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Brian Schanen joined Autodesk in 2005 as a Product Designer and currently is a Customer Success Engineer for Autodesk’s Data Management products. Brian has taught at Autodesk University numerous times and has authored white papers on Vault and Productstream. He works with customers to implement a complete digital prototyping solution specializing in Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Vault and Productstream. Brian lives near Detroit, Michigan.
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New utility: Effective Folder Permissions
November 4, 2009 11:32 AMby Brian SchanenWith Vault Workgroup, Collaboration, and Manufacturing, folders have the option of security through Access Control Lists (ACL). Doug Redmond, author of “It’s All Just Ones and Zeros” Blog has posted a great utility to view a matrix of permissions by user. This is nice for a ‘forest-from-the-trees’ view of Vault folder security. Enjoy!
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Autodesk University Virtual
October 31, 2009 08:28 PMby Brian SchanenAs a follow up to the list of Data Management classes at AU2009, this year you can attend Autodesk University - virtually.
While the flagship event (AU 2009 Las Vegas, Dec 1-3, 2009) remains a not-to-be-missed experience, many are not able to physically attend. To that end, Autodesk University Virtual promises travel-challenged customers, “some of the best of AU right to your desktop”Complete details are on the AU Virtual website, but here are the highlights…· Event date: December 1-4, 2009.· 50+ Classes and Sessions- streamed “live” http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=virtual_class_listing .· A “Premium Pass” (full access) is only US$99.· All Subscription customers receive a free “Premier Pass”.· A “Free Pass” (limited access) is available to anyone. -
Autodesk University Data Management Courses
October 30, 2009 11:13 PMby Brian SchanenIf you have plans to attend Autodesk University in a few weeks, here is a list of suggested classes covering Data Management. I'll be teaching a few of these and particiapting in others. There's a class for all levels too - from beginer Vault users to power users and administrators.
MA104-2 Setting Up Autodesk® Vault Manufacturing for AutoCAD® ElectricalSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Randy Brunette, Brunette Technologies, LLCMA104-4 Integrating Autodesk® Vault Manufacturing with Enterprise ApplicationsSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Jim Dodds, The vdR Group, Inc.AU114-1 Basics of Autodesk® VaultSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Todd Nicol, AutodeskMA9214-2 A Day in the Life with Autodesk® Vault WorkgroupSession Type: Virtual ClassSpeaker: Brian Schanen, AutodeskMA9114-2 Cashing In on the Vault and Retrieving the TreasuresSession Type: Virtual ClassSpeaker: Allen Gager, Design Engineer A.T. FerrellMA122-6 Cracking the VaultSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Hywell Herrero, AutodeskDL204-1 Looking Into the Crystal Ball: A Sneak Peek at the Future of Autodesk® Data ManagementSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Todd Nicol, AutodeskCo Speaker: Brian Schanen, AutodeskMA204-1 How to Effectively Adopt Autodesk® Vault for Data ManagementSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Pascal Le Guellec, AutodeskPD204-1 Autodesk® Vault and Design Review: Managing the Change in P&IDsSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Siva Thankappan, AutodeskMA208-3 Scaling your Data Management with Autodesk® Vault CollaborationSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Pascal Le Guellec, AutodeskMA214-2 Autodesk® Vault Workgroup 2010: It Goes to ElevenSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Allen Gager, Design Engineer A.T. FerrellCo Speaker: Brian Schanen, AutodeskMA218-4 Using Autodesk® Vault for Collaboration Between Purchaser and SuppliersSession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Driss Yammouri, AutodeskMA304-3 Autodesk® Vault Manufacturing to SAP® Made EasySession Type: 90-Minute ClassSpeaker: Klaus LOERINCZ Autodesk ConsultingMA304-4 CAD Manager's Guide to Document Management with the Autodesk® Family of Products, Pt1Session Type: Multi-Part SessionSpeaker: Brian Schanen, AutodeskCo Speaker: Pascal Le Guellec, AutodeskMA308-3 CAD Manager's Guide to Document Management with the Autodesk® Family of Products, Pt2Session Type: Multi-Part SessionSpeaker: Brian Schanen Customer Success Engineer AutodeskCo Speaker: Pascal Le Guellec Customer Success Engineer AutodeskCM318-3 Autodesk® Vault Workgroup Round TableSession Type: UnconferenceSpeaker: Allen Gager Design EngineerCo Speaker: Brian Schanen, AutodeskSee you in Las Vegas...
-Brian Schanen
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Lifecycles and DWF files in Vault Family 2010
October 22, 2009 11:30 PMby Brian SchanenVisualization (DWF) files and Categories
This 3 part tech tip will take us through how best to manage file categorization and the issues associated with categorizing “Visualisation” files.DWF file behavior:As we are all aware each CAD document when added from the related CAD application typically generates a dwf file for viewing purposes. These can also be generated using view update. The dwf then resides as a hidden file attached to our CAD document, to view dwf the hidden files in Vault go to Tools > Options > Display Hidden Files.
In a healthy Vault all CAD files should have a dwf along side it with corresponding name:
Part1.ipt = Part1.ipt.dwfIn a healthy Vault Workgroup, Collaboration or Manufacturing environment these dwf files should also have the following characteristics:No or “Base” Category assigned - No Revision - No lifecycle state
Although a visualization file is linked to the CAD document it does not follow the same lifecycle rules or even necessarily keep pace with file versions. For example it could be that you remove visualization files during file property edits, move operations etc and do not recreate till the next file version OR you can recreate dwf files using the “Update” button meaning there are more dwf versions than file versions.By categorizing dwf files this will generally apply a default lifecycle state, typically “Work In Progress”, when you release your CAD file allowing consumers to view the files the dwf remains work in progress and cannot be viewed. Conversely if you were to release a dwf the file would be locked and you could not update it.
Preventing Categorization
Typically there are two main ways this can occur:
1. Default document status not set to “None” or “Base”– If you do opt to have all documents go to a particular category with lifecycle scheme and revisions this WILL also send dwf files to that category, the “None” or “Base” option should always be the default rule
2. Badly worded Assignment Rules – Assignment rules for ipt files for example should be created as “File Name Ends With .ipt” NOT “File Name Contains .ipt” as this second rule will still apply to dwf files of a part (Part1.ipt.dwf).
Replacing Visualization Files
Firstly remove the categorisation error by reverting to default category is “None”, “Base” or changing the assignment rules to exclude dwf
In order to resolve this issue you will need to recreate all dwf files as simply changing category will not work here as the dwf files will still be left with lifecycle states. The procedure here is quite workable for Vault Collaboration and Manufacturing which include Job server. It will likely be a great deal more labor intensive or workflow orientated in Vault Workgroup.Create search· Log into Vault Explorer as administrator· Run a search for “file contains dwf” and “Category Name is not empty”· This should return all affected dwf files.Delete files· Select all and “delete”, you will need to be administrator here to override the error dialog as these files are in use.Create new dwf files.· For this you will ideally need to ensure that the Jobserver is enabled (Tools > Administration > Vizualisation > Enable Job Server)
· On one or more machines start a Jobserver (Start > All Programs > Autodesk > Autodesk Data Management > Tools > Autodesk Job Processor for Vault) or script a Jobserver to start at a certain time.· Note: The more machines used here the faster the dwf creation will be done – farming the task out across several PC’s which have Inventor / AutoCAD installed on them.· Now search for all files requiring newly created dwf files, if all do then simply search on CAD files, else search on “Visualisation attachment is None”. Select around 1000 files from the find results and from the “Actions Menu” select “Update View > Queue Update”· The thousand files will then be added to a Job Queue and processed in turn – the progress can be monitored from the Vault Manufacturing client by selecting > Tools > Job Queue. Any errors will be listed in this dialog and resubmitted for processing. -
Updates for Autodesk Vault 2010 Family
October 21, 2009 10:45 PMby Brian SchanenFor reference, below is a list of updates now available for the Autodesk Vault Family of Products and some performance improvements in Inventor 2010 SP1. See the list below and related ReadMe’s for information on the updates:AutoCAD® Inventor® Professional Suite 2010
Autodesk® Vault 2010Autodesk® Vault Workgroup 2010Autodesk® Vault Collaboration 2010Autodesk® Vault Manufacturing 2010 -
Autodesk Vault Report Template Authoring
September 29, 2009 04:00 PMby Brian SchanenVault Collaboration 2010 and Vault Manufacturing 2010 provide the ability to generate formatted reports representing data contained in a vault. Reports can be generated for files, items, and change orders. The Vault objects that appear in a report are determined by the search options specified in the Advanced Find dialog.
The properties that are displayed in the report, as well as the report layout, are specified in a report template file that is specified when generating a report. Through the report template, you have complete control of the report content, layout, and format.
This white paper will take you through the steps to create templates to meet your company’s needs:
http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/report_template_authoring.pdf
-Brian Schanen
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Autodesk Vault Connect integration with Axapta
September 23, 2009 12:45 PMby Brian SchanenAutodesks Vault Connect is an Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) platform that facilitates the exchange of data between Autodesk Vault Manufacturing and other enterprise systems. These systems can include a wide variety of enterprise applications such as Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Electronic Content Management (ECM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
The following video demonstrates the integration of Autodesk Vault Manufacturing with an ERP system (Axapta) using Autodesk Vault Connect.
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Managing Items with Vault Manufacturing 2010
September 21, 2009 11:30 PMby Brian SchanenOne of the significant improvements to Vault Manufacturing in 2010 is the introduction of state based document securities. This functionality has been leveraged to manage access to files associated with Released items and introduces a new, more flexible way to manage CAD file access.
From the Tools > Administration dialog > Items tab selecting “Security” displays the Access Control List used to determine permissions for files linked to Items outside of Work-In-Process (I.e. files linked to Items in Released, For Review and Obsolete states).
By default this is configured to permit “Read” only access for “Everybody” but here we will go through the steps required to modify these access permissions to allow a more flexible process to make administrative file changes not constituting item revisions.
While every file, associated to a Released Item, is locked as read only, no changes are possible; this prevents unauthorized or accidental design changes. Using the access control list (ACL) we can now create a specific user permitted to make minor file changes to correct spelling mistakes, add missing dimensions or update title block information. This type of modification could be referred to as “Quick Change”. Create this workflow with the following steps:
Create an Administrative Change user (QC for example) with the correct rights and roles (Doc Editor Level1 at least) – DO NOT include this user in any groups and make sure this user is assigned a password!Remove “Everybody” from the ACL and Add all groups and set them to “Allow” ‘Read’ and “Deny” ‘Modify’ and ‘Delete’Change the QC user access to “Allow” ‘Read’ and ‘Modify’; make sure to “Deny” ‘Delete’.
You can now, as required, log into the Vault through AutoCAD, Inventor, etc. as QC user, make the modifications (Change Title block on Drawings/Migrate Model files etc., add missing dimensions, etc.) while Item consumers still access the latest effective release. When finished with files updates check the file back in and log out of user QC, you now need to update the ITEM.Updating the Item without 'bumping' the Revision
With the file(s) now modified ensure nobody else is logged into Vault during the item(s) update. Log in as a Vault Administrator and go to the Tools > Administration dialog and select the Item tab.
1. Click on “Rules…” and select transition ‘From Released To WIP’; set Bump Revision to None (or Bump Secondary Revision if history needs to be kept)
2. Select the ITEM(s) requiring update, RMB click and select “Change State”; then select “Work In Progress”.
3. Right click again and “Update” the items
4. “Change State” to “Released”
5. Repeat Step 2 to restore the rule on Released -> WIP to “Bump Primary Revision”
You have now made your “Quick Change” to your files over time reducing the need to repeat the sensitive procedure required to change Revision Bumping and Item update. This can be done as a batch process in a very short time space (typically one evening of afterhours work). -
Video - Creating Reports with Autodesk Vault Collaboration and Manufacturing
September 15, 2009 12:05 AMby Brian SchanenAutodesk Vault Collaboration and Vault Manufacturing provide one-touch report generation based on search results and using pre-defined templates. Such templates will allow for custom report formats suiting a variety of customer needs.
Users can rapidly generate reports based on search results to gain visibility into engineering productivity, design progress, and data evolution. You can develop standard reporting templates, making it easier for everyone to access and analyze critical data. This allows a company to quickly report on items to gain visibility into the important tasks, performance, and design progress. For instance, you can analyze data points such as average time to close engineering changes, number of changes requested by department, average versions, etc.
This begins by selecting the new ‘Report’ button is now available from the Find dialog. The user is prompted to pick from a list of pre-defined report templates before presenting the full-color report in that format (above). The templates are completely customizable, and new ones can be added to the list.
I have compiled a video overview of this new functionality for 2010, posted out on Autodesk’s YouTube channel. Enjoy!
-Brian Schanen
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Integrating Vault Manufacturing with Microsoft Dynamics GP10
August 25, 2009 03:10 PMby Brian SchanenAutodesk Vault Manufacturing bridges the gap between tracking CAD design tools and ERP (Engineering Resource Procurement) systems with its ability to integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 without the use of custom programming or third-party integration tools.
This white paper discusses the installation, configuration, testing and basic use of GP 10 and Vault Manufacturing: http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/integrating_vault_mfg_with_ms_gp10.pdf