Editing Parts in Vault Library Folders

[iamerm]

We have some library folders that we've created on our Vault (2011) for standard Inventor parts.  Typically they are parts that everyone can use over & over again &, therefore, should not generally be edited.  However, there are times when edits would clearly be appropriate.

Here's a typical example: I'll get a standard part from a vendor, import it, save it, & then check it into the Vault.  After I'm all done I realize that I forgot to assign a weight to it.  Once it's checked in, though, I can't assign the weight because I'm not permitted to edit it.

There are 2 basic methods I've been using:

Method 1:  Create a separate project file for editing libraries.  Basically, it's a mirror of my normal project file with the exception that it does not recognize the library folders as such.  It's a pain, though, because I have to check the files out, close everything, switch projects, edit the files, close everything, switch back to the normal project, & then check in the edited files.

Method 2:  Go to Windows Explorer & start manually changing stuff.  Generally that includes manually removing the read-only status of a file, moving it to another location, editing it, moving it back, & then opening it in Inventor & seeing what happens.  It seems safe to say that, even though this can get the job done, it's probably not a recommended workflow.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any clear documentation on this from Autodesk (if there is, by all means tell me what I need to read).  I've also read various posts on this over the past couple of years, but I wanted to see if anyone has found a definitive approach.  I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

[lei.hong]

Personal, I would suggest use method #1 if you must modify the content of library file. You have to switch to library project, check out and check in your edits from library project. You don't have to always check in file from normal project, but definitely you still need to switch back after edit library file.

Another point is you can always edit properties on library files in vault (there is no additional restriction for library files in vault). So if 'Weight' is a vault property, you can use 'edit property' command.