Do I need to install CatiaMenuWin32? No. It is a portable .exe — download it, place it anywhere on your machine, and double-click to run. No installer, no admin rights required.

What Windows versions does it support? Windows 10 and Windows 11. Older versions are not supported.

Do I need Python installed? Yes. CatiaMenuWin32 launches your scripts — it does not include a Python runtime. Install Python 3.9 or later from python.org. The app auto-detects Python on your PATH; if it is not found, open Settings and click Browse next to Python Interpreter.

Does it work with CATIA V6, 3DEXPERIENCE, or other CAD software? The built-in scripts target CATIA V5 via PyCATIA. The app itself is a general-purpose Python script launcher — disable the built-in repository and point it at your own scripts to use it with any software.

Why does it say "Connect to internet to sync"? Three common causes:

1. No internet connection
2. The GitHub API rate limit has been reached — without a token, GitHub allows 60 requests per hour per IP address. Add a Personal Access Token in Settings to raise this to 5000 per hour (see GitHub Token)
3. A corporate firewall is blocking api.github.com — contact your IT department, or add a token and try again

What happens if I use it offline? Scripts load from the local cache and the app works normally. You can run any script that was synced during a previous session. The status bar notes that sync was skipped.

Multiple people in my office share the same IP and we keep hitting the rate limit. GitHub's 60 requests/hour limit is per public IP, so everyone on the same network shares the quota. Since v3.0.0 each sync uses only one request per GitHub source (the whole repository is listed at once, and an unchanged repository is answered with a short "not modified" reply), so the limit is reached far less often. If it still happens, each user should add their own Personal Access Token in Settings → General → GitHub Token → Use token. This gives each user an individual limit of 5000 requests per hour.

Why did a script disappear from its tab after a sync? It was removed or renamed in its GitHub repository. Since v3.0.0 the app also deletes such scripts from the local cache, so they no longer reappear when you are offline.

Why do I get "Python Not Found"? Open Settings (⚙ button or Menu → File → Settings), click Browse next to Python Interpreter, and locate python.exe. It is usually at: C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python3xx\python.exe

I clicked a script and nothing happened.

• Confirm Python is configured correctly (see above)
• Enable Show Python console window in Settings → Console — this reveals any error output from the script
• Ensure CATIA V5 is running if the script requires it

CATIA V5 is running but the script cannot connect to it.

• Wait for CATIA to fully finish loading before running the script
• Install PyCATIA if you have not already — use the ↓ Deps button in the toolbar, or open a terminal and run pip install pycatia

What does the "SHA mismatch warning" mean? The locally cached copy of the script differs from what GitHub records. Click Yes when prompted to re-download the clean version. If it recurs, open Settings, clear the cache folder path, and re-sync.

A script has disappeared from the list. It may have been hidden. Go to Menu → File → Manage Hidden Scripts to review and restore hidden scripts. Also check that the filter bar below the toolbar is empty.

Can I use the app without the built-in CATIA scripts? Yes. Go to Menu → File → Sources, uncheck Enable built-in repository (KaiUR/Pycatia_Scripts), click OK, then click ↺ Refresh. The built-in scripts are removed from view immediately. Re-check the box and refresh to restore them at any time.

Can I add a private GitHub repository? Yes. When adding the repository in the Sources dialog, paste a Personal Access Token with read access to that repository. The token is stored in settings.ini and sent only to GitHub over validated HTTPS.

How do I add my own scripts? Organise your .py files into subfolders — each subfolder becomes a tab. Host them in a GitHub repository or a local folder, then add that source in Menu → File → Sources. See Writing Your Own Scripts in the User Guide for the script header format.

Can the app start automatically with Windows? Yes. Enable Start with Windows in Settings → Window. Combine it with Start Minimized to have the app start silently in the system tray.

How do I find a script quickly without clicking through tabs? Press Ctrl+K to open the command palette, type part of the script's name (the letters only need to appear in order) and press Enter. Ctrl+K works system-wide by default, so you can use it while CATIA has focus; change or disable it in Settings → Command Palette.

What do the green and blue dots on script buttons mean? Green marks a script that is new since you last looked, blue one that has been updated; the tooltip shows its latest change. Running the script or opening its details clears the dot, and Menu → View → Mark All Scripts as Seen clears them all. Turn them off in Settings → Window.

Ctrl+K no longer works in Word / my browser while CatiaMenuWin32 is running. The command palette registers Ctrl+K system-wide by default, which takes it from other programs. Untick Enable system-wide hotkey or choose another combination in Settings → Command Palette — Ctrl+K keeps working inside CatiaMenuWin32 either way.

Can I run the app from a USB stick without installing anything into my profile? Yes — use portable mode. Put an empty file named settings.ini next to CatiaMenuWin32.exe; the app then keeps all its settings, cache and data in that folder and never touches the registry. See Portable mode.

Why does a script ask to install packages before it runs? The script lists packages in its header's dependencies = [...] block and one of them is missing or the wrong version for the Python the app uses. Choose Yes to install them with pip, No to run anyway, or Cancel. The check can be turned off in Settings → Console. See Dependency Check.

Can I try a script without adding it to a source? Yes — drag the .py file onto the main window to run it once. Dragging a folder onto the window offers to add it as a local script source.

Can I run a script with custom arguments? Yes. Right-click any script button and select Run with Arguments... to pass command-line arguments before running. Type them as you would after python script.py; quotes group words into one argument. The run is logged and can be stopped like any other. Scripts that declare an Args: block in their header show a form instead, with a field per parameter and the last values remembered.

Is the app safe to use? Yes. Every HTTPS connection validates the answering server — its host must be a GitHub host, its certificate must be valid for that exact host name, and it must be issued by a CA GitHub uses. Every script is verified against its GitHub blob SHA before execution — a script that has been modified locally or tampered with will be blocked until it is re-downloaded clean. Automatic updates are installed only if the download is Authenticode-signed with the same key as the installed version.

Why did auto-update open the releases page instead of installing? The download could not be verified — it was unsigned, signed by a different key, or its signature was damaged — so it was deleted and nothing was installed. Download the release manually from the page that opened. Local (self-built) copies never auto-install.

Where does the app store data? Everything is in %APPDATA%\CatiaMenuWin32\ — settings, cached scripts, favourites, and notes — or, in portable mode, in the folder that contains the exe. Nothing is written outside this folder except an optional autorun registry entry when Start with Windows is enabled.

Is my GitHub token stored securely? Tokens are stored in plaintext in %APPDATA%\CatiaMenuWin32\settings.ini on your local machine. They are transmitted only to GitHub (api.github.com, raw.githubusercontent.com, and github.com for update downloads) over validated HTTPS. For maximum safety, create a fine-grained token scoped to Public Repositories (read-only) with no write permissions.

Still stuck? Open an issue on GitHub or check the Troubleshooting section of the User Guide.