Let’s demystify some of the settings in your environment file. We will show you how  to leverage this knowledge into managing a multi-user environment to ensure that everyone has the same settings on dimension arrows, threads etc, and access to one common documentation installation. With these examples you should be able to go further and create a customized environment optimized for you day-to-day tasks for all users.

Environment file

The environment file is normally located in the folder: C:\ProgramData\DassaultSystemes\CatEnv. Please note that C:\ProgramData is a hidden folder, but can be accessed by writing correct path into file explorer or make hidden items visible.

Figure 1 – Windows file explorer, showing hidden items

If you are a backup guy, take a backup of your default environment file just in case…. Open it with your favorite text editor, like notepad++. Your file will look something like this:

Figure 2 – The environment file, showing runtime variables

When using -admin mode in your shortcut (see a former tip in this blog (Brief introduction to settings in your Catia start icon)), you must set CATReferenceSettingPath to a location which only administrators have write access to. Other users must have read access. This can look like: CATReferenceSettingPath=\\MyCommonServer\AdminPath, here shown with UNC notation.

When you are starting in admin mode, you will see the following message:

Figure 3 – Adminstration mode

If you don’t get this message, you are probably not running in admin mode. Check your shortcut settings and your location of -admin.

As administrator, you are able to force settings to other users. Below you can see a screen dump, forcing “no automatic backup” and “Microsoft windows netmeeting” to users. First dump shows how it looks like as an administrator, and next shows how users will see it.

Figure 4 – Catia->Tools->Option running in Admin mode

Figure 5: Catia->Tools->Option running in user mode, inheriting admin settings

All runtime variables below here, can be found in the environment file

CATReffilesPath

In environment file, you will find a parameter called CATReffilesPath. This gives the location to reference files such as ISO.XML, MetricThickPitch.txt and MetricThinPitch.txt. If you are running a multiuser environment, it is possible to copy those folders to a common network location to ensure everybody to have the same settings on dimension arrows, threads etc. You can also define a company standard range of metric threads by changing MetricThin/ThickPitch.txt or even add your own range. You just have to remember that some of those files will be changed during Catia upgrade, so you have to upgrade those files also. Settings could look like this:

CATReffilesPath=\\MyCommonServer\AdminPath\reffiles

CATUserSettingPath

If you are running several installations/versions of Catia, you will observe that licenses used in last session is used in next session, even if you are running a different installation level. Also your toolbars will have default location. That is because the environment file is pointing to same location independent of versions. A default path like this is found:

CATUserSettingPath=CSIDL_APPDATA\DassaultSystemes\CATSettings

CSIDL_APPDATA is windows default location for users’ application data, such as: C:\Users\[MyUser]\AppData\Roaming\

By creating a unique folder for each installation, you can separate your data, like this: CATUserSettingPath=CSIDL_APPDATA\DassaultSystemes\CATSettings\V5-6R2016P2

The following info may be to your help:

CATDocView

This runtime variable set the location for help files. If you don’t want to install help files on each computer, it’s possible to set this to a common location. Or if you are running several versions and don’t want to install help for each version, you can address this variable to the same location.

Also temp files, error log files and reports can be set individually in each environment file.

Hope this will give you an idea of what is possible and I encourage you to create different environment files, to explore your options and taking benefit of the possibilities lying in your software.

For a complete overview of all runtime variables in the environment file, see below:

This is valid up to V5-6R2015 and can be found in Catia V5 help file.