EPDM – SolidWorks Enterprise PDM resources

Many questions regarding SolidWorks Enterprise PDM can be answered by a variety of resources. These resources are often the best place to find the information you seek. Unfortunately, there are a number of resources and knowing which one contains the information you seek can be difficult. I will try to make it easier to determine which resource to access first, by listing a resource and providing an overview of what can be found in that resource.

The first resources I want to look at are available from the help pull-down in SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Administration.

The Administration Guide is an excellent resource for managing the various nodes, of SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Administration. This guide explains in detail, how to create items such as data cards, workflows, revision numbers and variables, to mention a few. The guide also provides information on managing users and groups. Information on Administering Enterprise PDM Web Servers, Archive Server Configuration and the SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Database Server can also be found in this guide.

The Replication Guide provides detailed explanation of  On-Demand and Scheduled Replication. The guide also provides instructions on setting up the Primary and Replicated vaults. This includes which ports are accessed and how to set-up a scheduled replication schema.

The Web Server Guide is invaluable in setting up the Web Server and clients. Installing, configuring and administrating the Enterprise PDM web server are covered in this guide.

About SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Administration is useful in determining if the client and the vault (build) are at the same version. Having the client and vault at different versions may cause issues and is not supported by SolidWorks.

 SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Help 

Is a searchable online resource (Help is also available in offline mode)

that can provide additional information, which may not available in the guides.

The SolidWorks Knowledgebase and related content from the SolidWorks Forum, can be accessed from any Help topic.

SolidWorks Knowledgebase offers tips, best practices and workarounds in a searchable format.

The SolidWorks Forum allows SolidWorks/Enterprise users to share solutions. SolidWorks reseller employee’s and SolidWorks employee’s regularly participate in this forum.

I would also humbly offer the Javelin Blog as an excellent source for best practices, tips and procedures.