So the major task that came along with my job is to reorganize, and fix/update all the 2-D drawings, 3-D parts, and models. Apparently after they fired the last person the powers that be decided to rearrange all of the drawings by dragging and dropping them into folders in the drive, and because of this most of the models, and their associated 2-D drawings have had their links broken. I have convinced the boss to loosen her purse strings and let me get the PDM, and now I have begun the long process of rebuilding, and updating these models. I was wondering should I do before I get the software so I can make this a painless as possible process. Any help would be appreciated.
it depends....
There is a free version of PDM you can start with and migrate to enterprise if you need it.
But you probably don't need PDM. We are managing somewhere around 100,000 files without PDM. We will probably implement PDM Standard soon, not necessarily for file management, but rather for revision control, but we are doing OK without as of now.
Many companies make the mistake of trying to be too organized, by putting things in folders based on projects, etc. This often causes more issues than necessary.
We have a simple file system. Our main file is our Production file. That's everything we make. Then we have a Purchased file with sub folders for various types of purchased items. This is mainly for finding things fast. Finally we have a Project folder where the immature projects are worked on before they are moved into Production.
Some places have everything in one folder. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that either. You can search with SW Explorer for what you are looking for, hopefully if people were filling out the custom properties.
In your situation, with all the links broken, personally I might start with everything in one folder. Then the assemblies should be able to find their references quickly. At that point, you can start organizing into sub folders if you want.
With PDM, I have been told it may be best to have everything pretty much in one folder for speed. The PDM prefers it as I understand, YMMV.