Issue:
Introduction: Great start for new Vault Basic, Workgroup, or Professional implementations
The initial configuration of Vault is critical to a successful implementation. This article suggests perhaps the simplest Inventor and Vault configuration to minimize Administrative overhead and avoid the complexity associated with multiple project files. This method is both simple and robust and at the same time, remaining flexible.
It's important to remember that Vault does support the use of multiple project files. However, this will result in unresolved links when opening files in Inventor at some point. When first adopting Vault,, keep it simple, use one project file. Failure to adopt a single Vault project file will result in time lost searching for files. Vault is there to manage files and is good at it.
Benefits of configuring a single project file:
- Simplicity - With a single project, use the same project file for every design in environment. This keeps from having to remember what project file to use with which data set. Benefit from having a single common location for all of data.
- Reduced Resolution Failures - Inventor can automatically search for any missing files throughout entire data set. This greatly reduces the number of times that need to manually locate missing files.
- Increased Design Reuse - Greatly simplify the reuse of other data from Vault. Using this method, any data in the Vault can be reused in any assembly by using the Place from Vault command. This method prevents from having to ever worry about adding a library path or copying a file from another project.
Solution:
Step 1: Set Up the Environment
Typically with Inventor, create an Inventor Project File (*.ipj) that is unique for each job are working on. With Autodesk Inventor and Vault, it possible to create a new folder for each design, not a new project file. The following steps show how to configure Vault in the simplest way. After familiar with the steps, it can be apply this same practice to actual design data.
- On the Vault server machine, open "Autodesk Data Management Server Console 20xx‟ (also known as "ADMS Console", "Vault Server‟ or "Vault Manager"). On the left side of the window, right-click Vaults. Click "Create" give it a name "TestProject" for example. Click OK.
Note: In this example the name "TestProject" is used. This can be changed at any time in the ADMS console by detaching and reattaching the database.
- On a workstation machine, open Windows Explorer. Create a folder under "C:\" called "Work". This is where all work on Inventor parts will be performed. In addition, create two new folders underneath Work called "Content Center Files" and "Designs". These folders will store all design data.
Note: To avoid file status conflicts and performance issues, refrain from using a centralized network share as Inventors Workspace. Using a centralized network share is justified by system administrators, to ease the backing up of the data to avoid a disaster. However, this argument is redundant after implementing Vault, as one of its major features is a centralized backup and restore process. Also variables like %USERPROFILE% are not beneficial as the references would need to be resolved each time a new user opens the assembly and updates it.
- Open Autodesk Inventor and the Project Editor. Click New at the bottom and step through the wizard to create a new Vault Project.
- Enter "Designs" for the project name and set the Project (Workspace) Folder to "C:\Work".
- Click Finish to create the project file.
- Double-click "Designs.ipj" to make it the active project.
- In the Project Editor window, click the expand button next to "Workspace", then click twice to edit the location of the Workspace folder and type "\Designs". Then click again, to finish editing.
- In the same way, expand "Folder Options" and edit the "Content Center Files" option to read ".\Content Center Files".
Note: typing ".\" instructs Inventor to use a path that is relative to the project file. This means that the project file could be located anywhere on a user's machine, but it will always look in a subfolder called "Content Center Files"
- "Save" the changes that have been made to the Project file and exit the Inventor Project Editor.
- Click the Vault tab and Login
- In the Vault Log in dialogue box, select the newly created Vault database and log in as a user with (Vault) Administrator privileges.
- Click the drop-down list arrow next to the word "Access", and click "Map Folders". This will map the actual folders defined in the project file with the Vaults virtual folder structure.
- In the Project Folder Mapping dialog box select Project Root and "Edit" the mapping to create a mapping between the local project file and its intended location in the Vault. In this case, mapping is the project file location to the root ($) of Vault.
- Repeat for the "Content Center Files" folder. This time, ensure that the "Library" folder option is selected. Vault project file creation logic dictates that all libraries must be located beneath the project file.
- Click OK and OK again to close the Project Folder Mapping dialog box.
Now it should be the correct structure configured to begin adding Inventor files to the Vault.
Note: $/Designs in Vault Explorer is equal to "C:\Work\Designs" in Windows Explorer. The structure inside and outside the Vault must match.
Step 2 Add Data to the Vault
Now start adding data to Vault.
- In Inventor, create a new part file. It does not need to have any geometry, let's create a file.
- Save the file, and give it a name. By default, Inventor will save it in the Workspace folder ("C:\Work\Designs"). Give the file a name, the default (Part1.ipt) is OK for now.
- Once the file is saved locally, check the file into Vault. But, for now, perhaps the easiest, is to select Vault in the ribbon bar and select "Check In".
- This will bring up the "Check In" dialog box.
This window shows that both the design file and the part file will be checked in to the Vault.
The project file is located locally in "C:\Work\Designs.ipj". The file will be vaulted as "$\Designs.ipj"
The part file is located locally in "C:\Work\Designs\Part1.ipt". The file will be vaulted as "$\Designs\Part1.ipt".
(The intention of this method is that all subsequent work will be done beneath the "\Designs" folder.)
In the top right corner is a red circle with a cross through it. This indicates that a DWF file will not be created on check-in. On check-in to Vault, DWF files can be created and linked (attached) to the file being checked in. The advantage of this is that it gives other users, who maybe do not have the ability to view the file in its native application, the opportunity to review the file as it was checked in to Vault. This could be useful in the future. This option is off, by default. To enable DWF creation during checking, click "Settings" and select either "Create during check-in" or "Send to Job Server.
Note: "Send to Job Server" is an option that is only available to users of Vault Workgroup or Vault Professional.
- Once, satisfied with the DWF publication options, click OK, and OK again to check the file into the Vault for the first time. A progress bar will appear, while the DWF file is created and copied into the Vault. Once the operation is complete, the dialog will disappear.
Step 3 Configure the Vault Settings
- Once the file has been checked in to Vault, open the Vault Client and log in as a member of the Administrators group.
- In the Vault Client, from the ribbon, click "Tools" > "Administration" > "Vault Settings".
- This brings up the Vault Settings. Under Working Folder, Click "Define".
- Change the "Workspace Folders" option to "Enforce consistent working folder for all clients" and change "Client Working Folder" to "C:\Work".
Note: This ensures that all users connecting to this Vault database will be using the same local working folder.
- Tick the "Enforce consistent project file for all clients" and change the "Default Inventor Project File" to "$/Designs.ipj".
Note: This ensures that IF multiple project files are checked into the Vault at some future point, features such as Copy Design, Move, Rename and the Job Processor, will all defer to this project file. The advantage of this, is that it reduces the likelihood of unresolved links in Inventor. The only way to avoid unresolved link issues in the future is to prohibit multiple Inventor project files entirely.
Step 4 Share Data with Other Users
The next step is to get other users up and running with Vault. This starts with creating a Vault user account for them.
For each user, do the following
- In the Vault Client, click "Tools" > "Administration" > "Global Settings". Click "Users" >"New Users". Create a user account and grant it access to the created Vault, as well as assign it a role. In this example picture, the user has been granted the Document Editor (Level 1) role. (see help for more information).
- On the users machine, install the Vault client and log them into the Vault database.
- Right click the "Designs.ipj" in the Vault client and select "Get". This will automatically download the ipj file to the same location, "C:\Work".
- Start Inventor, and change the Active Project to "C:\Work\Designs.ipj".
- Have each user copy their Inventor files into folders beneath "C:\Work\Designs", open them in Inventor starting with drawings and assemblies. ensure that if prompted with a message to resolve a missing file, that the file is copied beneath the C:\Work folder before being checked in to the Vault. Initially this will be much work (depending on the number of files that need Vaulting), but over time, the time spent managing this will reduce to almost nothing.
Products:
Inventor; Inventor Professional; Inventor Series; Vault Products;
