Creating User-defined Workbenches

You can customize workbenches in your environment by creating your own workbench and include the toolbars of you choice.

Before you begin: A user workbench inherits the menus and toolbars defined by the workshop it belongs to (based on the active workbench) therefore, menus in a user workbench cannot be customized. However, as the menus of the active workbench do not all contain the new user workbench, only common menus are inherited.

  1. Select Tools > Customize... or right-click any icon in any toolbar then select Customize....



    Important:
    • The symbol might be displayed next to a workbench name in the Available list to identify a workbench that has been locked by your administrator. This means that you cannot transfer the locked workbench to the Favorites list and that the workbench is not listed in the Start menu. For more information, see Administering the Workbench List.
    • The Start menu is accessed by the button.

  2. In the Customize dialog box, access the Start Menu tab.

  3. Select a workbench then click the right arrow arrow (or right-click it then select Add).

    The selected workbench is displayed in the Favorites list.

  4. Optional: Inversely, click the left arrow (or right-click then select Remove) to remove a workbench from the Favorites list.

  5. Repeat the previous step as many times as necessary.

    In our example, the following workbenches have been transferred to the Favorites list:

  6. Click the User Workbenches tab.

  7. Click New....

  8. Enter the name of your workbench (e.g. "My Workbench"), then click OK.

    The workbench name is added to the list:

    The current workbench is deactivated and the new workbench represented by the icon top right is activated.

    Note that if no document is open, New... is grayed out.

  9. Access the Toolbars tab, then click New... to start adding toolbars to "My Workbench".

    The New Toolbar dialog box and an empty toolbar are displayed:

    In the New Toolbar dialog box:

    • The Workbenches list contains a list of all workbenches related to the current working context: in our example, a CATPart document was open when "My Workbench" was created, so the list contains all workbenches that could possibly be activated in a CATPart document.
    • The Toolbars list contains the toolbars belonging to the selected workbench.

  10. Select a workbench from the Workbenches list.

    The toolbars belonging to the selected workbench are displayed in the Toolbars list.

  11. Select a toolbar.

  12. In the Toolbar Name box, enter the name of the new toolbar to be included in your workbench.

    Warning: Be careful to enter the toolbar name after selecting a workbench, otherwise the name of the selected workbench will replace the toolbar name you entered.

  13. Click OK, and close the Customize dialog box.

    The contents of the toolbar are added to your empty toolbar:

  14. Drag your new toolbar and dock it to the right of the application window so that your workshop now looks like this:



    Important: The user-defined workbench remains active after it is created, until you activate another workbench.

    Your new workbench is added to:

    • The top of the Start menu (and to the Favorites list in the Start Menu tab).
    • The Welcome to CATIA V6 dialog box, which appears when you start a session, or when you click the icon representing the current workbench.
    • The list of workbench icons accessed by right-clicking the current workbench icon.

  15. Click the desired icon to start the corresponding workbench.

  16. Optional: Insert your favorite workbenches in the Workbenches toolbar.

    This toolbar is activated when you select View > Toolbars > Workbenches and displays the workbenches selected as favorites in the Start Menu tab of the Customize dialog box.

    Warning:
    • If you remove a dynamic (i.e. non-static and shareable) license during a session, the corresponding favorite workbench disappears from the list of favorites. But you acquire the removed license once again, the workbench automatically reappears in the list of favorites. You do not need to add it manually.
    • If you installed a configuration containing more than 12 workbenches, only the first 12 workbenches are displayed in the Favorites list. The other workbenches do not appear in the list.