Problem- shading

[stevieboy]

Hi Guys,

I'm using version 9 with windows XP pro. I've used it for a while and only just got into creating surfaces and shading them. Before this everything was just a 2D wireframe. I can set up the shading in screen, configure, shading, using the colour chrome with the "all one material" button selected and with the lights on and then save it. All my drawings look good and I like this set up. The next time I open the application to do some work the shading has gone to a default set up with the "original colour" button selected and not the "all one material" chrome colour that I chose and saved last time. I have to reset the colour everytime I open the application to do some work.

Is there any way I can make this a default set up?

[psychomill]

Unfortunately on V9, I think this is an aspect of system configuration and not file association. In other words, go to Configure and set the shading how you want on the Screen tab.

Only thing is, it will be like this for all files. Not sure of another way, have to mess with it ....

[Superman]

You are wanting to lock the drawing attributes of solids when you create them ?

Mastercam X starts using the EA manager (Entity Attributes), so there is no simple way to lock the solid attributes

One possibility is to create a "Default.MC9" file that has named levels but no geometry and saving that file when the color and level is set to your liking. Then make that file "Read Only" forcing you to "Save As" as you cannot owerwrite the "Default.MC9" file.
When ever you open a mastercam file , open this one , do your stuff and then Save As

[stevieboy]

Thanks psychomill and superman,

I've tried changing the configuration on the screen tab and then saving the drawing as I want it. When I open the drawing again the shading is still how I want it so that's ok. The problem is when I close down mastercam and then open it up again later to do more work, the shading has gone back to a default setting, even though I saved the drawing with the type of shading I wanted.

Saving a blank drawing as a default read only file sounds a good idea, I'll give that a try.

Any more ideas?

[ObrienDave]

Try editing mill9.cfg with a text editor.
notepad will do just fine.

[screen settings]
1253. Expand colors dialog (y/n)? y

[shading settings]
1505. Shade all surfaces the same color (y/n)? y
1506. Color to shade all surfaces with? 7 <=== your color number here.

Make the file read-only after saving.

[stevieboy]

Ok Dave,

I couldn't find mill9.cfg but I opened mill.txt and it was all in there so I altered it like you said. No difference.

Any more ideas.

I want to shade with the material chrome because I like the way it looks.

[ObrienDave]

mill9.txt is strictly the menu text that you see when you work the program.
mill9.cfg is the text based configuration file.
There should be, at least 2 .cfg files, mill9.cfg, and mill9m.cfg
The one with a 'm' at the end is for metric settings.
Mcam will create them with some default values if they don't already exist.
Please look again.

P.S. I did not say to edit mill9.txt