Pro/DESKTOP 8, SP2
12 January 2006

Here is the latest version of Pro/DESKTOP. For a  list of the enhancements, on the Help menu in Pro/DESKTOP, click "Contents and Index". Then, in the "Start Here" topic, click "What's New in This Release".

If you are new to Pro/DESKTOP, we recommend that you try the tutorials. For a list of the tutorials, on the Help menu in Pro/DESKTOP, click "Contents and Index". Then, in the "Start Here" topic, click "Tutorials".

Please visit the Pro/DESKTOP web site at http://www.ptc.com/products/desktop for the latest information on Pro/DESKTOP.

CONTENTS

(A) Pro/DESKTOP System Requirements
(B) Installing and Uninstalling
(C) Known Problems
(D) API Programming Support on the Installation CD-ROM

	
(A) Pro/DESKTOP System Requirements
-----------------------------------

The minimum recommended configuration for Pro/DESKTOP is:
     
- Intel Pentium (or compatible processor), 166 MHz or higher.
- 64 MB RAM
- 80 MB of hard disk for software and examples
- 110 MB free space in the TEMP folder during the installation process
- Microsoft Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 6 or higher), Windows 2000 (Service  Pack 1 or higher), Windows XP Operating System
- Monitor: Windows graphic display setting of 65536 colors (High Color, True Color, 16-bit). (Use of a supported OpenGL card may improve graphics refresh rate.)
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or higher

For complex models or large assemblies, you may want to consider increasing the 
amount of physical memory on your computer, increasing the virtual memory, or using 
a computer with a faster processor. If you are on Windows NT you may adjust the size of your virtual memory using the Windows Start menu, and clicking Control Panel> System> Performance. In the Virtual Memory option group, click the Change button, and make your adjustments.

See the following web site for more information on qualified hardware: http://www.ptc.com/partners/hardware. See also Known Problems, Section C of this file.


(B) Installing and Uninstalling
-------------------------------

WINDOWS NT PRIVILEGES

If you are installing on a Windows NT system, you should have Administrator privileges. To confirm that you have Administrator privileges, open the Windows Control Panel and choose the Network file. If the Identification tab contains a button labeled Change, you have Administrator privileges. If you do not have Administrator privileges, consult your system administrator.

INSTALLING Pro/DESKTOP

Pro/DESKTOP loads using a standard installation utility.

1. Close and uninstall any versions of Pro/DESKTOP or Pro/DESKTOP viewer that are installed on your computer.  See the section UNINSTALLING Pro/DESKTOP for details.

2. Place the CD-ROM in the drive. The autoplay function in the installation utility opens the installer for you. If the autoplay function does not start, use Windows Explorer and double-click the Setup.exe program on the CD-ROM.

3. Follow the instructions on the screen.

4. If the installer asks you to reboot your computer after installing the software, please reboot to complete the installation.

5. If necessary, set your set your display to 65536 colors. To do so, on the Windows Start menu, click Settings> Control Panel> Display> Settings> Color Palette, and in the drop-down box and select 65536 Colors (On your system, it may be referred to as High Color or True Color).

Do not install any older versions of Pro/DESKTOP after installing the latest version of Pro/DESKTOP. If you have inadvertently done this, uninstall the earlier versions and reinstall the latest version.

UNINSTALLING Pro/DESKTOP

To uninstall Pro/DESKTOP, perform the following steps:
1. Close Pro/DESKTOP. 
2. Open Windows Start> Settings> Control Panel. A window opens. 
3. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs utility. A dialog box opens. 
4. On the Install/Uninstall tab, in the list box, select the Pro/DESKTOP listing. 
5. Click the Add/Remove button. The Pro/DESKTOP installer application opens. 
6. Accept the defaults to move through the initial screens until the Remove button is presented. 
7. Select the Remove button, then click the Next button. Another screen opens, allowing you to confirm your selection. 
8. Click the Remove button to confirm your selection and begin automatic removal. 

(C) Known Problems
------------------
Pro/DESKTOP FILES FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS

Pro/DESKTOP 8 is built on the PTC's new modeling kernel called Granite. Reading files from versions prior to Pro/DESKTOP 2001 will convert the data from Parasolid format to Granite.  During this conversion process, user intervention might be required to fully regenerate the designs.

Pro/DESKTOP REGISTRY SETTINGS

The Windows Registry settings for this version are incompatible with the Registry settings for previous versions. Earlier versions should not be installed on the same computer. If you run a previous version of Pro/DESKTOP, the Registry settings will be changed and you will have to reinstall this version, Pro/DESKTOP 8.

COMPAQ ALPHA PROCESSOR

Compaq Corporation's DIGITAL FX!32 software on Alpha processor based workstations runs 32-bit x86 applications on Windows NT. Please note that Pro/DESKTOP is not qualified with Compaq's DIGITAL FX!32.

GRAPHICS BOARDS

Pro/DESKTOP benefits from graphics boards that provide hardware acceleration for OpenGL. A list of qualified OpenGL boards and driver versions is available on the Pro/DESKTOP website, at http://www.ptc.com/products/desktop/.

After installing a graphics board, to enable hardware acceleration while Pro/DESKTOP is being used, in Pro/DESKTOP on the Tools menu, click Options> General and clear the "Disable graphics hardware acceleration" checkbox. After installing the graphics board and enabling its use, if you experience  unexpected graphics behavior when opening Pro/DESKTOP documents, please consult the documentation from the graphics card vendor for information. You should also obtain the latest driver for the card. You may be able to remedy the problem by changing the configuration settings for OpenGL hardware acceleration, or in an extreme case by turning off hardware acceleration while Pro/DESKTOP is open. To do so, on the Tools menu, click Options> General and select the "Disable graphics hardware acceleration" checkbox. 

HTML HELP

The Windows operating systems have moved to HTML-based help systems. This version of Pro/DESKTOP complies with that. In order to view the help system, you must have Microsoft Internet Explorer installed on your computer (if you are using Windows 2000, Internet Explorer is incorporated in the operating system already). Microsoft recommends Version 5 of Internet Explorer. It does NOT have to be configured as your default Internet browser.

HTML HELP TRANSLATION

The HTML-based help system is provided in English, however, you can can translate the help to your local language using a localization kit. The kit, which can be obtained from PTC, provides instructions, translation memory, glossaries, and previously translated help files that enable you to accurately meet your language requirements.

WINDOWS 2000

In order to install the software, you must upgrade your Windows 2000 operating system with Service Pack 1 or higher published by Microsoft.  Please download this from the Microsoft website:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/default.asp

If you want to use some of the advanced functions that allow you to modify or create files in application folders, Windows 2000 requires that you have Administrator privileges.

PALETTE AND BITMAP FILES FOR CHINESE, JAPANESE and KOREAN OPERATING SYSTEMS

The installation program is not able to deliver the localized palette and bitmap files into the correct folders.  Please unzip the files provided on the CD in the Miscellaneous folder into their appropriate folders.  For example, do the following for the Japanese language installation:

Unzip \Miscellaneous\Japanese\Bitmaps\Bitmaps.zip into <Pro/DESKTOP install folder>\Program\Bitmaps.
Unzip \Miscellaneous\Japanese\Palette\Palette.zip into <Pro/DESKTOP install folder>\Program\Palette.

(D) API Programming Support on the Installation CD-ROM

The installation CD-ROM contains examples and extensive help on programming using the Pro/DESKTOP API. These are included in the following folders. They can be copied to your hard drive using Windows Explorer. 


\Documentation\Addins 
   Macros
   Visual Basic 
 
\Documentation\API 
   C 
   Getting Started
   Visual Basic 
 
\Miscellaneous 
   API
   OpenGL

The Miscellaneous folder includes examples and utilities developed informally from time to time by customers and consultants. There is also a set of convenience functions both in VB and C++ (COM).
 All of these items are provided on an "as is" basis, for informational purposed only, without warranty either expressed or implied, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. 

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End.
