We have recently started using vault and are happy with the results. However, my boss does not like that when he searches a part number (ex. 12345 Cover) he can see left over divergent parts from the development folder (ex 12345 Cover2).
We have created a saved search so he can avoid the development files. However, in some of our projects we partially release so he wants to search the whole vault.
Our current solution is to create a search that we run occasionally to look for files starting with the same prefix and having the same extension and then renaming the divergent files to have a prefix like DEV or OBS. He can still see these files but they have a marker in the file name to distinguish them from the released and current development files.
We are considering creating an archive vault to store closed projects. As we are new to vault I have several questions about this possibility.
1. Would we lose version history moving files from one vault to another?
2. Could archived assemblies access library and released part files located in the active vault?
Thanks for your help.
Cherise
Hi Cherise,
I recommend creating a testbed vault for prototyping, then control your boss's group visibility based on workflow state. That will be the most conservative approach which will avoid controlling permissions by individual. I usually try to stick with this approach unless it is unavoidable.
2nd option: In your testbed prototype vault, populate a hidden datacard field with a variable named "leadership-visible" and a default value of "no", then use that field to change the value to "yes" or "no" based on location in the workflow, then modify the saved search to show only files with a value of "yes". I've had to do this before and it works well for limited visibility. You may need to make minor modifications after you get it configured so it gets more "polished" with time based on need. This is a silly approach but works ok. The leadership users could still navigate into the system to see more so use this approach as a last resort.
I recommend avoiding moving files to a different vault on archive. Version history will be lost and it creates an extra place to go find files. My recommendation is to create an archived project state, disable viewing permissions, and enable "ignore permissions in previous states" flag on the archived state.
See this thread https://forum.solidworks.com/message/357298#357298 and how I configured it. It works well.
Tim CEPA
http://www.equivaq.com