Q I have just replaced the PC on which I was running Shape Nest. How to I get my systrem running as it was before? A If you have a USB dongle - do not plug it in yet - or take it out now. On the New PC install the current version from CD. Re Start your PC. Plug in the dongle. If it is a USB dongle the system should find the driver and then confirm. If the program does not run - Install the Dongle driver manually by running \USB\dk12win.exe or \USB\dk12wn32_2.1.0.2.exe from the CD - Do not plug in the USB dongle until the driver is loaded. Run Design from the Icon in the Shape NEst for Windows folder now on the desktop. When promted, enter the authorisation numbers from your printout. This is the default and standard configuration with none of your parts loaded. Close Design. Copy all sub folders of NESTLITE from your old PC over the newly installed folders. Do not copy any of the files in the NESTLITE folder. Copy your 2 configuration files nestcfg.ini and jobqueue.ini from the C:\Windows folder from your old PC in to the same location on your new PC. This now configures the system to your cutting machine formats and DNC protocols. Re MAP any drives to match the old PC. If you insert a USB dongle before loading the DesKey driver go to Control Panel – System – Hardware – USB dongle device and uninstall the plug and play version which won’t work. You don’t need to reboot just yet. Go to Control Panel – add/remove programs and uninstall the DK12 driver. Use Explorer to browse the CD Find the USB folder and double click the DK12win.exe or dk12wn32_2.1.0.2.exe file The USB dongle driver should install. Now reboot Plug in the USB dongle Run ShapeNest Enter the authorisation codes as requested. Q We've renently up-graded or nestlite to Version 2.05 but i am having a small problem. When i do a new nest it keeps trying to give it programme No. 00002. I have to remember the last number i done then and give it the next number. A This is because the number in counter for the job queue is lower than an entry in the jobqueue. I assume you are not sharing your files over a network. View the job queue and determine the highest job number.Use Job queue manager of notepad C:\NESTLITE\System\jobqueue.dat Edit the file C:\NESTLITE\System\nestnet.ini [PostProc] NextProgID=11 Put in a number at least one greater than your highest jobnumber. Q How to make a spline A Draw lines through points - you need an extra line at both ends. Make an open profile Select profile Free end - you may have to free both ends Make Spline Q When I Post Process it says that the job number already exists. A This is due to the counter being stuck below the highest number in the JobQueue. Edit C:\NESTLITE\System\nestnet.ini and enter a number greater than the highest number in the JobQueue. You can look for the number in Job Queue Manager or look in C:\NESTLITE\System\Jobqueue.dat Mayflower Malcolm Roope Q 1. When creating a component, only the first four of forty directories are available from material types database. No material types have been deleted. 2. After printing in Designlite, cannot open a plate file in Nestlite without crashing out of program. 3. After printing in Nestlite cannot open another plate file without crashing out of program. 4. After printing in Designlite or Nestlite, using mouse click and drag often causes crash. 5. When virus checker active Designlite sometimes crashes out when trying to print. All details of installed printers then disappear from Printers folder, but return after shutting down computer. A Do you mean that - not all material types appear when saving a component? If so you have probably copied folders from a previous system and your Material.Dat files are not correct. The default material date is in Material.Dat in the System folder and each time a material thickness folder is created in system manager, the Material.Dat file is copied into the new folder. So I guess you should copy the old Material.Dat file from the old System folder into the new System folder. Printer problem - I suspect you need a better printer driver for the version of Windows you are using. Forth Steels 06/01/2004 Richard Subject: dxf problems (See attached file: BI334-ST-CLA-04-015.dxf) Q I have had problems opening dxf files in designlite. When I open them in designlite all I get is a couple of items and maybe some cut-outs all of which are to scale. What I have had to do when I receive them is open them in another cad package that I use, save them as file type 'AUTOCAD R12/LT2 DXF' but then when I open them in designlite, I can see it all but it is in inches and has to be scaled up, which causes problems if all the items are not to the scale. Even if I save the file as release 14 I cannot see all the items but get more than the original. I have attached a recent sample of a dxf file fo you to look at. This is starting to be a major problem for me as we are receiving more drawings as dxf files and although it does not happen on all occassions it is happening more often. A The main problem is that the draftsman has adopted a technique of creating a polyline, in a line by line format and them using the "Close polyline" function, which effectively assumes a line which does not exist in the DXF file. The solution is to "Explode the polyline and then export the DXF file. This has the effect of adding the assumed line as a vector. The other problem is that the layers have not been used to separate the geometry elements from annotation, so you are left with a bit of deleting to do. I assume you are using Options/Import.. / Layers and Automatic profile generation in Design.exe Your inches problem could be caused by the setting of your CAD package. DXF can be unitless so the Import and subequest export could effectely convert the units. Nestlite assumes all units are metric. You could ask you customer to help by exploding polylines and using a layer just for geometry. It will save you hours. Geoffrey Maskell 13/11/2003 Q - Program hangs when Post Processing A - Jobqueue.dat has probably got a faulty line or filename contains [ ] chracters. Q A reminder on what took place - I installed version 2 onto a new system to the 'D' partition. Keeping the in files from this install the processing appears to go through fine at PC level but as I mention they cannot punch in the code which prints out on the cutters console - they get the code on the print out. Having copied these files over to the now pc from the old the system just hangs when Okaying it at processing - I have double checked the paths and they are all OK. A The problem is caused by having too many entries in the Jobqueue To resolve it, delete so entries in the jobqueue that are not needed anymore or may not be required for some time. You can always re postprocess them back into the jobqueue. If you use Notepad to thin out the file, can delete older entries at the top of the file. Job Queue manager displays then in a different sorted order taking no transmitted ones first. If the proceedure is to cut the job and then never cut it again, then you should periodically clean out the queue. I hope this helps ________________________________________________________________________________