Programming offline while running program online

I tried that once with 2011 MR1....NEVER AGAIN I tell ya....ended up hosing both programs...theoretically it's supposed to work I think, I just don't trust it

I do this quite a bit as I do also do not have a offline seat. I have had problems when a big program finishes executing when I have another offline program open, and it crashes pcdmis. My fix has been too close up the offline program before the one that is executing on the machine finishes. This has worked for me.

Our shop does not have any offline license, so to get around this I have tried opening a second PC-DMIS window in the background. The first program I open is online and I can run parts with it. The second program I open is offline and will not communicate with the machine, so I use this to write programs.

I have only tried doing this a few times so far. Twice I was able to program and inspect simultaneously with no problems. A third time my online program would run, but the report window showed up in a different format, and many of my dimensions were missing.

Has anybody had any experience with this? I am running v4.2.

If my math is correct? You've had a .667 success rate. If thats acceptable then keep on doing what you're doing. Regardless of version, you're better off NOT running a 2nd program "in the background". Experience has shown (at least for me) that the background is where the Demon loves to jasper up your programs. In short? I don't think it's a real swell idea.
2¢

If my math is correct? You've had a .667 success rate. If thats acceptable then keep on doing what you're doing.

Ha! Good point, sealevel. I guess I just wanted to see if this is a problem which is predictable/fixable so I can prevent it from happening again. So far it's not looking good.

You could also try putting a comment in near the end of the program( where you think its messing up) asking to close the offline program. Or buy a offline seat for some $$$

My machine will not execute with any other PCDMIS windows open, only shows the animation on screen but CMM does not move. I have often wondered if there is any way to get around programming offline w/o a license.

Could you call the program from a script (or in like Word or something with OLE code), or is that going to be basically the same thing as having 2 windows open? My cmm isn't automated like that so it's probably a dumb question.

Ha! Good point, sealevel. I guess I just wanted to see if this is a problem which is predictable/fixable so I can prevent it from happening again. So far it's not looking good.

not trying to be a 'smarty-pants', but render unto Hexagon what is Hexagon's. They don't give away the offline license anymore. I think that went out with v3.x? The more knowledgeable will be able to tell you the exact release when this stopped. Guess my point is that I wouldn't recommend programming with a 2nd PC-DMIS open whilst running a current program. You can program in 'offline' mode on your machine, but I advise against doing so while also checking product.
The offline seat isn't cheap, but you CAN get a lot done while the actual CMMs are left to just check parts. Granted, it's not for every company, so ask your company 'bean counter' if an Offline seat is right for you......
(In my case... offline programs STILL need to be proven out on the machine, one can't hit a homer every time (Josh, I remember your post!) hence, I use a lot of MOVE/POINT, RELEARN if unsure when Offline.....
sorry for being all over the map on this one......

If i were you I would create a dummy program recalling the same probe with no code following
then open a second window to offline