Hi Everybody,
Suggestion was made to use "shared files" for SolidWorks parts within EPDM.
For things like going from a working folder to Released folder. But keeping the master file in the working folder.
Does anyone have experience using Shared Files?
As in copying a file and then "Paste as shared" into another folder
Is it a good approach?
Shared files at first sound like a great thing, but in my experience of testing shared files, I found it didn't really help, and it added another layer of complexity to the system. For example, if you shared a file to another folder, then later wanted to delete it from the vault, you would have to go to every folder it is in and delete the file. When, some folders or workflow states don't allow deleting of files the real headache starts. If you were trying to clean up later on (deleting or moving shared files), you can't.
The search tools and the contains and where-used references seem to work quite well for finding or grouping related items. The workflows eliminate the need to have working and released folders, because you can control visibility of versions of files at each state.
So far, I've not allowed sharing of files anywhere in my company's vault.
I'm not saying don't do it. Just make sure you thoroughly test it out before deciding to use shared files.