What's New in Autodesk Vault 2016

New Item, BOM, and Change Order Features and Enhancements

Vault 2016 focuses on expanding the item and BOM management experience to include new functionality and feature enhancements, and on unifying data behaviors across all entity classes for both administrators and end users.

New Unified Lifecycle, Category, Numbering Scheme, and Revision Experience

In previous releases, users had to use a separate workflow to manage the revisions, lifecycle states, numbering schemes, and categories for Items and, in some cases, Change Orders. Vault 2016 introduces a unified behaviors experience across all entity classes for both end users and administrators.

Administrator Changes

• Administrators can now create and define item categories, lifecycle definitions, numbering schemes, and revision schemes from the Behaviors tab on the Administration dialog.
• Administrators can also edit the lifecycle state security for files associated with items.
• Administrators can now re-order Lifecycle States in the Lifecycle Definition dialog. The order in which the states are listed in the lifecycle definition determines how they are displayed on the Change State dialog.
• A new ECO Numbering Scheme setting has been introduced to help you manage Change Order numbering.
• A new lifecycle tab has been introduced to the Configure Categories dialog for items so that you can assign a default Item Lifecycles to a category.

End User Changes

• End users can change the lifecycle state of an item, assign a new category to an item, and revise an item using the same workflow as for files, folders, and custom objects.
  Note: Only BOM rows that are turned on show up in the end user operations.

  In addition, users can revise multiple items or revise an item from a user-defined property.

• Legacy settings are still supported with five out-of-the-box lifecycle states under the Item Release Process lifecycle. These states include:
  • Work in Progress
  • In Review
  • Released
  • Quick-Change (new for 2016)
  • Obsolete.

View All Item Iterations on the History Tab

Vault 2016 now exposes all item iterations. In previous releases, users could only see item versions. Now users can see all of the item iterations in the History Tab.

Manage Item Security

Users can now manage Item Security with a new Details option on the right-click menu.

Rollback the Lifecycle State of an Item or File

You can now revert an item or file to a previous lifecycle state. The item and file must meet certain criteria before being rolled back. The current version of the file or object is deleted.

See Rollback the Lifecycle State of a File and Rollback the Lifecycle State of an Item for more information.

Item Purge

• Items Purge is now unified with File Purge for a familiar and seamless workflow.

  Users have greater, more nuanced control over purging individual items from the Vault Client, or administrators can purge items through the ADMS Console.

  In addition, administrators can configure item purge criteria on the lifecycle definition dialog. This criteria is respected when a purge is performed with the ADMS Console.

Item File Link Updates

Administrators can configure whether Primary and Secondary subcomponent links are automatically generated during an Assign or Update Item event, or if a Standard Subcomponent link should be created instead.

See Configure Item Assignment and Item Links for more information.

New Item Watermarking Workflow

A new watermarking workflow lets administrators select a watermark source from a drop-down on the Items tab menu. The sources may be:

• Lifecycle-based
• Property-based
• Custom

See Configure Visualization Watermarks for Items for more information.

Write Item Properties Back to the File

By default, item properties are written back to the associated file from Vault add-ins, Vault Explorer, and the Job Processor. Item properties take precedence over file properties and file mappings. If the file's properties are edited and properties are synchronized, the item properties will overwrite the file properties.

Note: Item properties are written to tertiary links as well as long as the file is tertiary link to a single item.

User can manually force item property write-back by right-clicking on an associated file and selecting Synchronize Properties.

Note: Item properties may be written back to the file during an Edit Property operation as well.

The Write Item Properties Back to the File functionality can be disabled on the Items Administration dialog.

Allow a User to Assign Category When Creating a New Item

Administrators can determine whether or not a user is able to assign a category to an item when the item is created on the Items tab. By default, this option is selected.

Note: The Select Category for items can be suppressed on the Vault Options dialog.

Set Restrictions for Items and Files Based on Change Orders

• Administrators can now limit lifecycle state changes for files and items to change orders.
• Administrators can also prevent change orders from moving out of 'Work' state unless associated items and files are in approved lifecycle states.
  

New BOM Row Properties and User-Defined BOM Properties

• Vault 2016 introduces new intrinsic BOM row properties that can be exposed in the BOM view for additional information about the rows. These properties (Unit QTY, Item QTY, and Row Type) can be added to the BOM view by customizing the fields that are displayed.
  Important: Modified property values are overwritten with CAD values the next time the item is updated.
  In addition, a new Bill of Materials association type has been created so administrators can define custom BOM row properties. These custom properties can be mapped to certain CAD properties and can be added to the BOM for greater transparency about item and BOM row data.

  Note: Properties with a Bill of Materials association cannot be associated with any other properties. These properties can only be displayed in the BOM view.
• Units in the BOM now show the unit of measure as well.
• A new Row Order column has been added to the BOM to make it easier to track the row's assigned location in the BOM list. This new field differs from the Detail ID field, which is a field that specifically identifies the BOM row, regardless of where the row is ordered in the list.

Changes and Improvements to the BOM View

• Grouped BOM Rows

  In previous releases, if a CAD BOM was promoted into an item and some of the BOM rows were unmerged into individual rows, Vault automatically merged the rows as long as the Part Numbers matched.

  Now grouped BOM rows from a CAD BOM can persist as a group in Vault.

  

  A new Grouped Row icon has been introduced to indicate that a row consists of more than one item. The Item Qty value, if exposed in the BOM, indicates the number of rows that have been combined.

  Important: Administrators must enable Select Group BOM rows as per the design BOM on the Configure Assign Item dialog for grouped BOM rows to persist whenever a CAD BOM is imported into a vault.
• The Save Item As process has been improved. In previous releases, when a user clicked Save As, the new item was immediately committed to the vault. Now when a user clicks Save As, the item is reserved but is not committed to the Vault until the user saves the new item.
• The Exit Edit Mode option has been added to the Item Record toolbar for a quicker way to switch an item back to read-only mode.
• New BOM Reports

  Vault 2016 introduces a new BOM Report command in the BOM view. The BOM Report command generates a report based on the template you select. Vault 2016 comes with three out-of-the box templates: Multi-Level, First-level, and Parts-only.

  The Report Template Authoring Utility also supports BOM properties so that administrators can create custom BOM report templates.

• BOM Compare

  You can compare the differences between two BOMs or two items in the same BOM. In addition, you can now compare different versions of the same item.

• Search BOM Rows

  Use the Find Panel to search listed BOMs in the BOM view, including the multi-level view. The Find Panel can be turned on and off using the right-click menu.

More Expansive BOM Import and Export Capabilities

BOM Import and Export functionality now supports multiple BOM rows, including new BOM row properties, and honors the security model applied to items. In addition, you now import and export non-released and obsolete items.

Effectivity Control Removed

In an effort to simplify complex workflows, Effectivity has been removed from Vault 2016. BOMs are immediately effective when the item is released.

Other Changes in Administrative Functionality for Items, BOMs, and Change Orders

• Item behavior definitions have been removed from the Items tab and are now consolidated with all Vault object behavior options on the Behaviors tab.

• The Items administration tab has been overhauled to support new work flows for item watermarking, item and category assignment preferences, and the new property write-back feature.

  

• Lifecycle options and change order numbering options have been removed from the Change Orders tab to accommodate the new unified workflow for behavior definitions.
  In addition, two new settings have been added to the Options box on the Change Orders tab:

  • Restrict File and Item Lifecycle state to Change Orders
  • Restrict Change Orders from moving out of 'Work' state based on File and Item Lifecycle states.

New Copy Design Experience

Autodesk Vault Workgroup and Vault Professional non-subscription users can now enjoy the new Copy Design experience. The Copy Design provides more flexibility and control over how your designs are copied.

Copy at the Component Level

In previous releases, copy design could not copy at a component-level. The new Copy Design tool overcomes this limitation by allowing users to:

• Copy individual instances of a file instead of all instances of that component.
• Replace parts in the copied structure with files that are created as part of the copy operation.
• Configure separate actions for drawings.
• Use circular references, such as substitute parts and drawing overlays.

Copy Multiple Data Sets

Users can now copy more than one data set at the same time.

Clear Unwanted Selections

Users can pick and choose which files are copied by selecting or deselecting individual files in a design.

Support for non-CAD File Types

Copy any file in the Vault, including non-CAD files, using the Copy Design application.

Support for AutoCAD Electrical Files

AutoCAD Electrical users can use Copy Design with electrical projects (WDPs) provided that:
• They select the electrical project (WDP) and not just the drawings when adding files to a vault.
• All project support files (WDTs, WDLs, and AEPXs) should have the same name as the project file.

Faster Performance

Copy Design runs from the Vault Server now, driving faster performance.

In previous releases, Copy Design was a part of the Vault Client and files had to be downloaded for copy which was time-consuming. Now Copy Design gets the files directly from the Server, eliminating much of the download time and optimizing Copy Design performance.

More Detailed Feedback

Copy Design supports a more robust feedback environment by allowing users to customize column fields, view pending actions, and review file data with Navigation Panels.

• Determine Which File Properties Are Displayed

  Users can add and remove property fields to the main grid, making it easier to gather important file data.

  See Copy Design–Customize the View for more information.

• Pending Actions

  The Action column displays the current action assigned to a file so you can tell at-a-glance how the file will be handled. Actions include: Copy, Copy To, Reuse, Replace, Exclude, and Auto.

  See Copy Design–Actions for more information.

• Navigation Panels

  Navigation Panels help users identify important information about their copied designs and apply certain actions to multiple files at once. Users can filter by file status, view the source and destination of copied files, and explore the folder structure of the copied design.

See Copy Design–Customize the View for more information.

Create Custom Copy Design Rules

Administrators can define rule sets that determine property values for the copied files when certain conditions are met.

Numbering Schemes

Vault numbering schemes can be shown and applied in the Copy Design application. Users can select from different numbering schemes so that each copied file adheres to a naming convention that suits their design environment.

Use the Numbering Scheme Panel to see the old file name, the new name, any prefixes, the base name, and any post-fixes.

Note: Administrators can add unique numbering schemes for copy design operations by creating a new numbering scheme in the Vault Client.

Customize the Copy Design Interface

Customize the layout of the Copy Design application by:

• Adding and removing column fields
• Controlling whether grid lines and banding are shown
• Enabling automatic column-sizing.
• Selecting which Navigation Panels display and which navigation buttons are displayed.

See Copy Design–Customize the View for more information.

New Drawing View

See only the drawings in your Copy Design list with the Drawing View option.

Access

Copy Design can be accessed from the Vault Client or as a stand-alone application from the Start Menu.

Automatic Installation

Copy Design has been removed from the Vault client and is now a stand-alone application under the Autodesk > Data Management > Tools folder.

Copy Design is automatically installed when you install the Vault Client.

Vault Thin Client Enhancements

New Vault Office Thick Client

Vault 2016 non-subscription users can now use the new Vault Office Client. The Vault Office client provides many of the same Vault client features but has been slimmed down to focus on non-CAD design data management processes.

This client is ideal for users who do not need all of the CAD functionality of a the full Vault client, but who still need to manage documents in a vault by performing these tasks:

See the Vault Office Client for a complete feature list.

Inventor and Third-Party CAD File Support

Vault now supports Inventor's flexible handling of third-party CAD files. However, there are some restrictions in how these third-party CAD files are handled by Vault.

See Using Inventor and 3rd Party CAD Files in Vault for more information.

Project Sync Enhancements

Project Sync has been updated to allow more flexibility when sharing to Buzzsaw and using the Lifecycle Event Editor.

Lifecycle Event Editor Update

The Lifecycle Event Editor can add jobs to the job queue when files go across certain transition states, such as moving from work-in-progress to released. In the previous release, this process was not optimal and has been updated for a smoother experience.

In Vault 2016, all four jobs have been renamed and a fifth job has been introduced to allow for greater Share to Buzzsaw flexibility.

Important: Existing share jobs must be updated to the new share names in Vault 2016.

See the Job Types section in the Project Sync overview for more information.

Project Sync is now available only in Vault Professional for the 2016 release.

Additional Vault Client Features

Open File Behaviors in the Vault Client

Users can now control which version of a CAD application opens a file in Vault by configuring their preferences on the Open File Behaviors dialog.



Depending on the CAD application, users can determine whether CAD files are opened by the latest version, the last run version, or the version of the CAD Application that last saved the file.

Use Find Panel to Search Files and Items

Use the Find Panel in the Uses tab to search for files, and in the Where Used tab to search for files and items. You can also use the Find Panel to search the BOM view.

The Find Panel must be turned on before you can search.

Note: Items and BOMs are available in Vault Professional.

Move File or Folder Warning Message and Tooltip

Now when you move a file or a folder using drag-and-drop, a tooltip displays before you drop the file or folder into the new location. The tooltip indicates the new target location.

In addition, a warning message can be enabled so that you are prompted to confirm moves before committing files and folders to a new location. This warning message is disabled by default but can be enabled on the Prompts dialog. The command for this prompt is Move to Folder using Drag and Drop.

ADMS Console Enhancements

Purge Items in a Vault from the ADMS Console

Users have greater, more nuanced control over purging individual items from the Vault Client, or administrators can purge items through the ADMS Console.

Licensing Improvements

See Autodesk Network License Management for more information.

Support for Microsoft SharePoint 2013

Vault Professional 2016 now supports integration with Microsoft SharePoint 2013. Refer to the Vault SharePoint Integration Installation and Vault SharePoint Integration Administration sections for more information.