Sharing a Pressure Pipe Catalog and project for two offices?

[rafaelaustin]

I'm trying to work through Pressure Pipes and I've created some pipes and fittings in a new Catalog and can create a network with those parts. My problem now is that we have an office in another town that is trying to work on the same project and I can't seem to figure out the correct procedure for sharing on two separate servers.

Each server has a Z: drive that has our CAD standards. I created the .CONTENT files on my C: drive, created a new Catalog and saved it to my Z:, copy the Catalogs and associated folders from the Austin Z: drive to the San Antonio Z: drive, created a Parts List from the Austin Z: Catalogs, saved it in a template file on the Austin Z:, then copied that to the San Antonio Z:. We both used Set Pressure Network Catalog to add to the Parts List.

We use a custom ARG profile saved in our Z: standards folder that points all Options to their respective Z: location (on the local server). WhenI check the C3D Profile data in my registry, it indicates that the custom ARG is loading and that AeccPressurePipes100 locations are correct for all my Catalogs.

I can create a Network in a new DWG with the new Catalog here, but my coworker in San Antonio cannot. AutoCAD goes through the motions, but does not create any parts. I've noticed that Pressure Pipes is set up to assume everything is read off the C: drive and there doesn't appear to be any settings (other than Set Pressure Network Catalog) that allows for a custom remapping of the location, like you can for ToolPalettes or printer options. Is it just not possible? Will I have to copy the new Catalogs to every user's C: drive every time I update it?

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas on what the problem may be!

[ToddRogers-WPM]

Rafael,

I have a buddy in Utah that's pretty proficient with Pressure Pipe customization.  I will give him a call and see what he says.  Then I will call you and let you know what he says.

[rafaelaustin]

Thanks, I appreciate it! I'm just afraid I'm going to have to support using the C: drive on all my users computers for projects over the WAN.

[ToddRogers-WPM]

Just spoke with Shawn and he is looking into this as we speak.  I will keep you posted via email.

[ToddRogers-WPM · Accepted solution]

Ok, I got your answer.

Shawn Herring said:

"The short answer is YES, he will need to copy the contents to the users C: drive.  For some reason the SQLite database gets corrupt very easily when moved off of the default location.  Not all the time, but the majority of the time it gets corrupt. That is probably why when they go to draw something, it goes through the motions but nothing appears.  I have worked with Autodesk for over a year to try to fix this issue, but nothing works.

Best way to do it is ZIP up the info and have the others extract it to their own C: drive.  Ask them to give this a shot and see what happens."

[rafaelaustin]

Thanks, that's what I was afraid was happening. I even downloaded a SQLITE browser to see if I could find where it hardcodes the path, but nothing showed up in  the Catalogs. Maybe there's a better SQL programmer out there that can ferret out where it is hiding. And hopefully Autodesk will fix this issue in an update or future release. Certainly, this can't work on their 360/cloud platform either?

OK, so back to the OOtB configuration:

Open SQLITE file and SaveAs to Catalog folder on my C: drive. SetPressureNetworkCatalog back to C: and recreate Parts Lists in template file.

Manually copy the new Catalogs to each users C:\Program Data\PressurePipesCatalog folder and SetPressureNetworkCatalog back to C: for each (just to check).

I'm just glad those Catalogs aren't in a User folder, otherwise everyone would have to create the Catalog individually!

Thanks again for hunting this down, I'll update when I confirm this.

Rafael

[rafaelaustin]

Still not sure about this, can you ask your friend...

I tried to circumvent that by creating the data and saving the file on my Z: drive. Shouldn't the SQLITE file have the Z: drive path coded in it now? Or does Content Catalog Editor have it's own internal path that it's using? Then it would seem that it's entirely on Autodesk to fix CCE.

Thanks again!

[ToddRogers-WPM]

Reply from Shawn:

"No, the SQL database doesn’t have the path.  There really is just a broken feature that Autodesk hasn’t addressed.  It’s a known major defect."

[rafaelaustin]

Ok, then I don't feel like I need to recompile my files on the C: drive, I can just copy everything where to where AutoCAD is expecting it.

I know it happens all the time, but you'd think that "multi-office or colaborative environment" would be one of the standard check boxes that the developers would have to hit before releasing software (among a million others, I know).  Back to designing, thanks!!

[pcchenard]

I'm assuming that this issue, like every other network sharing issue that this software has, has not been corrected in the 2017 version.  For the life of me I cannot figure out why Autodesk does not design their software to be configured for shared network resources right out of the box.  There is not one CAD Manager on the planet that wants to jump through all these hoops to share stuff like this with all of their users.

Get your crap together, Autodesk.  The companies that purchase your software and have one isolated designer are in the vast minority.  The rest of us want to share our configurations so that they are easily updated for ALL USERS as soon as the change is made.

[Civil3DReminders_com]

Not sure if Autodesk software will like this, but using an MKLink might work in this case. This will make it so Autodesk software thinks it is on the C: drive, but its actually on the Z drive.