3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER is a plug-in for Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire

Installation:
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3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER is a Pro/TOOLKIT application and needs to be registered with Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire before it can be used. Once you register the plug-in with Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire, it will be automatically loaded every time you start Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire. Before you register 3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER it is important that you note down the folder where the plug-in was installed. The default installation location is "C:\Program Files\SYCODE\3DS Export for Pro ENGINEER".
 

Plug-in Registration:
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1) The plug-in installer copies a file called protk.dat into the installation folder. Open it in NotePad and observe the lines starting with "exec_file" and "text_dir".  

2) The line starting with "exec_file" is the full path of the plug-in DLL. You need to choose the correct plug-in DLL depending upon your version of Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire. Modify the file path to match your plug-in installation folder and replace XXX in the file name as explained below:  

For Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 1.0 and 2.0, replace "XXX" with "3DSExport_VC60.dll"

For Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0, replace "XXX" with "3DSExport_VC71.dll"

For Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 and 5.0 (32 Bit), replace "XXX" with "3DSExport_VC80.dll"

For Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 and 5.0 (64 Bit), replace "XXX" with "3DSExport_VC80x64.dll"  

For example, if you have installed 3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER in the default location and you are using Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 (64 bit) the line will be as follows:

exec_file C:\Program Files\SYCODE\3DS Export for Pro ENGINEER\3DSExport_VC80x64.dll  

IMPORTANT: This is a critical step. The plug-in will not load into Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire if this step is not carried out properly. To better understand this step you may want to browse to the installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\SYCODE\3DS Export for Pro ENGINEER) and take a look at the file names of the plug-in DLL's copied into it.  

3) The line starting with "text_dir" tells Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire where to look for supporting files required by the plug-in. Modify the folder path to match your plug-in installation folder.  

4) Save protk.dat and exit NotePad.  

5) When Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire starts it looks for a file called protk.dat and loads the plug-ins listed in it. Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire looks for protk.dat in a folder called "text" located in the Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire installation folder. For example, in the case of Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0, the "text" folder may be "C:\Program Files\proeWildfire 4.0\text". Copy the protk.dat that you just edited to the Pro/ENGINEER "text" folder.  

IMPORTANT: If there is already a file called protk.dat in the "text" folder, it means that you already have registered other plug-ins. Do not overwrite it. Instead, append the contents of the protk.dat file you just edited to the contents of the existing protk.dat file in the "text" folder.  

Now 3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER is ready for use.
 

Usage:
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3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER adds new commands to Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire. It also adds a submenu to the Pro/ENGINEER menu called "3DSExport" containing these new commands. Simply click on the menu items in this sub menu to run these new commands.  

The new commands are:

1) Export - Exports a 3DS file

2) Help - Display the 3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER help file

3) Register - Display the 3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER product registration dialog box

4) About - Display the 3DS Export for Pro/ENGINEER about box
 

Support:
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For support, please E-Mail support@sycode.com