PDM...Moving files to different folder???

[designmr]

I am using Solidworks Office Professional 2007, SP4.0.

My question:

Does moving parts, assemblies, drawing, etc.. (from one folder to another folder within the PDM Vault) cause problems when being checked out by another individual.

Seems, with the company I work with, my moving items (cleaning up unused parts, without deleting them) from one folder to another within the PDM Vault has supposedly cause problems when other people check them out.

Type of problems I am hearing is their assemblies, now pulls wrongs parts, or mates are missing.

To me, moving the location of a file within the PDM Vaults DOES NOT change MATES or WILL NOT add a strange file to an existing assembly. UNLESS the name was changed.

thanks for your replies

 

[NL8]

I've been doing that exact sort of maintenance for weeks now without a problem. The only problem I could see is if you are moving files into folders that other people don't have access to for one reason or another, I could see that cause a problem. But if the wrong parts are being checked out, rather than parts not being check out at all, then either files are getting renamed to be other files after a deletion, or there is a more serious problem somewhere worth calling your VAR about.

Joe Hasik, CSWP
SW 08 x64, SP 3.0
Dell T3400
Intel Core2 Quad
Q6700 2.66 GHz
3.93 GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Are you using the move function of PDMWorks or just dragging and dropping between folders?

 

[designmr]

Thanks DekkerDesign and CorBlimey....

I am just moving files within PDM Vault using the "CHANGE PROJECT". Everyone has access to the same vault.

 

[Standing]

I agree with DekkerDesign. We also move parts, drawings and assemblies from folder to folder without any issues. Here everyone can see all files that have models in them. Although we have an obsolete folder that is write protected. Everyone hides that folder and even me. Still no problems.
I would suggest finding one of these assemblies someone is talking about and open it myself. That will give you a starting point. If you have the same issues as them, then open as built with an older revision before the move.


Bradley
SolidWorks Pro 2008 x64, SP4.0
PDMWorks Workgroup, SolidWorks BOM,
Dell XPS Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU
3.00 GHz, 5 GB RAM, Virtual memory 10240 MB,
nVidia Quadro FX 3400
"If it ain't broke, you just haven't looked hard enough." Fix it anyway.

 

[fcsuper]

Can you go into more detail, but I don't think I've seen this issue either?



Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group

 

[designmr]

thanks Bradley.

fcsuper...I am just moving files (parts, drawings, assemblies) around in the PDM vault, cleaning it up so to speak. Not DELETING or renaming these items.

Another person in a different group which using the same PDM vault as we do, says we they CHECK OUT their assemblies, somes of OUR parts are getting mixed up in their assemblies.

Not sure HOW that is happening. This person's boss is saying it is BECAUSE I am moving files around in PDM and the vault is having TROUBLE locating where the parts are NOW.

I believe PDM and Solidworks is SMART enough to find a file by it's ORIGINAL name, even if the files has been moved WITHIN the same VAULT

 

[NL8]

The system tracks and rewrites references and properties locating a part within a specific project. For PDM to work the way it does it can't randomly forget where parts are. Forgetting where the parts are would be like M$ OS's forgetting where their DLL's are....wait, bad example

Joe Hasik, CSWP
SW 08 x64, SP 4.0
SW 09 x64, BETA 1
Dell T3400
Intel Core2 Quad
Q6700 2.66 GHz
3.93 GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600

 

[smcadman]

Are you moving the models into a new empty folder or or you moving the models into a folder that already has models in it?

We've had the trouble you are having in the past. What we found was that we were accidentally dragging a model into another assembly in the folder rather than dragging it into the folder.

In other words we did a drag-n-drop and the model did not land in the folder at the top-level, it was dragged into the assembly tree of an assembly.

(sorry if I confused you even worse)

Flores

 

[Standing]

designmr,
Does not sound like you have a fix yet. The next step is to stop and restart your PDM Workgroup Service in the vault.
Have set in the Vault Settings tab, “On vault startup” check Validate vault, Every startup.


Bradley
SolidWorks Pro 2008 x64, SP4.0
PDMWorks Workgroup, SolidWorks BOM,
Dell XPS Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU
3.00 GHz, 5 GB RAM, Virtual memory 10240 MB,
nVidia Quadro FX 3400
"If it ain't broke, you just haven't looked hard enough." Fix it anyway.

 

[designmr]

I am not dragging and dropping but using the "change Project" option.

Bradley, guess our problem, is we REALLY do not have a person who is 100% knowledgeable in using PDM and its options.

It just like one group like to make sure ALL designs that are 100% complete and released, OWNERSHIP protected. Where the other group says, it up to all individual to make sure you do NOT accidently check in something some else is working on (accidently overwrite). My group, puts OWNERSHIP PROTECTION on all our completed and uncompleted work, to avoid someone elses overwriting files.

 

[Standing]

1. Within VaultAdmin tool: The “Bind ownership to SolidWorks read-write-only access” is checked.
2. Within VaultAdmin tool: The “Set file system read-only attribute if not owner” is checked.
3. Get latest parts from PDM.
4. Work only within your working directory.
5. Keep your working directory clean.
6. Take ownership as soon as you know you are going to change, if an ECN is required keep ownership until you give it to Documentation.
7. Do not check out or take ownership unless you are going to change it.
8. Do not take ownership of an assembly and all children.
9. Upon check-in, add short note as to what you did.
10. Release Ownership (if applicable) during check-in not afterwards.
11. Do not add suffices and prefixes to part numbers being checked-in to PDM.
12. Do not check-in junk names; get a part number if it needs to be in PDM.
13. If you are working on projects that are not ready for PDM, create a sub-directory within your working directory for those models. Remember rule number 4.
14. Do not delete relationships and external references.
15. Clean swSolidWorksBackups directory; defrag your C:\ drive as often as needed.
16. Work only on models and drawings that have been taken out of the PDM Vault. Unless you created them.

Bradley
SolidWorks Pro 2008 x64, SP4.0
PDMWorks Workgroup, SolidWorks BOM,
Dell XPS Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU
3.00 GHz, 5 GB RAM, Virtual memory 10240 MB,
nVidia Quadro FX 3400
"If it ain't broke, you just haven't looked hard enough." Fix it anyway.

 

[designmr]

Ok Bradley....

Here, my boss would like us to check in to PDM every night. And start with a clean directory the next day. So, I guess that would kind of put a kink in your list. Even the other group checks in WIP items...

 

[Standing]

designmr,
The boss is the boss and what he wants to do is OK. There is no problem with checking in every night.
Add the bosses rule as #17.
Each PDM user should set the PDM options as follows:
“Command Defaults” tab, put a check in box “Retain ownership” and check "Include drawings".
“Check out / Open” box put a check in box “Include drawings”.


Bradley
SolidWorks Pro 2008 x64, SP4.0
PDMWorks Workgroup, SolidWorks BOM,
Dell XPS Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU
3.00 GHz, 5 GB RAM, Virtual memory 10240 MB,
nVidia Quadro FX 3400
"If it ain't broke, you just haven't looked hard enough." Fix it anyway.