Warning

MillMage is in active development and in a prerelease state. Many operations and functions are not feature complete. Please report any unexpected behavior by searching for and reporting the issue or question in the MillMage Beta User Forum. Please include screenshots and as much detail as possible.

Beta Users: Finding Help

Find help and download the latest release candidate of MillMage in the MillMage Beta User Forum.

Users new to MillMage should follow the Getting Started guide.

Warning

This documentation is in active development and in a prerelease state. These documents are not complete and may include missing pages, broken links, and placeholders. Content is being updated as feedback is reviewed. Your patience is appreciated.

Using Multiple Windows and Instances of MillMage¶

Using Multiple Similar Instances of MillMage¶

Users running MillMage versions 1.0 and higher who need to run jobs on multiple CNC machines at the same time from the same workstation or need to quickly jump between projects can open a new instance of MillMage by:

Selecting File
Clicking New Window

All windows will share the same settings and preferences. For an alternate method that creates fully independent instances of MillMage, users should refer to the Running Multiple Independent Instances of MillMage guide in the next section.

Info

The last window closed after changing MillMage settings will save those changes to the preferences file and will overwrite any changes made previously in other open instances. Follow the guide below to prevent this from happening.

Running Multiple Independent Instances of MillMage¶

Info

This specific guide is intended for Windows users only. The steps required to adjust this behavior and replicate it on macOS and Linux will not be the same. This may be addressed in the future. Community contributions to this guide will be appreciated and reviewed.

Danger

This guide is for advanced users, and is non-trivial to follow. Caution is advised.

Users running multiple fully independent instances of MillMage may need to use separate preference files to use differnet device configurations while operating two instances of MillMage. This is not a suggested workflow, but is documented in the event a user needs this workflow.

Steps¶

Open MillMage and select File → Export Prefs.
Save the .lbprefs file and note its location.
Fully close MillMage by selecting File → Exit, or by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + Q.
Open File Explorer and navigate to the Windows Start menu links storage location or enter this file path into the File Explorer address bar.
```
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MillMage\
```
Copy and Paste the MillMage shortcut twice and rename each file. Grant administrator privileges in the User Account Control window by selecting OK and then Continue to save each change.

Info

This guide uses the file names MillMage_A and MillMage_B. Rename the files to suit your needs.
Right click on the first shortcut file and select Properties.
Select the Shortcut tab and replace the text in the Target field to match.
```
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c "SET LB_SETTINGSFOLDER=%USERPROFILE%\MillMage_A&& START /D ^"C:\Program Files\MillMage\^" MillMage.exe"
```
Info

Note: If you are using custom preferences names instead of the guide examples, replace MillMage_A with your first custom preferences file name. Do not include a space between the file name and the && characters as formatting and syntax matters.
Click Apply followed by OK and finally Continue to grant admin permissions again to save the changes.
Repeat step 6 through step 8 for the second shortcut, this time using this target link:
```
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c "SET LB_SETTINGSFOLDER=%USERPROFILE%\MillMage_B&& START /D ^"C:\Program Files\MillMage\^" MillMage.exe"
```
Info

Note: If you are using custom preference file names instead of the guide examples, replace MillMage_A with your first custom preference file name. Do not include a space between the file name and the && characters as formatting and syntax matters.

Two new MillMage shortcuts are now located in the Start menu. Launching MillMage via the "A" or first custom preference link will display the first run Help & Notes. Rentering your license key will not be required.
Click on the Start button to open the Start menu and click on the first newly created MillMage_A shortcut to launch the first independant instance of MillMage.
Click OK to close the first run Help & Notes dialog window.
Click on Import Preferences in the bottom left corner of the Devices dialog window.
Navigate to and load the preference file saved in step 7 to load all the devices in the preferences file.
Select and remove any devices you do not want associated with this MillMage instance and click OK.
Open the new MillMage_B application link and repeat step 9 through step 13 to load the original preference file into the second independent instance of MillMage.

Done!¶

Two new preferences directories can now be found in your Windows user profiles folder at %USERPROFILE%\MillMage_A and %USERPROFILE%\MillMage_B. The %USERPROFILE% shortcut will resolve to the full file system path on for your user directory.

Starting MillMage with the new shortcuts will launch independent MillMage instances that are completely independent of one another. They will not overwrite the other's preferences file and any changes you make to the device on each will persist, and will include completely independent recent file lists, rotate/shear options, and more. Each MillMage instance will be completely independent.

Origin¶

This guide originated as a post on our forum by one of our developers. For reference, that guide can be found here.

For more help using MillMage, please visit our forum to talk with MillMage staff and users, or email support.