Introduction
To guarantee successful adoption of 3DEXPERIENCE it’s important that SOLIDWORKS users can easily save, find and open their designs from day one. Most if not all will be currently using a folder structure to organize, their content whether it be in a Windows file system or another PDM solution. The 3DEXPERIENCE approach to organizing and consuming content is different. Instead of relying on folders, it’s based around leveraging the metadata related to items, and then using variety of different apps to interact with the SOLIDWORKS content. Introducing too many apps, which may or may not be relevant right at the start, can be a little overwhelming for most users. Initially the majority of users will have a single goal - to design in SOLIDWORKS without any added friction.
Basic SOLIDWORKS File Management
When saving a brand new or a pre-existing design to 3DEXPERIENCE for the first time, it’s important for SOLIDWORKS users to understand they can follow the same workflow that they have used when saving to the file system. All the basic tools required for saving, opening, and interacting with design information are available within the SOLIDWORKS user interface.
When a user is ready to save their design to 3DEXPERIENCE for the first time, use the “Save to 3DEXPERIENCE” command located on the SOLIDWORKS File menu. Although the process of saving to 3DEXPERIENCE is different to saving to the Windows file system, it has many similarities, and can be summarized in a few simple steps.
1. Select the “Save to 3DEXPERIENCE” command from the file menu
When saving to 3DEXPERIENCE for the very first time, keep things simple. Start with saving a single part before moving on to a small assembly. Use Bookmarks to organize SOLIDWORKS design content in a structured hierarchy. This will provide continuity through a familiar way of working, aiding adoption in the early stages.
Finding and Opening Files Saved in 3DEXPERIENCE
When opening a design from 3DEXPERIENCE for the first time, its recommended that the Open command from the SOLIDWORKS File menu is used. The SOLIDWORKS Open dialogue provides quick access to recent documents and Bookmarks, and will provide a familiar user experience for existing SOLIDWORKS users. As part of any onboarding, it’s important to highlight the shortcuts to recently used Bookmarks, and the ability to browse and open from Bookmarks, just like they have been used to doing with folders in the past.
When a file has been opened from 3DEXPERIENCE, the SOLIDWORKS feature manager can be expanded to display important information, for example: revision, lock status, and modification status. To be able to save any local changes back to 3DEXPERIENCE the file will need to be locked by the user. Its recommended practice that users get in the habit of locking files ahead of making any changes to them. Locking a file prevents other users from modifying the same file, only the user that has locked a file can save their changes back to 3DEXPERIENCE. In a multi-user environment this will also ensure that conflicting changes won’t be made on the file at the same time.
A file is locked by simply clicking the open padlock icon in the FeatureManager flyout.
Important Topics to Cover
To avoid any confusion it’s important for users to understand what is happening to their SOLIDWORKS files in the local file system. When saving a file to 3DEXPERIENCE that has not previously been saved to a local folder first, the file will be automatically saved in the 3DEXPERIENCE Local Working Folder.
If the user is saving a pre-existing part or assembly to 3DEXPERIENCE that has already been saved in a local folder, after saving to 3DEXPERIENCE the files will remain located in that local folder. It’s recommended that once a pre-existing design has been saved to 3DEXPERIENCE for the first time, the local files are deleted from the file system and re-opened the next time from 3DEXPERIENCE. During open from 3DEXPERIENCE, the files will be downloaded to the Local Working Folder instead of their original folder location. Working totally within the Local Working Folder will avoid any potential conflicts with other local copies and will keep all live design data in one single location.
The 3DEXPERIENCE Files on This PC task pane tab in the SOLIDWORKS user interface is the recommended method for deleting the local copies of files that have been saved to 3DEXPERIENCE. Note: deleting the files via the task pane will only delete the local copies and not the files stored on the cloud.
SOLIDWORKS File Management – Increasing Efficiency and Adding More Value
Once users are comfortable with saving, opening, and navigating their content using Bookmarks its time to start increasing their efficiency by introducing some of the additional 3DEXPERIENCE specific methods of organizing content which utilize metadata. The 3DSearch and 6WTagging capabilities enable users to quickly and easily locate design content without needing to know which folder the content is saved in.
Adopting the 3DEXPERIENCE approach to organizing content will require some configuration of the customers 3DEXPERIENCE platform. To get the most value from 3DSearch and 6WTagging it’s important to define a number of key attributes that users can filter on. These attributes will typically relate to design process information for example Project, Material, Supplier, Make or Buy. The number of attributes required will vary for each customer, and many existing SOLIDWORKS users will be familiar with capturing this type of information already in the form of SOLIDWORKS file properties. For detailed best practice on how to set up attributes, link attributes to 6W Tags, and map values to and from SOLIDWORKS please refer to the 3DEXPERIENCE SolidPractices guide “Attribute Mapping for SOLIDWORKS”.
Recommended User Adoption Activities
Understanding the 3DEXPERIENCE approach to organizing content can be broken down into a few simple adoption activities.
Filtering using a combination of MyContent search and 6WTags
When introducing any new methodology it’s important to start from a familiar point of reference. The SOLIDWORKS Open command provides the ability to search and filter using tagging. This provides users with a natural progression on from browsing Bookmarks to locate content, and it’s recommended that this is used to introduce the 3DSearch capabilities.
The SOLIDWORKS Open command provides two methods of accessing 3DSearch, the “My Content” quick link, and the 3DSearch icon. The My Content search is a preconfigured search that only displays an individual user’s content, whereas selecting the 3DSearch icon will display all content that the user has access to, including content created by other team members.
For customers who are project focused, 3DSearch can be used in combination with the role dashboards to build an overview of key project information. Adding a project related dashboard tab incorporating “live” search results, can add a lot of value by providing design teams and other members of the business with instant access to project related SOLIDWORKS content, which is always up to date at all times.
The image below shows an example of a dashboard tab containing two filtered searches. Both searches have been pinned as widgets. The widget on the top left has been filtered to show parts and assemblies related to the Clutch design project, and the bottom left widget displays the drawings. A pinned 3DSearch result acts as a “live” query on the dashboard tab, and will update each time either the widget or the web browser is refreshed.
Basic SOLIDWORKS File Management Summary
At the beginning, it’s important to show users a familiar workflow for saving, organizing, and opening their content from within the SOLIDWORKS user interface. For users only interested in a simple store and revise workflow, this may be enough. However, once users are familiar with the basics of saving and opening in SOLIDWORKS, you can start to introduce the 3DSearch techniques discussed in this guide. These techniques will help users realize the value of using 3DEXPERIENCE to manage their SOLIDWORKS design projects, over and above using a folder based approach.
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