[25] Incorrect default path for 'Out File' (solved in V1 RC1)

[EddyCurrent]

1. A new project is opened from Template, the System path is chosen as default.
2. The 'Out File' input dialogue box is selected, it defaults to the System path.

I think this is incorrect, it should default to the <DefaultDrawingDirectory>

because if I do this, it works.

1. A new project is opened from Template, the System path is chosen as default.
2. Do a 'Save as' the  <DefaultDrawingDirectory> is selected
3. The 'Out File' input dialogue box is selected, it defaults to the <DefaultDrawingDirectory>

so the action of 'Out File' is different if a 'save' is done before or after selecting it.

[Dragonfly]

Such behavior seems quite logical to me. The path you save a newly created project to becomes the default. And it is remembered when closing CB.
Everyone has his own specific way of organizing things and not everyone places their work in one and the same folder. One may like CAM and .nc files grouped in their own folders, another may like them separated. No program writer is able to please all users.
This only requires a few mouse clicks to direct the new file where appropriate.  A wouldn't call it a bug, neither file it immediately as such in this section.
There are much more important problems to be smoothed along the development path of CB, directly related to the final result and machining - its primary role and goal.

[EddyCurrent]

You may be correct but in my view the 'Out File' should default to the same path whenever selected so to me that's an inconsistency and while not stricly a bug, I feel it needs fixing.
I didn't see anywhere mention a priority level below which reports were out of order.

[Jeff_Birt]

Almost every program I can think of defaults to opening/saving in the last directory used. Some have a 'project manager' type utility that shows you your folder where you store your projects, lets you create a new project, open an existing project, etc.

For each project I have a folder in Inventor (which I use 99.9% of the time for design). I create a subfolder called 'Toolpath' where I save the DXF/STL files that are used for CamBam and I save the CamBam .cb files and resultant .nc files. There is no 'default' folder to speak of nor would I want to dump every NC file created to the same folder, that would be a big mess.

[EddyCurrent]

It seems to be the way in this forum that people fail to understand the crux of what someone is saying, or they make excuses as why things are 'as they are' or they drift off topic. I've worked in engineering and software for more than 40 years and never have I felt so misunderstood. I did work at one place though where the 'experts' knew more about why a job could not be done than they did about how to actually do the job.

[Jeff_Birt]

I understand what your saying I'm just not sure it is a bug as it works like every other piece of software out there. If I open Word it does not default to the same directory each time for me to save the file, it will default to the last directory I just used. I'm not trying to argue the point but it seems you are asking for things to work differently than in other software which makes things very confusing. I'm not sure what other software works the way you describe?

[EddyCurrent]

I'll give it one more go then.

I open a new project from Template.
At this point I like get my file saved and sorted so I go to 'Out File'. This brings up a browser that defaults to the path set in 'System Path'.
On the other hand if I first go to 'Save as' it brings up a browser that defaults to <DefaultDrawingDirectory> i.e. the folder I want to keep my files in, then if I go to 'Out File' it too defaults to <DefaultDrawingDirectory>

So my point is why does 'Out File' select different paths, should it not select the <DefaultDrawingDirectory> path in both cases becasue that's where I've told it to save my files ?

[Jeff_Birt]

Why are you trying to mess with 'Outfile'? You causing yourself extra work for no reason

1) Open CamBam
2) Draw a circle on the screen
3) Click the 'Save' icon, navigate to where you want your file saved and save it.
4) Apply a Profile MOP to your circle
5) Generate the GCode, it will 'default' to where you saved your .cb file, save you GCode.
6) Now look at 'Outfile' it is magically filled in for you. It is not something you have to dink with.

Is that what your after?

[Jeff_Birt]

Or, are you wanting CamBam to default to a relative directory when generating GCode?

So if your .cb file is in C:\foo, you want CamBam to default to C:\foo\toolpath?

[Jeff_Birt]

Or, are you wanting CamBam to default to a relative directory when generating GCode?

So if your .cb file is in C:\foo, you want CamBam to default to C:\foo\toolpath?

Thinking about this some more I'm guessing your meaning a default relative path as above. The only trick there is that CamBam has to know relative to what so it would have to force you to save your file first. Once it knew the file path it would save your GCode relative to that.

I set up Eagle that way so when I generate Gerbers is puts them in ...project\gerbers but if I don't manually create a 'gerbers' folder then it errors out. So to make it work ideally CamBam would need to create the destination folder if it did not exist. That would be handy to be able to be to set that by default, I don't think that is what Andy had in mind for the 'outfile' line but I bet he could make it work.

[Dragonfly]

Why are you trying to mess with 'Outfile'? You causing yourself extra work for no reason

LLoyd is right about English being native or not, Jeff. Quoting you as this is what I'd have liked to write.
In any other program one does not modify settings or configuration files every time he creates a new file. Save or Save As are for that purpose.
A new unnamed file needs to have a temporary representation somewhere (on the HD). It may be saved or cancelled. If cancelled the temporary file(s) must be cleaned (from a known default location. If saved it obtains all the features of a permanent file with a valid path included.

BTW, Corel products saves and uses two paths - one for where the last file has been opened from and one for where last save operation has been done. After almost 20 years I still sometimes forget this and then need to reopen from the last n-count files list and see where it has gone to. Never even thought about writing to Corel Corp. asking for a change

[EddyCurrent]

Why are you trying to mess with 'Outfile'? You causing yourself extra work for no reason

1) Open CamBam
2) Draw a circle on the screen
3) Click the 'Save' icon, navigate to where you want your file saved and save it.
4) Apply a Profile MOP to your circle
5) Generate the GCode, it will 'default' to where you saved your .cb file, save you GCode.
6) Now look at 'Outfile' it is magically filled in for you. It is not something you have to dink with.

Is that what your after?

It's still not happening but getting there.

First off, I'm not trying to "mess" with 'Out File' it's clearly there as an option to be used.

Yes that's what I'm after but why can't I go to 'Out File' first ?
Why is 'Out File' not magically filled in with my chosen <DefaultDrawingDirectory> BEFORE I've done a 'save' ?

[Jeff_Birt]

I 'think' outfile was primarily there so show you where CB is saving stuff when your not prompted to select a path. I have had very few time where I needed to mess with it, I have done some silly copying of files about in a way that has goofed it up and manually edited it to fix it. I suspect I may have originally caused the problem by messing with it I the first place though 

The outfile line is automatically filled out for you when you first save your GCode. I typically will start a new CB project, open any DXF/STL file that will be used and then save the CB file. Then when I get to the point of wanting to generate GCode when I click on 'Generate GCode' it will pop up to the same directory as the CB file I just saved. You can generate the GCode first before saving the CB file but you still have to navigate to the correct directory for saving the CB file. Saving the CB file lets CB know what your working directory is.

[pixelmaker]

Eddy,
I don´t know why you open a thread in the Bug Reports.
The fault is that in your temlate is a wrong path or no path, thats all.
Open your template and set in the "Out File" Option in the machining folder the output path.

{$cbfile.name}.nc • if you use this the .nc file is saved at the same place as the cambam file.

If you want always set a special folder e.g. F:\cambam files\, you use F:\cambam files\{$cbfile.name}.nc
then the .nc file is saved in the folder F:\cambam files\ with the name of the saved cambam file.

1.) Save this file in the templates folder in your system folder.
2.) In the configuration from CB you can now choose this template file as a Standard Template.
Every file you open now with "New file" is from this template.
If you work with different template you can make as many templates you want and open it with "New from template."

Because you open a template from the system folder and you have defined no path in this template CB want save it in the system folder.

This is not a bug but a missed basic configuration.

ralf

[EddyCurrent]

I already said that if I set the 'Out File' path to 'F:\cambam files' it did not restore that when I reloaded the template.

Here's my template.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<CADFile xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" Version="0.9.8.0" Name="Mytemplate">
  <layers>
    <layer name="Default" color="127,255,0">
      <ModificationCount>0</ModificationCount>
      <objects />
    </layer>
  </layers>
  <MachiningOptions>
    <OutFile>F:\cambam files\{$cbfile.name}.nc</OutFile>
    <PostProcessor>Mach3-CutViewer</PostProcessor>
    <Stock>
      <PMin>0,0</PMin>
      <PMax>0,0</PMax>
      <Color>255,165,0</Color>
    </Stock>
    <ToolProfile>Unspecified</ToolProfile>
  </MachiningOptions>
  <parts />
  <ActiveLayer>Default</ActiveLayer>
</CADFile>


When I open it and go to the 'Out File' line it defaults to the 'System Folder' on C:
What I'm saying is, it shoudl go to <OutFile>F:\cambam files\{$cbfile.name}.nc</OutFile>

How many times do I have to say this ?