Vaulted file viewing for "Trusted" individuals

One of the most common topics of Vault discussion I run into is around the options for Vault viewing. Everyone I speak with usually needs some method of viewing drawings that have been checked into Vault. Sometimes this is just for viewing access by a couple key individuals who are not involved in the CAD design process, but just need to gather or reference design documentation. This seems to be quite common at smaller companies with a tight knit group of individuals. If this is the case, there is a way of producing an uncontrolled "duplicate" publish location for viewing a copy of drawings that get checked into Vault. The key word here is "Copy" and that definitely has some significant drawbacks that could be far from ideal.

What it does:

1. Puts a duplicate DWF copy of drawings in a network folder at the time they are checked into Vault. This only occurs if the Vault user leaves the DWF option turned on.
2. Allows individuals without CAD to view the non-Vaulted DWF files with Autodesk Design Review (free).

What it does not do:

1. Does not re-sync with files that have been renamed, moved, or removed from Vault. This could leave non-valid DWF files sitting in the folder structure unless someone manually removes them.
2. Does not indicate that the file is ready for viewing
3. Does not track the revision of the viewable file
4. Does not ensure that the viewable DWF file is the latest effective release that is safe for manufacturing to use

So this technique may be suitable as long as you understand that this is really just a file dump location that that can't be relied upon as location of "released" data. To properly manage a release process and allow access to only "released" data, Vault Workgroup would need to be implemented instead of the free Vault.

Here is the basic setup procedure for the "duplicate" publish location:

1. Pick the "Define" button on the Visualizatin tab of the Vault Administration dialog box.


2. Turn on the "Duplicate Vault Folder Structure" and define a network path that the CAD users can publish to.

3. The files will be duplicated in the defined location as another file whenever a drawing is checked into Vault.

Contributed by Ben of the Tata Technologies CAD Geeks

Design portability with Autodesk Vault

One of the benefits of Vault that can improve Inventor's performance in large assemblies also makes it easier to take your work with you if you leave the office. What am I talking about...

A local working folder or "Workspace" of course. Let me fill you in on the background first: Autodesk Vault is a Client / Server application with "Checked In" data residing on the Vault Server. But data that is "Checked Out" actually resides on your local workstation's hard drive. Vault is always automatically monitoring the relationship between the server and local data and displays its status when logged into Vault.

Due to this data residing on your local hard drive, you can log out of Vault and still work on any designs that have been checked out (and thereby cached in the local working folder). Tata Technologies typically even Vaults files such as Templates and Style library data so you can work without interruption when disconnected from the corporate network.

As mentioned earlier, due to the data being local when you are working in a Vault environment, large assemblies in Inventor can be more responsive to the common tasks of opening and saving regularly as well.

Contributed by Ben of the Tata Technologies CAD Geeks

Introduction to Vault for AutoCAD Users Presentation by Tata Technologies

New introduction video to educate AutoCAD users about how Vault can help them.

Extracting AutoCAD data with Vault

As Autodesk has developed new document focused lifecycle and revision control with the 2010 products, it is now much easier to manage documents like 2D AutoCAD drawings. With that said, it is still up to us to determine what information we would like to capture when using Vault to manage those AutoCAD files. Here is the core of extracting specific data out of your files: "Block Attribute Extraction". This dialog box is part of the Autodesk Data Management Server console, and allows us to define block names that we want to extract attributes for:

Once the block names are defined and a drawing is checked into Vault, the attribute tags (or prompts) will show up in the "Property Definition" dialog box as shown below. This can be found in the Administration settings on the Tools pull-down menu.

But just because a block's attributes are indexed doesn't mean that they are in use or searchable yet. In the image above, I had to change from "Not in Use" to "In Use" and then re-index the vault properties before they would become useful in the Vault client interface.

Contributed by Ben of the CAD Geeks

Too many file versions in Vault? - Time to Purge.

I have often suggested that a Vault administrator set up a periodic purge of old file versions, but many people are worried that something important could be lost in an automatic scripted purge. If you occasionally run across a few files with way too many versions stored in Vault, you can manually purge just the versions you can do without. Just right click on the versions to remove in the History tab and pick "Purge".

Take a look at this video based example:

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Extra Vault Viewing Options

One of the comments I often hear when discussing Vault with somone is that the viewing tab within Vault doesn't give them enough space to really view a drawing well. There are a couple of other viewing options including:

1) The View button (Launches a separate viewing window)

2) The "Open in DWF application" right click option

Check out this video for a demonstration:

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Labels for Tracking Project Milestones

One common feature in Vault and Productstream that is commonly overlooked is the ability track a project milestone with labels. Labels will allow you to revert back to a files snapshot as it was when the snapshot was taken, or to export the label as a "Pack & Go".

Take a look at an example here:

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Vault without extra CAD work

What would it be worth to be able to go back to earlier versions of files? Easily re-use existing designs and drawings without spending hours gathering and relinking design files or re-creating Inventor drawings? All without any extra Vault overhead while using your Autodesk CAD software of choice.

Thats the topic of today's blog post: NO OVERHEAD VAULT USE

By utilizing the Vault options within the Autodesk CAD applications, you can configure Vault to be almost completely transparent to the CAD user (they will only see a brief splash screen when files are automatically check out or checked in). Take a look at this video for an example of this Vault workflow in Autodesk Inventor and the settings in the options dialog box to configure it to work this way.

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Current Work saved Vault Search

One of the great uses of Vault searching is the ability to see all the files you currently have checked out (and thereby actively working on). If you are like me, you can't remember what you were working on Friday when you start your day on Monday. A simple saved search folder in Vault can make Monday mornings a little less painful. Check out this video for an example:

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

How Properties affect Vault Searching

Since the 2009 release of Vault and ProductStream, the properties available for Vault searching now need to be explicitly designated for use in a "Basic" search. This is done in the Property Definition area of the Administration dialog box. This is also used to turn off properties that are not needed and may be cluttering search results with a bunch of unwanted files.

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Vault management for AutoCAD Electrical - Whole Project Management

With Inventor we use the "Check-in" option from drawings or assemblies, and all of the subsequent child files are automatically checked into Vault. With AutoCAD Electrical the same concept can be accomplished through the Project Browser that is integrated with Vault. Just right click on any AutoCAD Electrical project file and you can Check-in or check-out the entire contents. Don't even worry about the individual files. Take a look at this video for a quick peek:

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Autodesk IT Toolbox website

Many of us here at INCAT work with IT Managers frequently when discussing Autodesk products. So recently we did some surveys and phone interviews to discuss the needs around CAD IT related topics. Based on this feedback we have launched a new website "Autodesk IT Manager Toolbox"

Be sure to check it out, and give us your feedback.

Kevin with the INCAT CAD Geeks

Delete Permissions in Vault or ProductStream

Every company is concerned about safeguarding their engineering data, and both Vault and Productstream allow control over exactly who has the ability to delete files and folders. You may have Power Users in charge of cleaning up unnecessary Vault data, and will therefore need Delete permissions. Other daily CAD users may be a little too quick with the delete function, and this is something that might need to be precisely controlled. Take a look at this short video for a look at the different Vault roles that determine who can delete.

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Controlling Vault Prompts - Streamline your Data Management interface

When I am showing customers how Vault and ProductStream function, I typically show the interface, dialog boxes, and prompts like they are when the software is installed. If I were using Vault in a production environment, I would usually always have the same response to dialog boxes and prompts. It is now possible to completely streamline the Vault interface so that a CAD user might not even know they are checking files out and back in to Vault. Just take a look at the Vault Options available in the CAD Application and it could improve your workflow as well.

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Change Impact - What happens when you don't know?

One of the common impediments to manufacturing change is the ability to determine what will be impacted if a component is changed. Has it been used in other designs? Has another co-worker used it in their designs. Can a change be made that may impact the function of another design different than the current one I am addressing. Change Impact awareness can rapidly determine if new part numbers need to be created for the application at hand. Take a look at this video for an example of the Impact Analysis tools in Autodesk Vault and ProductStream.

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Automatic DWF publish from Autodesk Vault

One of my favorite features of using Autodesk Vault is the fact that DWF's get created automatically. Basically everytime you check a new version of a design into the Vault a new DWF file gets created. Another recent update is that we can now replicate your exact Vault folder structure to any network folder for viewing needs using this option shown below:

Hopefully you can use this feature to help share DWF's or maybe this will encourage you to consider Vault to help streamline your design sharing needs.

Kevin with the INCAT CAD Geeks

ReName those Stubborn file in Autodesk Vault

One of the things I see many Inventor users struggle with is renaming their Inventor files from a descriptive name to a "Part Number". This typically breaks the links with any referencing files, and requires all of the files to be "Resolved" in any place they have been used.


Autodesk Vault offers a much better solution that allows batch renaming of files, and it even repairs links in files that would otherwise be broken. Check out this ScreenCast video for an example:

http://www.screencast.com/t/sLCYpQtL

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks.