Frequently asked questions

That is the default behaviour since version 11.0.9515: the start page is no longer shown automatically.

• To open it once: View → Start page.
• To get it back at every launch: Tools → Settings, then tick Show start page at startup.
• The Show help page toolbar button, and the Help → Online Help menu, open these same pages in your browser.

This display relies on the Microsoft Edge WebView2 component, installed together with PackLib. Three possible causes, in order:

1. No internet connection. PackLib checks that the site is reachable before showing the page; without a network the panel does not open. The rest of the software works normally.
2. WebView2 missing or incomplete. Reinstall the WebView2 runtime, then restart PackLib.
3. Network filtering. A corporate proxy or firewall may block www.treedim.com: ask your IT department to allow it.

As a last resort, open this documentation in a browser through Help → Online Help.

It is shown in the status bar at the bottom of the window, next to Version, and in Help → About…

What changed and what was fixed in each version can be read in Help → Display README file. Please include this version number in any request to support.

Yes. View → New browser opens a second view on the tree, which you can dock next to the first. Handy for comparing two templates or copying documents from one branch to another.

Browsing the libraries, resizing templates and previewing remain available without a subscription. The following functions require a Premium licence:

• Library downloads — the download area, which updates and completes your template databases.
• CAD export — exporting a parametric template to CAD files and outlines.
• Nesting — automatic calculation of the nesting of a template on a paper or board sheet.
• Post-processors — generating files for cutting tables, with route optimisation and tool assignment.
• Palletisation — simulating palletisation of the template at the given dimensions.
• Code editing — editing a parametric template to personalise it or add your own details.

The status bar at the bottom of the window shows Premium or Free next to License. As long as no valid licence is loaded, the Go Premium! button stays visible in the toolbar.

Through Help → Manage license…. The software confirms that a valid file has been accepted; the status bar then switches to Premium. If it does not, restart PackLib, then contact support attaching the file you received and the version number.

Subscriptions are handled by TreeDiM: see the PackLib page, the terms and conditions of sale, or write to us for a quote matching your number of workstations.

In the tree, under Root: the FEFCO branch holds series 0200 to 0900 for corrugated board, the ECMA branch the folding carton standards. The other branches hold the themed families (packaging, POS displays, trays, furniture…), your components (Plugin Components) and the Cardboard profiles.

Through View → Download page, or the Download entry in the tree. Select the library, then choose the retrieval mode. The full procedure is described in the Downloading new libraries tutorial.

• Download and add installs only the files missing from your library. Your existing documents are kept as they are.
• Download and update retrieves the whole library and replaces files with the same name.

If you have modified templates from the downloaded library, make a backup (Database → Backup…) before updating.

Yes, in two ways. Right-clicking a folder in the tree lets you add a document — CAD drawing, PDF, image, office document. For a resizable template you need to go through parametric design in Picador: see the Creating your own parametric templates tutorial.

In the PackLib data folder:

%AppData%\treeDiM\PackLib\Data

The library itself is the PicParam.db file in the Database sub-folder. Paste the path above into the Windows Explorer address bar to open it. The path actually in use is shown in Database → Define database path… — useful if the database has been moved to a server.

• Database → Backup… produces an archive of the whole library.
• Database → Restore the database from zip file… puts it back from that archive.

Make a habit of backing up before any heavy operation: updating a library, merging, moving to another machine. It is the only protection against a mistake.

• Merge database… imports the contents of another database into the current one — to bring together two libraries built separately.
• Delete the whole database empties the current library.
• Reset install database restores the database as delivered at installation.

By putting the database in a folder on the local network, then pointing each workstation at it through Database → Define database path…. The detailed procedure is in the Sharing the library across several workstations tutorial. Nothing travels over the internet: the data stays on your network.

On the old machine, run Database → Backup…. Install PackLib on the new machine, then Database → Restore the database from zip file… with the resulting archive. Remember to carry over your licence file as well (Help → Manage license…).

The formats offered when saving are:

Export is one of the Premium functions.

Yes, through the post-processors shipped with the software. They produce the file the machine expects, with route optimisation and tool assignment. Covered formats and machines include CF2, DXF, AI, PLT, ACM, SUMMA, ARISTO and IECHO.

If your machine is not on the list, or if tool settings need adapting to your workshop, post-processors are configurable: see Services.

PackLib automatically calculates the nesting of a template on a given format. The formats and material profiles used by that calculation are edited in Tools → Edit cardboard formats and Tools → Edit profiles: that is where your real purchased formats must be declared for the results to be usable.

Yes: direct palletisation simulates the palletising of the template at the dimensions entered, without leaving the software. It is a Premium function. For deeper palletisation studies, TreeDiM also publishes StackBuilder.

Templates that have a 3D version appear in the tree with a dedicated entry suffixed 3D, below the 2D template. Selecting it opens the animated 3D view, which shows the template folding at its current dimensions.

The 3D preview also relies on the Microsoft Edge WebView2 component. If the view stays empty while the 2D template displays correctly, reinstall the WebView2 runtime and restart PackLib.

Temporary 3D files are written to %AppData%\treeDiM\PackLib\temp.GLB. Emptying that folder with the software closed unblocks some cases of a frozen display.

The drawing is parametrised in Picador — parametric dimensions, then formulas between parameters — and saved as a component (.dll), generated by default in C:\PICADOR\Plugins. All that remains is adding it to the PackLib tree. The Creating your own parametric templates tutorial details each step.

Yes: parametric components are C# classes compiled by the software. The programming guide opens from Help → PackLiB C# programming. Editing the code of an existing component is a Premium function.

Yes. TreeDiM takes care of parametrising your templates and integrating them into your library, and offers training in parametric design as an accredited training organisation. Details and quote request on the Services page.

PackLib is a Windows application. It requires the .NET Framework 4.8 and the Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime, both installed with the software. An internet connection is needed to download libraries and display this documentation; design and export work offline.

PackLib is the library of parametric templates; Picador is the CAD software used to draw, modify and parametrise the drawings. A template opened from PackLib can be taken up in Picador, and a Picador drawing can be turned into a parametric template added to PackLib. See the Picador page.

Yes, the interface is translated into several languages. This documentation is published in French, English and Spanish; use the language selector at the top of the page. Tell us if you need another language — it guides our priorities.