7 Creo UI Tips You Should Be Using Now

Are you making your job harder or less pleasant than it needs to be? If you’re still hanging on to your old methods for navigating the Creo interface, you may be putting yourself at an unnecessary disadvantage.

In recent releases, we’ve added multiple updates to the Model Tree, the Graphics windows, and toolbars.

Before you start your next design, make sure you’ve explored these new possibilities:

Model Tree Enhancements

The model tree is essential for navigating assemblies, parts, and features. But the more complex your design, the more overwhelming it can become. Try these tips to keep things simple.

1. More Show and Hide Options

Recently, new commands for showing and hiding were added in Creo 5.0. Just right-click an object in the Model Tree (or in the Graphics window, ribbon, or mini toolbar) and select Show All or Show All Except from the shortcut menu or mini toolbar (more on those below). Click View and then in the Show box, select Show Only or Show All Except. 

These commands are available in Part and Assembly modes and provide easier control over visibility, by the type of object. See the demo video below:

2. Search Enhancements

In Creo 5.0, there’s more flexibility when you search the Model Tree. Simple Search is enhanced so you can dynamically search and optionally filter the Model Tree nodes as you type. You can search on text, conditions, query types, and wild cards. See a demo of these and more updates in the video below:

Graphics Window Enhancements

Next to the Model Tree lies the graphics window, which displays your geometry. Recent releases of Creo provide more options for an optimized and streamlined experience. Check out these changes:

3. Modernized Appearance

Starting in Creo 5.0, the appearance of handles, text, dimensions, and lines (2D and 3D) displayed in the graphics area is modernized and improved. For example, handles have an improved size and visibility to make interaction easier.

4. Better Guidance for Workflows

If you’re using Creo 5 or later, you might also notice that for your most frequently used features, the prompts and messages now include easy-to-understand explanations. Prompts appear at the pointer location as well as in the message area. This makes it easier to see important information, so you are less likely to miss it.

5. Enhanced Display of Objects

Anyone using Creo 6 or later can now access new configuration options for controlling the appearance of the background for dimensions:

• dim_background
• dim_background_color
• dim_background_trans

By default, a semi-transparent dimension background appears. This makes it easier to see and decipher dimension information in the graphics window for low-contrast situations. To set the default values for dimension display, background color, and transparency, click File > Options > Entity Display.

To change the background for dimensions on the fly, click View and then in the Show group, click Dimension Background. By default, arrowheads for dimensions are filled.

Context-Sensitive Toolbars and Other Helpful Shortcuts

Mini toolbars, available since Creo 4.0, provide enriched, context-sensitive content as you work. Select an item, and the mini toolbar for the selected geometry appears. Right-click the item and the shortcut menu containing the relevant commands appears as well. For power users who want even more control, you should know about the following:

6. Custom Mini Toolbar and Shortcut Menu

Did you know you can customize the mini toolbar and shortcut menu to include frequently used commands?

When you click Customize on the shortcut menu, the mini toolbar and the shortcut menu open in the customization mode. The Creo Commands dialog box opens. Customize the mini toolbar and shortcut menu as follows:

• To add commands — Drag and drop the command from the Creo Commands dialog box or the ribbon into the mini toolbar and shortcut menu. You can also drag and drop to change order of commands and group in the shortcut menu.
• To remove commands — Drag and drop the command outside the mini toolbar or shortcut menu or right-click the command and click Remove.
• To Hide or Show rows — If you clear the check box for a row in the mini toolbar or the shortcut menu, the commands in that row do not appear when you exit the customization mode.

For more details, explore the Help topic: Customizing Mini Toolbar and Shortcut Menu.

7. Improved User Experience Working with Features

If you’re using Creo 6.0 or later, you might notice there are now mini toolbars in workflows for creating and modifying features. This gives you faster and more intuitive direct access to tool options.

The feature mini toolbar and dimension toolbar are provided for features that are used frequently in Part and in Sheetmetal Design.

Open a mini toolbar for a feature in the same way that you open a mini toolbar for a command:

• Click in the graphics area to open the mini toolbar only.
• Right-click to open the mini toolbar and the shortcut menu.

For a detailed demonstration, watch the video below:

Get Up to Speed with Creo

With every release of Creo, you’ll find exciting new technologies like generative design, multibody design, real-time simulation, etc. But don’t overlook the fundamental updates, like those covered above, that we make every year to the core product.

Creo continually streamlines your workflow so your team accomplishes more in less time. Contact us today to learn more about upgrading your Creo software.