Tool for Tuesday: “Enforce Working Folder”

Without Standards, we have Chaos!

Today’s focus is on Data Management, specifically using Vault Professional to manage our Civil 3D project data. 

For those not familiar with Vault, the workflow looks like this…

We check-out our project data to a Working Folder (typically on our local computer), perform edits and/or create new objects, and then check the model back into Vault.

Simple yet extremely powerful and can have numerous benefits over using Windows Explorer with a mapped network drive along with data shortcuts.  (Perhaps topics for future installments. :) )

Having said this, by default, the end user is able to set their own working folder location. 

In smaller offices this may be fine if we are only dealing with a few workstations.  In larger installations, leaving this control up to the end user can present challenges that would be eliminated if every workstation/authoring application used a consistent Working Folder name.

Imagine for a moment the chaos that could result if every application and workstation connecting to the Vault used a different folder on the local computer.  

(i.e. Civil 3D's working folder set to C:\Civil 3D Projects, AutoCAD's working folder set to C:\2017 Projects, Microstation's working folder set to H:\Current Projects...)  

Or worse yet, end users mapping their working folders to network drives on top of another user’s working folder.

How do we enforce a standard working folder?  Do we have to set it individually on each workstation and each application???

Short answer No.  We need only change a single setting in Vault Explorer and every computer and every application that connects to the Vault now and forever will use a consistent working folder name on the user's local computer.

Check out the video below to see how it’s done.

-Jerry

Comments

[Mike Baker]

Perfect team, this is exactly what needs to be set just about all the time. Working with Vault and manufacturing, it seems to be a struggle to convince teams this is the way to go. "With out standards you have Chaos" I could have not said it better THANKS!