Cracking the Vault

Serious Issues like Performance and/or Crashing of the Vault Client

This is a reminder as we constantly receive this kind of requests.

Issue which appears suddenly on all workstations: the Vault Client Application is either crashing (usually after a few Minutes working with the Vault) or you experience serious performance issues.

Root of the issue is that the IT department introduced a proxy Server in the company. Usually a specific proxy script is introduced.

Solution: Make sure you configured the proxy Server as described in the Vault Wiki.

If you need to have a specific proxy script running it is your responsibility to configure it properly that it bypasses all requests about the communication between the Vault Server and the Vault Clients.

(UPDATED) Why does my Inventor assembly always need updating\saving when there has been no change to it?

Some time ago, I posted some observations based on a support case I had worked on. It was to hopefully go some way to explaining why some files seem to always need updating. It was called "Why does my Inventor assembly always need updating\saving when there has been no change to it?"

We have posted an alternative workaround\workflow to accomodate environments where you really need to save and edit assemblies in Library folders.in the updated section at the bottom.

Changes Have Been Made To Some Assembly Components......

When opening an assembly sometimes this message can appear.

"Changes have been made to some assembly components since this assembly was last saved which may affect component size and position.

To witness these changes during Save, adjust prompting options for Recomputable Updates, found in Application Options"

Would you like to update the assembly now?"

 

 

Why does my Inventor assembly always need updating\saving when there has been no change to it?

This is a question that comes into Autodesk Support frequently. One reason might be that it comes down to how Inventor resolves (finds) files.

A popular practice is that more than one project file is used in the Vault. Maybe it was considered an appropriate workflow to place IAM's into a library folder. This does cause this problems though.

One way to explain it is as follows

In Inventor, using the Library.IPJ, the Assembly refers to an IPT

 When Inventor tries to find the file it first looks at the "Location" (Workspace) plus the "Subfolder Path" (Assembly Folder\Subfolder).

BUT, and it is a VERY BIG BUT, when you switch to another project file called Designs.IPJ for example the following change happens.

 

When Inventor opens the Assembly, it looks in the "Location" plus the "Subfolder Path". Now, the last time the IAM was opened, it knew to look in the "Workspace\Assembly Folder\Subfolder" folder. But the file is not there. Instead it is is in the Location  = "Library1" folder and subfolder "\Assembly Folder\Subfolder".

The difference is easier to see when compared together like this.

• "Workspace\Assembly Folder\Subfolder" (Library.ipj)
• "Library1\Assembly Folder\Subfolder" (Designs.ipj)

So, just changing the IPJ can change the file!

At this point, Inventor initiates its file resolution algorithm and goes through a series of steps to find the file. If you are logged into Vault, you will see a message saying that "Files are missing from your workspace. Would you like to open the database to resolve the component?"  The precise wording in the message changes depending on the release of Inventor you are using.

Believe it or not, this is a Vault feature.Vault is telling you that something has changed and you better do something about it! What causes confusion is that, if you click "No" Inventor then goes on to actually find the file.( because the message pops up before Inventor goes through its algorithm to find files.)

However, if Inventor fails to find the file, it will display the file resolution dialogue box.

So, for this reason I would:-

1. Never suggest it is a good idea to put IAM's into Libraries.
2. Never have more than one IPJ in the Vault
3. Always put the IPJ at the root of the Vault
4. Always follow the best practice for setting up the Project file.


UPDATE 2/8/2011

If you really must check assemblies into the library that might later need editing you will need to check the Library IAM out, and check it back in using a project file that has the library subfolder defined as a library and not the Workspace. In other words, follow this workaround.

For Editing Assemblies in Libraries.
1. Activate the Library project from <Path>\Libraries.IPJ
    1.a) Which has the workspace defined as .\Libraries
    1.b) Mapped to the Project root to $
2. Check Out the assembly and Edit, Save (saved under Libraries) but DO NOT CHECK IN
3. Activate the Designs Project from <Path>\Designs.IPJ – THIS PROJECT SHOULD BE USED FOR CHECKING IN EDITED ASSEMBLIES.
     3.a) Which has the workspace defined as .\Designs
     3.b) Mapped to the Project root to $
4. Create a Phantom assembly and place the Library assembly (This may not be necessary if the Library assembly does NOT have iParts or Sub Assemblies)
5. Tools > Rebuild All and Save All the files in Libraries.
6. RMB on the Library assembly and Check In.

"Prompt to Save For Recomputable Updates"

If you do an "Open From Vault" without checking the file out, you may see that the file is modified. This can be a little confusing to the user who believes that nothing has changed. However, there are some changes that can happen to the file without the user being prompted to save or check out. For this reason Inventor has the "Prompt to save for recomputable updates" Application option.

One Vault type circumstance where this may happen, is when there are multiple project files in the Vault and a project file other than the Active Inventor project file is used to execute a Vault command such as "Copy Design, File\Folder Rename, File\Folder Move". When the file is opened in Inventor using another Active Project file, subtle changes may occur.

To prevent any confusion, it is higly recommended that this Application Option be switched ON.

For more information on what this option does please see the Inventor help

Search Order Used by Inventor when the Active Project file is a Vault Project file.

If you are trying to understand the order that Inventor searches for files whilst it has a Vault Project file active, from experience, I have found it neccessary to define the different locations involved, as follows

<ActiveIPJLocation> = Absolute location of the IPJ that Inventor Considers “Active” (e.g. C:\CAD Designs)
<StorageLocation> = Workspace, Workgroup OR Library Name
<SubfolderPath> = Path relative to the <StorageLocation>
<Parent_File_Location> = The location of the parent\referencing file (IAM, IDW, IPN)

 

The <ActiveIPJLocation> is configured within the "Projects" area in Inventor. So the search Order for Non-Library Files is as follows

<ActiveIPJLocation> +

1. <StorageLocation> + <SubfolderPath> (Expected & last saved loc.)
2. <StorageLocation>
3.  <Parent_File_Location>
4.  ALL subfolders under <Parent_File_Location>
5.  The last absolute location of the file when the parent file was saved. (Dangerously, possibly outside of the projects “Cone of Influence”)

 

The search order for Library Files is as follows:-

<ActiveIPJLocation> +

1. <StorageLocation> + <SubfolderPath>
2. <StorageLocation>
3. <Parent_File_Location>
4. The last absolute location of the file when the parent file was saved. (Dangerously, possibly outside of the projects “Cone of Influence”)

 

A more detailed explanation can be found in an old Inventor 7 White Paper called "Project Files and Concurrent Design". It has not been maintained recently, but it does give a valuable insight into how File resolution happens in Inventor.

 

The Best Inventor\Vault Client Configuration

Frequently in support we are asked what is the best way to configure the Vault Working Folder, and the Inventor Project file and Workspace. Everyone it seems, has their own opinions. My experience is to try to keep it simple.

After several years of trying to find solutions to problems and preventing them from occurring in the first place, we have found that one single Inventor project file located at the root of the vault, with all subfolders underneath it (ie, Workspace is a subfolder to the IPJ and librarys NOT mapped to another location) is the best method. Obviously, if you are already using Vault, it might not be so easy to switch to this methodology overnight but, if you are starting out using Vault, I cannot think of a better configuration that that described in the "Using Autodesk Vault with a Single Inventor Project V2008.pdf" document. If you are already using Vault, it might be worth considering simplifying your configuration.

Since the introduction of the Vault and Vaults "Open From Vault" command in the CAD Clients, any arguments for keeping files on a network share significantly lose credence. Common arguments that I have heard for keeping files dispersed on a network share are:

Backups - Vault should be backing up your files daily, so backup should not be the reason.

Performance - Having multiple users access the same files over the network slows down the network for others. Also, it can significantly slow Open times in the CAD client on larger assemblies and slow\congested networks.

Easy to Administer:- It is far easier to push one project file to multiple users, than push multiple projects to users and then make sure they are all using the same mapped drives or network paths.

File Resolutions in Inventor - Provided the project file is correctly configured following these guidelines it should not be a problem.

 

Download "Using Autodesk Vault with a Single Inventor Project V2008.pdf" for step by step instructions on the best way to configure your client machines.