The Best Practices for Enterprise PDM Convert Task

1) It is recommended to use dedicated task hosts with a minimum of RAM 3 GB for x32 OS (RAM 4 GB and more for x64 OS) and be able to open the drawings and files that are converted. Task host must have Solidworks installed and EPDM client and vault view(s) installed.

2) Enterprise PDM must be started with a continuous login on the task host.

3) Using a dedicated task host that meet the suggested requirements can help minimize resource overextensions which may result in failed tasks.

4) Running tasks requires at least one Solidworks license and one EPDM license. Solidworks license enabling tasks are: SolidWorks Premium, Office and Standard. Recommended Enterprise PDM License are either CAD Editor or Contributor license if the task add files to the vault.

NOTE: A viewer license is sufficient if the task only reads files from the vault and generates the converted file outside the vault view. It is not possible to use the Contributor Web license for tasks.

5) If upgrading to a newer version, ensure that the task add-in is updated as well to ensure best compatibility.

6) Specify which version to use when Multiple versions of SolidWorks are installed by Configuring Task -> Output File Details-> Advanced Scripting Options -> SolidWorks version to use.

7) To ensure the convert macro processes drawing views correctly it is recommended to update the Convert script (Advanced Scripting Options…) to launch SolidWorks as visible (swApp.Visible = True) and specify your version of Enterprise PDM in the settings instead of using “default”.

8) It is recommended to not allow user to change settings for the task configurations, output paths, and file references.

9) Use a file association filter to run tasks from workflows. i.e. Only run for files with these extensions: slddrw.