NX Part Preview Issues
How To Fix NX Part Preview Issues
Summary
In this blog, we will discuss the condition where the NX Part File Previews are not showing up in the File Open Dialog inside of NX and in the Windows Explorer environment. Typically, when you select an NX Part file in the File Open Dialog, you will see a preview of the part in the Preview Pane (Right Side Pane) in the dialog. This gives you direct visual feedback to verify that the part that is selected is the part that you would like to open in session.
Sometimes after a new installation of NX, the Part Preview functionality will not work as intended or when selecting the part in the File Open Dialog, a preview image will not be displayed.
In this Blog, you will learn how to fix this condition.
Fixing Missing Part Previews
If you recently installed a new version of NX on your computer and you are experiencing an issue with not being able to see a preview of your NX part files after selecting them while using the File → Open dialog in NX, you can fix this issue by following the steps below.
Part file preview in Windows Explorer and the ability to launch NX by double-clicking on a part file are managed by the ugshext.dll. Registry entries are created during regular and mapped drive installations to allow the part icon to appear in Windows Explorer and for double-click open in NX to function after installation.
If you experience errors during Windows Explorer part file preview, part file preview does not appear, or double-clicking a part file does not start NX, you may need to fix the registration of the ugshext.dll by unregistering and re-registering ugshext.dll.
Before unregistering and re-registering ugshext.dll, check that you do not have the Folder Options, View setting “Always show icons, never use thumbnails” turned on which would prevent a properly registered dll from displaying part previews.
Note: The file location stored in the registry will be for the last version of ugshext.dll registered. If an older version of NX is installed and the older ugshext.dll is registered after a newer version, the older version ugshext.dll will be used for part file preview. Due to differences in the DLL functionality between versions, this could mean the part preview on newer parts may not work properly when an older version of ugshext.dll is registered.
Registering the ugshext.dll
To register the ugshext.dll, do the following:
1. Log onto your workstation, using an account with Administrator privileges.
OR
Search for the Command Prompt App using Windows Search option, then right-click on the Command Prompt icon and select
on the context menu
2. After opening a command prompt window, type in the following text, then hit Enter to move to the %UGII_BASE_DIR%\NXBIN folder:
cd /d %UGII_BASE_DIR%\NXBIN
regsvr32 ugshext.dll
After the ugshext.dll is registered on the system, you will receive the following pop-up dialog.
Unregistering the ugshext.dll
Because of the ability to install multiple older versions of NX on a system, it is possible when a version is uninstalled that it will remove settings for the ugshext.dll in the registry. If you remove the last or only version of NX installed on the machine and you have manually registered the ugshext.dll or if you remove one version of NX and the remaining version was not the one registered you will want to unregister and then if still needed, re-register the appropriate ugshext.dll version for continued Windows Explorer extensions support.
To unregister ugshext.dll, do the following:
1. Log onto your workstation, using an account with Administrator privileges.
2. Open a command prompt window and move to the %UGII_BASE_DIR%\NXBIN folder:cd /d %UGII_BASE_DIR%\NXBIN
3. Use regsvr32 to unregister the DLL:regsvr32 /u ugshext.dll
Note: The DLL location stored in the registry will be for the last version of ugshext.dll registered. If an older version of ugshext.dll is registered after a newer version, the older version ugshext.dll will be used for part preview. Due to differences in the DLL functionality between versions, this could mean the part preview on newer parts may not work properly when an older version of ugshext.dll is registered.
You now have the knowledge to restore the NX Part Previews in your NX File → Open dialog and in the Windows Explorer on your computer.
For over twenty years, Michael has worked first hand with NX in the aerospace and consumer goods industries, building skills like geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, 3D renderings, and computer aided product design in NX.
Post by Michael Pinto
For over twenty years, Michael has worked first hand with NX in the aerospace and consumer goods industries, building skills like geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, 3D renderings, and computer aided product design in NX.
