Great Vault Utilities Available

Just because Vault doesn't include a particular capability or feature "out of the box", doesn't mean that it can't be done. There are many niche needs when it comes to data management, and applications can be written (or borrowed from) to accomplish many feats of PDM glory.

One of the common CAD management issues I commonly get asked about is how to restore a single file that was inadvertently deleted from Vault. By default, this could require a complete restore of the entire Vault database, and if the deletion wasn't caught early enough, this would not be remotely feasible as all kinds of new data would already be added to the Vault. Another approach would be to keep a "hidden" copy of all the vault files for an administrator to access. This can be done with the Vault Mirror utility written by Doug Redmond and posted on his blog. This utility can batch process any new files added to Vault and also copy a version of the file to an alternate location. The utility and source code are included on the Vault server installation, and Doug's blog details on it are posted here:

http://justonesandzeros.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/vault-mirror.html

Another utility Doug has written allows an iProperty to be added in files to list the current Vault folder it resides in. For companies that place files in a specific folder structure depending on file name, type, or use, this utility allows CAD managers to quickly verify that new files added to Vault are in the correct locations. Simply create a search folder of all files added recently and turn on display of the "folder path" to see if the files reside in the correct locations. The utility and source code for this one is also on Doug's blog here:

http://justonesandzeros.typepad.com/blog/2010/02/the-folder-property.html

Contributed by Ben of the Tata Technologies CAD Geeks

Tracking design projects in Vault

I have previously discussed the merits of saving searches in Vault for immediate reuse of any search conducted with the Vault "Find" command, but there are some interesting combinations that I have recently run across. If you are like most engineers or designers, you probably have multiple jobs or projects you are managing at the same time. This can make it really confusing to keep track of what has been completed, and what still requires additional work.

Using saved searches in Vault with a combination of folder locations and file status can be a great way to quickly see the status of your current designs.

Here is an example of a saved search that locates all of the files still checked out beneath a specific Vault folder structure (core Vault):

Here are all of the WIP files in another Vault location (Vault Workgroup and above):

So whatever level of Vault you are using, there is a search that can help you out with determining project completion, and finding that require additional work.

Contributed by Ben of the Tata Technologies CAD Geeks

Saving Our Favorites When Searching the Help System

If you are a new user to the Autodesk products or even someone who has used them for some time being able to save your favorite help system searching can be a real time saver. For new users its a great way to quickly access those new commands you are learning about. For us who are longtime users we may use it for those commands that we only use once in a great while and need that little bit of information to ensure we are using it correctly. Lets take a look at this very simple feature that can save us time in using our help system.

http://www.screencast.com/t/J3PGnq32H
Created by Dave one of the Cad Geeks

Fast Vault Searching - Directly from your CAD interface

Most people are aware many of the searching techniques that can be used to locate data in Vault, but did you know most of this can also be done directly from AutoCAD or Inventor?

When in the "Open from Vault" dialog box this is Find command in the upper-right corner of the dialog box:






This gives us all of the same searching capability as the Find command in the full Vault client, but can be used directly from the CAD software without switching to another window:





By double-clicking the file located in the Find dialog, it is automatically located and populated in the Open dialog so you can verify the proper file and location:







Contributed by Ben of the CAD Geeks