## Version Enhancements

This topic lists the main enhancements for this version, v2011 MR1, through the last previous major version.

- v2011 MR1 Enhancements (Inside PDF File)

- v2011 Main Enhancements (Shown Below with a White Background)

- v2010 Main Enhancements (Shown Below with Gray Background)

#### v2011 Main Enhancements

This describes some of the more prominent enhancements available in PC-DMIS 2011. If you want a more comprehensive list of all the changes that went into this version, consult the readme.txt file in your PC-DMIS installation directory; it lists all the enhancements made.

User Interface

- Distance to Vector - The Probe Readouts window now has the ability to show the distance from the probe's center to the closest point on a feature's vector. See the "Distance Target Area" under "Setting up the Probe Readout Window" in the "Setting your Preferences" section.

Export and Import

- Generic Parser Nominals Update - The Generic Parser now shows any updated nominals at the end of an import process. See the "Importing an ASCII File" topic in the "Using Advanced File Options" section

Measured Features

- Update Nominals from CAD - Two menu options let you update the nominals of measured features based on an imported CAD file. See the "Updating Nominals from CAD" topic in the "Creating Measured Features" section.

Auto Features

- Gage Scan Filter - The Use Gage Scan Filter check box on the Circle Analog Scan measurement strategy filters measured data by comparing it to similar scan data from a gage. See the "Gage Scan Filter" topic in the "PC-DMIS CMM" documentation.

Constructed Features

- Improved Pierce Point Calculation - When one of the inputs is a plane type feature, PC-DMIS considers it as the pierced surface and the other feature as the piercing feature, regardless the order. See the "Constructing a Pierce Point" topic in the "Constructing New Features from Existing Features" section.

Hardware Support and Hardware Settings

- New Scan Radius Deviation - A new Calibrate ScanRDV option has been added to the Type of Operation area in the Measure dialog box used when calibrating probes. This option gives you a newer and easier method of using a scan-specific radius deviation. See the "Type of Operation area" topic discussed in the "PC-DMIS CMM" documentation.

- DCC Hits to Locate Calibration Tool - The YES/NO message box has been replaced for supported machine types and probe configurations to let you use DCC hits to locate a calibration sphere that has been only slightly moved from its previous position. See the "Calibrating Probe Tips" topic in the "PC-DMIS CMM" documentation.

Reporting

- Ignore Skipped Feature Rule - A new registry entry, IgnoreSkippedFeatureRule, controls whether or not features or dimensions appear in the report as pure text-only commands when skipped in unattended mode, or if they should continue to use their usual defined labels. See the "Modifying Registry Entries" section for information on setting registry entries.

- Quicker Report Generation - Two new check boxes in the General tab of the Setup Options dialog box, Update Report During Execution and Update Summary Mode During Execution, allow you to control whether or not updates are made during execution. This helps speed up part program generation in some situations. See "Check Boxes for the General tab" in the "Setting Your Preferences" section.

- Drag and Drop Floating Labels - In the Custom Report Editor, you can now press the ALT key when dragging and dropping information from the Edit window's Summary Mode. This creates a new label that floats on top of the existing label. See the "Dragging and Dropping Information into a Custom Report" topic in the "Reporting Measurement Results" section.

#### v2010 Main Enhancements

This describes some of the more prominent enhancements available in PC-DMIS 2010. If you want a more comprehensive list of all the changes that went into this version, consult the readme.txt file in your PC-DMIS installation directory; it lists all the enhancements made.

Graphics and Graphics Display Window

- Save Specific CAD Transformations - Using an improved CAD Assembly dialog box a new Replace Component right-click shortcut menu option in the tree view for the assembly allows you to import a new model on a selected node, replacing whatever model was existing on that node. The newly imported model will retain whatever transformation was in the old node. See "Working with Assemblies of Parts" in the "Editing the CAD Display" section.

- Limited CAD Selection for Generic Features - With the Construct Generic Feature dialog box open you can now select wireframe line or point features. See "Description of the Construct Generic Feature Dialog Box" in the "Creating Generic Features" section.

- Section Cut Tessellation Factor - When using section cuts you can now set a section cut tessellation factor that is independent of the visualization tessellation factor. See the "Section Cut Tessellation Factor" topic in the PC-DMIS Settings Editor documentation.

- Arrow Density - A new setting limits the amount of arrows drawn in the graphical analysis of these dimensions: circularity, cylindricity, flatness, straightness, profile, and runout. See the "Arrow Density" topic in the "Dimensioning Features" section and the "GD&T - Advanced Tab" topic in the "Using Feature Control Frames" section.

- CAD Groups - Similar to CAD levels, you can assign CAD elements to CAD groups. The same elements can be assigned to multiple groups. A CAD group can span across multiple parts in a CAD assembly or can span CAD levels. See "Working with CAD Groups" in the "Editing the CAD Display" section.

- Machine Assembly (MR1) - A new Machine Assembly dialog box lets you control the visibility, transparency, and color of the CAD components comprising a displayed machine. See "Working with Machine Assemblies" in the "Editing the CAD Display" section.

- Custom PMMC Probe Changer Models (MR2) - You can now add custom PMMC probe changer models as the animated probe changer in the Graphics Display window. See "To Load in a Custom PMMC Probe Changer Model" in the "Defining Hardware" section.

- View Selection for CAD Assembly and CAD Groups (MR2) - The CAD Assembly and CAD Groups dialog boxes now have view selection option buttons allowing you to apply the show/hide properties to specific views. See "Working with CAD Groups" and "Working with Assemblies of Parts" in the "Editing the CAD Display" section.

- Screen Counters Moved into Probe Readouts Window (MR2) - The screen counter text has now been redesigned to appear within the Probe Readouts Window instead of directly in the Graphics Display window. See "Displaying Mouse Coordinates in Screen Counter Text" in the "Editing the CAD Display" section.

- Highlight CAD Feature from Edit Window (MR3) - A new shortcut menu highlights the selected feature in the Graphics Display window. See the "Shortcut Menus in the Edit Window" topic in the "Using Shortcut Keys and Shortcut Menus" section.

- Pointcloud Colormap Thickness (MR3) - A new Thickness box located on the Pointcloud Operator dialog box for Point and Face colormaps lets you add a material thickness to a CAD surface model. See the "Pointcloud Point Information" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Move Probe to CAD Feature from Edit Window (MR3) - A new shortcut menu moves the animated probe in offline mode to the CAD element for the selected feature in the Graphics Display window. See the "Shortcut Menus in the Edit Window" topic in the "Using Shortcut Keys and Shortcut Menus" section.

Edit Window

- Feature Based Measurement (MR3) - A new statement is added to the GROUP command that lets you enable Feature Based Measurement for that specific GROUP. This gives you greater control over non-measurement type motion in your part program. See the "Using Feature Based Measurement" topic in the "Using the Edit Window" section.

Files and File Locations

- New File Locations (MR2) - In order to comply with standards used in newer supported operating systems, PC-DMIS has changed where many of its files are stored. See the "Understanding File Locations" topic in the "Setting Your Preferences" section.

Path and Path Lines

- Moving in Only 1 or 2 Axes - You can now lock one or more axes of a MOVE/POINT command in the Edit window's Command mode by deleting that axis value. Motion in those axes are then ignored. See the "Inserting a Move Point Command" topic in the "Inserting Move Commands" section.

- Clear Point Move - A new Clear Point tab in the Parameter Settings dialog box lets you define a safe point to which the arm will move as well as the form of the move. See the "Parameter Settings: Clear Point tab" topic in the "Setting Your Preferences" section.

- Copy Features without Tips to Clipboard (MR2) - When performing a path optimization, a new Copy to Clipboard button now copies any items in the Features without tips list of the Optimize Path Summary dialog box to the Windows Clipboard. See the "Path Optimization Summary" topic in the "Using Inspection Plans in PC-DMIS" section.

- Selected Items Collision Detection (MR3) - A new shortcut menu lets you perform collision detection for a range of selected features. See the "Detecting Collisions" topic in the "Editing the CAD Display" section.

User Interface

- Many Toolbar Icons Updated - Many of the toolbar icons have been updated to provide consistency and additional clarity of purpose.

- Help Button for PC-DMIS Settings Editor - A help button now makes it more clear that the PC-DMIS Settings Editor contains its own help file documentation. See the "PC-DMIS Settings Editor" documentation. In addition, the user interface was slightly modified removing the Cancel and OK buttons replacing them with a single Close button which will then display a save/discard dialog box for any changes that weren't already saved when you clicked Close.

- Additions to Probe Settings Dialog Box - Two new boxes have been added to the Probe Settings dialog box that were previously only available via the PC-DMIS Settings Editor. See the Clearance distance along the tip shank vector during qualification and Minimum number of calibrated tip orientations for size averaging boxes discussed in the "Probe Setup" topic of the "Defining Hardware" section.

- Additions to Edit Probe Data Dialog Box - The Edit Probe Data dialog box has been expanded to accommodate changes for both the Tip Size averaging enhancement and the Fast Probe Mode enhancement. See the "Edit Probe Data" topic of the "Defining Hardware" section.

- Additions to the Measure Probe Dialog Box - The Measure Probe dialog box has been sized and reorganized to allow for the addition of the new Reset tips to Theo at start of calibration check box and the new Tips to Use if None Explicitly Selected area. See the "Calibrating Probe Tips" topic in the "PC-DMIS CMM" documentation.

- New "Reset Tips" Button - This new button, added to the Probe Utilities dialog box, lets you reset selected tips to their theoretical (non-calibrated) state. See the "Reset Tips" topic of the "Defining Hardware" section.

- PC-DMIS Settings Editor Improved (MR2) - The PC-DMIS Settings Editor has been improved to allow you to launch the Settings Editor in a disconnected mode without closing down PC-DMIS. In addition, buttons were added allowing you to backup, restore, or reset user data files. See the "PC-DMIS Settings Editor" documentation.

- Form Error in Probe Readouts Window (MR3) - The Probe Readout window now supports the display of a dimension's form error if the dimension is a form dimension with sufficient data points. See the "Probe/Hit area" discussed in the "Setting Up the Readout Window" in the "Setting Your Preferences" section.

- New Values in Multiple Arm Calibration (MR3) - The Multiple Arm Calibration dialog box now contains its own Prehit / Retract, Move Speed (%), and Touch Speed (%) values used during the multiple arm calibration procedure. These were added to improve calibration consistency between the two arms. See the "Setting up a Multiple Arm CMM" topic in the "Using Multiple Arm Mode" section.

- Import Registry and User Data Files from Previous Versions (MR3) - A new Import button on the PC-DMIS Settings Editor provides you with the ability to import registry entries and user data files from a specific older version of PC-DMIS. See the "Working with Backup Files and User Data" topic in the "PC-DMIS Settings Editor" documentation.

- Abort Execution if No Tips Selected (MR3) - If no tip angles are selected from the Active Tip list during tip calibration, PC-DMIS provides a new option to abort execution. See the "Tips to Use if None Explicitly Selected" topic in the "PC-DMIS CMM" documentation.

Export and Import

- XML Export - A new XML Export menu item allows you to export your part program in XML format. See "Exporting to an XML File" in the "Using Advanced File Options" section.

- XML Import - A new XML Import menu item allows you to import your part program in XML format. See "Importing an XML File" in the "Using Advanced File Options" section.

- Command Line Additions (MR1) - New command line switches allow you to load cad models for part programs created by command line. See the "Software Configurations" topic later in this section.

- Suppress DMESW/COMAND Statements (MR2) - When exporting to a DMIS file, a new registry entry now lets you suppress the DMESW/COMAND command statements by commenting them out in the output file. See "Exporting to a DMIS File" in the "Using Advanced File Options" section.

Alignments

- Use Active Alignment Shows Alignment Name (MR2) - When using the USE_ACTIVE_ALIGNMENT keyword, PC-DMIS will now display the active alignment used during the last execution. See "Using an Alignment Inside Loops or Branches" in the "Creating and Using Alignments" section.

- Bundle Alignment Probe Compensation Smarter (MR3) - The Bundle Alingnment is now intelligent enough to determine whether or not probe compensation is needed when you create the Bundle Alignment. PC-DMIS will automatically turn probe compensation on or off as needed during the alignment creation process. See the "PC-DMIS Portable" documentation.

- Parcentricity Calibration Remeasure (MR3) - PC-DMIS Vision's support for optical calibration now allows you to define the number of times to remeasure circles at a given magnification during concentricity high processing. See "Parcentricity Calibration Modes" in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

Laser

- Clip laser Data Both Horizontally and Vertically - Some Auto Features now support the ability to not only clip feature data in the horizontal direction but also vertically as well. See the "Feature Based Clipping Parameters" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Angle Vector for Auto Plane (MR1) - You can now control the orientation of the laser Auto Plane feature by settings its angle vector. See the "Laser Plane" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Select CMS Sensor Types (MR2) - The Laser Sensor tab of the Setup Options dialog box now provides you with a Sensor Type drop-down list where you can define your CMS sensor type. See the "CMS Sensors" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Quality Filter Icon (MR3) - This new icon, added onto the Laser Scan Properties tab of the Probe Toolbox when Gain is set to HIGH, lets you easily toggle ON or OFF the QUALITY FILTER field in the Edit window's command mode. See the "Gain for CMS Sensors" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Pointcloud Colormap Thickness (MR3) - A new Thickness box located on the Pointcloud Operator dialog box for Point and Face colormaps lets you add a material thickness to a CAD surface model. See the "Pointcloud Point Information" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- New Point Reduction Filter (MR3) - A generic Point Reduction Filter check box is now visible on all Filter types regardless of the laser sensor used. See the "Laser Probe Toolbox: Laser Filtering Properties Tab" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Pointcloud Point Thickness (MR3) - A new Thickness box located on the Pointcloud Point Information dialog box lets you add a material thickness to a CAD surface model. See the "Pointcloud Point Information" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Options to Clear Scanned Autofeature Data (MR3) - Two menu items have been added to clear out internally stored clouds of points. This can help reduce part program size. See the "Clearing Auto Feature Scan Data" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Define Laser Sensor Early (MR3) - Previously you had to open up a part program to access the Laser Sensor tab of the Setup Options dialog box. Now you have the option of accessing it as soon as PC-DMIS opens. See the "Step 3: Define Setup Options for the Laser Sensor" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation for information on the Laser Sensor tab.

- Support for CMS 108 on DCC Machines (MR3) - You can now connect a CMS Sensor to a Tesastar probe head for use on a DCC machine. See the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Box Select Feature Extraction (MR3) - In addition to just clicking points on a point cloud to define an Auto Feature, you now also have the option of dragging a box around the feature in the point cloud to extract that feature. This is especially useful in portable laser alignments. See the "Defining a Laser Auto Feature by Clicking on a Point Cloud" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Laser Sensor Data Logging (MR3) - For CMS and Perceptron sensors, the Laser Sensor tab of the Setup Options dialog box now contains options to generate log files for debugging purposes. See "Define Setup Options for the Laser Sensor" in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Clean Operator Based Around Selected Surfaces (MR3) - The Pointcloud Operator dialog box for the Clean operator now contains a Select check box letting you select the CAD surfaces around which the clean operation will be applied. See the "Clean COPOPER" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

- Limit Cross Sections by Selected Surfaces (MR3) - The Pointcloud Operator dialog box for the Cross Section operator now contains a Select check box that lets you limit cross sections to only those generated planes that pass through selected CAD surfaces. See the "Cross Section COPOPER" topic in the "PC-DMIS Laser" documentation.

Vision

- Pixel Size Verification - At the end of the optics calibration, PC-DMIS will now display the pixel size results. See the "Calibrate Optics" topic in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Magnification and Illumination Buttons on Live View - The Live View tab now contains buttons directly on that tab to control magnification and illumination. See the "Live View Controls" topic in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Image Capture Command - A new command that when executed moves the vision probe to a specified location and then using defined magnification and illumination settings will capture the camera image in the Live View tab and send it to a defined directory as a bitmap image. See the "Using the Image Capture Command" topic in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Improved Ring Lamp Overlay - You can now work with most illumination settings directly from the ring lamp overlay on the Live View tab. See the "Using the Live View Ring Lamp Overlay" topic in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Probe Calibration Warnings (MR1) - Calibration warnings are now displayed in a new area on the Probe Calibration dialog box. See the "Calibrating Vision Probes" topic in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Illumination Off for Contact Probes (MR1) - A new registry entry controls whether lamps are turned on or off when switching to a contact probe. See the "Probe Toolbox: Illumination Tab" topic in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- IDS uEye Cameras Supported (MR2) - You can now use IDS uEye cameras in PC-DMIS Vision. See the "Using a Single uEye Camera to Create Multiple Virtual Cameras" in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Focus Along Camera Vector (MR3) - PC-DMIS Vision's support for optical calibration certification data in the fovcert.dat file was expanded to support the location of concentric circles. See "Calibrating Vision Probes" in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Focus Along Camera Vector (MR3) - A new setting in the General tab of the Setup Options dialog box lets you determine whether or not focus operations use the camera vector or the feature normal vector. See the "Focus Along Camera Vector" topic in the "Setting Your Preferences" section.

- Apply and Finish (MR3) - A new Apply and Finish button on the AutoTune dialog box lets you immediately apply changes to all selected features in the dialog box and end the AutoTune execution. See the "Using AutoTune Execution" topic in the "PC-DMIS Vision" documentation.

- Suppress Vision Load Probe Dialogs (MR3) - A new setting in the General tab of the Setup Options dialog box helps minimize load probe messages for vision probes. See the "Suppress Vision Load Probe Dialogs" topic in the "Setting Your Preferences" section.

Scanning

- Delete Individual Theoretical Points - For advanced scans, when defining the theoretical points to scan, you can now delete individual points from the Theoretical Path area of the scan dialog box by using the DELETE key. See "Theoretical Path area" in the "Scanning your Part" section.

- Square Slot (MR2) - PC-DMIS now supports the ability to construct square slots. See "Constructing a Square Slot Feature" in the "Constructing New Features from Existing Features" section.

Hardware Support and Hardware Settings

- Total Station - You can now use Total Station laser devices with PC-DMIS Portable. In addition, Total Station devices have the ability to not only move to a feature but they can point the laser beam to specific areas on the part to identify out-of-tolerance dimension information. See the "Move Feature (Move To / Point To)" topic in the "Using Total Station" section of the "PC-DMIS Portable" documentation.

- Total Station: Toward / Away Compensation - Total Station devices support the ability to choose a normal vector on 3D circle of slot features that compensates toward or away from the device. See the "Total Station Probe Compensation topic" in the "Using Total Station" section of the "PC-DMIS Portable" documentation.

- Leica Absolute Tracker AT401 Support (MR1) - You can now use the Leica Absolute Tracker AT401 in PC-DMIS Portable. See the "Using a Leica Laser Tracker" in the "PC-DMIS Portable" documentation.

- Fast Probe Mode - A new fast probe mode command can be inserted into the part program. This speeds up how analog probes on certain machines take individual hits. See "Using Fast Probe Mode" in the "Using the Edit Window" section.

- PEM Extension Support - You can now define a clearance distance to support using empty PEM extensions inside a probe changer. See the "Tool Changer ACR3 Key Clearance" topic in the PC-DMIS Settings Editor documentation.

Dimensioning

- Bidirectional Positional Tolerancing - Position FCF dimensions now support the bidirectional positional tolerancing in the form of Radial Arc or Right Angle to Radial Planar Tolerance axes. See "Planar Tolerance" discussed in the "GD&T - Feature Control Frame Tab" topic in the "Using Feature Control Frames" section.

- Unequal Tolerance Zones - Profile FCF dimensions now allow you to define unequal plus or minus tolerances and use the Unequal Tolerance Zones symbol. See the "Using Unequal Tolerance Zones with Profile Feature Control Frame Dimensions" topic in the "Using Feature Control Frames" section.

- Square Area Symbol - Flatness FCF dimensions now support the square area symbol for per unit flatness defined in the ASME Y14.5 2009 standard. See the "Per Unit check box" discussed in the "GD&T - Feature Control Frame Tab" topic in the "Using Feature Control Frames" section.

- Customized Datum Reference Frames - Supporting the ASME Y14.5 2009 standard, you can now create customized datum reference frames. See "Creating Customized Datum Reference Frames" in the "Using Feature Control Frames" section.

- "True Position" Renamed to "Position" (MR2) - To support the ASME standards, instances of the "True Position" phrase in the user interface and the documentation have been updated to read simply "Position".

Statistics

- Statistical XML Output (MR3) - A new Edit window command, XMLSTATS, lets you send statistical data to an XML file during part program execution. See the "Sending Statistics to an XML File" topic in the "Tracking Statistical Data" documentation.

Reporting

- Comments now allow image and movie media files - Full-screen comments now support the display of image and movie files. See the "Inserting Programmer Comments" topic in the "Inserting Report Commands" section.

- Additional Analysis Object Properties (MR1) - New MaxMinSize, MaxColor, and MinColor properties let you customize colors and sizes for max/min deviations. See "Analysis Object" in the "Reporting Measurement Results" section.

- Specify Features to Display on CAD Report Object (MR1) - CAD Report Objects inside of custom reports now make use of the PC-DMIS Commands property. This lets you easily switch what features are displayed as part of that object. See the "PC-DMIS Commands" entry in the "Common Properties" topic of the "Reporting Measurement Results" section.

Constructed Features

- 2D / 3D Features - Circle, Ellipse, and Slot constructed features now support constructing those feature as either 2D or 3D features. See the "Constructing New Features from Existing Features" section.

Automation

- Two New Automation Methods: AddControl and ItemControl - These automation methods in the ReportConrols object return a new object type that allows you to reference additional properties previously unavailable. See the "ReportControls Members" topic in the "Automation Objects" documentation.

- New SaveAs2 method (MR3) - The PartProgram object contains a new SaveAs2 method that lets you to use a CAD reference. See the "SaveAs2 Method" topic in the "Automation Objects" documentation.

Languages

- Core Help Localized in all Supported Languages (MR2) - All supported languages have a localized Core help file within one minor release of the current release.