This may not be the right place to post this but I think that PDM would be the tool that would help me.

I am the only one using SW in my office (I am currently running 2011). My drawings are currently on our drawing server and SW is running locally on my PC. I don't know that any one else will be joining me with SW any time soon but it is here to stay.

Our current server isn't up to spec to run PDM so I haven't spent much effort on looking in to this in the past - it is simply a means to store files in a central location that is easily backed up. Recently one of my SW designs was heavily revised (a whim of fancy). I had to maintain the original parts, assembly, and drawings while updating the componates. To do this I had to make copies of, and rename, all the files involved to reflect the new revision level.

• It is my understanding that PDM would handle keeping all my revisions straight - and I am assuming with less effort then what I am doing now. Is this correct?
  
• Does PDM have to be run on a server or can it run locally?
  
• If it needs to be run on a server does it need to be deicated to SW?
  
• If it doesn't need to be a deicated server can the SW files reside in files along with drawings created with other CAD systems (much of what we do is created with a simple 2D CAD package)?
  
• If I needed a stand alone server for SW is it worth the cost of the server to run PDM for one user just to handle revisions?
  
• If PDM isn't the best path for me to take is there another method to help me with revisions?
  

Just to maybe help clarify things our file naming is something like    45321 HANDLE  with a revised file being named 45321 rev a HANDLE . It is generally important for us to keep old parts in our system for the sake of our spare parts business. We try not to change parts so much that they won't work in an older machine but it happens. Really big changes often become new part numbers.

Thank you for your time and help!

Joe <><