So riddle me this? I have multiple user set-ups. One for smoke keys, and one for Flame keys, and one for engineering use. Will I not be able to do that without making multiple OS users, and logging out when I want to switch from one to the other? That doesnât really sound like an enhancement.
There is a quick way to switch between Smoke and Flame hotkeys. I remember this was brought up during Beta, but since I only use Flame keys, I didnât pay enough attention to remember how to do that.
1 Like
I wonder if it made it out of beta. That not withstanding, I like to have a user setup to test and try things and for our engineer to work in without screwing up my main setup.
Valid concerns. It seems there are easy wayâs of exporting/importing all these settings. Initially envisioned so they can travel with you. But presumably you also use that to switch between different settings on the same system/login.
Apparently this is only for Mac users.
@PhilippeJ is it still possible to start flame from a terminal window on a mac?
For the hotkeys in particular, you just go into the Keyboard Shortcuts prefs and switch the layout; When you are in âFlameâ or âSmokeâ keys, any changes you make go to a separate prefs directory for that particular layout.
For all of the other user-based preferences though, then yes youâd either have to create a separate OS user for them (Engineering) or do some manual trickery with multiple copies of your Flame user preferences directory in order to keep it under the same OS user. (IE make ~/flame-mine and ~/flame-engineering and then link ~/flame to the desired one before launching.)
Trickery? No thanks. That will probably get accounts.autodesk to ban me for life.
Hehe - itâs not that deep of trickery, itâs just your Flame user preference files 
The worst you could do even if you wiped out the whole directory accidentally is to make all your preferences go back to default.
You can also do it through UI, to avoid screwing around with files and getting the wrath of ADSK on you (not likely on this though).
The setup app now has a âuserâ tab that has clear export/import functions. Just save your three profiles as separate files and then load.
Downside, you can only import without Flame running, so you have to exit to switch, when I think the past you could do so while switching projects, even though that still restarted Flame just more fluidly in the background.
After initial export, unless you made changes, no need to re-export. Just import the one you want to run with.
Iâm still a bit shell shocked . . .
This is a bummer. I also always keep a default user with no changes to it, for âengineeringâ and troubleshooting. We have to create an entirely separate OS user just for that?
Nope, linux too.
Release notes say mac, but we all know what thatâs worth. I think they outsource that stuff to a room full of monkeyâs with typewriters and pick out the parts they want from among the Shakespeare and Francis Bacon.
Look at the good side, you wonât have to copy your shortcuts from one user to another when you install a new version.
3 Likes
I saw that too. But I think thatâs in reference to the Licensing menu in to bottom right of the UI on the Mac, which is now a popup window. Itâs not referring to the login mechanism.
I guess they transferred the monkeys to accounts.autodesk.
Iâm sure there must be some other benefits with this new approach, but I found copying hotkeys very easy to do before â itâs a drag and drop in the OS finder. Iâm not sure that saving that one click is worth having multiple OS users. I guess weâll see.
yes
1 Like
You need one engineering login per facility that will work for all versions (for 2025 and up) rather than one separate Flame user per machine, per version.
3 Likes
Yeah, I am here for the new bits, but this just seems like a âdotâ release. I remember being wowed by the new releases. Now Iâm like âoh, neat, I could use that.â