Preview version doesn't match solidworks version.

I'm running SP4 of both SW and PDMWE and still have the same issue.

Yes 2008 edrawings can update to display changes in custom properties without needing to open and save the file in SolidWorks. A couple of notes on this however is that the drawings files need to be in 2008 format and that the custom properties also need to be part of the drawing when created. This also means that you should not 'blank' a varaiable as it will then not display the next time it is updated. To get over this problem we also blank a variable by using a space.

There is an SPR for this : 428302

Drawing title block property text ($PRP) only updates if the custom property exist when drawing is created

Another note is that if a varaiable is actually updated from the part then the drawing still needs to be open to retrieve the new value of the variable from the part itself......this should not cause a problem however you just need to take care in you mappings of $PRP & $PRPSHEET.

Oh and one last thing is that 2008 now has a tab on the data card for each sheet in a drawing, much like for part and assembly files and this has caused a fair bit of confusion as to what is updating what, especially with leagacy and no way to control the variables within solidworks as there is only one set for the file.

Regards,
Richard

Hi Folks -

Solution Id: S-011868 Area: FAQ

Question: Why is the updated title block information not visible when previewing a drawing after updating its data card in PDMWorks® Enterprise? Topic: PDMWorks

Link:


Answer: The preview section of the PDMWorks ® Enterprise interface will either show a static bitmap of a drawing file (slddrw) or a dynamic drawing preview using the eDrawings® viewer. As eDrawings® is a "lightweight" viewer it is actually previewing the "last-saved-bitmap" of a drawing file (i.e. what was last generated when the drawing was saved within SolidWorks). If a drawing custom property, or other title block notes are updated without it being opened in SolidWorks, regenerated, and resaved (i.e. from a data card or via workflow transition) the preview will show the title block as it looked when last saved.

The same behavior will occur if the drawing file is stored in a local folder, update its custom properties from the property tab and open it in the eDrawings® application.

To see the correct title block information, open the drawing in SolidWorks.

Note that with eDrawings 2008, it should be possible to see the updated title block property values without having to reopen the drawing. This only applies to drawings saved in SolidWorks 2008.

Personally I'ld now wait for 2009.......get youself signed up for the beta as there is some really nice stuff and just from my experience 2008 can be a pain (especially if using x64).

Regards,
Richard

Thats's most peoples reaction however I would really recommend looking at the functionality that is availiable in 2008 compared with 2009 and remember that you will be fully testing any system before implementing it. Don't forget if you find problems with 2008 in your implementation then you are pretty stuck for getting any resolutions as sp5 is due out about the same time as 2009. However if you find problem with 2009 then you stand a good chance of getting them in an sp.

At the end of the day each client is different however if you are looking at upgrading then I would recommend testing all the options avaialiable, there are always issues with each release and version, it's really just how many can you live with.

Cheers,
Ricky