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Pro/Engineer Search Path Order: How Assembly Components Are Retrieved

Pro/ENGINEER is a popular 3D CAD software program. Many engineers and designers use Pro/E to model parts and construct models of assembled parts.

When an assembly is opened in Pro/ENGINEER, the software initiates an automated retrieval process for each component. Pro/ENGINEER only knows about files in the current working directory. An attempt to open an assembly that requires parts in other directories would fail. Files in other directories are unknown to Pro/ENGINEER unless you tell it about those directories. This is the reason behind Pro/ENGINEER's search path. The search path lists directories in the order in which they are to be searched.

Pro/ENGINEER searches directories in a pre-defined sequence. The order in which directories are searched is important. As soon as Pro/ENGINEER finds an object, it stops looking and loads it. The program then begins searching for the next object from the beginning of the search path. Directories in the path should be ordered making it as efficient as possible for Pro/ENGINEER to find the objects.

The search path begins searching for components in the following order:

1. In session memory
2. In the directory from which the assembly is opened
3. In the current working directory
4. In the user-defined search path:
5. In the SEARCH_PATH directories listed in the config.sup file
6. In the SEARCH_PATH directories listed in the loadpoint config.pro file
7. In the SEARCH_PATH directories listed in the launch directory config.pro file.

Inefficient search path ordering can lead to several problems for Pro/ENGINEER users. It can cause Pro/ENGINEER to waste time searching unnecessary directories. This can be a significant problem when retrieving very large assemblies with many components.

Pro/ENGINEER users who save old versions of their components in "historical" directories should make sure these directories are excluded from the search path. Otherwise, the software may retrieve the old component models instead of the most current component models.

Knowledge of search paths and how to define them is an important trouble-shooting skill Pro/ENGINEER users will need to develop if they wish to become power users.

About the Author

Tony Horton is a mechanical engineer at BAE Systems in Minneapolis, MN. Tony has been using Pro/ENGINEER since 1994. He is the website administrator for TCPUG.org, the home page for the Twin Cities Pro/ENGINEER User Group. In is spare time, Tony also the webmaster for OnlineArticleSource.com.

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