Subassemblies - pkt, dll, and different computers

[aed13civil]

Hi everyone,

Can someone please tell me how subassemblies work, vis a vis pkt files & all the files created in the ProgramData folder (.atc, .cfg, .dll, .emd, .pvd, .xaml, pdb)?  Here's our situation:

A user will make a subassembly, save it locally.  The subassembly is used in a corridor.  A different user tries to access this file: the subassembly is there (shows in plan), but the parameters are empty and that part of the assembly doesn't run.  The subassembly doesn't appear in the Tool Pallet.  You do get a .NET error when trying to look at the subassembly.

How we fix this is to open up the C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2013\enu\Imported Tools\ folder on the computer which made the subassembly, copy everything, and paste it into the other computer's C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2013\enu\Imported Tools\ folder.  How/why doesn't the drawing which has the subassembly in it just work??  And moving forward, how can we share drawings with custom subassemblies?  Remap everyone's .net search path to a network drive?  How do you even do that?

Thanks a lot,

Alex

[aed13civil]

No one knows?  /bump.

[SkipBurns]

How we fix this is to open up the C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2013\enu\Imported Tools\ folder on the computer which made the subassembly, copy everything, and paste it into the other computer's C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2013\enu\Imported Tools\ folder.

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This is what we do.  I believe there was an Autodesk post stating that this was the way to share the files.  It's very annoying, but it does work.  I don't think there is a way to map to a network drive for these. 

The best workaround we have found is when I create a subassembly to copy the files at C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2013\enu\Imported Tools\ into a network folder, then run a .bat routine to push them to everyone's PC.  It could also be added to a login script to have everyone check the network location for updated files automatically when they logon.

[aed13civil]

Hey, I really appreciate it.  Thanks!

[btanner]

Supposedly once the .pkt files are created, they can be placed anywhere on a server for others to then import those subassemblies into their installation directories using the Insert Ribbon, Import Panel Dropdown, Import Subassemblies tool. This can import them to a Tool Palette or to a Tool Catalog. Once a Tool Palette has been created, it can also be exported as a .XTP file for others to import.

Both of these methods are documented within the Autodesk Civil 3D Help as applicable methods for sharing custom Subassemblies. However, I have experienced very inconsistent behavior in how these operate and how successful/unsuccessful they have been on other workstations. I'm hoping for some clarity.