SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard and Pro are both robust data management solutions. However, PDM Pro has a number of exclusive features, any one of which could be a significant piece of a company’s data management solution. Let’s look at some of those features. Replication This feature allows companies to share data across multiple locations. Each location has its own archive server, this is where all vaulted files, both CAD and other, are stored. Data created each day at one location can […]
SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault Maintenance: How to split your archive onto multiple discs
Is your Vault Server (known as the Archive Server) nearly out of space? PDM has functionality to help you make space temporarily until the situation can be rectified or simply choose to span files across multiple drives. **WARNING** DO NOT relocate Files while users are in the vault. Doing so could risk file or data corruption. Preparation Ensure User activity is stopped. Logins may be blocked from the admin tool and License usage may be checked from the Licensing section […]
SOLIDWORKS: Protecting Your PDM Vault
There are many different backup strategies and related tools for company resources out there. Backing up and being able to restore your SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault can often be more important than most of your company systems for a few reasons. First, it often stores and controls access to most if not all your company’s critical intellectual properties. In addition, these files are often a work in progress and any interruption or extended downtime can translate to lost productivity and missed target […]
SOLIDWORKS PDM 101: Setting Document Revisions
In a previous article, we discussed the inner workings of PDM versions. In a nutshell, versions are the way PDM tracks the changes to individual files. Every time we make an official change to a file, a new version is created and added to the file’s history. The good news is that the system handles versions for us automatically. If you want to know more about versions and how they work, check out our last PDM 101 here. People often […]
SOLIDWORKS PDM 101: What is a Document Version?
One of the fundamental parts of any PDM system is its ability to track the history of documents. How it tracks that history can vary from system to system. With SOLIDWORKS PDM, it does this through document versions. So, that begs the question, “What is a Version in the SOLIDWORKS PDM vault?” The short answer is that a version is a “snap shot in time” of a particular document. Versions are created in PDM as we make changes to the […]
SOLIDWORKS: PDM 101 – File Types and Duplicate File Control
An often overlooked area of SOLIDWORKS PDM is the File Type options found in the admin tool. These options allow you to control how duplicate files are handled in your vault. You can disallow all duplicates or only include certain file types. There are a couple other settings, but those are only required if you use items or if your drawing previews need troubleshooting. The main reason for opening file types is to configure duplicate file rules. Before we dive […]
SOLIDWORKS EPDM Preview Tab Performance
If you've ever browsed into an EPDM folder you've likely seen the Preview Tab, just left of the Data Card tab. It's helpful to be able to Preview/See the content of the files BEFORE you open them! In this article we'll talk about the options for the Preview Tab that either make it MORE FUNCTIONAL, greater PERFORMANCE or how you can have it BOTH WAYS when previewing SOLIDWORKS Files. First, we see an example EPDM Vault View showing the Data […]
SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Guides: Check ’em out!
It has recently come to my attention that not every Enterprise PDM administrator reads the administration guides that come packaged with the EPDM install media. For those who have neglected to look through the guides, you are missing out on a couple nice items: Find your admin guides under “Support/Guides/<your language>” GB is English if that is not clear. Installation Guide Page 62: Installing EPDM clients using an admin image. Installation Guide Page 81: Automatically deploy the EPDM client vault […]
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 […]
Web Access for Enterprise PDM
I think most people would agree that SolidWorks Enterprise PDM is easy to use. But, at InFlow Technology, we are always looking for ways to improve the overall experience for our EPDM customers. So, this month, we launched our new web browser interface for SolidWorks Enterprise PDM. This new tool, called EPDM WebAccess, opens EPDM to standard browsers (IE, Chrome, Safari, Firefox), giving users a faster and easier way to search, view, print, download, upload, and change the state of […]
