Single Directory vs. Multiple Directories
As mentioned earlier, CATIA document references are to the physical file name. When a document is opened by CATIA, it searches for its references. When CATIA identifies that it needs to load a reference into memory, it starts to search for the referenced document by name according to the search rules.
This fundamental file-referencing behavior requires clear and reliable methodology for the users working areas. In cases where multiple copies of documents are spread across the network, document references may be loaded from unexpected or inconsistent locations.
CATIA may not allow you to open the same filename from two different directories. Therefore, if a part or product is already loaded from a given directory, this loaded instance will be used for all referencing documents (other drawings, products or parts), even if these referencing documents would have attempted to load the reference from a different directory. Due to this behavior, we recommend that the user's working area is well defined. If you decided to enable more than one area, check your methodology to ensure that a single CATIA session will load documents from the correct location
Recommendations
-
Use a dedicated location as a working area
-
Do not allow access to the working directory of other users. Sharing files between users must be done using vault (check in/ check out) or shared workspace (if collaborative design is enabled)
Location of Working Directories
Administrators sometimes need to choose between configuring the user's working area locally (on the user's local hard drive) or setting up the working areas on the network.
As far as CATIA is concerned, loading documents from the local hard drive may be faster than loading from the network. Configuring the working directories of the users on the network usually provides:
- Easier ways to backup the working areas (preventing the need to perform check in for backup purposes)
- Better performance copy files from the vault (the working directories are on the same server as the vault server, or the vault server to the file server channel is significantly robust).
SmarTeam supports both configurations. However, it is common to find that users who work with local directories perform check in operations on a daily basis in order to back up their work. Sometimes this also applies when the working directories are on the network.
We suggest consulting your system/network administrator and a SmarTeam consultant regarding to this issue. It has been proven that correct setup can significantly improve performance.
Recommendations
- It is highly recommended to perform a backup of the users working directories, whether on the network or local drive. This can be done using one of the various tools available to enable remote backup.
- Check in operations for backup purposes only are problematic from the performance, as well as the usability point of view, due to the redundant revisions that are exposed to team members.
