz or faster (2 GHz or faster with >500 parts)

· RAM: 1024 MB or more

· Video Card: 128 MB or higher

· Color: 32-bit

Issues Fixed in Alibre Design 9.2 SP1

This section lists enhancements and problem reports fixed in this release. This list may not reflect the full set of issues addressed in this release.

Defect Id	Defect/Enhancement Summary
32846	Exporting assembly to ACIS R13 format creates file with IGS file extension
32855	Unable to change the offset distance value of assembly mate constraint to ‘0’
32856	Dimension parameters in some imported parts get scaled incorrectly when extracted into BOM
32860	‘Edit Crosshatch’ right click menu on subassembly in Drawing Explorer freezes program
32850	Cannot publish 2d drawings to PDF if ‘PDF Creator’ print driver is renamed
32853	2d drawings published to PDF sometimes appear off center or chopped when viewed in Acrobat
32883	New PDF toolbar causes one toolbar saved in user profile to not show up after upgrade
32865	Add new API ‘SelectedObjectsEx’ to extract projected point on object selected by user in UI
32866	Passing Null to ‘Highlight’ API method was not deselecting currently highlighted object in UI
32871	Add new API to extract image snapshot from a session
32875	Error message not generated when publishing to HTML with no filename specified for PDF file
32876	Configuration names not getting displayed in ‘Control Parameters’ Excel plug-in
32849	Parts are missing in assembly published to PDF if there parts with identical file-names in the assembly
32867	Update German resources

Known Issues

This section lists known issues. Workarounds are provided when available.

Upgrading From Windows NT or Windows 98/ME to Windows XP Requires Uninstall and Reinstall

To ensure Alibre Design is installed correctly after upgrading from Windows NT or Windows 98/ME to Windows XP, uninstalling Alibre Design and reinstalling is recommended. No data will be lost in this process.

Upgrading From Windows XP to Windows Vista Requires Uninstall and Reinstall

To ensure Alibre Design is installed correctly after upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista, uninstalling Alibre Design and reinstalling is recommended. No data will be lost in this process. This also applies to some of the Add-ons, like Algor DesignCheck and VisualMill.

Latest Version of DirectX Required for All Systems

Alibre Design requires DirectX 9.0c and supporting graphics cards for all systems (Please note that, although Windows Vista uses DirectX 10.0, it supports applications using DirectX 9.0c) . To test for DirectX 9.0c capabilities, perform the following routine:

Goto Start > Run > type dxdiag and click OK

1. In the system tab, last line in the ”System Information” section will tell you the version you are running. Alibre Design needs 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904).

2. To test the DirectX capabilities:

1) Goto the Display tab and in the DirectX features, make sure that these are all enabled:

a. DirectDraw Acceleration

b. Direct3D Acceleration

c. AGP Texture Acceleration

2) Click “Test Direct3D”. Make sure all three tests complete successfully with the rotating cube fully visible in the center of the screen.

If you discover any problems after updating to the latest version of DirectX and Graphics Display Drivers for your graphics card, please contact Technical Support for assistance (How to Contact Technical Support).

Windows XP Remote Desktop

Microsoft Windows XP Remote Desktop does not support DirectX accelerated displays and Alibre Design will not display correctly in a Windows XP remote desktop window. Consider switching to a different remote access application such as VNC or installing Alibre Design locally. Please contact Technical Support for assistance (How to Contact Technical Support).

Graphics Display Driver Updates

If you experience graphics display problems while using hardware acceleration,
please upgrade to the recommended display driver for your hardware. Follow these
steps to check settings and retrieve display drivers.

Check your video display card:

1. Right-click on the Windows desktop and select Properties.

2. Select the Settings tab.

3. Note the primary video card listed. If you have multiples, the
first one is the card of interest.

4. Install the appropriate driver from your hardware manufacturer or one of the sites below.

ATI Technologies, Inc. for FireGL, Radeon, Rage, Mobility and other ATI chipsets:
http://www.ati.com/support/.

NVIDIA chipsets include all GeForce versions, all Quadro versions, all TNT2
versions and RIVA hardware. NVIDIA has a unified driver, which means there
is only one driver. NVIDIA display drivers can be found at:
http://www.nvidia.com/

3dLabs chipsets include all Oxygen, Wildcat and Realizm chipsets. http://workstation.3dlabs.com/support/drivers/

Graphics Work Area May Not Zoom on Mouse Wheel Input

The Alibre Design graphics work area may not respond to mouse wheel input while other areas of Alibre Design will respond to mouse wheel input. This occurs frequently when a USB mouse is plugged in after the operating system has booted or the mouse driver is outdated.

Alibre Part Library - Unable to Access Parts

The Alibre Part Library is a catalog of standard parts available to all Alibre Design Professional and Alibre Design Expert users. The Alibre Part Library requires an Internet connection to download requested parts.

If you are experiencing intermittent problems accessing parts, please verify that you have an active and working Internet connection.

If you do have a good Internet connection and still are unable to download parts, please check to see if you are connecting through a proxy-server. The Alibre Part Library will not download parts if your system is configured to use a proxy-server. To test, run the program ProxyServerTest.exe located on the Alibre Design product CD.

If you are running through a proxy-server, please contact Technical Support for assistance (How to Contact Technical Support).

PhotoRender Crashes Upon Closing the Design Workspace (With ATI Graphics Card)

Symptoms: Load a model and render it using Alibre PhotoRender. Rotate, zoom or pan the model. Close the model. Upon prompt for Save, choose either Yes/No. When the Alibre PhotoRender workspace is closed, it crashes.

Solution: Upgrade the ATI Graphics Driver to the latest version (click for instructions on how to upgrade your driver).

Data Versioning Not Available With Data Stored to Windows File System

Alibre Design’s Repository provides file management capabilities not available in the Windows file system, such as versioning, sharing and security, and caching. Most notably, Alibre Design’s version update notification capability is not available for data stored on the Windows file system. Save always overwrites the existing file. Open always loads the latest saved file.

Repository Size Considerations

Alibre Design repositories use database management capabilities built in to Alibre Design. This eliminates the requirement for pre-installed database management software. As a result, there are practical limits for repository size which influence system performance. Alibre, Inc. recommends creating various local repositories, each containing 1,000 items or less.

Users requiring the higher performance of a standalone database management system are encouraged to communicate their requirements to Alibre, Inc.

No Help Buttons While Working Offline Without Help Installed Locally

By default, Alibre Design accesses help documentation from the Alibre Web site, ensuring the latest help documentation is always available while working online. By default, Help buttons are removed from Alibre Design dialogs while working offline.

Optionally, help documentation may be installed locally for access while working online and offline. Help buttons are maintained while working offline.

Help Window May Not Respond After Displaying Help For Some Dialogs

With the Alibre Design Help window open, invoking help documentation for some dialogs will cause the Help window to beep on user input. These dialogs typically maintain complete application focus and require immediate user input. Closing the dialog and the Help window, then invoking Help from the dialog a second time will correct the situation.

Overlapping Sheet Metal Tab Features Change Thickness

All sheet metal algorithms assume the sheet metal stock has constant thickness throughout. The software uses this thickness value for a variety of purposes including offsetting dimple sketches, creating chopping blades in unbend/re-bend, calculating several flange parameters, etc. Placing two or more tabs on each other results in a non-uniform sheet thickness. Once this happens, several formulae and assumptions made in sheet metal algorithms become invalid. This is a limitation in the current software. Still, multiple tab features are valid as long as the uniform thickness is maintained.

Unable to Create Section View of Broken View

Creating a section view of a broken view results in a section view of the unbroken view to the extents of the defining section line.

Launcher is Blank During Software Update on Windows XP

While performing a patch upgrade or full version upgrade of Alibre Design on XP, the upgrade status page may go blank and not update the visual progress correctly.

This is simply a failure to update the visual progress, however the installation process is continuing in the background. Please allow the install to continue without interruption.

Sheet Metal Dimple Feature Fails Using Profile Containing Some B-splines

Alibre Design can create sheet metal dimples with closed B-spline profiles provided the sketches are tangent continuous at the start-end location. 'B-spline by Interpolation Points' does this automatically when you make the start and end locations coincident. The user must ensure this is the case of 'B-spline by Control Points' by defining the 2^nd last control point to lie on the start location tangent line at the provided location hint.

Limitations of Mirror and Pattern Features in Part Workspaces

· Shelled features cannot be mirrored or patterned.

· Local operations such as remove, move, or offset face cannot be mirrored or patterned.

· Sheet metal flange features cannot be mirrored or patterned.

· Imported geometry such as IGES and SAT bodies cannot be mirrored or patterned.

· Mirrored or patterned features of parts that have been scaled will be created to the original scale.

Limitations of Part Pattern in Assembly Workspaces

When an instance of a part pattern is deleted, and needs to be restored, the pattern will have to be recreated.

Tips for Dimensioning to Holes With Cosmetic Threads

When dimensioning to holes with cosmetic threads displayed, be sure to select the hole geometry instead of the cosmetic threads.

Changing Constraint Symbols Size and Sketch Colors Requires Exit and Enter Sketch Mode

Changes to the display size of constraint symbols and sketch figure colors are only applied upon entering sketch.

SolidWorks File Reader Add-on requires Microsoft .Net Framework Version 2.0 or higher

Before installing the SolidWorks File Reader Add-on, please make sure to have Microsoft .Net Framework version 2.0 or higher. Else, the Installation will give errors and install process will not proceed.

Known Issues in Windows Vista

1. Drag and Drop from Home Window to open/ import Alibre Design files would only work if you have signed in as Standard User on Vista. It would not work when signed in as an Administrator.

2. PDF Creator, which is required to publish 2D Drawings and BOM will not install on Vista. Contact Support for Workaround.

3. When using the Windows Vista Theme (Aero Theme), the Alibre Design workspace canvas may temporarily go blank/ turn gray whenever a toolbar update is required. If the canvas does not refresh itself automatically, slightly dragging the workspace across will fix this issue. The above problem only happens with Windows Vista Theme. This would not happen if you switch to Classic Theme.

4. After upgrade from XP with Office 2000 to Windows Vista, you may experience a variety of issues when using the product if Office is related to it. Office 2000 will not work correctly on Vista.

5. Microsoft Excel has to be ran as Administrator in order for the Excel add-in (Spreadsheet driven design) to work correctly. Before working on Spreadsheet driven design, right click on Excel and choose to run as Administrator instead of double clicking on Excel to open the file.

6. When installing from the CD, you will not be able to run MSI File for installing the product on Vista. Always use the Setup.exe to install the product.

7. Microsoft Messenger option from Home Window Contacts is grayed out always.

8. CADRegister Add-on may not be able to import parts directly into Alibre Design when invoked from Home Window.

Contact Customer Support for Workaround.

9. Add-on issues on Vista:

· ETBX is not able to use Vista Theme .

· SprutCAM 4.0 will have to be explicitly run as Administrator when running it from outside of Alibre Design.

· After upgrading from XP to Vista, if you had already installed Algor DesignCheck or VisualMill on XP, you will have to uninstall and re-install these Add-ons on Vista.

10. Issues only on Windows Vista - 64 bit

· When Alibre Design is run in online mode, then, GUI of other applications currently running on the desktop would freeze. The workaround is to work in the offline mode.

· In order to run the 3D Connexion driver, you may have to explicitly run the driver as an Administrator, by right clicking on it and choosing to run as Administrator.

· VisualMill will not install on 64 bit Windows Vista. Please contact Customer Support for future updates.

· Algor DesignCheck will not install on 64 bit Windows Vista. Please contact Customer Support for future updates.

· Help may not work in Machinist Toolbox with Vista64.

How to Contact Alibre Customer Support

(If you have a current maintenance agreement)

Alibre is committed to ensuring that customer support issues and technical questions are handled as efficiently and promptly as possible. For all issues related to sign-in, launch and general technical problems, contact Alibre Customer Support:

Phone 972-671-8492, press 4 for Support or ext. 300

Email support@alibre.com

The Alibre web site - http://www.alibre.com/ - offers additional support help as well. After you sign in at the web site, click Support. This section contains FAQs related to common technical problems. The Support section also includes a link for incident reporting. New incident reports are routed directly to Alibre Customer Support and are reviewed daily.

Using the power of Alibre Design’s peer-to-peer architecture, customers may also work online with an Alibre representative to ask technical questions or see software features demonstrated. A contact named "Alibre Assistant" will be in the Contacts list of the Home window. The Alibre Assistant, when online, can be contacted through Alibre Design, such as through messages or Team Design sessions.

To provide general feedback about Alibre Design, please contact the Product Manager:

Phone 972-671-8492, ext. 283

Email userexperience@alibre.com