What’s New in Autodesk Vault
& Productstream 2008

In conjunction with the release of new 2008 version CAD products, Autodesk will also be releasing new versions of Autodesk Vault and Productstream. Here’s a quick look at some of the new features, capabilities and products.

Probably the most major new option is the new Productstream Replicator product, available as an add-on to both Vault and Productstream. If your company has multiple locations that need to access common CAD or other files, this might be just what you are looking for. Productstream Replicator enables file replication between multiple sites with centralized metadata to help ensure that all designers are working from the most up-to-date design and to provide the benefits of local storage and performance. It includes:

• Automatic scheduling of file updates

• On-demand pulling of specific files

• Automatic notification of users when local files are not up to date

Finally, and most importantly, Productstream Replicator is extremely competitively-priced and is by far the least expensive multi-site that we have ever encountered.

Another huge enhancement is that the low-cost Productstream Explorer web-based (search view-print) client can now be added directly to Autodesk Vault implementations. Previously, customers had to first purchase and implement Productstream Creator in order to use Productstream Explorer. Now, Vault customers can add Productstream Explorer to provide access to CAD and other files to their non-CAD users in an extremely low-cost and easy-to-use manner.

Other areas of improvement in Autodesk Vault include:

• The AutoLoader now supports DWG and other common file types such as PDF, TIF, etc. and can also automatically generate DWF files during the AutoLoad process

• Performance improvements and better ability to retrieve needed files

• Operations such as Rename, Copy Design, Move File, and Edit Properties, etc. can now be performed without the need to migrate the Inventor files to the latest release.

• Many general improvements in AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical and AutoCAD Electrical integration

Productstream 2008 enhancements include:

• A new batch plot utility that supports all file types and allows selection of drawings to plot based on the final assembly. All sub-assemblies and parts associated with the assembly can then be selected for plotting.

• Automatic file naming tools so that administrators can now set up and define naming schemes for files, and users can apply naming schemes to any file type using the existing Rename wizard.

• Many, many improvements to ECO workflows in areas such as improved e-mail notifications, better markup creation and integration, additional workflow states and other options, etc.

• Support for Inventor DWG TrueConnect

The features listed above are just a small set of the new capabilities contained in Autodesk’s 2008 data management products. For a full brochure detailing all of the new capabilities, don’t hesitate to contact me or your local Hagerman & Company sales representative. If you are an existing Vault or Productstream customer, we would be glad to have an in-depth technical discussion with you regarding your upgrade plans and needs.
 

This page last edited on Wednesday, September 17, 2008