Dispatch is a very powerful add-in for SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional; we can add to our vaults that give us access to the creation of administrative actions. Some of the possibilities include renaming files with part numbers or automatically checking in important files to the vault when they are added.
Before we begin discovering all of the possibilities of Dispatch, we have to add the add-in to our vault. The add-in can be found inside the Default Data folder of PDM (C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS PDM\Default Data). To add this, we need to open the PDM Administration tool and log in to our vault. If we drag the dispatch add on to the vault icon, it should show up in the admin tool.
If we drag the Dispatch icon on to the Add-Ins tab, then then we should see it under the Add-Ins drop down. Now that Dispatch is in the vault, we can begin our journey of exploring all of the possibilities of the add-in. If you right-click the dispatch add-in, you will see an option for Administrative Actions. Clicking this will open your workspace for Dispatch. This is where you will create all of your custom tasks or workflow actions.
SOLIDWORKS has released helpful tips and syntax for PDM Admins to get started with Dispatch. Follow the link below. https://help.solidworks.com/2020/English/EnterprisePDM/Admin/c_dispatch_overview.htm
This tool can be very powerful and should not be given to all users. I have found it particularity useful to try all of my custom actions on test files. Once I am sure they work, I am able to push them to production.
We have released a tech tip on starting a basic custom action: