Cracking the Vault

Log in and Log out of Autodesk Vault

Introduction to the Vault Interface

Introduction to Basic Vault Tasks

 

Advanced Configuration Guide for Vault 2013 is Now Published

The ACG for Vault 2013 has been posted here.

Vault 2013 Forward Compatibility

One significant new feature in Vault 2013 is the Forward Compatibility. In its simplest form, this allows any client, that can connect to Vault Server 2012, to connect to Vault Server 2013. (For more information see the Vault 2013 readme. Under “2013 Readmes”>Autodesk Vault <edition> 2013 Readme>Autodesk Data Management Server (ADMS)>Support for Prior Vault Clients and Add-Ins.

This greatly simplifies the task of upgrading to the next release of Vault. In the past if a new version of a CAD application was released and you were using Vault, before you could upgrade to the new CAD App release, you had to upgrade your Vault Server and all Clients simultaneously. If you didn’t, the clients would not be able to use Vault.

Now its possible to upgrade to the new release of Vault Server 2013 and upgrade the clients later as needed. Provided that the clients could connect to Vault Server 2012, they will be able to connect to Vault Server 2013 without needing to install anything new on them!

Here are two examples of how this might work.

First for CAD Addins.

At the top there is a client with

• Inventor 2010 SP4
• Vault Professional 2012 (Client) Update 1
• Inventor 2010 SP4 Client Update Patch for Vault Server 2012 Update 1

Because this client could connect to Vault Professional Server 2012, when the server is upgraded to Vault Server 2013, unless the CAD Administrator tells the user that the server has been upgraded, they should see no difference.

At the bottom is a client with

• Inventor 2010 SP4
• Vault Professional 2013

Although the Vault Professional 2013 client will install and will be able to connect to Vault 2013, the CAD ADDIN will not install for Inventor 2010 SP4.

Secondly for the Vault Clients

It is possible to install different releases of the Vault Professional Client on one computer.

The Vault Professional 2011 client will not connect to the Vault Professional 2013 Server.

The Vault Professional 2012 and the 2013 clients will be able to connect to the Vault Professional 2013 Server.

 

There are some caveats.

• New functionality available in Vault 2013 will not be available in older Vault clients and Add-Ins.
• Some functionality in a Vault 2013 client may not work when only an older version of the CAD application is installed or if an older version of the CAD application was last run. Running Inventor View 2013 or the 2013 version of the CAD application and then retrying the operation may resolve the issue.
• The edition of the client must match the edition of the server.

Autoloader Doesn't Upload BOM Information For AutoCAD Mechanical files

From the Vault readme....

"AutoCAD Electrical files, AutoCAD Mechanical files, and Mechanical Desktop files will all be uploaded to the vault as vanilla AutoCAD files. This may result in the loss of file relationships."

If you need to add multiple files from the above applications then you can use the "Check In Folder" command the AutoCAD(PulldownIcon)>Vault Server>Check In Folder

Where Do I Find Instructions For Configuring the Autodesk Office SharePoint Server 2010 Integration?

Before being able to install Vault for SharePoint 2010, you would need to ensure that Microsoft Sharepoint 2010 is installed correctly.

If SharePoint Server is not installed you will see the above message.

"The product can not be installed, requires Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2010"

After installing SharePoint 2010, you can then install the "Autodesk Office SharePoint Server 2010 Integration".

Note that in the above screenshot, Vault Professional 2013 Server is not already installed or selected for install. Only the SharePoint integration will be installed. Separating Vault and SharePoint on different, dedicated servers, helps simplifiy the installation process, maintenance and troubleshooting)

Once installed, there are some configurations that need to be completed.

Instructions can be found in this document.

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Vault for SharePoint 2010\Autodesk Vault for SharePoint 2010.pdf

A live version of this document can be found on the Vault Wiki here.

Where Can I Download Vault Basic Server 2013 From?

Vault 2013 Server should be included on the media for the Factory Design Suite, Product Design Suite.

However, for Subscription Customers, If Autodesk Vault is included in your subscription, Vault Basic Server 2013 can be downloaded from the Autodesk Subscription Center.

Login and under Downloads, click Product Enhancements,

Then click "Autodesk Vault Basic 2013"

You can also download the Vault Basic 2013 client application from here as well as have it installed directly from the Qualifying CAD App Install media.

For Partners, log into the Partner Portal, navigate to the "Vault Basic Server 2013" download from Training/Support>Downloads>Software Downloads>"Autodesk Vault & Productstream Downloads"

Vault Upgrade Documentation is Now Available

Autodesk has recently released detailed documentation on how to Upgrade Autodesk Vault on the Vault Wiki.

There is also a downloadable version posted at the bottom of the above mentioned page.

#23 Do... Setup Database Mail In A Connected Workgroup Environment

Autodesk have published a Best Practice in the Vault Wiki called "Monitoring SQL Replication"

"It is very important to monitor the replication environment.  SQL Server provides replication alerts and threshold settings that can be monitored and emailed to system administrators if an alert occurs or a threshold has been passed."