Occasionally, I will talk with a customer that is new to Solidworks Products or has been newly or temporarily assigned in an administration or project role for the company’s vault. This information is for you folks… you know who you are . 🙂 The SOLIDWORKS PDM products can be a bit confusing to short timers. The names are similar and there is not an easy way through normal communication to differentiate or identify what product you use. First, Solidworks PDM products are client server multi-user applications that helps companies control, share and make document management more efficient and effective. All Solidworks PDM Products have a vault with secure user based access […]
SOLIDWORKS: Understanding PDM Workflows
New to Solidworks PDM or considering it as a solution at your company? Maybe you have used Solidworks PDM for years but workflows are still a bit of a mystery? I hope to provide you some workflow basics that will take some of the mystery out of how they are configured and their benefit potential. This is not a replacement for Solidworks PDM Administration Training or a comprehensive functional description. As always, Inflow Consultants are available to assist you in any Solidworks PDM activities that you find beyond your current capability. Definitions Here are some simple terms that will help you to understand the concepts presented. Work Product A work product […]
SOLIDWORKS: Choosing and Configuring a SOLIDWORKS PDM Pro Login Type
Windows Login for PDM Objective Assist SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional Customers when choosing a Login Type and provide information required for Windows Active Directory setup and functionality. For PDM Standard, there is no choice for Windows Login currently available. Definitions SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional allows for a choice between: 1. EPDM login Users and Groups that are managed through tools and mechanics solely contained within the SOLIDWORKS PDM Application. This may be an ideal choice for smaller user bases with less access, ownership or expertise of server side features. 2. LDAP Generally, works outside of the Windows structure focusing on the Linux / Unix environment and with more technical applications. LDAP doesn’t have […]
Self Upgrading SOLIDWORKS PDM
If you choose to self upgrade your SOLIDWORKS PDM Products there are a few things that are commonly missed and some fundamentals that should be considered for healthy system and minimal downtime. Also don’t forget to check the SOLIDWORKS PDM System Requirements! 1) SOLIDWORKS PDM Products are highly configurable to suite many types of business and company practices. This can make upgrading SOLIDWORKS PDM to a new version of software less than intuitive. 2) Each Version can introduce new challenges or practices. Make sure your Installation guide and reference material is up to date. The Whats New guide for PDM Standard and PDM Pro can help you understand new features or developments […]
Solidworks Enterprise PDM Permissions, Revisited.
In Enterprise PDM 2015, additional permissions were made available. Settings Permissions tends to be one of the more confusing tasks for a PDM Administrator due to the different types of permissions that can overlap and intersect with each other. The new permissions are: Move Folder Delete Folder Add or Rename folder Move File In Prior versions it was required to have both the ability to Add a Folder or File to the Destination and Delete it from the source to perform a move. In order to perform one of these operations on a file or folder, the user will need a combination of both folder and state permissions in both source and […]
Solidworks PDM Permissions Revisited
In Enterprise PDM 2015, additional permissions were made available. Settings Permissions tends to be one of the more confusing tasks for a PDM Administrator due to the different types of permissions that can overlap and intersect with each other. The new permissions are: Move Folder Delete Folder Add or Rename folder Move File In Prior versions it was required to have both the ability to Add a Folder or File to the Destination and Delete it from the source to perform a move. In order to perform one of these operations on a file or folder, the user will need a combination of both folder and state permissions in both source and […]
Customize the Preview Pane in Solidworks Enterprise PDM
Preview Feature The preview feature at its core allows a user to select a file and view its contents without launching the native application and opening the file. This can be a benefit when searching for a specific item or when just looking to work faster. Perhaps a lesser known feature in Solidworks Enterprise PDM is the ability to customize this preview pane to use "other" applications beyond those supported by the default previewers. Customize Here is an example of how to customize Solidworks Enterprise PDM to use a specific application in the preview pane based on one or more file types provided. The steps required for this example may […]
“File already exists” warning in Enterprise PDM but I can’t find it in the vault!
The most likely reason for the warning "File already exist" would show when adding a file to a folder is that a file with the same name already exists in that folder, but the logged in user does not have sufficient permission to see the file. It is not possible to have two files with same name in same folder. Example A – restricted state permission 1. Logged in user on Workstation2 has read and add permission to the folder, but only read access to workflow state "Waiting for approval". 2. A file that is in "Under editing state" and has not yet been in the "Waiting for approval" state […]
Ensuring the Health of Enterprise PDM
Solidworks Enterprise PDM offers a number of tools and techniques to keep the software working efficiently and effectively and more easily identify issues when they presents themselves. Archive 1) Keep tabs on the Archive Server Log: EPDM Administration /Your Server /RMB /Show the Archive Server Log. 2) Review the replication monitoring too (when applicable). – in the Administration tool you have the archive status dialog showing the total number of versions needing replicating to a particular server. By right-clicking the node you can get a list of files not yet replicated to a server. You can also use the SQL query to get a list of files needing replicated Client 3) EPDM […]
How do I change a users Enterprise PDM License Type?
Users are different in regards to the roles they play at your organization and how they use Solidworks Enterprise PDM. To address this, Enterprise PDM offers several different license options. SolidWorks Enterprise PDM License Types Enterprise PDM uses floating client licenses. When you log in to a vault, the license installed on your system is taken from a pool of licenses that are enabled by the registered license file. When you log out or exit Enterprise PDM, the license is returned to the pool and can be used by another client. Available licenses are: SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Editor & Web Includes these license types: Editor: Supports working with all file […]