We have models with many configurations.
Each configuration is assigned its own dash number.
("Number" config specific file property...)
We make an individual drawing for each configuration.
We have multi-sheet drawings.
Sheet 1 is our internal Product Definition. It contains all the details and tolerances for manufacture.
Sheet 2 is our Customer Outline. It's contents are tailored to that target audience.
We print each sheet to an individual .pdf.
We check the .pdf files into the PDMWorks Vault as children of the drawing file.
Then we enjoy the painstaking task of copying the file properties from the drawing file, to the 2 .pdf children...one property cell at a time.
This can be quite time consuming.
Is there a way to copy all of a SW file's properties to one or more non-SW files in the vault in a single command or dialog?
Has anyone been successful in creating a macro for this niche need ?
Could somebody coach me on how to create a macro to do this ?
Thanks in advance for any help with this topic.
Greg
SW and PDMWorks 2006 sp5.1
Each configuration is assigned its own dash number.
("Number" config specific file property...)
We make an individual drawing for each configuration.
We have multi-sheet drawings.
Sheet 1 is our internal Product Definition. It contains all the details and tolerances for manufacture.
Sheet 2 is our Customer Outline. It's contents are tailored to that target audience.
We print each sheet to an individual .pdf.
We check the .pdf files into the PDMWorks Vault as children of the drawing file.
Then we enjoy the painstaking task of copying the file properties from the drawing file, to the 2 .pdf children...one property cell at a time.
This can be quite time consuming.
Is there a way to copy all of a SW file's properties to one or more non-SW files in the vault in a single command or dialog?
Has anyone been successful in creating a macro for this niche need ?
Could somebody coach me on how to create a macro to do this ?
Thanks in advance for any help with this topic.
Greg
SW and PDMWorks 2006 sp5.1
Thanks !
Unfortunately, it seems that Kent's website is currently down.
I will try looking at it again later.
I did a cursory web search, and found that most of the third party tools are for SW documents only.
Are you sure that CPM will copy SW properties to .pdf files in the PDMWorks Vault?
I just spent the entire morning cutting and pasting...I have cramps in my left forearm from Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V !
Thanks again !
Greg
You've been very helpful.
Enjoy this day !
Greg
I have the same problem; usually I don't have more than a few files so copy/paste works for now.
But reading "What's new in SW 2008", says "These pdf files are not attachments and are not visible anywhere in the user interface to prevent modification of the filename in the vault" page 13-24.
This tells me there won't be any option to write properties to the pdf file since it won't even show in the vault. Just a small input..
Regards,
Flemming
That new functionality will not help us either, since our single .sldrw file actually produces 2 unique drawings, one for internal use, and one tailored for our customers.
The automatically created .pdf would unwittingly combine the 2 drawing sheets into a single .pdf file.
We would be forced to segregate the 2 sheets in the single .sldrw into 2 unique files, and therefore we would have twice as many files to manage.
It's not a perfect world.
Thanks for adding your commentary.
Enjoy this day!
Greg
Thanks
Phil Way
I'm just now beginning to read the SW'08 What's New...so I have no idea.
We need to have our stuff in the vault.
That's the central point for finding controlled master documents.
Any other document is an uncontrolled copy.
Your script sounds like a nice tool.
Enjoy !
Greg
No, sorry. I only know what's said in "What's new 08"
Is it possible to share you're script? Could it be customized to do other extensions dwg, dxf?
Thanks,
Flemming
Greg the idea of getting the pdf outside the vault is so our custoemrs can securly log into a customer/supplier portal ftp site and see thier product drawings. These would always be controled docs as noone outside of IT has access andthe updates occur behind the scenes and automatically for engineering when they checkin a production lifecycle drawing in pdmworks.
Flemming, I am trying to find a way to make the script work for dwgs for the same reason as above, but ACAD/DWGeditor are limited in the integration with PDMWorks as far as script functionality (as far as I can tell). If you have any suggestions I would appreciate it. I have been racking my brain for months and running out of ideas.
Phil
Could I please see the script? It's a PDMW Trigger right?
Thanks,
Flemming
Phil, could I please see the script?
Thanks,
Flemming
One thing to know is that Solidworks doesn't report what document in the vault view is currently selected so it may need to provide a list of projects and do everything in the chosen project. Would that work?
This sounds great! Maybe you could start it out, then we could add and customize the script each one of us? I need something to automatically do pdf, dxf or dwg of my drawings on check in, and if possible step files of my parts.
All this I would like put in a separate folder, maybe on a server? Could the server already running the vault do this?
Maybe this is too much to ask, I have no clue on the possibilities...
Thanks a lot,
Flemming
We'd be thrilled just to be able to copy all of the custom properties from a SW drawing in the PDMWorks vault, to one or more child .pdf files in the same Vault project. One would think that such a simple function would be in the software "out of the box"
Additional functioality will not be of any use to us, for reasons cited above in this thread.
Thanks in advance for any effort that you may make on our behalf.
I really would like to learn how to write these scripts, macros, progams, myself.
Where does one start with that ?
Greg
Could we please see you're script?