The help file leads you to believe it is a simple issue -basically saying when this option is off, EPDM will remember and use the rights from previous states. In reality, it is much more complex.

What makes it hard is that some workflow rights from previous states are used, some are not. To compound the confusion, you can have different behaviors depending on the rights in the current state!

So get out your crib sheets, here is how to calculate what rights you will have in a state when the “Ignore permissions in previous states”option is off.

• “Delete“ and “Increment Revision” rights are what I call negatives. If you have ever lost this right, you will not have it in this state even if this state specifically grants it to you.
• “Read file contents“, “Permit or deny group-level access to files” and “Share files to another folder” are positives, if you ever have had this right, you will have it in this state even if this state specifically does not grant it to you.
• The ”Checkout file” and “Rename” rights are not affected by this option. You will have this right if the current state permits it.

A state where the “Ignore permissions in previous states” flag is turned on, provides a temporary override of the above rules…kind of like “base” when playing tag. Once that file moves back into a state with the ignore option off, the above rules come right back into play.

Crazy powerful, and if you stop to think about it, this is the way most companies work. Thus the default is correct, most of the time this option should be off.

However I found a SQL function that will do the conversion for me:
CONVERT(varbinary,<value>)

Cool eh? Thus a SQL statement like this:

SELECT DocumentID, CONVERT(varbinary,DocumentID) as IDHex, Filename FROM Documents where Filename like 'Big Tuna%'

Returns:

Yeah, SQL rocks.

As we all know, looking through a large assembly, checking file properties can be a tedious task. (At least that is the excuse I always use.) I’ve found Assembly Visualization can be a great tool to quickly skim through your assembly’s components looking for missing information.

Here’s how I could use it to find any parts in my assembly without material specified:

1. Start the Visualization tool (it is either on your assembly or evaluate toolbar by default)

2. Right mouse button click on any of the headers (except “File Name”) and choose “Add Column”, or find any column with a little black arrow pointing to the right.

3. Click on that arrow and choose “More…”

4. Choose the property you want to examine. (Check it out, you could work with formula too!)

5. Now you can sort by this property by clicking on its heading and your parts with missing information will come to the top. You can quickly see I haven’t assigned a material to my “crank-knob”

Thank you for attending “Jeff Sweeney’s SolidWorks tip of the randomly selected interval” please tune in next time, at a time to be determined when I feel like it, to learn more cool SolidWorks tips and tricks.

Most web searches are going to point you to use Microsoft’s DSOFile. It’s a good solution, but using it means you need to install it on your client machines (and watch out there is a 32 and 64 bit version out there!) or create a release package. Neither option is very fun if you are just writing a quick SolidWorks macro.

Luckily, the SolidWorks Document Manager is a great option. It gives you write access to many properties inside of a SolidWorks file.

Add “SwDocumentMgr 20XX Type Library” to the list of your macro’s references and your wish is the Document Manager’s command.

IMHO, the documentation is a very “tedious” so here is a little VBA snippet showing how easy this COM object is. This snippet will add the custom property “Material” to the file and assign it the value “Adamantium”:

Dim swDoc As SwDMDocument12
Dim swDM As SwDMApplication
Dim mOpenErrors As SwDmDocumentOpenError
Dim objClassfac As SwDMClassFactory
Set objClassfac = CreateObject("SwDocumentMgr.SwDMClassFactory")
Set swDM = objClassfac.GetApplication(<This is a string/key that you need to request from SolidWorks>)
Set swDoc = swDM.GetDocument(strDocFileName, SwDmDocumentType.swDmDocumentPart, False, mOpenErrors)
swDoc.AddCustomProperty "Material", SwDmCustomInfoType.swDmCustomInfoText, "Adamantium"
swDoc.Save
swDoc.CloseDoc

Just as easy as DSOFile, and more powerful -if you are wanting to update configuration specific properties, DSOFile is going to let you down.

DSOFile is still the best tool for working with file properties of other OLE type (read: Office) documents but when it comes to SolidWorks documents, all the cool kids are using the SolidWorks Document Manager.

By the way, if you are looking for a way to impress your date, read more about the Document Manager. It gives you more control over your SolidWorks files than just messing with file properties. With it you can write applications that emulate file management tools to perform such tasks as renaming, replacing, and copying SolidWorks documents -you don’t even have to have SolidWorks installed!

I’ve noticed since the release of the newer versions of DriveWorks Live, more and more companies are allowing us to download their models directly from their web sites. (Bonus: No programs to install on my end!)

The less time I have to spend modeling your product, the happier I am.

If you have just purchased DriveWorks and are looking for some usability tips…

• I want a single part. An assembly only if I need to see the motion of your product. Even then, the fewer the parts the better. I don’t want to have to spend a lot of time managing your files.
• Don’t make me learn your part numbering schema to specify your product. Let me pick on pictures of options or worst case drop downs and radio buttons. I do want to know what the final part number is, after my specification is complete. (I like sites that allow me to watch the price change as I modify options.)
• I like meta data being put in the file’s properties, however let me choose the file properties names. I don’t want additional file properties that have no meaning to me that I have to manually delete. Your name, part number and description is pretty much all I need.
• A quote included with the part’s download is nice, so is a nice cut sheet; I don’t want the entire catalog.
• I want a simple configuration of your part. Most of the time I want your models for space claiming. I don’t need the helical threads, air fins or other crazy detail -it slows down my assemblies. You can put your company’s logo on the part if it is a decal. If you want the details in the part because it makes the models look cool, give them to me in a separate configuration.

Pretty tough list? Nah, not really. Most of this is out of the box stuff for DriveWorks. Don’t forget, I am your customer, you help me, I’ll help you by buying your product.

I’ve never thought it was fair that the image had to be rendered in SolidWorks, so this year, here was my entry:

I kinda thought it came out pretty cool, but I’ve learned my entry didn’t get any votes from the anonymous panel of judges. One judge complained that I capitalized ”Merry” but not “Happy”. Another judge, felt Jordan’s entry had more artistic appeal. For the record, I happen to know neither of these “judges” have a degree in Art nor English!

Props to Jordan for a fantastic design. I see something new in it every time I look at it….but seriously?!

Wait till next year.

Next week, Driveworks is offering two free classes to help you hit the ground running with either your DriveWorksXpress or DriveWorks Solo projects.

The DriveWorksXpress webinar is running on December 6th, 2011. (DriveWorksXpress is the version included within SolidWorks.)

The DriveWorks Solo webinar is on the next day, the 7th. (DriveWorks Solo is still available for a free 30 trial. Get the trial, then sign up!)

Click the links above to sign up or learn more.

“Wait! Wait!” Everyone in the room will shout…but the damage is done. There is nothing anyone can do but roll their eyes and scowl as everyone waits for Pack and Go to finally respond again.

Ever wonder why it takes so long?

First thing to realize is that a SolidWorks part and assembly files do not know what files reference them. Like father’s day in <city name> no kids know who their daddy is. Since SolidWorks cannot ask the files where their drawings are (or even if any drawings exists), SolidWorks must look at every drawing trying to find one referencing one of the files in your Pack and Go list.

“Is one of these parts your child?” No? “Is one of these parts your child?” and the cycle continues and continues.

Certainly SolidWorks cannot look at every single drawing file in the world, how does it decide where to look?

SolidWorks will look in the following places:

1. Through all directories specified in the Referenced Documents lists in Tools, Options under System Options File Locations
2. In the same directory as the actual component itself
3. In all the directories of any other component in the list you are copying

The order above really isn’t important. If more than one drawing references the part, they are all added to the list. If the drawing is not in one of these places, Pack and Go will not add the drawing to its list.

The longer the list of directories and the more drawings in those directories, the longer it can take Pack and Go to generate your list.

What can you do to speed things up? Limit the number of directories in your File Locations list or copy your files from your PDM system, where the drawings can be looked up in a database. Looking up information in a database is a lot faster than knocking on every door in the neighborhood asking: “Is this your kid?”

Here is a little excerpt from a screen play I am writing for an upcoming movie, tentatively titled: “SolidWorks Enterprise PDM – The Movie”

The scene opens with our hero [me] teaching an EPDM administrator training class.

[Me] Now that the file is in your “Released” workflow state, it is read only for everyone, the only way it can be changed is to push the file through the workflow again, making a new revision.

[Future Admin] But what if I want to change the file without bumping the revision?

[Me] You can’t. That revision has been approved, it shouldn’t be changed.

[Future Admin] But I want to.

[Me] No, that would be like changing history. What’s the big deal? Revision letters are cheap, bump the revision and go on with your life.

[Future Admin] But I want to.

[Me] No! You just just bought EPDM to protect your documents and now, on the very first day, you want to override it?!

[Future Admin] Yes.

[Me] Fine. However, I insist we still make everything traceable so we still have record of the actual version that was originally approved.

[Future Admin] Deal.

[Me] First, we’ll make what I like to call a relief valve in our workflow:

The “Released” state will stay read only for everyone. We’ll only give permission for the administrator to use the “Override Revision” transition. We’ll only give checkout rights in the “Revision Override” workflow state to a very few trust worthy people. They can modify the file, then re-release it.

[Future Admin] But now won’t there be additional versions after the revision?

[Me] Say! I didn’t think you were paying attention while you were playing with your cell phone! Yes, there will be an additional version. However with EPDM’s API, we can actually roll back the revision number component to any value we want. Then reapply the revision.

By looking at the file’s history we can see that version two was approved as revision “A”, then version three was created, which was also approved as revision “A”. This second approval was done by a little API application that rolled the counter back one place.

Now the entire process was recorded in the file’s history and you still get to have your changed file at revision “A”.

[Future Admin] Thank you Engineering Data Specialist Man! How can we ever repay you?!

[Me] <Laughs> All in a day’s work my friend, all in a day’s work.

Curtain.

Fin.

I thought finding the files would be rather simple until I realized Workgroup’s PDMWSearchOptions (Workgroup’s API search function) does not support wildcard characters. While contemplating harakiri, I finally came up with this search criteria idea:

objSearch.IgnoreCase = True
objSearch.SearchCriteria.AddCriteria pdmwOr, pdmwOwner, "", pdmwContains, "a"
objSearch.SearchCriteria.AddCriteria pdmwOr, pdmwOwner, "", pdmwContains, "e"
objSearch.SearchCriteria.AddCriteria pdmwOr, pdmwOwner, "", pdmwContains, "i"
objSearch.SearchCriteria.AddCriteria pdmwOr, pdmwOwner, "", pdmwContains, "o"
objSearch.SearchCriteria.AddCriteria pdmwOr, pdmwOwner, "", pdmwContains, "u"
'sometimes
objSearch.SearchCriteria.AddCriteria pdmwOr, pdmwOwner, "", pdmwContains, "y"

As long as I don’t have any Workgroup users from one of those countries that do not have any vowels in their names, this search gave me every file in the Workgroup vault that was owned by a user. It isn’t a lightening fast search, but did a nice job.