I can't access my catalogues anymore how can I get them back?

I can't access my catalogues anymore how can I get them back?
Emil Rindell

Emil Rindell

Jonas Bryntesson

Jonas Bryntesson

Henrik Andersson

Henrik Andersson

2023-02-03

5 min read
Emil Rindell

Emil Rindell

Jonas Bryntesson

Jonas Bryntesson

Henrik Andersson

Henrik Andersson

2023-02-03

5 min read

A recurring question to us at support is that you have accidentally closed your catalogs, sometimes the entire Catalog Browser (where you have blocks, cylinders, IC Mechanical, Sheet Metal etc.) in among a single catalog and in among ALL catalogs except the Catalog Browser. How do I open the catalogues again? It depends a bit on what has happened but below we list some different scenarios. Should none of the options work for you, be sure to read the full post and you'll know how to reset the program to default. At the end of the article we link to some other useful posts regarding directories.

I have accidentally closed the Catalog Browser

  • Find a free field among the tool fields ( in this case we are under Feature- tab)
  • Right-click on the free space as shown and right-click
  • Then select on Catalog Browser
  • Then the cataloguer will come up with

TIPS. This also works in the 2D drawing environment (ICD)

Catalog Browser

I see the catalogs browser but all the catalogs are gone and my explorer is empty

This is most likely to be encountered if you have opened a group/folder in the Starter directory and don't know how to get back. Probably you have used Close- button at the directory explorer and pressed Close on all directories.
If this is the case, you should use the Back button in the future.
It is located at the bottom of the directory explorer to get back to the root directory after you have been in a folder:

back catalogue browser

Here's what it might look like if you had this error:

To correct this error, do the following:

  • Go to Common- tab
  • Press Catalog Sets
  • Bookmark Default Scene
  • Then press Open
  • Then look in the directory explorer and the directories will be open again

I have accidentally closed one or more catalogs

If you have accidentally closed a single or a few different catalogs but not the whole catalogs browser(i.e. you still see other catalogs), do the following.

  • Click on Open at the directory explorer
  • Then browse to where you have your directories or go to the default path for the directories which is: C:\Program Files\IronCAD \2023\AppData\en-us\Catalogs\Scene
  • Then scroll down the list and select the one(s) (hold down CTRL on the keyboard to select several at once) then press Open

TIPS. For the 2D drawing (ICD), choose this path instead of directories:

C:\Program Files\IronCAD\2023\AppData\en-us\Catalogs\Drawing

individual catalogues

I see a few catalogues but far from all. How do I access the standard set of directories?

  • Go to Common- tab
  • Press Catalog Sets
  • Bookmark Default Scene
  • Then press Open
  • Then look in the directory explorer and the directories will be open again

TIPS. For the 2D drawing (ICD), choose Default Drawing instead

catalogue sets

I can no longer access the IC Mechanical catalogues anymore (screws, nuts, beams, face to DXF etc.)

  • Go to Common- tab
  • Press Catalog Sets
  • Bookmark ICMech Catalogs
  • Then press Open
  • Then look in the directory explorer and the directories will be open again

ic mech catalogs

Alternative way to open the IC Mechanical directories

Here's how to open your IC Mechanical directories.

  • Click on Open at the directory explorer
  • Then browse to: C:\Program Files\IronCAD \ IronCAD Mechanical \Catalogs
  • Followed by Open

TIPS. Catalogues ICM Add-on contains all the functions of ICM in a directory and subdivided into folders. Perfect if you don't want a bunch of separate directories.

IC mech

I've tried everything above but it still doesn't work

From 2023 onwards

If you tried some of the steps above and you still have problems, you can reset the interface.

  • Find a free field among the tool fields ( in this case we are under Feature- tab)
  • Right-click on the free space as shown and right-click
  • Then select on Reset UI
  • Then press Ok on the box that appears stating that IRONCAD needs to be closed
  • After the interface has been reset, select the same steps above again.

right-click reset ui ironcad

From 2022 onwards

By deleting a certain set of XML files, you can restore the interface (icons, menus) of IRONCAD.

Do this:

Close IRONCAD.

Start Windows The Explorer (file explorer).

The quickest way to open Windows Explorer is via the Start menu or the shortcut [Win] [E].

Select the address field in the top left corner and delete all information. Then type %appdata%.

The address bar in Windows Explorer works in a
similar way to your browser.

This opens a folder containing various folders and files associated with your unique Windows login. Browse through the folders IronCAD, IRONCAD, "version number", en-us and finally the folder Customization.

Version 24.0 corresponds to 2022
Version 23.0 corresponds to 2021
Version 22.0 corresponds to 2020
etc...

Select all XML files and delete them. IRONCAD will now be restored to "original state" the next time it is started and the files will reappear in the same folder the next time IRONCAD is closed.

Then restart IRONCAD .

Tip: If you know that the XML files work as you want and intended, you can easily zip them down to be able to restore them to a given state if needed.

Tips on other posts regarding catalogues

Open more catalogues in IRONCAD

With the complete installation file for IronCAD DCS coming from Solidmakarna, a number of extra and very useful directories are included, in addition to those opened by default. Read this post to learn about these:

Open more catalogues in IRONCAD

PROCatalogSet - manage your catalogues easily

Read this post to manage your directories more smoothly:

PROCatalogSet - manage your catalogues easily

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