Saving a copy to edit

[MSC12]

How would I go about taking a model, drawing, and pdf that are in Windchill and save a copy of each in a folder on a separate server than windchill? They all have to be checked out so they cannot be edited in the mean time. The reason for this is the procedure we have is to save a copy of what is being changed in a certain folder. That copied file gets edited and reviewed. Once it is accepted, then the copy (and updated) files will replace the ones that were checked out originally.

Whenever I go to save a copy in Creo, is only allows me to save in my workspace.

[BenitoRuiz]

Hello Chris:

I hope this helps you some.

Once your drawing is in your workspace, you can BACKUP a copy to the server location that you want.

When you are done modifying, you can then IMPORT it back to the workspace and select the modified version to replace what resides in the workspace and finally check it back in to Windchill.

Good luck.

~Benito

[LoriSood]

Chris,

Does Benito's suggestion work for you?

[MSC12]

I don't seem to see an option to backup. I see a save as but that just saves it in Windchill. Is there a way to get CAD documents out of windchill once theyve been checked in? And when I say get them out of Windchill, what I mean be able to save them in a folder on my desktop or somewhere else (not on the same server as Windchill).

[TomU · Accepted solution]

This won't work for the PDF, but for CAD documents you can simply add them to a workspace and then do a "Tools", "Export from Workspace" (using the embedded browser in Creo).

There is a corresponding "Import to Workspace" that can be used to bring the data back in later as well.

[MSC12]

Thats perfect. Can you use that import to workspace button to import multiple files at once?

[LoriSood]

Yes, you can.

[TomU]

As Lori said, yes, and you can even use it to pick and choose which versions you want to keep and which you want to reuse from commonspace.

[MSC12]

Thanks, this is what I was looking for. As a sort of part 2, is there a way to upload AutoCAD and convert to creo at a later time? We have a lot of drawings from when the company used to use AutoCAD and my manager said we will convert them and fix any issues when the time comes to edit that drawing (all of our up to date drawings are in PDF).

[TomU]

Yes, you can store AutoCAD files in Windchill. This can be done two different ways.

1. You can upload them as Documents just like you would with PDFs, Word, and Excel files.
2. You can purchase the workgroup manager for AutoCAD and import them as CAD Documents.

There is a huge difference between the two, and you can't go back and forth.

Documents cannot be added to workspaces. All interaction with them has to happen in commonspace. This means they can never be opened from AutoCAD (or any other CAD software) via a workspace. You might be able to install desktop integration and then access them that way, but I haven't personally tried it.

CAD Documents can only be created using a workgroup manager (think embedded browser in Creo). You can't go to commonspace and create new CAD documents in such a way that they will open in the intended CAD application. (Well, there may be some type of bulk loader to do this, but nothing for a normal user.)