When working with managed documents, Solid Edge creates a local cache of the viewed documents to improve performance. You can use the File Locations tab on the Solid Edge Options dialog box to specify the location of your local cache. When you open a document, Solid Edge automatically manages the synchronization between the document stored in the managed location and the document in your local cache. Solid Edge checks your local cache to see if the local document is up to date with the version of the document in the managed location. Solid Edge then opens the local document or copies the current version from the managed location to your local cache.
The Cache Assistant command displays the Cache Assistant dialog box. You can use the options on the dialog box to filter the display of the contents of the cache, synchronize all the documents in the managed location, check out documents from the managed location, check in documents you have checked out, download documents from the managed location to your local cache, delete documents from your local cache, or create a new cache project folder.
You can use the buttons on the dialog box to manage all the documents in your local cache, or you can use the shortcut menu commands to manage selected documents. Similar to Windows Explorer, you can use the Ctrl key to select documents randomly, or the Shift key to select a sequential list of documents.
As the number of documents in your cache increase, you may want to filter the documents displayed in the Cache Assistant dialog box to make it easier to find the document you are looking for. The first row in the Cache Assistant dialog box is used to set filters on the documents displayed from the cache. Use the values associated with each property to display the documents from the cache that match the criteria you choose. For example, setting the Cache Status to Checked Out To You displays files you have checked out and also those that have a cache status of Modified as documents have to be checked out to be modified. The filter Checked Out To Others displays all files checked out to someone other than yourself. When you choose Synchronize All, all documents in the cache are synchronized and not just the ones displayed by the filter.
The Synchronize All button on the Cache Assistant dialog box checks your local cache for any out-of-date documents, and then downloads the latest version from the managed location to update your local cache. You can also use the Synchronize command on the shortcut menu to synchronize selected documents.
You can verify the contents of a document by clicking it in the document list and then looking at the image displayed in the preview pane of the Cache Assistant dialog box. Not all documents have a preview image associated with them.
To create a preview image, you can use the options on the Preview page of the File Properties dialog box. To learn how to do this, see the Help topic, Create a Preview Image of a Document.
You can set preview image display options using the Preview command in the Cache Assistant dialog box.
You can lock a document to prevent other users from making changes to it using the Check Out command on the Cache Assistant shortcut menu. The Check Out command also changes the document status in the local cache to read-write, so you can make changes to the document. If you check out a direct document, read-only copies of all indirect documents are downloaded to your local cache. If you in-place activate a part in an assembly, Solid Edge checks out the part.
After you make changes to the checked out document, you can upload the document to the managed location and make them available for other users to check out using the Check In All command on the Cache Assistant dialog box. You can also use the Check In command on the shortcut menu to check in selected documents.
You can undo changes you make to a checked out document using the Undo Check Out command on the Cache Assistant shortcut menu. In other words, any changes you have made to the checked out document are lost when you undo the check out of the document. This also releases the check out lock on the document in the managed locaiton, which allows other users to make changes to the document. If you undo the check out of a direct document, you also undo the check out for any associated indirect documents that are checked out. The Undo Check Out command does not upload the document to the database, and it is not removed from your local cache.
Managed direct documents opened with read-only permissions can be checked out using the Check Out command. The command verifies the active document is the most recent version, checks the file out of the database, sets the file to a writable state, and enables the Save command for you to save any in-memory file changes. This command is available in Insight and Teamcenter-managed environments for Assembly (.asm), Part (.par), Sheet Metal (.psm), Draft (.dft), View and Markup, and Revision Manager.
Note:
The Check Out command does not transfer any files from the server since the active document is the latest version.
You can use the Download button on the Cache Assistant dialog box to select documents from the managed locaiton and download them to your local cache. This is helpful if you want to manage your cache manually or work off-line. When you click the Download button, the Download dialog box is displayed for you to select the documents you want.
The Delete All button on the Cache Assistant dialog box removes all the documents in your local cache except where the cache file is not in the database. This is helpful if you want to free disk space or force the local cache to update with the latest information from the managed location.
The Revised From command on the Cache Assistant shortcut menu displays the name and folder path of the document that was used as a template to create the selected document. The Show Revisions command on the Cache Assistant shortcut menu displays the name and folder path of any documents that are revisions of the selected document.
Double-clicking a document in the document list in the Cache Assistant opens the document in the application used to create it. Documents can also be opened using the Open command on the Cache Assistant shortcut menu.
Most commands that involve the management of documents result in transactions with the cache. For example, the synchronization between the document stored in the database and the document in your local cache. The following are a few examples of commands where interaction with the cache takes place:
Synchronize
Check Out and Check In
Download and Upload
Delete and Delete All from Cache
Revise
In the event an incomplete transaction occurs, for example due to a network interruption, the information being processed at the time of the interruption is not lost. Processing is tracked so that the Cache Assistant can restart and complete the transaction before starting a new transaction. You are notified that a potential loss of data could result from deleting files from the cache, or by downloading another revision before the reprocessing is complete.
In the event of an interruption where the server is reachable, Solid Edge:
Confirms network and server connectivity.
Completes any transaction that is in-process.
Gives you the option to restart.
If your network or server is unreachable:
You can view the activity in the status area.
Any document that was in process at the time of the interruption is available as a read-only document.
You can work off-line in Insight, or you can work in unmanaged documents in Solid Edge Embedded Client until access to the network or server is restored.
Once connectivity is restored, you are given the choice to resume the transaction before proceeding with any subsequent commands you selected.
All of these features are in place to assure the integrity of your data.