Autodesk Inventor

[#1]

Hello All,

I was wondering if anyone might have more insight than I in using these two data management tools for Inventor.

We will be upgrading to IV 2013 in the coming weeks, from IV 2011.  We currently use the basic Vault that comes with Inventor.  Part of our upgrade will be implementation of a workflow process along with ECR/ECO procedures.

We are leaning toward using Adept.  If that doesn't work, then we might go back to Vault, but use the Professional version.

My question to you is this:  We currently use one .ipj file for all of our projects.  If we switch to Adept, will we be able to still use our legacy work that is currently in Vault, or will we have "mapping" issues?  (I think we would be OK there?)

More importantly, if in a year or two from now, we decide to switch back to Vault after having used Adept, will we have "mapping" issues with the legacy data in Adept?

In other words, will one .ipj work for files found in both Vault and Adept?

Thanks for any thoughts on this!  I'll post this in the Vault forum as well.

[#2]

When using Inventor with Adept, it is recommended to use only one project file (.IPJ) as that simplifies using both Adept and Inventor. Adept's work areas will fit nicely underneath a root folder and this root folder will be defined in the project file as the workspace folder. After that, all works like you want it to work.

Naturally, when using Adept, the Vault add-ins should be disabled, and visa versa. It is not recommended to have both the Vault and the Adept add-ins loaded in Inventor at the same time. There will be conflicts. Also, Adept stores all files in a folder structure maintaining the files original filename. Should you ever decide to no longer use Adept, the transition back to Vault will be fairly easy as no exporting of the files is necessary. You only need to make the folders in Adept's Vault accessible via Windows Explorer. That's it.

I hope this answers your querstions. If not, reply again and I will try with more detail.

[#3]

Thanks, that's what I thought.  Just wasn't sure.

Appreciate the feedback!