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eDrawings for NX – Frequently Asked Questions


General Product Questions:


Q : What is eDrawings Professional for Unigraphics/NX?

A : eDrawings Professional for Unigraphics/NX is a plug-in for Unigraphics/NX which allows the user to generate accurate representation of 2D and 3D product designs of native Unigraphics/NX files as read only eDrawings file.eDrawings is the first email-enabled visualization and communication tool used to share product design more effectively with everyone involved.


Q : What are the advantages of eDrawings Professional for Unigraphics/NX?
A : The most tangible advantage the eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX publisher provides is that it makes the content read only. This provides you a secure means of sharing the data without being plagiarized.One of the primary uses published file provides is to enable working in collaborative work environments. The published files are ultra compact (Approximately 5% size of the original CAD file) in nature, thereby making communication via email, a realistic possibility.You may selectively provide the end recipient of the published file with measurement capabilities and password protect your file for added security.The end recipient can view the published eDrawings file with the free eDrawings Viewer and use the markup feature to effectively communicate the review objective.In addition you can save an eDrawings file as an exe. Here, the Viewer component is coupled with the file. This would enable the end recipient to view the file without having to install eDrawings.You can also embed the published file in html format and have it as a part of your online catalog. This would provide your customers a better picture of the capabilities without compromising on data security concerns.


Q : What are the pre-requisites for installing eDrawings Professional for Unigraphics/NX?

A : You need to have Unigraphics/NX installed on your machine or on a Network location before you install eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX.If Unigraphics/NX is not installed, then only eDrawings Viewer will be installed when installing eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX.You need to have Administrator privileges to install eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX on the machine.


Q : What versions of Unigraphics/NX are supported?

A : We currently support NX 2306, NX 2212, NX 2206, NX 2006, and NX 1984.


Q : Which operating systems are supported?

A : 32 Bit: Microsoft® Windows® 7 / XP.
64 Bit: Microsoft® Windows® 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7.


Q : Does eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX support 64-bit version of Unigraphics/NX?

A : If you are running 64-bit version of Unigraphics/NX, one would need to install the 64-bit version of eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX. However if you’re running a 32-bit version of Unigraphics/NX on a 64 bit Operating System, you need to install the 32-bit version of eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX.


Q : I have installed eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX but cannot find *.prt in eDrawings Open file menu?

A : The eDrawings Viewer cannot open native Unigraphics/NX files directly. The product eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX consists of two components

  • The publisher component
  • The viewer component

The publisher component is implemented as a plug-in for Unigraphics/NX. The viewer component provides a means of viewing the published files.

On installing the software, a menu-item ‘eDrawings’, gets added in Unigraphics/NX. Open a file in Unigraphics/NX and click File -> Export -> eDrawings -> Publish to publish the file. The published file opens up in the eDrawings Viewer.


Q : I have multiple versions of Unigraphics/NX installed. Can eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX be configured with all/selected versions?

A : eDrawings can be configured for use with multiple versions of Unigraphics/NX. The installer performs this configuration and detects all supported available versions of Unigraphics/NX installed. The user can select the versions of Unigraphics/NX for eDrawings to be installed.


Q : Which licensing models are supported by eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX?

A : eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX is available both with Node lock license and Floating license.


Q : Does the end recipient need to have eDrawings Viewer installed in order to measure and markup review-enabled eDrawings?

A : If a review-enabled eDrawings file is sent in either executable (.exe), Zip (.Zip) or HTML (.html) format, the end recipient need not have eDrawings Viewer installed to measure and markup a review-enabled eDrawings file.


Q : Why is the measurement disabled in my eDrawings file?

A : Measure Enabled/Disabled is a property of the eDrawings file. This attribute of the file is set when the file is created using the PROFESSIONAL version of eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX.If a file is published from Unigraphics/NX and it opens up in the eDrawings Viewer, this setting is available for the first File Save action ONLY. Once set the same is not available henceforth for the same file neither can it be modified. A file thus created would extend Measure along with all other PROFESSIONAL features to the end recipients as well.


Q : I have the PROFESSIONAL version of eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX. How can I disable measurement in the eDrawings file I create?
A : You may disable measurement using any one of the below methods.Method 1:
From Unigraphics/NX interface select File -> Export -> eDrawings -> Publish.
The published file opens up in the eDrawings Viewer.
In the eDrawings window, select File > Save
Uncheck Enable Measure in the Save As window and save the file.

Open the file and observe that the measure function will be disabled for this file.Method 2:
From the Unigraphics/NX interface, select File -> Export -> eDrawings -> Options.
The eDrawings Options dialog comes up.
Uncheck Allow Recipient to measure under Save-only Options.

Click OK.
From the Unigraphics/NX interface, select File -> Export -> eDrawings -> Save
The eDrawings Save dialog comes up. Browse to specify a path and enter the file name.
The current file gets published and is saved to the specified location.
Open the file and observe that the measure function will be disabled for this file.


Installation:


Q : Is it possible to install eDrawings Professional for Unigraphics/NX if Unigraphics/NX is installed in a network server?

A : It is possible to install eDrawings Professional for Unigraphics/NX if Unigraphics/NX is installed in a network server. For details regarding the installation process please contact eDrawings Support with the entire setup details.


Q : Is it possible to install eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX on a Network server (separate folder) outside Unigraphics/NX directory?

A : It is possible to install eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX outside Unigraphics/NX directory. For details regarding the installation process please contact eDrawings Support with the entire setup details.


Q : Is it possible to install eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX using command line?

A : It is possible to install eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX using command line (Silent Installation). For details regarding the command line installation please contact eDrawings Support


Q : The eDrawings menu does not appear in the Unigraphics/NX interface after installing eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX. What should I do?

A : Please check the contents of the custom_dirs.dat file. The custom_dirs.dat file can be located from the following directory Unigraphics/NX install DirectoryUGIImenusThe custom_dirs.dat file should have the following line: $EDRWUG_INSTALL_DIR.If the above doesn’t help, please contact eDrawings Support


Licensing:


Q : Which licensing models are supported by eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX?

A : eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX is available both with Node lock license and Floating license.


Q : When configuring the license I receive a message “The license key entered is not valid for this version of eDrawings publisher. Please contact your license vendor for obtaining the new license key”.


A : The error occurs if you are configuring the license for new version of eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX with the old license key and your Update Support Plan has expired. The old license will not work. Please contact eDrawings Support to enroll for Update Support Plan and obtain a new license.Note: Please note that if the license is purchased with Update Support Plan the license will be valid for new versions of eDrawings for Unigraphics/NX released before the Update Support Plan expiry date. A higher version license is backward compatible and would work with a lower version product.


Q : When configuring the license I receive a message “An invalid license key was entered. Please try again”.

A : This message comes up if you have not entered the complete license string when configuring the node locked license. Please make sure that there are no breaks in the license strings that you enter.


Q : When configuring the license I receive a message “The license key is not valid for this machine”.

A : This message comes up if the Host ID of the machine you’re configuring the license on does not match the one the license was generated for.


Q : When configuring the license I receive a message “A demo license key has already been configured on this machine. Please get a professional key”.

A : This message would come up when configuring the license if a demo license has been previously configured on the machine.


Q : When publishing a file I receive a message “Cannot connect to eDrawings License server. The server may be down. Operating as a free publisher”.

A : This message comes up if the machine hosting the License Server is not available on the network or if the same has been shut down. This message would also come up is the License server has been shut down.Please ensure that the License Server is up and running and the same is available on the network as well.


Q : When publishing a file I receive a message “All eDrawings licenses are currently in use”.

A : This message comes up if all the licenses have been checked-out.


Q : When publishing a file I receive a message “eDrawings license has not been configured”.

A : This message comes up if the eDrawings license is not configured. Configure the license using the license configuration tool with a valid license. However if you have a floating license, make sure that Geometric License Server is up and running and the licenses are checked out from the license server.


Q : Does eDrawings support License Borrowing?

A : License borrowing is currently not supported.


Q : Is it possible to reserve or deny licenses to a particular set of users in Floating License setup?

A : It is not possible to reserve or deny licenses to a particular set of users in eDrawings.