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Universal link to folder within Vault for Toolbox part creation

Question asked by Jack Berryman on Oct 7, 2014
Latest reply on Oct 5, 2016 by Austin Broeker

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Hi Everyone,

We have our Toolbox set to create parts within the Vault.

Our standard location for Vault views is C:\\Vault - and we have our toolbox set to create folders in C:\Vault\Seacore\Apps\SolidWorks\SolidWorks Toolbox\CopiedParts

The problem is, some of my collegues Vault views are located in a different places on their local drive such as C:\Vault\JS\Seacore\Apps\SolidWorks\SolidWorks Toolbox\CopiedParts

When this happens, the toolbox automatically creates the folder structure it is missing and the user toolbox parts are created but stored locally on their machine

Usually this variation of Vault view loactions is not a problem and to link files/folders in the Vault as we use a "Copy Shortcut" Add-In:

Which create universal links that can be used within emails and office document - such as these:

conisio://Seacore/explore?projectid=18324&documentid=14000&objecttype=1

Unfortunately - SolidWorks Toolbox won't allow me to use such a link within 'Create parts in this folder' field

Does anybody have any ideas to remedy this?

The other option is to relocate everybody's Vault view to the same location (I know that is best practice but I was wondering if there was more of a reliable solution)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,

Jack

Craig Schultz Oct 8, 2014 8:01 AM

Correct Answer

Brian is correct. All of your client machines should have the same location for the vault. That keeps the file structure the same for our CAM software as well so kits with referenced parts can be located automatically without browsing. Think of SW in windows explorer if you move an assembly....

Ours is C:\Vault Views\<vault name>

That way you can have multiple vaults. We have our company vault and a "sandbox" vault that I can mess around with workflows before implementing.

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Brian Titus Oct 8, 2014 2:12 AM

We had this exact same issue.

In our case, we created the vault view in the users MY DOCUMENTS folder, While this is convenient, TOOLBOX did not work correctly for copied parts.

I think the only solution is to create the vault view in exactly the same location on each person's machine.

In our case we relocated the vault view to C:\VAULT on everyones machine.

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Craig Schultz Oct 8, 2014 8:01 AM

Ours is C:\Vault Views\<vault name>

That way you can have multiple vaults. We have our company vault and a "sandbox" vault that I can mess around with workflows before implementing.

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Jack Berryman @ Craig Schultz on Oct 10, 2014 4:38 AM

Thanks you getting back to me Gents, It seems you're both right - Solidworks doesn't accept Conisio:\\ links for folder locations.

I'm going to make sure that all our Vault lcoations are in exactly the same place. Though it would of been nice to have a solution.capable of handling any errors.

Do you have any further hints and tips for network installation of SolidWorks? Specifically folder and template loactions and the Vault?

Thanks for your help,

Cheers, Jack

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Craig Schultz @ Jack Berryman on Oct 10, 2014 6:54 AM

Templates - Have one folder in the vault for your part, assembly, and drawing templates that everyone's SW points to for default template. Ours is C:\Vault Views\<vault name>\Templates That should have read only access for your users, more access for your CAD/ePDM admins, Also, under cache options for the engineering group I have it checked for "Refresh cache during log in" so they are always pulling from the most recent version.

As far as folder locations, I've found the easiest way for us is limit the number of top level folders. We have top levels for our company (with all the customers below in folders), DXFs, Library, CAM Files for programming, Templates, Tooling info, and a WIP folder which has folders for individual engineers to store things, work on parts/ideas before assigning a "real number" to. Then you limit permissions/visibility per top level folder based on needs.

You'll find that folder structure doesn't matter nearly as much as before ePDM. I rarely dig looking for files going through file structure, 95% is done through search cards. I'm still trying to teach old dogs new tricks about this fact.

Craig

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Jack Berryman @ Craig Schultz on Oct 15, 2014 3:05 AM

Thank you for taking the time to offer me your advice Craig, it's more than appreciated.

I have located the Vault in a common location across all users - we still haven't upgraded from 2012 SP5 so I don't believe the 'refresh cache during login' option is available to us, but that's definitely something I'd like to introduce when we do make the switch.

Thanks again,

Jack

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Austin Broeker @ Craig Schultz on Oct 5, 2016 3:42 PM

Craig Schultz wrote:

... and a WIP folder which has folders for individual engineers to store things, work on parts/ideas before assigning a "real number" to.

I know this is an old post, but how is this handled at your company? I'm interested in implementing something like this in our vault to help stem the creation of "xxxx_test" files in our project folders, because it's starting to become extremely cluttered. Do your users create a part for initial design/testing then rename and move it to the correct project folder once it's complete? Or do they create an initial part, then once it's complete do a "save-as" to the correct project folder with the correct filename? Do any of the file references ever get messed up with your setup?

I've got some people creating test parts in the project's folder, then just changing the filename to "NOT USED" once they're done. Other people create parts on their desktop and try to save it in the vault when they're done, but then sometimes they forget or file references don't update, so it ends up looking for the part on their desktop still.

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6 Replies

Brian Titus Oct 8, 2014 2:12 AM
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Correct Answer
We had this exact same issue.
In our case, we created the vault view in the users MY DOCUMENTS folder, While this is convenient, TOOLBOX did not work correctly for copied parts.
I think the only solution is to create the vault view in exactly the same location on each person's machine.
In our case we relocated the vault view to C:\VAULT on everyones machine.
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Craig Schultz Oct 8, 2014 8:01 AM
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Correct Answer
Brian is correct. All of your client machines should have the same location for the vault. That keeps the file structure the same for our CAM software as well so kits with referenced parts can be located automatically without browsing. Think of SW in windows explorer if you move an assembly....

Ours is C:\Vault Views\<vault name>

That way you can have multiple vaults. We have our company vault and a "sandbox" vault that I can mess around with workflows before implementing.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
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- Jack Berryman @ Craig Schultz on Oct 10, 2014 4:38 AM
  Mark Correct
  Correct Answer
  Thanks you getting back to me Gents, It seems you're both right - Solidworks doesn't accept Conisio:\\ links for folder locations.
  
  I'm going to make sure that all our Vault lcoations are in exactly the same place. Though it would of been nice to have a solution.capable of handling any errors.
  
  Do you have any further hints and tips for network installation of SolidWorks? Specifically folder and template loactions and the Vault?
  
  Thanks for your help,
  
  Cheers, Jack
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  - Craig Schultz @ Jack Berryman on Oct 10, 2014 6:54 AM
    Mark Correct
    Correct Answer
    Templates - Have one folder in the vault for your part, assembly, and drawing templates that everyone's SW points to for default template. Ours is C:\Vault Views\<vault name>\Templates That should have read only access for your users, more access for your CAD/ePDM admins, Also, under cache options for the engineering group I have it checked for "Refresh cache during log in" so they are always pulling from the most recent version.
    
    As far as folder locations, I've found the easiest way for us is limit the number of top level folders. We have top levels for our company (with all the customers below in folders), DXFs, Library, CAM Files for programming, Templates, Tooling info, and a WIP folder which has folders for individual engineers to store things, work on parts/ideas before assigning a "real number" to. Then you limit permissions/visibility per top level folder based on needs.
    
    You'll find that folder structure doesn't matter nearly as much as before ePDM. I rarely dig looking for files going through file structure, 95% is done through search cards. I'm still trying to teach old dogs new tricks about this fact.
    
    Craig
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    - Jack Berryman @ Craig Schultz on Oct 15, 2014 3:05 AM
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      Correct Answer
      Thank you for taking the time to offer me your advice Craig, it's more than appreciated.
      
      I have located the Vault in a common location across all users - we still haven't upgraded from 2012 SP5 so I don't believe the 'refresh cache during login' option is available to us, but that's definitely something I'd like to introduce when we do make the switch.
      
      Thanks again,
      
      Jack
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    - Austin Broeker @ Craig Schultz on Oct 5, 2016 3:42 PM
      Mark Correct
      Correct Answer
      Craig Schultz wrote:
      
      ... and a WIP folder which has folders for individual engineers to store things, work on parts/ideas before assigning a "real number" to.
      I know this is an old post, but how is this handled at your company? I'm interested in implementing something like this in our vault to help stem the creation of "xxxx_test" files in our project folders, because it's starting to become extremely cluttered. Do your users create a part for initial design/testing then rename and move it to the correct project folder once it's complete? Or do they create an initial part, then once it's complete do a "save-as" to the correct project folder with the correct filename? Do any of the file references ever get messed up with your setup?
      
      I've got some people creating test parts in the project's folder, then just changing the filename to "NOT USED" once they're done. Other people create parts on their desktop and try to save it in the vault when they're done, but then sometimes they forget or file references don't update, so it ends up looking for the part on their desktop still.
      Like • Show 0 Likes0
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Universal link to folder within Vault for Toolbox part creation

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