Hi,
Our organisation uses the following format of file names:
Part Name XXXXXXXXXR, when "XXXXXXXXX" is the serial number and "R" is the revision number.
Can Solidworks PDM keep this kind of numbering, including file name change when the revision is changed?
Example:
"Bracket 000000651A.sldprt" is updated, and the file name must change to "Bracket 000000651B".
Thanks,
Max
If you are using EPDM, you should no longer need that sort of naming system. You have access to every previous revision of a file, so you don't need to rename files to avoid losing old revisions.
It is certainly possible to rename files when they transition from one state to another such as when they are revised. I do this with an add-in I wrote (but not for the purpose of including the revision in the file name). Others are probably doing it with a Dispatch script or the task addin.
If you are not using EPDM at the moment, but you are planning on switching over, you should consider it as a golden opportunity to eliminate potential sources of errors and other inefficiencies caused by tradition file system limitations. Including the revision in the file name is meaningless. I can rename a file from 'Bracket 000000651A.sldprt' to 'Housing 1234567Z.sldprt', but when I open it, I will still be looking at the bracket.
I am a big proponent of unintelligent part numbering. Our part numbers are 6 digits, with no significance to any of them. If I want to find a bracket, I use the EPDM search tool to search the part descriptions and 5.6 seconds later I have 1233 SolidWorks part files I can look through. The file name does not matter.
We do from time to time send files to outside clients or vendors. For their benefit (since they do not have access to our EPDM system) I created an add-in that lets users copy files to a location outside the EPDM vault and it renames them to include the revision number.
Jim S.