9.4.1 Subset Editor

[mitch23]

Has anyone else noticed that in 9.4.1 the subset editor does does not retain the previous view settings (screen placement, size, etc) when closed? For example, in 9.1, each time I opened a subset editor for any dimension, it would open in the same place on the screen and at the same size it was when last opened. No longer. The properties pane is also active by default and I have to close it every time. This is a little irritating from a workflow standpoint. Is there a setting somewhere I can set to tell it to use the last settings?

[Alan Kirk]

Has anyone else noticed that in 9.4.1 the subset editor does does not retain the previous view settings (screen placement, size, etc) when closed? For example, in 9.1, each time I opened a subset editor for any dimension, it would open in the same place on the screen and at the same size it was when last opened. No longer. The properties pane is also active by default and I have to close it every time. This is a little irritating from a workflow standpoint. Is there a setting somewhere I can set to tell it to use the last settings?

Here's what I found on 9.4.10000.50077 (9.4MR1):
- When I change the position or layout of the subset editor and close the editor, a file called subed.tbd (the exact location of which will vary according to your version and operating system) gets updated. This can be seen from watching the timestamps. That's a binary file, which presumably stores the information that the current session uses to determine where the window is to be located and whether the Properties pane is showing. At least I now know what that file does; previously I've found that its only role is to corrupt itself then crash Excel whenever someone double clicks on a SubNm formula. (Deleting the file removes the problem.)
- When you close Excel, the tm1p.ini file gets updated. That file contains a parameter called SubsetWindowLayoutInfo, which is followed by 6 numeric arguments. The documentation isn't very descriptive about what those arguments represent; it simply says:

SubsetWindowLayoutInfo: Dimension and position coordinates for the Subset Editor window.
This parameter, which allows Subset Editor dimensions and position to be maintained between sessions, is automatically generated when you move or resize the window.

Mmmmm... not quite true. If you watch the timestamp you'll notice that the tm1p.ini file doesn't get updated until the client session ends. More specifically, until you close Excel. (Logging out alone doesn't seem to update the timestamp.)

- The .ini file doesn't seem to use a separate parameter for the Properties pane. What I've noticed is that if arguments 5 and 6 are the same as arguments 3 and 4, the Properties pane won't be visible, but if they're different then it will be. For example

Code: Select all

SubsetWindowLayoutInfo =  36,22,1179,718,1179,718

will create a subset editor window without a Properties pane, while

Code: Select all

SubsetWindowLayoutInfo =  677,313,1179,718,200,616

will.

It's a pretty safe bet that arguments 1 and 2 represent the X and Y co-ordinates of the top left corner of the window on the screen, 3 and 4 most likely represent width and height, and the last two are used to work out the amount of space for the Properties pane, probably by subtraction.

So what have we learned from all of this?

1/ Hey, Applix didn't just put the subed.tbd file there to hack me off after all!
2/ The subeditor window should maintain its settings between uses and between sessions, even in the somewhat buggy 9.4, provided that:
(a) The subed.tbd file is capable of being updated while the session is running; and
(b) The tm1p.ini file is capable of being updated when the session is closed.

The most likely reason that it's not happening for you is that there is some kind of permissions problem which is preventing those files from being updated.

You didn't mention your client operating system in your post.

(Aside: for the love of glub, people, and I'm talking to everyone and not singling anyone out here, when asking questions can you please, please specify all relevant versions as per the Request for Assistance Guidelines? It really can make a difference to the answer, and saves having to write hypotheticals.)

If it's Vista, there are certain restrictions against having data files in the same folder as executables. An example of this is discussed in this thread. That includes .ini files as I've found to my cost while trying to run WorldTime (a rather old but still highly useful program) which stores its .ini file in the same folder as its .exe; you can't update the .ini file in Vista, unless you do it manually and accept half a dozen "are you really sure" UAC prompts along the way.

Granted, .ini files were supposed to have been phased out in favour of the Registry 15 years ago, but try telling Iboglix that. If you are, perchance, using Vista, then it's possible that your .ini file is getting shoved into a "virtual store" where the Client can't find it between sessions. If you aren't, it may well be a common or garden policies issue which is preventing you from writing to the folder that contains the subed.tbd/tm1p.ini files.

[mitch23]

Wow! you put a lot of effort into that! Thanks for the info. I suspect your are right about the permissions issue as this was inadvertanlty chnaged during the upgrade to 9.4 and I thought it had all been corrected but apparently not. Thanks again and I will look into that.

Point about including releveant system and version info duly noted. I don't post here too terribly often so I guess I hadn't been fully initiated