Autodesk Vault's workflow - Exercise

Search data with Vault

Users can enter keywords to search for files, items, and projects. This search looks at file names, descriptions, and other indexed properties. Vault supports wildcard characters like * (for multiple characters) and ? (for a single character) to allow more flexible searches.

Select the project explorer or any folder to search for its content.
Enter the search keyword in the search dialog box and press Enter to execute the search. The results are displayed in the main panel.

Vault Advanced Search

Vault also has advanced search functionality which can be accessed by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the Vault toolbar.

Basic Search Tab:

Users can select the entity type from the Look For drop down. Select Files to search for files.
Click on the Browse… button to select the folder in which the search should be performed. By default, the Project explorer is selected.
Input the filename and click Find Now button or press Enter to view the search results. Use * and a key word to perform wild card search to widen the scope of the search and see relative results based on the key words used.

Advanced Search Tab:

Use Advanced search to search based on specific properties such as file name, date modified, author, and custom properties. This allows for more targeted searches.

Boolean Operators: Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine multiple search criteria, refining the search results.

Select the Property to define criteria for search.
Select the Condition from the Conditions drop down.
Input the search keyword in the Value field.
Click on Add button to add the search criteria.
Click on Find Now to view the results.

Get Command – download files from Vault

Now that we know how to search for a required file let's see how we can download files from Vault Using the Get command.

Select the file(s) needed from the Vault.
Right click and select the Get command, from the context menu. The Get command dialog box pops up.
Pay attention to the available options in the dialog.
Click to enable the Include Dependents option to include child files when downloading drawings, assemblies, etc. Click on the drop down to adjust whether attachments and library files needs to be included as well.
Click to enable the Include Parents option to include related documentation files such as drawings, presentation files, top level assemblies when downloading parts or files that are consumed by the selected file.
Select the Checkout files option to reserve the files for edit.
Input any comments as needed using the comment option.
Use the dropdown list to select the desired version of the file for download.
Click on the OK button to complete the command.

The downloaded files are stored in the local workspace, where users can open, edit, and work on them as needed.

Open files From Vault

Next, let's see how files can be opened from Vault. You can open files from Vault client.

In the Vault Client, you can specify whether you want to check the file out or not when you open it.

If you check out the file, then you can make edits to it. If you do not check out the file, the file will be read-only.

Perform one of the following actions:

Select a file and right click on it.
Select Open from the context menu. You are prompted to check out the selected file.

Note: Vault Client retrieves the latest versions of file dependencies instead of gathering file dependencies based on the file revision.

Select one of the following options:
Select No to get the file from the vault and open it in the corresponding application without checking it out. The file will be read-only.
Select Yes to check out the file from the vault and open it in the corresponding application.
The file can be edited. When you are done editing the file, save the changes and check it back into the vault.

Note that it is recommended to open the CAD files using the respective CAD application.

Open files From Inventor

Let's see how to do it using an Inventor example.

In the Inventor application, make sure you have logged in to the Vault add-in.

Click on Open command in the Vault Ribbon.

The Select File From Vault dialog appears.
Browse to the file or search using the file name.
Select the drop down next to Open button and select the appropriate Check-out option to open the read-only mode or in edit mode.

Check-in to Vault

Lastly, let's understand the check-in command.

Files that were checked out for modification or new files that are being added to the Vault for the first time can be added to Vault using the Check-in command.

In the Inventor Vault add-in, you use Check In when you are ready to check files into the vault for the first time. In addition, use Check In when you are done working on an Autodesk Inventor file that has been checked out of the vault.
Include a comment with the file describing the changes made to this version of the data when checking it in.
Click OK to complete Check-In.

The latest version of a file in the vault is the last version that was checked in. Once a file is checked in, the version in the vault is incremented and the latest changes are now available for others to check out.

Using Autodesk Vault best practices