Edgecam User Rights

Version 1.9

At version 2010 R2 Edgecam underwent a major change in the way that it is

used in a network environment. This document details the improvements that
are now available to the IT professional to setup Edgecam users on a network.

AIM

Use Edgecam without Administrator Rights.

Remove the need to disable UAC (User Account Control)
Give secure control to Corporate and Educational customers who require
their users to have limited access
Upgrade existing customers easily
Maintain the ability to set a Network Location for shared files

THE ISSUE
With normal user rights files cannot be altered within the Program Files folders.
So Code generators, default files, tool store data and specially Language
(EdgeKrnl.mnu) has to be written to a different location which the user does have
rights to, e.g. My Documents

GENERAL SOLUTION
Edgecam needs to write files to the local user folders, but still have the ability to
read from the Program Files and Network location areas as well.
Edgecam now has a Folder Location Utility that controls the search locations for
various file types. The utility can set multiple paths using a mixture of folder
names and tokens. The default locations will be set to run Edgecam as a
standalone installation and will be compatible with previous versions. Many of
the folder locations will be locked to ensure they cannot be accidently modified.

WHAT WILL THE USER BE ABLE TO CHANGE?

As in previous releases, the user will be able to change the following by default:Network Location
Strategy Folder

ToolStore
Data Temporary Folder Location
Location
Sub Strategy Folder

All other settings are locked and do not need to be changed.

NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR SOLUTION

Customers with large network infrastructures require a tighter control over the
use of Edgecam. In these cases, IT departments can control exactly what folders
are set and which can be controlled by the user. This is achieved by setting all
keys they wish to control in HKLM via a script file.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Each folder location type is stored in the Registry under a Key name. If the key is
only defined in the current user area (HKCU) then the user has control. If the key
is defined in Local Machine (HKLM), then the user cannot change to folder
locations.
Note: As each Edgecam version uses a different number the registry and My
Document will change. Where ever you see {version} substitute the real
version number e.g. 2015.10
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Planit\Edgecam\{version}\Location
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Planit\Edgecam\2015.10\Location

THE FIE LOCATIONS PROGRAM

The File Locations utility can be accessed from the 'Other Settings' section of the
'Settings' Tool on the Edgecam Launcher.

The Files Location utility is used to set where Edgecam related files and
documents are stored or written to. Some categories can have multiple search
paths and Edgecam will display the combined list from all paths. For example,
Code Generators maybe located on the local machine and on the network. The
default setting is for Edgecam to list all the Code Generators from both locations.
Code Generators

<USER>\cam\machdef;<NETWORKLOCATION\cam\machdef;<ECINSTALLDIR>\
cam\machdef

Locking and unlocking Categories

The File Location utility displays some of the categories as read only (greyed
out). The default installation only allows the user to alter some of the categories
that can be available. The mechanism Edgecam uses to decide if a category can
be modified is whether the path has been written to a Registry Key in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (locked) or HKEY_CURRENT_USER (unlocked)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Planit\Edgecam\{version}\Location
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Planit\Edgecam\{version}\Location

When the Folder Utility is started, you will find that most of the Categories are
greyed out. This is because the paths are set in HKLM section of the registry by
the Installation Program and the default is to look in the USER folders <USER>,
Installation
folders
<ECINSTALLDIR>
and
Network
Location
<NETWORKLOCATION>. This gives compatibility to previous versions of Edgecam
and therefore is suitable for both upgrades and new installations.

CATEGORY NAMES
Category
name
Network
Location
Temporary
Location
Code
Generators
ToolStore
Support
Folders
Master
Strategy
Folder
Strategy Path

Auxiliary
Strategy Files
PCI Script
Include Path
Profile Folder
Default Files
Feature
Templates
Job Reports
Folder
Job Reports
Templates
Images
Folder
Code
Generator
compilation
folder
Machine Files

Description

Registry Key name

Single Path to the network

Edgecam folder structure
Single Path to the temp folder

NetworkLocation

Path(s) to the location of the Code

Generators (*.tcp;mcp etc)
Single Path to the folder
containing the tool graphics

CodeGeneratorFolder

Single path for the main strategy

files (*.rbm)

MasterStrategyFiles

Path(s) to the additional sub

strategies. Relative paths can be
specified
Path(s) to the additional sub
strategies. Relative paths can be
specified
Path(s) to search when using
Include directive in a JavaScript
PCI
Path(s) for the interface
configuration files (*.config)
Path(s) for the default files (*.dft)
Path(s) for the Feature template
files (*.ft)
Single path to where the HTML
files are created
Single path to where the HTML
files are read from
Path(s) to the Images used by
Edgecam
Single path to where the Code
Wizard will create Code Generator
files. This is not displayed on the
form and can only be set via the
registry
Path(s) to the Communication
setting files (*.mdv)

SubStrategyFiles

TempLocation

Tool Store Directory

Tool Data

PCIIncludePath

SupportProfilesFolder
SupportDefaultFolder
FeatureTemplateFolder
JobReportsFolder
JobTemplatesFolder
ImagesFolder
CodeGeneratorWriteFolder

MachinesFolder

Using Tokens
To simplify typing paths we have created tokens that represent system paths. For
example, the user could install Edgecam anywhere on his system and it would be
time consuming to have to keep referring to the complete path. The token
<ECINSTALLDIR> contains the path to the root of the Edgecam installation
Typically: <ECINSTALLDIR> = C:\Program Files\Planit\Edgecam

Token name
<ECINSTALLDIR>
<NETWORKLOCAT
ION>

<USER>

<PUBLIC>
<TEMPLOCATION>

<LOCALAPPDATA>

<ALLUSERSPROFI
LE>

Description
Path to the Edgecam installation e.g. C:\Program
Files\Edgecam
Path to the network Edgecam folder structure
Path to the Edgecam folders in the users My Documents.
This will be the location for posts and default files created
by the user.
e.g. C:\User\UserName\Documents\Planit\
{version}\Edgecam
Path to the Public documents area
Location where the temp files are written
e.g.C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Temp\Planit\
{version}\Edgecam
Path to user application data such as config files and
ptvars.$$$
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Planit\
{version}\Edgecam
Path to the general ProgramData folder
C:\ProgramData\Planit\{version}\Edgecam

Files Duplication
Sometimes, files will be duplicated depending how many paths you have set. If
you leave the Profile Folder with more than one location, you may have more
than one default.config. In this case, Edgecam will read and display only the first
one it can find with the same name (reading the path from left to right).

SETTING THE NETWORK LOCATION

There is a single field to set the Network location (not dissimilar to previous
versions). It defaults to the Edgecam installation folder. The path entered in this
field is stored in the token <NETWORKLOCATION>

This token can then be used as a path on other File Locations Categories. If your
Network Location only stores Post Processors and Strategies, you can remove the
token from the other file Categories.
The network Location is the root folder for the Edgecam folder structure. For
example, Code generators would be stored in:<NETWORKLOCATION>\cam\machdef
\\MyServer\applications\Edgecam\cam\machdef

Where will the files be written to?

User files will be written to the relevant folder under My Documents\Planit\
[version]\Edgecam
For example the Code Wizard would save the Code Generators to:..\My Documents\Planit\{version}\Edgecam\cam\machdef
or
<USER>\cam\machdef
NOTE: The sub folders in My Documents are not created until the applications
are started for the first time. If you have files you wish to copy to the My
Documents structure as part of the installation process, you may have to create
the folders. We would suggest creating a Edgecam folder structure on a network
drive and use XCOPY to copy the entire structure to the local users My
Documents

Where will the files be read from?

The general default will be to look in the user location, network location and the
Edgecam installation location. e.g.
<USER>\cam\machdef;<NETWORKLOCATION>\cam\machdef;<ECINSTALLDIR>\c
am\machdef

LANGUAGE AND IMAGES

The Language files and User Images are saved to %LocalAppData%\Planit\
{version}\Edgecam folder in the Operating System. These file locations cannot
be customised.

ADDING / EDITING / REMOVING SETTING IN LOCAL

MACHINE
IT departments in corporate companies or educational institutions do require
greater control over what the user can set. Rather than using the Folder Utility
this can be done via a batch or script file and would normally be performed as
part of an automated installation. The registry keys can be modified with the
DOS command REG.EXE

Add or Modify A Key To HKLM - Set The Key And User Cannot Alter
This will force the Network location to a specified folder on a server.
REG add HKLM\Software\Planit\EdgeCAM\{version}\Location /v
NetworkLocation /t REG_SZ /d "\\servername\edgecam" /f
Delete A Key In HKLM - Allow User To Set The Value In The Folder Utility
By deleting the HKLM key it will give control back to the user.
REG Delete HKLM\Software\Planit\EdgeCAM\{version}\Location /v
"NetworkLocation" /f

*NOTE*
The HKLM is stored in a different path on 64bit Operating systems.
32bit is HKLM\Software\Planit\{version}\Location
64bit is HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Planit\{version}\Location

THE EXAMPLE USER RIGHTS REGISTRY SCRIPTS

The standard Edgecam installation will be similar to previous releases. The main
change the user will see is that files like MCP, MCC, DFT are written to an
Edgecam folder structure under "My Documents" rather than "Program Files". As
before, they can also change the Network Location and some other settings that
where available in previous releases.
However, we now have the ability for tighter control over where files are read
and written. This means corporate and educational IT departments can control all
options and disable end users from changing anything if they wish. By storing
the paths in the registry, IT departments can deploy Edgecam safely by adding
these registry keys to their installation scripts and know all the PCs will have the
same settings. I would expect IT departments to have the knowledge to use
registry command and scripts. This documentation and example scripts can be
used to customize their own scripts.

The main reason I have added these example scripts is for Edgecam engineers to
be aware of what can be done and in the case of ecRegDefault.cmd get back to a
standard install after playing with the settings.
ecRegDefault.cm
d
ecRegLocked.cm
d
ecRegClearAll.c
md
ecRegUserContr
ol.cmd

Set the folder locations back to the standard Installation.

Handy if you have been playing with the settings and just
want a quick way to reset.
Example of how to set all the folders and remove user
control.
Clears all the folder locations in HKLM and HKCU. Gives full
user control and you will see the Edgecam default folder
setting.
Clears folder locations in HKLM leaving HKCU settings as
they are. So basically gives control to the user, but without
changing the local settings.

Example Automated Installation from a network drive

To help understand how you would go about creating an automated install script,
we have written an example with appropriate comments.

SampleAutomatedInsta
ll.cmd

Check if operating system is 32bit or 64bit

Installs Edgecam by using a response file
(depending on OS)
Set some of the folder locations in the Local
Machine so the user cannot alter them.
Set the ToolStore to point to a network server
Disable the "Do you wish to register" question
that is displayed first time
Set Edgecam to a network dongle with a specific
license type
Run Edgecam with a PCI to set any options

To install Edgecam automatically you will first need to generate a response file.
First run the Edgecam installation manually with a -r switch.
This creates the file C:\WINDOWS\SETUP.ISS which is an InstallShield Response
file recording of the settings entered into the installer.
e.g. "\\MyServer\EdgecamInstallSet\Edgecam\setup.exe" -r
This file can be copied to a convenient place on the server, for example the
network Edgecam install folder. You may need more than one ISS file if different
settings are needed. For example, 32bit installs into C:\Program Files\Edgecam
and 64bit into C:\Program Files (x86)\Edgecam.
The ISS file is a text file and can be modified in an editor and the file name
changed to suit the need. The install script will run the silent install

"setup.exe" -s -f1\\Myserver\EdgecamInstallSet\Edgecam\setup.iss
-s = Silent
-f1 = response file name

Themes
Themes can control the Ribbon bar, Strategy Folder, masks and Splash screen.
When a ribbon bar is saved the data is stored in:<USER>\Themes\{theme name}\ribbon
A set of Strategy files can also be associated with the Theme by copying to the
theme folder structure. If no strategies are present then the theme will use the
default set.
<USER>\Themes\{theme name}\strategy
Any masks applied to a ribbon are stored in the default theme so they can be
shared by all themes.
<USER>\Themes\Default\masks
A splash screen can also be defined for each theme by creating a PNG image file
in the theme folder.
<USER>\Themes\{theme name}\splash.png
Themes are also read from the network location. So if you wish to share a theme
across users then copy the local theme folders and files to the
<NETWORKLOCATION> and it will be listed alongside any <USER> themes.
<NETWORKLOCATION>\Themes\{theme name}

Change Control
Versi
on
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9

Change
Original document
Added more information to Where will the files be
written to?
Updated for Edgecam 2011.20. Changing from
Pathtrace to Planit in the registry.
Added Job Report locations.
Updated Install script to disable the Migration wizard
Updated to 2011 R2
Updated to 2012 R1
Updated to 2012 R2
Updated to 2013 R1
Updated to 2015 R1
Added Theme section

Date

27/07/2010
07/10/2010
12/10/2010
15/04/2011
11/10/2011
11/05/2012
17/10/2012
08/12/2014
08/12/2014