-
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.
-
Standardizing Vault Comments on Files
February 3, 2010 11:11 PMby Brian SchanenWhen working with Vault, part of the benefit is tracking changes to files, whether Inventor, AutoCAD, MS Office, or other. Vault keeps track of not only the changes, but provides the user an option to capture comments during various Vault transactions.
There are several automated Vault comments built into Vault. For example, during the Move, Rename, Copy Design, and Replace commands, Vault will automatically insert a comment indicating the Vault action.
During the design process, you can also manually enter a comment to indicate file changes to files. This is useful later on during commands like Purge, where you can exclude based on text in comments.
Starting with Vault Workgroup, you can assign a standard comment to files as they enter certain Lifecycle states. This is an administrative task performed from Tools>Administration>Behaviors>Lifecycles. Edit the particular Lifecycle Definition and select the Lifecycle state, then choose the Comments tab from the right side. For instance, in the out-of-the-box 'Flexible Release Process', click the Quick-Change state. Select the Comments tab and note the available text. Click Add, and enter the text "CAD File Migration".
Click OK and note that this will be an available comment the next time you change the lifecycle to this state. One of these comment fields will be the default for lifecycle state transitions, so choose the most used comment for that state.
These are available as a drop down from within Vault or inside your CAD application - Inventor, AutoCAD, etc. From the ribbon bar or right click, taking a Released file to Quick-Change will give you the opportunity to enter comments from a drop down list.
The ability to leverage comments via the drop down list is a significant benefit, as it provides users a pre-defined list of standard responses. Note that the comments available for a state are unique to that lifecycle definition. Finally, these administrative changes to comments can be made at any time, so feel free to add additional comments to capture your company's terminology during lifecycle changes.
-Brian Schanen
-
File Purge Control with Vault Workgroup
January 15, 2010 03:26 PMby Brian SchanenVault Workgroup, Collaboration, and Manufacturing provide configurable lifecycle definitions and states to follow your company's processes. During the design process users can create a number of file versions in Vault through check in/out, and these have rules around purging out excess data in what's referred to as a 'series'. The Vault ships with predefined lifecycle states, definitions, and purge rules, and this should be used as a start point, but you can modify these as necessary.
For the examples below, I enabled the 'Show all versions' option in the History window and turned on the Version column, sorted descending.
First, navigate to Tools>Administration>Behaviors tab. Click on the Lifecycles button.
From the list of Lifecycle Definitions, choose one and click the Edit button at the top. On the right side of the dialog box, per Lifecycle State, there are tabs to edit transitions, security, and purge conditions. Click the Control tab.
For each State, there are four options on purge control: All, First and Last, Last, and None.
All: Used by default for the 'Released' state, every version will be maintained when a Purge is performed.
First and Last: The default for all other states, this option will keep the first and last version in a series.
Last: During a purge, the last version in the series will be kept while all others will be removed.None: With this option for this state, no record of the file will exist after the purge is performed.
Let's take a closer look at how this applies to a file as its modified and sent through lifecycle states. This first example will use the 'First and Last' purge control option on the 'Work In Progress' lifecycle state. The following image is of a 'series' that has 5 versions within it.
In the properties window, the purge command can be performed from a right click on the file. This will launch a Wizard that steps you through the purge process. Note that with the file being part of a lifecycle definition, the restriction rules are messaged to the user.
The final screen displays the results of the Purge. Per the Control rules on the Work In Progress state in our example lifecycle definition, versions 2,3,4 are removed while versions 1 and 5 are maintained.
In the history window, the middle versions have been removed, leaving only version 1 and 5.
Depending your workflows, you may also opt to change the Purge Control on the Work in Progress (WIP) and Quick Change states to 'Last'. As these are widely used and popular editing states, changing this will reduce the versions to the last one right before the next state change.
The Released state contains an option for declaring that its a 'Released' state. While you can change the name, this contains functionality to protect files in that state, and it disables the 'None' option to ensure these versions are maintained and never purged out.
As an Administrator, be sure to run through examples on your data and determine which purge option is best for your users or company.
-Brian Schanen
-
Using Vault to push Custom Inventor iProperties
January 6, 2010 12:35 PMby Brian SchanenVault is an excellent tool for indexing and searching file metadata, and is especially useful when editing this data. When it comes to Inventor’s iProperties, many customers leverage not only the out-of-the-box Properties, but create their own company specific Custom iProperties for various tracking purposes. Typically, a Custom iProperty is found within Inventor templates to conform to company standards. When one of these files slips by into Vault without the Custom iProp, Vault can be used to push back and create the Custom iProperty in the file. In the following steps, we’ll examine this workflow using the Inventor sample files so you can follow along.
Note: I am using the Test Station and Tuner dataset from the …Autodesk\Inventor 2010\Samples\Models\Assemblies folder.
The first step is to ensure your Vault is actually indexing and reading the Custom iProperty in question. For review, this is done by an Administrator account through Tools>Administration>Files tab under Edit and Manage Properties. For your production Vault, you should already have these set to ‘In Use’. For this post, after you upload the Test Station and Tuner, please enable the properties “CAGE” and “Dept. ID”. Remember that you’ll need to log into ADMS Console and Re-Index…Next, run a search for BasePivot.ipt. This file is found in the Components folder in the Test Station dataset. On the Properties tab in the lower History window, change the filter to File properties and note that the custom iProperties are listed.
Now you can start the Edit Property command. For multiple files, go to the Edit pull down menu to access this. If you have a source file with the correct values (as in our example) you can highlight that file before launching the Edit Properties wizard. This will automatically populate the dialog box with that file.
Once you have the command started and the BasePivot.ipt (source file) loaded, click Add Files to load the following Inventor .ipt’s from the Tuner components folder: casting2.ipt and frame.ipt.
Click Next. The files are listed, and it’s time to add the Custom iProperty columns. Click Customize View and browse for the file fields “CAGE” and “Dept. ID”.
Since the BasePivot.ipt has these fields established, we’ll use those to populate the other fields. Highlight the cell with the value, and drag down via the lower right corner. As an alternative, you can enter the appropriate values into those cells manually.
The last steps involve clicking the Finish button and Vault will begin the edits. Remember to review the results screen in Vault. Finally, we’ll open one of the parts from Vault in Inventor. Open the iProperties and note that on the Custom tab, there are the two new iProps.
Some final thoughts….Once you have you company’s Custom iProperties indexed and reading properly in Vault, you can run advanced searches to determine what files are missing these properties. Simply find the property and use ‘is empty’ for condition. Create a saved search folder by the way, it will help in organizing and tracking down the files you are editing. Enjoy!
-Brian Schanen
-
Primary and Secondary link management on Items
December 10, 2009 05:00 PMby Brian SchanenThe following workflow is a solution to a question posed to me during one of my sessions at Autodesk University last week. I thought this tip would make a good blog post. Note that this shows a great mix of both Item and Doc Centric functionality.
In typical workflows within Vault Manufacturing, an Item has a primary associated file that is usually a CAD file. This is visible with a glyph in the Vault Explorer side as noted in the image below. For review, you can right click and select Go To Item (or CTRL+click) and jump to the associated Item.
Over in the Item Master, on the General tab of the Item’s ‘card’, you’ll see all information about that Item, including the associated files. In the image below, the Item has only one file – an AutoCAD file – and this is the Primary associated file.
During the evolution of a design, files like this .dwg may be converted to Inventor files (ie: Mechanical Desktop .dwg to Inventor .ipt) and the Items can be updated to reflect the new CAD file as an associated file. First steps include checking the updated CAD file. In the image below, I placed it adjacent to the old file.The Item may be in a Released state, and if it is, be sure to right click and change state to Work in progress for the next few steps:
The next step is to promote this to an Item. Right click and select Assign Item…
The next few steps are critical. Initially the Item number preview will be something other than what you’re expecting – either the word ‘Default’ or a sequential number, etc. Check the option at the bottom of the wizard window to ‘Auto-select first duplicate.
This realigns the new CAD file being promoted to Item with the existing Item. Simply put, you should see the ‘Replace With’ column filled in with the existing Item number.
Next go to the Item and select Edit, we have some more work to do on the file associations…
Note that in the example below, the Inventor part is included in the list along with the .dwg. Only one file can be the Primary File Link, and the visual clue is the blue key glyph. A right click on the .dwg shows that it can be changed from Primary to Secondary.
Just as we switched the .dwg to Secondary, we can make the .ipt the Primary attached file. Now the Item’s primary associated file is the new Inventor part.
One final step is to remove the access to old files that are attached to the Items. This is achieved through Lifecycle state settings on the individual files. Note that this step can be done at anytime in the process. This means the .dwg will still be linked to the Item for record, but through lifecycle state security settings the majority of users will not see this file.
To prove this point, logging in as an end user and viewing the Item shows only the Inventor .ipt as an associated file to the Item. See my previous posts and workflows on setting security on the Obsolete lifecycle state on files.
-Brian Schanen
-
Autodesk Vault Update 1 is LIVE
November 17, 2009 12:14 PMby Brian SchanenAnnouncing Update 1 for Autodesk Vault 2010 family of products. This contains several roll ups of previously hotfixes, as well as new addressed issues like:
- Property related operations (such as Checkin, Property ReIndex) may stop responding as a result of application pool becoming automatically disabled in Windows 2008 operating system. This Update 1 addresses this operating system incompatibility
- Custom properties with white space do not get brought into Vault 2010 correctly
- Improved behavior of Copy Design of a substituted part resulting in the new part referencing the original derived assembly
- In a rare case a software license may not be released appropriately
- Reinstate the Locked File Icon for user visibility
- Files locked in a 2009 dataset, and then migrated to 2010, cannot be unlocked. Receive message "You do not have adequate permissions to perform this operation." ACL cannot be removed.
-
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!
-
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
-
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
Note the Lock Icon reinstatement. This is my favorite part of this update. Whether you use released Items or document lifecycle states, this will show properly in Inventor.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=14161879&linkID=9261341
Enjoy!
4 Comments | Add CommentIn Under The Hood >