| SolidWorks®
is a multi-document system which means that assembly files contain
assemblies and parts files, and then drawings reference existing
parts and assemblies. This is a powerful feature because when one
of the parts or assemblies changes, the drawing is updated automatically.
If you are working in a collaborative
environment and are using product data management (PDM) software,
the application manges for you the check-out (locking) of files
and communicates and updates changes you or others have made to
the design.
When working on a shared
network drive without a PDM system, the best approach is to use
the collaboration options listed below and explicitly take write
access of the files to be modified. This is analogous to checking-in
or out documents within a PDM system. This method reduces the chance
of changing other documents inadvertently or conflicting with another
user working on a sub-assembly or other related document.
Collaboration
options
There are settings within
SolidWorks that will enhance the multi-user environment. Figure
1 shows the collaboration options. When working with files manually,
this option should be enabled.
Figure
1 – Collaboration options dialog box
The other options are within
the External References section. The first two options, as
shown in figure 2, are set to insure that files that were not meant
to be modified are loaded as read-only and not saved accidentally.
This again points to the fact that if your organization works on
a shared network drive in the same files, you still need to manage
whether you intend to change the document. This also does not address
the need to version or archive design revisions.
Figure 2 – External References options dialog
box
Working with
files
With the collaboration options
set, an assembly component can either be read-only or write-access
enabled. This setting can be changed at any time by selecting the
component, pressing the right-mouse button, and selecting either
Get Write Access or Make Read-Only
. The active document's state can also be changed via the
File menu using the Get Write Access or
Make Read-Only functions.
The File Explorer, shown
in Figure 3, will show which components are active in the current
session (bold), write-access enabled (black), and read-only (gold).
This gives a visual clue as to the state of the assembly components.
To change the write access, select the component in the FeatureManager
Design tree as described above.
Figure 3
– File Explorer
With the options set per
Figure 2, write access is enabled on the document that was open
and read-only access to any referenced document. SolidWorks will
display when the document is read only (see Figure 4 item #1).
Figure
4 – Menu items
SolidWorks also has an option
to check to see if others have updated one of the documents in your
current assembly. Figure 4 item #3 is the Check read-only files
function that will check to see if any of the read-only
documents were updated.
If they were, Figure 4 item
#2 shows the toolbar location for the Reload function. You
should use Reload to load modified items into the current
session or to reload the original version of a document without
exiting SolidWorks.
Conclusion
When working collaboratively
or with files on a shared network drive, it is a sound practice
to explicitly take write access to the files you want to modify,
and leave the other document read-only.
A better alternative is to
look to an application that can handle these interactions automatically
and allow for the user of a local workspace. A local workspace offers
performance improvement compared with working on files via a network
on a shared drive. A PDM application will perform these tasks, keep
better design history, and offer improved performance through the
local workspace.
Category:
Assemblies, Data Management
Written
to: SolidWorks 2005
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