One of the many benefits of owning an engineering product data management (PDM) system is the ability to effectively control, secure, and maintain many different file types, including CAD data. Ofte,n numerous different departments and users need access to various files and participate in review processes. Not all computers have the same applications; therefore, some people may or may not be able to open the native file type. The solution to this problem typically involves finding a way to convert the document to a generic format like PDF. This isn’t possible for all file types, such as a ZIP file. The better workaround is to leverage SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional with its very powerful preview capability.
One of the primary characteristics that define the strength and usefulness of a PDM system is its ability to support many different file types and this includes viewing them without the associated software application installed. SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional uses several tools for previewing files: Oracle’s Outside In Viewer Technology and a proprietary Fileviewer application. The Outside In product is so powerful that it supports well over 200 different file types and numerous file versions.
The Outside In product has a very long history. The beginnings started in 1997 with a company called Stellent, Inc. Stellent was originally known as Intranet Solutions and is the founder of what is known as enterprise content management (ECM). Their products leveraged Java technology, and development was primarily focused on use over the web.
The Outside In product is an amalgamation of many acquired key technologies over the years. The engine is based on the Quick View Plus software by Inso Corporation. Inso is considered a leader in document conversion and viewing software applications and has been around since 1995. In fact, their products are highly recognized and were integrated into software, such as Windows 95/98.
Oracle Corporation acquired Stellent, Inc. in November 2006 for $440 million dollars in cash. Oracle was strategically trying to grow its ECM products, and the Outside In product perfectly fit its business model and product mix.
There is way too many supported file formats to list here. You can gain an appreciation of the sheer number of supported file formats by looking at the figure below.
• Archive
• Database
• Email
• Multimedia
• Presentation
• Spreadsheet
• Raster Image
• Text & Markup
• Vector Image
• Word Processing
• Other (example: Microsoft Windows DLL)
This test case demonstrates the capabilities of the preview tab in SOLIDWORKS PDM. More specifically, the subject chosen for this is a compressed file type (ZIP). This is a non-traditional file type to store in a vault; however, a compressed file showcases the powerful and feature-rich qualities of the preview tab in SOLIDWORKS PDM. It also reinforces the comment made earlier about no ability to create a PDF of a ZIP file.
The compressed file contains components for a tool vice design. See figure above. The file must be added and checked into the vault. After performing these actions, selecting the preview tab will display the contents of the ZIP file. Look closer and notice the preview tab reveals additional functionality. Not only does it show the file list embedded within, but the files can be extracted. The takeaway here is that the viewer does much more than render the file contents to the screen.
The focus of this blog post is to highlight the powerful nature of the preview in SOLIDWORKS PDM. The primary benefit of this feature is that users can easily participate in document review processes without the need to open the file in the associated software application. For example, marketing likely uses Corel Draw for promotional materials and content for the website. The sales department likely doesn’t have licenses for Corel Draw. If the Corel Draw files are stored in PDM, then both marketing and sales can share media content without installing additional software. In addition, the secondary operation of exporting the files to a universal format is not required and is a wasted step in the process.
If you want to learn more about SOLIDWORKS PDM or explore the many other CADimensions services our talented consultants provide, please click on the following link: https://www.cadimensions.com/services/consulting/.