I ain't afraid of no Ghosts...

In the spirit of Halloween, I want to tell you a ghost story.  This ghost story is about something scary for PDM administrators.  I am talking of course, about PDMWorks Enterprise ghosts, a frightening apparition to those who do not understand.  Here is the 411.  A PDMWorks Enterprise ghost object is created when a file or folder is downloaded to a local user's cache, but then later removed from the vault.  When this happens, as the picture shows, the folder or file becomes light gray in the cache, thus giving it a ghost-like appearance.

 

This will happen if a user has already cached a file or folder and then the object is deleted or renamed in the vault.  The object in the vault is updated, but any file or folder that has been downloaded to a local cache is not automatically changed.  It gets flagged as "Read-Only, Not part of Vault" and gets a "ghost" icon.  To get rid of them as a user, just delete them.  As an admin, there is a setting that automatically slimes these ghosts.  Just follow these steps and your house will be clean:

1.  Go to the admin tool and right click on Users

2.  Select Settings

3.  Select the Explorer Tab

4.  Check the box on the option marked "Automatically delete local read-only files that are not part of the file vault"  (See snapshot)

Select OK and the ghost files and folders are removed.  This setting can be global or defined specifically for groups or users.  Questions...send them to InFlow Technology.

PDMWorks Enterprise 2008 License flexibility

With the release PDMWorks Enterprise 2008, there are some enhancements related to how the client licenses are used.  In previous versions, the administrator had to decide the license type that a user needed up front and the user could not change it after the initial installation.  For example, if a user needed read/write license only 10% of the time, and view only access 90% of the time, the user still needed a PDMWorks Enterprise contributor license or "editor" license.  Now the user can change the license type by opening the Administration tool, selecting help, and choosing the required license from the drop down list (see attached image).  The user has to reboot the computer following each license change, so it's not something a user would want to do all the time.  But it does improve the flexibility of the PDMWorks Enterprise environment.

What to Do When PDMWorks Workgroup Gets Spooky

PDMWorks Workgroup is a great tool for keeping your team working together. It can, at times, get a little bit strange in it's behavior. This time of year, one might be tempted to blame ghosts or the supernatural, but there are a couple of more rational things to check before blaming the phase of the moon.

The first trick has been discussed here before. It is a good practice to stop and start the vault on a regular basis. When the PDMWorks vault has been running for an extended period of time, it can become less reliable and less responsive.  Check the link above on how to set up your system to do this automatically. You will be rewarded with the treat of better performance and reliability.

Another issue that can cause PDMWorks to act as if it has bats in it's belfry is when the client and server are on different service packs. This can happen when testing new service packs of SolidWorks.

When you are ready to deploy the new service pack to everyone, you should always update the server first. This way, even if you don't  get around to updating all the workstations at the same time, PDMWorks will download the latest client next time the user connects to the server.

The fastest way to check for this problem while in SolidWorks is to go to the Help/About PDMWorks Work group ... menu. It will display something similar to the image at the left. As long as both are  the same version, everything is great. If the Vault is older, talk to the person in charge of the Vault and get an upgrade scheduled, BEFORE ITS TOO LATE! 

PDMWorks Enterprise 2008 ERP Export and Import

Recently there was a post announcing the release of PDMWorks Enterprise 2008.  This product has some new import and export capabilities to exchange information with other applications, such as ERP or CRM. 

Here is what you can do:

• Create sets of variable aliases to map PDMWorks Enterprise BOM variables to ERP data
• Import data from an ERP application into SolidWorks by creating import rules
• Export data from SolidWorks to an ERP application by creating export rules
• Import ERP data to populate PDMWorks Enterprise lists (drop down menus on data cards)

Here are some screenshots.  The first screenshot shows the mapping for exporting from SolidWorks.  The second screenshot shows a workflow transition used to trigger the export to ERP.  The third screenshot is the import setup screen.  Any questions regarding functionality or setup, contact InFlow Technology.

   

New Look for SmarTeam R18

With SmarTeam R18, the users will get a new updated interface and I thought I would share a few of these with you.

View this photo

The tabs on the right pane are fully movable as well and let you dock them on any side you prefer.

View this photo

There are saved default color schems for the users to chose from now as well.

View this photo

If you are using Windows Vista, it will be even nicer and conforms to the new Vista graphics (Gradiant bars and icons), otherwise this is what it looks like with XP or Windows2003

So at least it is a refreshing change for the users

Scott Evans

Inflow Technology

www.inflow-tech.com

SmarTeam V5R18 Released!

V5R18 has now been released!  Below is a nice little video that explains how SmarTeam can empower your organization.

http://www.3ds.com/products-solutions/plm-solutions/enovia/v5r18/

http://www.inflow-tech.com

DWG Viewing options for PDMWorks Enterprise

As you may or may not know, PDMWorks Enterprise supports the viewing and revision control of DWG (AutoCAD) files as well as SolidWorks.  When it comes to viewing DWG, you do have options.  The Preview tab will automatically choose True View, VoloView, or eDrawings depending on which you have installed on the client machine.  When installing PDMWorks Enterprise, it will automatically install eDrawings, but if you have True View or Voloview, it will use one of those viewers instead.  PDMWorks Enterprise uses the following order when selecting the viewer:

1. Trueview
2. Volo® View
3. eDrawings
4. Saved bitmap in file

If you have Trueview or Voloview installed and you want to use eDrawings instead, it is a simple registry setting.  I have attached the registry settings in a zip file.  Download PDMWE2007-_Change_DWG_preview_application.zip   Make sure you consult your local PDMWorks Enterprise administrator before making any registry changes.  Any questions, contact InFlow Technology.