"Save is not allowed." ...because file is checked out by me?!?

[brent_e_barbour]

I checked out a file to modify.  The first sign something wasn't right was when I attempted to edit a custom iProperty.  The value was grayed out and wouldn't let me change the value.  This is an iPart so I attempted to change the value in the table.  I added the custom iProperty to the table and then made the change for each member.  Usually if the value in the iPart table deviates from what's in the document, a dialog box appears asking if you want to update the document, but this time it didn't happen.  Anyway, I regenerated the iPart members and then attempted to save my work.  It said I can't save because I have it checked out.  That doesn't make any sense.  Anyway, here is the exact message below...

I'm logged in as B. BARBOUR.  As you can see in the browser, the file is checked out to me.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Brent,

This should be Vault related. Let me move your posting to Vault forum.

Many thanks!

[brent_e_barbour]

I'm using Vault Professional 2020 and Inventor 2020.

[cbenner]

@brent_e_barbour 

Hi,

Did you check it out on the same machine that you are editing it on?

[brent_e_barbour]

Yes, and just to verify, I "undid checkout" and then checked out again just to make clear because on occasion, I am working from a different machine.

[cbenner]

@brent_e_barbour 

Thanks for checking, that was probably too obvious.  😂

So, if it's not that, it almost has to be a permissions thing.  I noticed in your image that this is a library project.  DO you have full access rights to the folders under that project?  It shouldn't be a Vault permissions thing (maybe), because it did let you check it out.  But maybe the local folder has a read only tag on it?

[brent_e_barbour]

Chris might be onto something.  Vault is stuck on VH.ipj which protects the "Library" folders.  That's why I created "Library.ipj" so I can create and edit library parts.  However, ever since I installed Vault Pro, I can't switch projects in Vault.  See screen capture below...

How do I unlock the Inventor Project File selection in "Options" and do you think that might resolve my problem?

[cbenner]

@brent_e_barbour 

Are you the Vault Admin?

Bear in mind that over the last few releases, new levels of security have been added to Vault Pro.  State based, role based and object based.  The lowest level of these three permissions that you have becomes the effective permissions.  So, for example, if you have yourself set up with full administrator rights in your user settings, by the groups and/or roles assigned.... but have set more restrictive permissions on, say a folder in the Vault... those more restrictive permissions will win.  

That said, take a look at your various permissions.  There must be something that is set which is blocking you from changing the working Project.

For more on permissions, take a look at the Vault Configuration class listed in my signature.  My co-speaker and fellow Expert Elite @Mark.Lancaster covers permissions pretty well in there.

[brent_e_barbour]

Yes I am the Vault Administrator but I still keep the "Administrator" account and the "B. Barbour" account separate.  Though "B. Barbour" has Administrator rights.  Also, I'm new to Vault Professional.  I just installed Vault Professional 2020 this year.  Prior to that, I was using Vault Basic.

[tolgay.hickiran]

Can you explain why you have 2 projects files? Library usage should not change your main workflow. Default use is that the libraries should be protected with permissions not with different project files.

[brent_e_barbour]

The fact that library files are protected is exactly why I have 2 project files.  I need to be able to create and edit library parts without write restrictions.  Having a separate "Library.ipj" gives me the ability to do that and I can control who has access to modify library parts.  I believe this is still the case but once you save a file to a "library" folder, you could mo longer touch it way back when I first setup our Vault (Basic).  ...unless that is no longer a restriction Vault Pro 2020?  A workaround seemed to be to make a separate project file with the library folders as the workspace.  That's the way I've been doing it ever since.  Perhaps you know of a better way?

[tolgay.hickiran]

You protect your library files with permissions, not with two different project files as I mentioned in my last post. Having more than 1 project file in a Vault can create very many problems.

[cbenner]

@tolgay.hickiran  @brent_e_barbour 

I agree with this.  First thing I did when I became Vault admin was to get rid of 4 of the 5!! Inventor projects we were using, and move everything under a single project.  Using folder permissions to control access.  That, and I implemented an extensive Content Center for the vast majority of our library parts.  This has all made it much easier to control in general.

[brent_e_barbour]

Here are my roles...

I opened "Details" and added me to "Security"....

Is there anywhere else I need to go to setup permissions?

I get the following error if I attempt to edit a Library file under the main VH.ipj...

[tolgay.hickiran]

Being an administrator, you can override many things in Vault. Though you need to check the lifecycle of the Library items, what actions do you allow on Released items? Depending on your configuration, you might need to give specific permissions to state changes for library files.

[brent_e_barbour]

The library files are still in the "Base" category which doesn't have a lifecycle.  Do I need to change them to the "Engineering" category and the "Work in Progress" state to work on them?  What about that "Cannot modify the library file" error I got when attempting to modify it under the "VH" project?

[tolgay.hickiran]

I'm a bit confused. Your library files are not locked? Can you share one of your library files inside Vault explorer

[brent_e_barbour]

We just started using Vault Professional this year.  Prior to that, my only experience was with Vault Basic.  Because I lacked experience with Vault Professional, we hired our re seller to hook us up with the experts to ensure it gets setup correctly.  All of our files start in the "Base" category.  As I touch each one, I change it to the "Engineering" category, setup the state, and revision.  I'm not doing that with Library parts because they don't need a revision and as you can see with the error message I posted, library parts can't be edited in the VH.ipj anyway.  You need to be in the Library.ipj.  At least that's the way it seemed to work in Vault Basic.  Now perhaps I don't have this setup correctly.  That's what I hope to find out from this post.  I setup our Vault from the beginning in Vault Basic a very long time ago.  As you may know, Vault doesn't have much in the way of permissions, so I didn't do anything to restrict editing library parts, that's just the way it seemed to work so I created "Library.ipj."  I can share a library part with you if you think it'll help you figure out what's going on, but if this is a permissions issue, that won't tell you anything.  It's just a file.  ..but here it is.

[tolgay.hickiran]

Brent hi,

I wasn't precise enough in my sentences sorry about that. I wanted to see how your Vault Explorer looks like with library parts. Reason behind, to see if you had any locks on the files. It seems you don't have any.

But anyways,
Here are my two cents about this entire issue of yours.
Having more than one project file is a really bad idea, a project file in the end is just linking your documents together. It's like having two or more police officers in a single file traffic.
The conventional way is to have a different permission set for Library files. Maybe in reality you guys don't make many revisions but that should not matter. This is actually hinted from the content center files. They also should have a lifecycle and they should always be locked.

Create a clear hierarchy in your Vault, similar to your own organization. You have to allow some people to edit these files within permissions. Regardless of the project file, I can just log on to your Vault and do whatever I want to the library files because you currently don't have a secure structural hierarchy.
This might generate more problems in the organization because the employees then wouldn't want to do anything "wrong" if it makes sense. You as a Vault admin ( i assume you are ) need to create the security so that they would feel safe doing whatever they are doing.

[johannes.bauer · Accepted solution]

It seems these were part of a shared inventor project.

See this link.