SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
(OP)
I am finding that SW policy on bugs stinks. They tell you even if a command doesnt work right but the results is partially there live with it, because there is a work around. Or what is better you have to do 20 steps to get the software to do something versus a functions 2 steps if it worked right, but that is okay for you Mr. User because you can still do it. They do not care if it slows you down or the results are confusing or not exactly as they should be. Case in point I found a bug on outputting drawings in dxf mode with hatching, it would cause a unhandled error. The fix they told me is to save as a ACAD R13 version not a newer version. Hello maybe my client doesnt accept R13 versions. Oh and since it will work with R13 it is not that important.






RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
FYI below is a far-from-comprehensive list of CAD systems that also require workarounds, so don't consider any of the following:
SolidEdge
AutoCAD & Inventor
UG
Pro/E
CATIA
IDEAS
IronCAD
BobCAD
Delcam
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Maybe you should expect better service. If its broken its broken, you would not have a car manufacturer tell you, oh dont worry sometimes your car will start and sometimes it won't when you turn the key. If not then you need to hotwire so it will. That is a work around.
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
I have to agree with Rocko. However, until software people are actually held accountable in a legal sense for advertised/claimed functions not working properly, then the problem will not end.
SWorks, PRO/E, ACAD etc. even though not perfect, are still worth what people pay for them, because using these products saves people time and money. Therefore, there is still an economic advantage to buying an imperfect piece of software as opposed to doing without.
In other words since software is very useful and it seems everyone puts out buggy software, buggy software will be purchased and a boycott is pointless. Lawsuits and legal punishments should be the tools used.
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
As it turns out (and I have been through MANY CAD systems) the grass always looks greener until you jump the fence and find the little brown piles were merely hidden from your previous viewpoint. When you are standing in the middle of them you still have to dance round them - but they are now in different but equally inconvenient places! (And farmer Fred is no quicker than farmer Bob with his pooper scooper.)
I don't like it, maybe it ain't right, but I have learned that it is not something I can change. I have grudgingly accepted it and my blood pressure, stress level and marriage are so much better these days. (I should have said my second marriage is so much better than my first....)
3/4 of all the Spam produced goes to Hawaii - shame that's not true of SPAM also.......
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Its virtually an admission of fault, theres a problem and they fix it ,of course we all make mistakes but when software is costing the price of a very small car if there was a fault with that car youd take it back, sprs are a get around on the software vendors part and have become a way of life in the software community it stinks
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
I am sorry you guys feel that way. When I run into a big problem, I call my VAR. They do everything they can to help me and always have.
I have tried to write small Visual Basic software programs and it is no easy task. Especially when you are trying to have others use it. They will always push the wrong button; enter data that you never expected. With the SolidWorks program as big as it is, it is bound to have some issues. I am just glad that my VAR is there to help me.
Bradley
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
I deal with import/export problems almost daily. One thing I have learned is that the source file (SW, Pro/E, UG, any other) is not always ideal for export. It's never as simple as what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) in any system. Sometimes it takes time and collaboration on both ends to find the right combination of export settings.
Ideally, in an import-export situation, parties on both ends work together to ensure that all information is passed accurately.
With drawings, I find PDF format works well to provide a good snapshot of what the drawing should look like when comparing intended DXF/DWG output. PDF995, available at www.pdf995.com, provides the abillity to make PDF's for under $10. There's always eDrawings, too.
If your client accepts DXF but not ACAD13, can I assume that the final destination is not ACAD? You didn't say. Talk with your client and find what he is using. Maybe there is an alternate format that may work. The ultimate goal is to provide accurate information, is it not?
For the sake of providing accurate export, I often make temporary files modified to make them more suitable for translation. In your case, try making a copy the drawing and remove the hatching before exporting. Provide an eDrawing or PDF to show where hatching should go. Also, maybe your client can install SW viewer.
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
95% of the changes made in SolidWorks 2004 were user requested. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like SolidWorks is actually listening to what people say and trying to incorporate the changes people want.
You should also remember that CAD software is ridiculously complex and has to operate on top of Windows, which is also ridiculously complex, which has to work with the computer hardware, which is also ridiculously complex. Fixing a bug is not 5 minute job (whereas bitching on a forum in an unhelpful manner is). You have informed SolidWorks of the bug and they have very probably given it a priority rating. Sorry, but the only reasonable thing you can do is wait and actually give them a chance to fix the problem.
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Where did you hear that 95% of changes made in 2004 were user requested? Hopefully not in the same press release that stated that 2004 is now available for release in 12 different languages. Heck the Pre-Release is not even available yet.
To the original post,
Bugs are a fact of life with software. I am in a department that develops software for our internal users. Being that our end users have the same focus it is a little easier to write the program the way they need it to work. SolidWorks has to design the software for all different walks of life. In doing so they are going to run into glitches and problems that are only found when the real world uses it.
I do however think SolidWorks needs to get more beta users (Real World Users) involved in the future releases. This may help minimize a great deal of bugs.
BBJT CSWP
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
However, in a market driven economy where software manufactures are not held accountable for bugs that prevent the software from working as advertised, then there is not any incentive for bug-free software. Especially since the cost of switching software is far more than the mere purchase price.
There is, obviously, many incentives to reduce the number of bugs. But there appears to be diminishing returns on bug hunting in general.
Solidworks is still a vastly useful program, bugs and all.
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Have you considered 3rd party translation?
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Again if they were devolping one engineering firm they would probably have the most bug free stable program out there. But the reality is they are devolping software that is used world wide.
Software is software. It is developed by human beings. Human beings make mistakes.
I hear and often feel your pain. Nothing sets me off more than receiving a fix and having it break something else. If it is something obvious that broke, ok, then I say hang them high. But I still think it impossible to test for everything possible that you, I , and the guy/gal down the road might do.
Just my 2 cents worth.
BBJT CSWP
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Maybe it's your setup?
From the sounds of it, you aren't really interested in an actual solution to your situation.
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
I think we would all like bug free software, but SolidWorks has to balance stability and innovation. Some of us might be happy if SolidWorks 2005 only squashes bugs, but I'll bet that a lot of people will be pissed that the money they gave SolidWorks has not gone towards adding new features. Or we could get Inventor 7, which is still buggy AND has no new features. :P
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
just wondering how a software package can BE SAID TO BE TWICE AS PRODUCTIVE or BRING A PRODUCT TO MARKET FASTER
what this equates to in my life at the minute is
"twice as productive "cos i did it twice, of course if ive done it again i have been twice as productive
or
BRINGS PRODUCTS TO MARKET FASTER well if ive done it twice
and could have used a software app that didnt quit after i done it the first time maybe but after the second time round i dont think this is statement is quite truetrue.
admittedly it is faster second time round as i knew what i was doing this time so maybe
a more honest "1/4 faster than traditional cad systems" and "improved design due to thinking out the problem twice and picking all your previous mistakes second time round" would be a better marketing slogan im sure if the marketing people got hold of that they could turn it into some marketing campaign in 5 words or less
more stability is what we need
oh its a hardware problem ?
say the VAR s even though its the same equipment they and we both use and have the same problems.
THEY KNOW THE PROBLEMS THEY KNOW THE TRUTH
If they told us what the real problems would we be happier or would we all migrate from solidworks
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
I am still getting the unhandled error message with SW2003 and it is very annoying. It used to be if I opened a random part done with SW2001 (that I had previosuly been able to open with SW2003) it would hang, then crash giving the error. After that the part would never open again and I would have to do it again from scratch (fine for small parts, not for big parts). Lately though it has started doing it with newer models done with SW2003. I have reinstalled it several times but can't seem to shake it off.
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Try checking out "trouble shooting acrash prone system" at either SW KBA or http://www.frontiernet.net/~mlombard/ under rules of thumb.
Unhandled errors could be hardware but they could be software. Just calling your VAR and asking him why isn't going to be good enough because Unhandled are very random. Just like the error message says "Unexpectdly". There are things to check out and that article is the first step to trying to find the reason or reasons.
SOMETIMES IT SAVES A BACK UP OF 2 HRS WORK SOMETIMES IT DOESNT.
The reason it does save sometimes and not others is not because of the time you have put in but the amount of rebuilds you have made. The option in your tools\OPtions says "Save suto recovery info every XX changes." A Change is you clicking the rebuild button. If you have it set to 10 then you have to click your rebuild light 10 times before it will make a auto backup. I don't use auto backup unless I have to. I use Crtl-S all the time. Because you never know when it will crash due to an unhandled error. So your better off saving more often.
oh its a hardware problem ?
say the VAR s even though its the same equipment they and we both use and have the same problems.
I'm not defending your VAR in any way! I just wonder how close the machines are but yet how different they are being used and software being installed.
If you use the exact same hardware make sure they are running the exact drivers as you are. Are you working over a network vs. your VAR? Do you install lots of software off the web? You might need to refresh your registry. If that's the case look at my FAQ559-507.
Even though you maybe using the exact same hardware doesn't mean that it still couldn't be your hardware. You might have a fault board or memory chip that is causing errors.
THEY KNOW THE PROBLEMS THEY KNOW THE TRUTH
If they told us what the real problems would we be happier or would we all migrate from solidworks
I don't have many problems running SW, so i don't feel that there are alot of problems like you seem to think there are. Some people will agree with me and some won't, but I think your problem with crashing is in the system either hardware or software. Since I don't have any information there is no way to tell you the problem. Check out that article above and see if any of the information helps, but read all of it.
Scoobystu
I am still getting the unhandled error message with SW2003 and it is very annoying. It used to be if I opened a random part done with SW2001 (that I had previosuly been able to open with SW2003) it would hang, then crash giving the error. After that the part would never open again and I would have to do it again from scratch (fine for small parts, not for big parts). Lately though it has started doing it with newer models done with SW2003. I have reinstalled it several times but can't seem to shake it off.
You should also check out the article I asked G1DESIGN to check out. If you go through all of that and still are crashing then you need to check out these FAQ559-507, FAQ559-488. If you still have problems call your VAR explain what you did and see what they say then.
Best Regards,
Scott Baugh, CSWP

3DVision Technologies
http://www.3dvisiontech.com
http://www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
When in doubt, always check the help
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
One thing everyone may want to take a look at is the temp directory found under C:\Documents and Settings, Your Login, Local Settings, Temp. Clean it out, if not every day then every other day. By clean it out I mean wipe everything out but the SWxauto folder. The SWxauto folder is where your autosave is stored. 2003 does not seem to do good house keeping in this temp area. I have our users create a shortcut on their desktop.
Hope this helps someone.
BBJT CSWP
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Cleaning out the Temp folder is in that article I mentioned above along with numerous other things to look at and try.
Scott Baugh, CSWP

3DVision Technologies
http://www.3dvisiontech.com
http://www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
When in doubt, always check the help
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
BBJT CSWP
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
I can remember way back when, when it would take me several weeks to draw some of the design’s & assemblies that now only takes me hours or at worst case a couple of days. And that’s not including FEMA, Tolerance Studies, etc.
Software glitches are inherent with any computer program, so we’ll just have to grin and bear with it. After all we’re only human and human’s make mistakes. Now repeat after me the prayer to the all powerful Software God’s …
O’ Great & Powerful Software God’s ….
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Have a nice Day ... :)
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
How many post are you going to copy this into? So what if people vent every once in a while. I have in the past and most likely will in the future. If you read the whole post you will see a lot of good suggestions that came from the original vent.
"Have a nice Day... :)"
BBJT CSWP
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Relax Dude ... don't get yourself all worked up over nothing. Christ ... it's only a web-board, what do you care how many times I post something ??? How many times are you gonna post to this message ???
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
I consider myself fairly relaxed with a great life and a great job. Actually your last post helped remind of that and I thank you for that. :)
BBJT CSWP
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
Again, there are bugs, I don't like it, but I am realistic in my expectations. That doesn't mean I don't complain sometimes - I just try to keep it to realistic proportions.
Here's an example. There is one very basic bug that I have complained about often since SW2000 at least and has never to my knowledge been fixed. It has been verified by both the VAR and SW. Try making a sketch line equal to another in a sketch on a plane at an angle to it or an edge at an angle. The length will not be equal, but the projected lenght (L cos a). Now THAT's a fundamental BUG ladies and gentlemen (and in my humble opinion, unforgiveable not to fix it). Anyone from SW paying attention?
3/4 of all the Spam produced goes to Hawaii - shame that's not true of SPAM also.......
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
RE: SPR's and Work Arounds What a JOKE!!!!
http://www.eng-tips.com/groups.cfm
But I think if anyone wants to complain they are in the right NG.
Just my .02 worth...no harm intended in this post just a suggestion.
Scott Baugh, CSWP

3DVision Technologies
http://www.3dvisiontech.com
http://www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
When in doubt, always check the help