From Pro/ENGINEER you can open a model from another directory by specifying a directory path when you enter the model name. If you do not specify the directory, Pro/Engineer searches for the model in the following areas in the order shown:

1. Directory appearing in the Look In box in the File Open (File > Open) dialog box

2. Pro/ENGINEER session

3. Active workspace or commonspace

4. Current Working Directory

5. Search Paths

About the Search Path and search.pro

During model retrieval, Pro/ENGINEER searches for and then retrieves submodels from the following areas in the order shown:

1. Pro/ENGINEER session

2. Directory in which the top model is being retrieved

3. Active workspace or commonspace

4. Current Working Directory

5. Other search paths and directories such as:

• Specific Directories-Set the configuration option search_path and Pro/ENGINEER searches in the directories as specified.
• search.pro file-Set the configuration option search_path_file and Pro/ENGINEER searches in the search.pro file.
• Libraries-Set the configuration option pro_library_dir to set the default directory for Pro/ENGINEER libraries, or for libraries you have built.
• Drawing Format Library-Set the configuration option pro_format_dir to set the default directory for the drawing format library.

If the assembly components or drawing models are not in any of the above areas, you must retrieve them before retrieving the assembly or drawing.

Adding Search Paths to Pro/ENGINEER

If you want Pro/ENGINEER to search additional paths besides the working directory, such as a server, you can add paths using one of the following methods:

• Within a Pro/ENGINEER session, specify additional directory paths with the configuration option search_path.
• Type the paths directly into the search.pro file and set the configuration file option search_path_file. search.pro is an editable text configuration file that contains relative and absolute paths to search for models. You may specify either the full path name for the file or just the full path name of the directory containing the file. You can search for models on registered Windchill server cabinets and workspace, and other sites and servers.

Directory path names can be relative or absolute. A path name can contain up to 260 characters. When you specify a relative path name, you can use special characters, such as ".." in UNIX and Windows (NT, 95, 98, and 2000).

Relative pathnames are initially resolved relative to the startup directory. If you subsequently reload the configuration file, the system reevaluates the relative pathnames relative to the current (working) directory and appends the new directories (if any) to the search path (the previous path remains in place). It is better to always specify the full pathnames (from root) so as to avoid problems if you change working directories or use the same configuration file in another startup directory.

In Windows NT/95/98/2000 systems, specify the drive at the beginning of the path to avoid problems if you change your working directory to a directory in another drive.

It is possible for each configuration file read in at startup to call out its own search path directories or search.pro file. As Pro/ENGINEER processes the first configuration file, it loads any specified search_path directories and the contents of the specified search.pro file (if any) into its search path. As it processes subsequent configuration files, it likewise appends any specified directories to the search path. If a particular directory is specified more than once, it appears more than once in the search path. All search-path directories are listed and processed in the order in which they were read.

If an object can be found in more than one search path directory, the system retrieves the first one it finds, regardless of which object is the most recent.

Note: Search paths can be disabled by inserting a ! character in front of the appropriate line or lines in the search.pro file. The primary server is always included in the search path without being specified in the config.pro file.