Plugin preferences

This function allows you to modify the standard settings for some of the many data plugins Surpac now supports. Several of these plugins have options that allow you to configure how the software will deal with the files. Please select the plugin and option you wish to modify.

To run this function: Choose Customise > Plugin preferences , or...

• In the Function Chooser, type PLUGIN DEFAULTS, and press ENTER.

Plugin Configurations	Use Plugins Log File The plugins log file is a detailed account of information about the last file(s) that were loaded via the plugins. If you have a file that you feel should load, but does not, turn on the plugins log file and try again to load the file. Read the contents of the log file to determine what went wrong. The information in the log file will be much more detailed than the information that is contained in the message window. The log file will be cleared each time a file is loaded, so only the most recent information will be displayed in the log.
Surpac	Force solid validation on save This option will force solids to attempt to be valid on save. This can save time later on in the process, but may have the undesirable impact of slowing down the save process (especially if you are in the process of fixing a solid with problems). Turning this check box off will save to solid unvalidated. Force Rigid backward compatibility Older versions of Surpac required a boundary string to be saved with DTM files. Current versions will calculate the boundary string as required. If you intend to use your files in older versions of the software, you must check this box to ensure that you do not need to perform further processing before you can use the DTM in the earlier version. Be aware that to calculate the boundary string requires the DTM to be validated, which may take some extra time on saving the data. File format This determines the default format for writing string files. It can have the values "text" or "binary". Binary files significantly reduce the disk file storage requirements as well as reducing the time take to load and save files by a factor of about 2.
AutoCAD	Version AutoCAD files come in a variety of formats, which have changed significantly over the course of AutoCAD's development. This option allows you to save your files in an AutoCAD format that suits the version of AutoCAD you are using.