Error when checking-in an assembly file - Vault 2013, Inventor 2013

[fsdolphin]

Hi,

I have an assembly (.iam) that for some reason I get an error every time I try to check it in. This is the error I get…

“A problem occurred while attempting to check-in assemblyName.iam.dwf to ‘some/directory’.  Would you like to continue checking in any remaining files?”

The server returned the following information: Checkout latest file revision failed.

Has anyone seen this message before? Any idea what could be wrong?

- One thing I noticed is that it is listing the file as an .iam.dwf file and not just .iam (see message), is this ok?

Thanks a lot.

[fsdolphin]

Any Idea what could be wrong?

[jdkriek · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Turn on hidden files: Tools > Options > Check "Show Hidden Files" and do a search for the file name you were attempting to check-in. You should find a .DWF with the same name. You can delete this .DWF and recreate it using the Check-In dialog or have the job server do it for you later, but now checking in and out the main file will not be a problem.

[fstiger281]

First of all thank you for your help.

I found the .dwf file but I couldn't delete it. Here is the message I get when I tried to delete it.

[jdkriek]

Look at "Details" on that dialog, you should have the option to overide - provided that you have the role to do so.

[fstiger281]

I was able to delete the .dwf file but I'm still getting the error when I try to ckeck it in. Same original message.

[jdkriek]

Refresh the Vault window on the Inventor side, then try changing your check-in dialog to Send to Job Server or Do not create option, so that you can check-in the file without the warning. Then either let the job server create the .DWF or manually do it in Vault after your file is checked-in. I've seen this type of .DWF behavior when people copy/rename/move files locally rather than on the Vault side.

[fstiger281]

Again thanks a lot for following along.

By changing the Visualization to Send to Job Server I was able to check-in the part without the error.

Questions:

1- Can I leave the Send to Job Server option checked?  Can you explain this options a little bit? I know I know I'm a pain.

 "Then either let the job server create the .DWF or manually do it in Vault after your file is checked-in."

2- I'm a little confused about the .dwf files. Can you give me a brief explanation about .dwf files? Why do we need them? What are they? How do I create one? Does that need to have the same name as the assembly?

According to Google ".dwf files are for distribution and communication of rich design data to anyone who needs to view, review, or print design files".

Sorry about the silly questions but I just started using Vault a couple of months ago, in fact I'm looking for a good course/training to get up to speed on the basics.

Thanks a lot.

[jdkriek]

1. Yes, this just means the job server will create the DWF at a later time.

2. They are visualizing files - think "3D PDF" (not to be confused with Adobe's actual version), which act as the preview and thumbnails in Vault, but are quite useful outside of Vault as well. Let's say you have a very large assembly and person that doesn't have Inventor or would just rather not deal with the full model overhead. You can send them a DWF which contains a super lightweight version of that model. This then can be rotated, sectioned, and commented on, ECT.

[fstiger281]

Thank you for the good explanation.

If I understand this correct .dwf are independent files and assemblies do NOT rely on the .dwf files to work properly. In other words the message I was seeing was referring to the .dwf file not the assembly itself, correct?

What I don't know understand still is why does Vault needs to check out the .dwf file every time you check-out an assembly if these type of files are there just in case you want to collaborate with people who don’t have Inventor? (here I'm assuming that every assembly has a .dwf file tie to it).

I was going to start another thread but I see that you are very knowledgeable about Vault and Inventor.

What is the best way to learn Vault and Inventor? Is there any good training that you could recommend?

Thanks a lot.

[jdkriek]

As I mentioned before the preview and thumbnails you see in Vault are made possible by the DWF. So when you checkout a file, modify it, and check it back in the DWF or "view" need to be updated accordingly. But you are correct; it is optional to have this feature in Vault.

As far as learning and training is concerned. I would start with built-in tutorials in Inventor as well as the interactive help sections in both programs. From there depending on how you learn you could look into specific hands-on courses or books.

[fstiger281]

Thanks a lot for your help.