User Guide

Contents

Installation

  1. Download the latest CatiaMenuWin32.exe from the releases page
  2. Place the .exe anywhere on your machine — no installer required
  3. Double-click to run

Requirements:

First Launch

On first launch the app will:

  1. Create %APPDATA%\CatiaMenuWin32\ to store settings and cached scripts
  2. Attempt to auto-detect your Python installation
  3. Sync scripts from the built-in KaiUR/Pycatia_Scripts repository
  4. Display the scripts as clickable buttons organised by tab

If the sync fails with “Connect to internet to sync”, check your internet connection. If you are on a corporate network see the GitHub Token section.

The Interface

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  CATIA Macro Menu                                      -  [ ]  x │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  [Menu] [Refresh] [Settings] [Deps] [Stop] [Log]    v2.2.0.xxx   │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Filter scripts...                                               │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ <  * Favourites  |  Any Document Scripts  |  Part Doc Scripts  > │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  >  Rename Hybrid Shapes                                    [i]  │
│     Renames multiple hybrid shapes in one go.                    │
│  >  Batch Isolate Geometric Set                             [i]  │
│     Isolate every element in a geometric set as a datum.         │
│  >  Check Duplicate Names In Geometric Set                  [i]  │
│     Scan a geometric set for elements that share a name.         │
│                                                                  │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Sync complete. +5/-0 folders, +71/-0 scripts, 0 updated.        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Dark Mode

CatiaMenuWin32 Dark Mode

Light Mode

CatiaMenuWin32 Light Mode

Toolbar buttons:

Tab bar:

Script buttons:

Running Scripts

Click any script button to run it. The app will:

  1. Verify the script’s SHA hash against GitHub to confirm it hasn’t been tampered with
  2. Launch Python with the script path
  3. Show “Script launched in console” or the exit code in the status bar

When a script is running in background mode (no console), the button highlights in green — border, left accent bar, and label text — for the duration of the run. The highlight clears automatically when the script exits or is stopped.

Console options (configurable in Settings):

Without Show console, scripts run silently in the background.

Stopping a Running Script

Click the ■ Stop toolbar button to immediately terminate the running script. The button is grayed out when no script is running and turns red when one is active.

Note: Only background (no-console) runs can be stopped this way. If Show console is enabled, close the console window directly, or press Ctrl+C inside it.

Script Output Log

When scripts run in background mode (no console), all stdout and stderr output is captured and shown in the Script Output Log window.

Note: Output is only captured in background mode. When Show console is enabled, output appears in the console window instead.

Script Source Tinting

When Tint local and extra-repo script buttons differently is enabled in Settings → Window (default: On), script buttons are given a subtle background tint based on their source:

Tint Source
Warm rose Script is from a local folder
Cool green Script is from an extra GitHub repository
No tint Script is from the built-in KaiUR/Pycatia_Scripts repository

The same tinting applies to Quick Launch Bar buttons. Disable the option in Settings → Window if you prefer a uniform appearance.

When the app is offline and Show cached scripts when offline is enabled, the tinting changes to indicate stale data:

Tint Source
Red Script is from the built-in KaiUR/Pycatia_Scripts repository
Dark orange-red Script is from an extra GitHub repository
Unchanged Script is from a local folder (local scripts are always current)

Local scripts are never tinted red because they are read directly from disk and are not affected by connectivity.

⭐ Favourites

Favourites give you quick access to the scripts you use most often.

To add a favourite:

A dedicated ⭐ Favourites tab appears at the far left of the tab bar as soon as you have at least one favourite. It disappears automatically when all favourites are removed.

To remove a favourite:

Favourites are also the source for the Quick Launch Bar — every script you favourite automatically appears as a button on the floating bar.

Favourites are stored in %APPDATA%\CatiaMenuWin32\prefs.ini and persist across restarts and syncs.

🔍 Search / Filter

A filter bar sits below the toolbar. Type any text to instantly filter the scripts in the current tab by name or purpose. Clear the box to show all scripts again.

📋 Script Details

Right-click any script button and select Script Details… to open a full details dialog showing:

Changes to the note, favourite, and hidden state are saved when you click OK.

🙈 Hiding Scripts

Hiding a script removes it from view without deleting it from the cache.

To hide a script:

Hidden scripts are not deleted — they remain in the cache and will not reappear after a sync. If every script in a tab is hidden, the tab itself disappears from the tab bar automatically.

To unhide scripts:

  1. Go to ☰ Menu → File → Manage Hidden Scripts
  2. Select one or more scripts from the list
  3. Click Unhide to restore the selected scripts, or Unhide All to restore everything

The tab reappears automatically as soon as any script in it is unhidden.

📝 Script Notes

Right-click any script → Add Note… (or Edit Note…) to attach a personal note to a script. Notes are visible in the Script Details dialog and stored in prefs.ini.

▶️ Run with Arguments

Right-click any script → Run with Arguments… to pass custom command line arguments when running the script.

📂 Opening Scripts

The right-click context menu provides three options for opening script files directly:

Option Available for Action
Open Script Location All scripts Opens the folder containing the script in Windows Explorer
Open with Default App All scripts Opens the script file with the Windows default application for its file type
Open in Editor Local folder scripts only Opens the script in the registered editor for the file type (e.g. VS Code, Notepad++, IDLE)

Note: For GitHub-synced scripts, edits made to the cached file will be overwritten on the next sync. Use Open in Editor on local scripts to safely edit your own scripts.

🔢 Sorting Scripts

☰ Menu → View → Sort Scripts offers four sort modes:

Mode Description
Default Order Order from GitHub API or disk
Alphabetical A–Z by script name
By Date Most recent scripts first (from script header Date field)
Most Used Scripts you run most often appear first

The sort mode is saved in Settings and applied to all tabs.

Settings

Open via ☰ Menu → File → Settings… or the ⚙ Settings toolbar button.

The Settings dialog is organised into five tabs:

General tab

Option Description
Python Interpreter Full path to python.exe. Click Browse… to locate it. Leave blank to auto-detect from PATH. To use a virtual environment, browse to python.exe inside the venv’s Scripts folder (e.g. C:\My_Venv\Scripts\python.exe) — the venv does not need to be activated. After changing this, click ↓ Deps to install packages into the new environment. Click Create venv to automatically create a virtual environment at %APPDATA%\CatiaMenuWin32\venv — the path field is updated automatically on success.
Script Cache Folder Where downloaded scripts are stored locally. Defaults to %APPDATA%\CatiaMenuWin32\scripts.
GitHub Token Optional Personal Access Token. Increases the API rate limit from 60 to 5,000 req/hr and is required for private repositories. Tick Use token and paste the token. See GitHub Token.

Sync tab

Option Default Description
Sync scripts automatically on startup On Downloads latest scripts when the app starts
Always download latest before running Off Re-downloads the script every time before running
Check for app updates on startup On Notifies you when a newer version is available
Auto-install updates On Downloads and installs new versions automatically; also applies when triggering Help → Check for Updates… manually
Auto-refresh every N hours 6 Background sync interval in hours; 0 = disabled
Show cached scripts when offline Off Display previously synced scripts when there is no internet connection; an amber status bar warning is shown. When off, no buttons appear if the sync cannot reach GitHub

Console tab

Option Default Description
Show Python console window Off Opens a visible console when running scripts
Keep console open after script finishes On Window stays open so you can read output/errors (cmd /k mode)
Keep Update Deps console open Off Keeps the dependency install window open until you close it
Repeat script on double-click (main window) On Enable repeat mode for scripts in the main window

Window tab

Option Default Description
Always on Top On Keep the main window above other applications
Minimize to Tray On Hide to system tray instead of taskbar when minimised
Start with Windows On Launch automatically at login
Start Minimized On Start hidden in the tray
Theme System Dark, Light, or follow Windows setting
Sort Scripts Default Order Default, Alphabetical, By Date, or Most Used

Quick Bar tab

Option Default Description
Enable Quick Launch Bar On Show the floating icon toolbar
Orientation Vertical Vertical (column) or Horizontal (row)
Stay on Top with Target App On Auto-elevate bar when target app is in the foreground
Target App CATIA V5 Window-title substring to track; leave empty for always-visible bar
Target Exe CNEXT.exe Process executable filename to match alongside Target App. Click Browse… to pick the .exe from a file dialog instead of typing it. Leave empty to match any process.
Repeat script on double-click (Quick Bar) On Enable repeat mode for Quick Bar buttons

Reset to Defaults

The Reset to Defaults button at the bottom left resets all settings to their original values. Your script sources (extra repos and local folders) are not affected.

Export / Import Settings

Two buttons in the bottom button row let you back up and transfer your configuration selectively.

Both open a selection dialog divided into three sections:

General settings — three independent checkboxes:

Extra Repositories and Local Folders — each item has its own checkbox so you pick exactly which sources to transfer.

Tokens — one checkbox per available token (GitHub account token and individual repo tokens). Uncheck any tokens you do not want to include.

Export…

  1. The selection dialog appears — all items checked by default.
  2. Uncheck anything you do not want to export. Uncheck individual tokens to keep sensitive credentials out of the file.
  3. Choose a destination .ini file.

Import…

  1. Choose the source .ini file.
  2. The selection dialog appears showing what is available in that file — all items checked by default.
  3. Uncheck anything you do not want to add. Selected repos and folders are appended to your current sources — nothing is removed or replaced.
  4. If a repo URL already exists in your config and the imported entry carries a token, you are prompted to keep the existing or imported token. Exact duplicate paths with no token conflict are skipped silently.
  5. Settings take effect immediately and the dialog closes. Your prefs.ini (favourites, notes, run counts) is never affected.

Tip: To share only your portable preferences, uncheck Python path and Cache folder before exporting. The recipient gets your options, theme, and Quick Bar settings without machine-specific paths.

Script Sources

Open via ☰ Menu → File → Sources…

CatiaMenuWin32 can load scripts from three types of sources simultaneously:

Built-in Repository

The KaiUR/Pycatia_Scripts repository is the default primary source. If you want to use the app with your own scripts only — or as a general Python script launcher unrelated to CATIA — you can disable it:

  1. Open ☰ Menu → File → Sources…
  2. At the top of the dialog, uncheck Enable built-in repository (KaiUR/Pycatia_Scripts)
  3. Click OK
  4. Click ↺ Refresh — the built-in scripts are removed from all tabs immediately

The built-in repository is not deleted from your cache, just hidden. Re-check the box and refresh to restore it at any time.

Additional GitHub Repositories

Add any GitHub repository that uses the same folder structure (subfolders contain .py files):

  1. Click Add… under “Additional GitHub Repositories”
  2. Enter the full URL: https://github.com/owner/repo
  3. Enter the branch name (defaults to main)
  4. Optionally add a token for private repos or higher rate limits
  5. Click OK

If two repositories have a folder with the same name, their scripts are merged into one tab.

To enable or disable a repo without removing it, select it and click Enable/Disable.

To remove a repo, select it and click Remove — you will be asked to confirm and given the option to delete its cached files.

Local Script Folders

Add a folder on your machine that contains subfolders with .py files:

My_Scripts/
├── Any_Document_Scripts/
│   └── my_script.py
└── Part_Document_Scripts/
    └── another_script.py
  1. Click Add… under “Local Script Folders”
  2. Browse to your folder and click OK

Local scripts run directly from disk — no downloading or SHA checking. A setup/ subfolder is never shown as a tab — it is used for dependencies only.

Update Dependencies for Sources

If a source has a setup/requirements.txt file, clicking ↓ Deps will run pip install --upgrade pip && pip install --upgrade -r requirements.txt for each source separately in order:

  1. Main repo requirements
  2. Each extra GitHub repo’s requirements
  3. Each local folder’s requirements

Update Dependencies

Click ↓ Deps (or ☰ Menu → Run → Update Dependencies) to install Python packages required by the scripts.

The app runs pip install --upgrade pip && pip install --upgrade -r requirements.txt for each configured source that has a setup/requirements.txt file. Each source runs in its own console window sequentially.

Enable Keep Update Deps console open in Settings to keep each window visible until you close it manually.

Quick Launch Bar

The Quick Launch Bar is a small floating button bar that gives you one-click access to your favourite scripts without switching to the main window.

Enabling the bar

Go to ☰ Menu → View → Quick Bar → Enable Quick Bar, or right-click the bar itself and tick Enable Quick Bar.

Buttons

Each button represents one script from your ⭐ Favourites tab. The button face shows the first two uppercase letters of the script name. Hover over a button to see the full script name and its Purpose line in a tooltip. Click to run the script.

If you have more favourites than fit in the bar, ▲ ▼ (vertical) or ◄ ► (horizontal) scroll arrows appear at the edges. You can also scroll with the mouse wheel.

Moving the bar

Drag any empty area of the bar (between buttons) to reposition it anywhere on screen. The position is saved automatically to settings.ini.

Orientation

Switch between vertical and horizontal layouts via ☰ Menu → View → Quick Bar or the right-click context menu. The bar resizes automatically.

Always on top with the target app

When On Top with Target App is enabled, the bar rises to always-on-top whenever the configured target application gains focus, and drops back to normal z-order when any other window comes to the front. This lets the bar float above your target app without covering unrelated windows.

The bar also tracks the target application’s state:

Setting the target app

By default the target is CATIA V5. To use the bar with a different application:

  1. Right-click the bar and select Set Target App… (or ☰ Menu → View → Quick Bar → Set Target App…)
  2. Enter any substring that appears in the target application’s window title (e.g. Fusion 360, Blender, SolidWorks)
  3. Optionally enter the Target Exe — the process executable filename (e.g. CNEXT.exe) — to prevent the bar from responding to other windows whose titles contain the same substring. Click Browse… to navigate to the executable with a file picker instead of typing the name manually
  4. Click OK

To disable target tracking entirely — keeping the bar always visible with no topmost behaviour — clear both fields and click OK.

Right-click menu options

Option Description
Enable Quick Bar Toggle the bar on or off
Horizontal / Vertical Switch orientation
On Top with Target App Toggle topmost-with-target behaviour (greyed out when no target is set)
Set Target App… Enter the window-title substring to track
Reset Position Move the bar back to its default position (right edge of screen)
Repeat on Double-Click Toggle repeat mode for Quick Bar buttons

Repeat Script on Double-Click

Repeat mode lets a script re-run automatically each time it finishes, without any further input.

Starting repeat mode

Stopping repeat mode

Action Result
Press Escape Cancels repeat and stops the currently running background script
Single-click the same script Cancels repeat; no extra run is triggered
Single-click a different script Cancels repeat and runs the new script once
Click ■ Stop Cancels repeat and stops the current run

Toggling the feature

Both toggles are independent and default to On.

Note: Repeat mode is not available when Show Python console window is enabled in Settings, because console-mode scripts run attached to a terminal and their completion is not tracked by the app.

System Tray

Enable Minimize to Tray in ☰ Menu → Window to hide the window to the system tray instead of the taskbar when minimised or closed.

Enable Start with Windows to launch the app automatically at login. Combine with Start Minimized to have it start silently in the tray.

Themes

Switch between dark, light, and system-default themes via ☰ Menu → View → Theme:

GitHub Token

The app uses the GitHub REST API to fetch script lists. Without a token, GitHub allows 60 requests per hour per IP address.

A token increases this to 5,000 requests per hour and is required for private repositories.

To create a token:

  1. Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Fine-grained tokens
  2. Click Generate new token
  3. Name it CatiaMenuWin32
  4. Set expiry as preferred
  5. Under Repository access select Public Repositories (read-only)
  6. Click Generate token and copy it

To add it to the app:

  1. Open ☰ Menu → File → Settings…
  2. Tick Use token
  3. Paste the token
  4. Click OK

Office / shared network users: If multiple people share the same public IP address, all their requests count against the same 60/hour limit. Each user should set their own token to avoid seeing “Connect to internet to sync” errors.

Writing Your Own Scripts

CatiaMenuWin32 reads metadata from a structured header block at the top of each .py file. This header powers the tooltip shown when you hover over the i badge on a script button.

Header Format

'''
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Script name:    My_Script_Name.py
    Version:        1.0
    Code:           Python3.10.4, Pycatia 0.8.3
    Release:        V5R32
    Purpose:        One line summary shown under the script name in the button.
    Author:         Your Name
    Date:           DD.MM.YY
    Description:    Full description of what the script does. This is shown in the
                    tooltip popup. Continuation lines must be indented.
    dependencies = [
                    "pycatia",
                    ]
    requirements:   Python >= 3.10
                    pycatia
                    Catia V5 running with an open document.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Change:

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'''

Rules

Folder Structure

Scripts must be organised in subfolders — the subfolder name becomes the tab name:

Your_Repo/
├── Any_Document_Scripts/
│   └── My_Script.py
├── Part_Document_Scripts/
│   └── Another_Script.py
└── setup/
    └── requirements.txt

Folder names use snake_case — the app converts them to title case automatically: Any_Document_Scripts → Any Document Scripts

PyCATIA

Scripts in KaiUR/Pycatia_Scripts use the PyCATIA library by evereux for automating CATIA V5 via COM. To write your own scripts:

  1. Install PyCATIA: pip install pycatia
  2. See the PyCATIA documentation for the full API reference
  3. CATIA V5 must be running before scripts that interact with it are executed

Setup Folder

If your repository or local folder contains a setup/ subfolder with a requirements.txt, clicking ↓ Deps will automatically install those dependencies:

Your_Repo/
└── setup/
    └── requirements.txt

The setup/ folder is never shown as a tab.

Persistent Data

Never ask users to edit a script to change settings or parameters. CatiaMenuWin32 verifies the SHA hash of every downloaded script against GitHub before running it. A script that has been locally modified will fail the integrity check and the app will refuse to run it. All user-configurable data must be stored outside the script file.

Store settings in a per-script folder under %APPDATA%\pycatia_scripts\:

%APPDATA%\pycatia_scripts\<Your_Script_Name>\user_settings.json

Use the script filename (without .py) as the folder name. This keeps each script’s data isolated and easy to locate or clean up.

Implementation pattern:

import os
import json

SETTINGS_DIR  = os.path.join(os.environ['APPDATA'], 'pycatia_scripts', 'Your_Script_Name')
SETTINGS_FILE = os.path.join(SETTINGS_DIR, 'user_settings.json')

# --- Load (in your dialog __init__) ---
hardcoded_defaults = {"my_param": "10.0", "another_param": "5.0"}
settings = hardcoded_defaults.copy()
if os.path.exists(SETTINGS_FILE):
    try:
        with open(SETTINGS_FILE, 'r') as f:
            settings.update(json.load(f))
    except:
        pass  # Fall back to hardcoded defaults on corrupt or missing file

# --- Save (after user clicks OK) ---
if not os.path.exists(SETTINGS_DIR):
    os.makedirs(SETTINGS_DIR)
with open(SETTINGS_FILE, 'w') as f:
    json.dump({"my_param": dlg.my_field.GetValue(), "another_param": dlg.other_field.GetValue()}, f, indent=4)

Rules:

❓ In-App Help

Press F1 or go to ☰ Menu → Help → Help Contents to open the built-in help window.

The help window has a topic list on the left and formatted content on the right. A coloured header strip above the content shows the current topic name at a glance. Click any topic to navigate to it. The window is resizable and stays open while you work.

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
F1 Open Help
F5 Refresh + Sync
F9 Run last script
Ctrl+Tab Next tab
Ctrl+Shift+Tab Previous tab
Escape Cancel repeat mode and stop running script (when active)

Troubleshooting

“Connect to internet to sync”

Script fails with “Python Not Found”

Scripts fail after setting up a virtual environment

SHA mismatch warning

Update prompt on local builds

A script has disappeared

Scripts don’t appear after adding a source