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Using Autodesk Vault With A Single Autodesk Inventor Project

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Maurizio Massa
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200 views8 pages

Using Autodesk Vault With A Single Autodesk Inventor Project

Uploaded by

Maurizio Massa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tips and Tricks

Using Autodesk Vault with a Single Autodesk Inventor


Project

Introduction
Proper setup of Autodesk® Vault structure is critical to a successful and flexible vault. This
white paper outlines one way to integrate Autodesk Vault within your organization without
the overhead and complexity of multiple Inventor project files. This method is the most
simple and most robust way to set up your vault environment for use with Inventor while
continuing to offer a high level of freedom and flexibility

With the single project file configuration you gain:


• Simplicity - With a single project, you use the same project file for every design in
your environment. This keeps you from having to remember what project file to use
with which dataset. You also benefit from having a single common location for all of
your data.
• Reduced Resolution Failures - Inventor can automatically search for any missing
files throughout your entire data set. This greatly reduces the number of times you
need to manually locate missing files.
• Increased Design Reuse - Greatly simplify the reuse of other data from your 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 you from having to ever worry
about adding a library path or copying a file from another project.

Step 1: Set Up Your Environment


Typically with Autodesk Inventor® software, you create a new Inventor Project File (*.ipj)
that is unique for each job you are working on. In this scenario, you create a new folder for
each design, not a new project file. In the example, we use sample data and a test vault.
After you are comfortable with your configuration, you can apply this same practice to your
actual design data.
1. Open Vault Manager. On the left side of the window, right-click Vaults. Create a vault
called “Test.” Click OK.

Autodesk: Using Autodesk Vault with a Single Autodesk Inventor Project


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2. 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 of your design data.

3. Open Autodesk Inventor and the Project Editor. Click the New button at the bottom
and step through the wizard to create a new Vault Project.

4. Enter “Designs” for the project name and set the Project Workspace location to
C:\Work\Designs.

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5. Click Finish to create the project file.

6. Double-click Designs.ipj to activate it and make it the default project.

7. Open Vault Explorer. Log into the vault named Test. Note that the vault is empty and
the working folder has not been set. Right-click on the $ folder and then select Set
Working Folder. Browse to C:\Work.

8. Right-click the $ folder and select New Folder. Enter “Designs” and click OK. Make
sure the folder name you type matches the folder name in Windows Explorer exactly.
Create a Library Folder called “Content Center Files.” Once again, make sure the
name you enter is exactly the same as the name of the folder you created earlier.

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You now have the starting structure in Vault Explorer for adding Inventor documents.
Note: $/Designs in Vault Explorer is equal to C:\Work\Designs in Windows Explorer.
The structure inside and outside the vault must match. (Do you want to explain why
it is important that the names match?)

Step 2: Add Data to the Vault


Now you are ready to add files from inside Autodesk Inventor. For this example, use
the assembly sample models that install with Inventor.

1. In Windows Explorer, copy the entire group of folders under C:\Program


Files\Autodesk\Inventor 9\Samples\Models\Assemblies to C:\Work\Designs. Notice
that we didn’t bring the original project file to our new location. We are going to rely
on the new project file we created earlier. (Isn’t this the first step?)

1. Open Inventor and open the Project Editor.


2. Right-click on Frequently Used Subfolders and select Add Paths from Directory.
Browse to C:\Work\Designs and click OK. Frequently used sub folders will help you
quickly navigate to each of your new project folder instead of using an individual
*.ipj for each project.

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4. Open the ARBOR PRESS drawing from under the Arbor Press shortcut under
Frequently Used Subfolders. In this example, this drawing is our top level file and
can be used to add the entire assembly to the vault.
5. Save your assembly. This step is very important since the files were moved. When
you move files, you can potentially change the way that Inventor resolves related
files. Saving these changes now prevents other users who access this data from the
vault from having issues with opening the files.

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6. The next step is to specify where the vault stores these files. From the File menu,
select Vault > Map Folders and map the two paths to their corresponding folders we
created in the vault earlier. This step only needs to be done once. After this is
complete, every other user that works with the vault leverages this same information.
Click OK to save your changes.

7. In Autodesk Inventor, switch to the Vault browser.

8. The question mark icons in the Vault browser indicate the files are not in the Vault
yet. Right-click anywhere in the Vault browser and select Add Files.
9. The Add Files dialog box is displayed. Note how the vault is displaying the proper
folder structure, including the Arbor Press folder. Add any comments as necessary:
e.g., Initial Add to Vault, and click OK to copy your files to the vault.

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10. Open, or switch to Vault Explorer and click the $ folder. On the toolbar, click Refresh
to see the newly added files and folders.

11. The ARBOR PRESS drawing and all of its children have been added to the Vault. More
importantly, the structure has been preserved. Note the creation of the Engine
subfolder under $/Designs.
12. Repeat this with each design or Project as needed.

Step 3: Share Data with Other Users


The next step is to get all of the other users up and running with the vault. For each user,
follow these steps:

1. On each user’s computer, create a working folder. It is always easiest to use the
same folder for every computer; however, this is not required.
2. Using Vault Explorer, set the working folder of the $ folder in the vault to the newly
created folder.
3. Have each user use the Get Latest Version command on the Designs.ipj file from the
vault. Note that the proper directly structure (e.g. C:\Work\Designs) is
automatically created.
4. Open Inventor and set the Designs.ipj file to be the current active project file in
Inventor.
5. Have the users use the “Open from Vault” command in Inventor to start working on
their designs.

Other Notes
Adding additional Inventor files using the Single Project Method involves creating sub
folders under C:\Work\Designs and placing the new Inventor files there. In general, open
the top level document and ensure it loads and resolves successfully.
Upon adding files to populate the vault, always verify the structure before adding the files.

It is important that you understand that you will rely less on Windows Explorer and more on
Vault Explorer daily to work with Inventor files outside of Autodesk Inventor. Windows
Explorer will still play a minor role in file management when working with Inventor and
Vault, but you will end up using it less and less. Your working folder (C:\Work) should be
considered a temporary folder for storing files. When you are finished working on a design
and you have added the files and folders to the vault, you can clean up your working folder
by deleting the files and folders from your workspace.

Autodesk and Autodesk Inventor are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries.
All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
© Copyright 2004 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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