Data is typically shared across many departments in most organizations. The funny thing is, each department has their own way of organizing and storing data. What happens when you’re an engineer and you have been tasked to find a document located somewhere on the server that was placed there by the documentation department? You first must figure out how they store data, and then what folder structures they use. Finally, you will need to decipher their naming conventions to find the document you desire. There is typically some time lost finding the right data quickly.
The goal would be to standardize the way your organization stores data. You shouldn’t go from project to project and see a completely different folder structure for each. SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM gives you the ability to create a standard folder structure that is repeatable using Enterprise Templates. And because templates are configurable, you can set them up to match your corporate needs.
Step 1: Initiating a Template
SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM templates are already integrated in the right click menu while working within the Vault.
Step 2: Filling out Template Form
As an example, however, you could ask for as little or as much information from the user as you would like. In this example, the system grabs the next project number and forces the user to choose the customer name and project location. The Card also captures the date and the currently logged in user.
Step 3: Project Creation
A new project folder is created in the SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM Vault and all subfolders are created and named properly.
Once you have created a standard and consistent folder structure the whole organization can work within, the users in your organization will be able to find data much more quickly. This will also eliminate the issue of each department storing data their own way. The templates are an easy and quick way to make this a reality.
Please check out this short video for more info: