PDMWorks Enterprise...Why so blue?

For those who use PDMWorks Enterprise, you may have noticed a time when all your folders turn from green to blue (see image on left).  You may think your PDM system is sad, and then you may become sad because you will quickly realize that you can’t see the file data card, you can’t search, and you can’t see all the files.  Your menus will be disabled and even if you reboot, the folders will not go green again.  Weird, huh?

Well, the truth is that you are simply in offline mode.  This mode is available so users can work while not connected to the vault.  In Offline mode, users can be on a plane and be able to open any file that is in their cache.  For those who are unfamiliar with the cache, basically every file you ever view or edit is stored in your local cache.  While offline you can access these files, however you are limited to file access.  You cannot search the vault, view the data card, or generally do anything that requires an actual connection to the database.

So how does one get into “Offline Mode”?  Normally users stumble into offline mode accidently when they try to log into the vault when they are not on the network.  The login prompt will ask you if you want to Work Offline and, if you say “yes”, the system will go offline and stay offline until you decide to “Work Online” again.  To go back online, just browse into the blue folders, and go to Tools > Work Online. (see image)

So, don’t be sad.  Your PDM system is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.  Any questions about this, contact InFlow Technology.