New in Autodesk Vault 2017

New Object Security Framework

Autodesk Vault Workgroup 2017 and Autodesk Vault Professional 2017 introduce a new security paradigm to provide more control over who can access Vault objects.

Previous Vault releases used role-based security to see if a user had general access to the object type. If the user had the correct role, then Vault used an additional single-gate security system. Administrators could use either object-based security or state-based security. Object-based security was generally derived from folders. State-based security was derived from lifecycle state security rules. This led to problems when an Administrator wanted to use both folder and state-based security.

In addition, users with the correct role would only need to be able to see an object in order to make state changes. Vault was not limiting state changes based on business lines. For example, if a group of engineers in one location could see what another group of engineers was working on, they could make state changes.

More Control Over Security for Specific Business Lines

Vault 2017 introduces a dual-gate security model that combines folder security with state security. Users must now have role permission, and combined folder and state-based permissions to access a Vault object. With this new dual-gate security model, administrators can control individual access to a Vault object based on organizational area or business line.

For example, an administrator can make it so that a group has read, write, and delete permissions but certain members of the group do not have some permissions while in various lifecycle states.

See File, Folder, and Object Security for more information.

Legacy Security Still Available

Customers who prefer the legacy security model or who want to wait before adopting the new dual-gate security model, can still emulate the single-gate security model by selecting Override object-based security in the Definition Security drop-down of the Lifecycle Definition dialog. This option makes it so that every file that is using that lifecycle definition has state security as an override.

Updates to Dialogs and Workflows

The Security tab on the Details dialog for an object no longer shows role-based security as a security mode. Instead, the following security modes are available:
- Object-based security–security is derived from the object settings. This is the default option.
- State-based security–available when a state-based ACL exists and is combined with object-based security.
- Overridden security–available when a state-based ACL is overriding object-based security, or when the administrator sets a manual override on the object.
In addition, an Effective security label has been added to the bottom of the dialog toindicate the type of security in effect on the selected object.
The Access Control List (ACL) has been updated so that permissions are selected via a drop-down menu instead of with check boxes.
Note: (Blank) is a soft (or implicit) deny. Same as not checking a permission in the previous Vault releases.
A new Effective Access tab lets you View the user access permissions for an object, based on the selected security mode. Users can be added or removed for viewing.
Security behavior can be configured at the lifecycle definition level using the two new options: Combine with object-based security and Override object-based security.
- Combine with object-based security–state-based security defined for individual states within this lifecycle definition combine with the object-based security set on the object. In other words, the combined security becomes the effective security for the entity.
- Override object-based security–state-based security defined for individual states within this lifecycle definition override the object-based security set on the object. In other words, state-based security becomes the effective security for the entity.
Note: Vaults migrated from Vault 2016 or earlier use Override object-based security as the default setting so that legacy (single-gate) security is maintained. However, all new vaults use Combine with object-based as the default security setting, which is a dual-gate security setting. Change this setting at any time to mimic legacy (single-gate) security.

See Edit a Lifecycle Definition for more information.
Administrators can now control how state security impacts files in a folder in a particular state by selecting Security for files inside folders on the Security tab for that lifecycle state.
Selections on the Propagation of Permissions dialog are now sticky. In previous releases, the setting was always set to Do not propagate to child folders. Although this is still the default option, any other selections are retained for subsequent appearances of the dialog.

New Licensing Paradigm

Autodesk Vault Workgroup 2017 and Autodesk Vault Professional 2017 introduce a new licensing paradigm.

In previous releases, only network-based licensing was available. Vault 2017 now offers two license types: single-user subscription (stand-alone) or multi-user subscription (network).

Single-User Subscription license–A single-user subscription license is a stand-alone license that is tied to the machine on which the Vault applications run.
The single-user subscription license is available with Vault Workgroup and Vault Professional.
Multi-User Subscription License-A multi-user subscription license is a network license that is tied to the Windows account used to run the Vault applications. Only one license is pulled if the applications which require a license are launched from the same machine with the same windows account.
The multi-user subscription license is available with Vault Workgroup, Vault Professional, and Vault Office.

Learn more about Licensing in these topics:

New Factory Integration

Previously, when you copied or published an asset in the Factory Design Suite, you had only two storage options: local or in the cloud. The new Vault integration features let you store, view, and download assets; and manage libraries using Autodesk Vault Professional.

To use this feature, the Vault administrator must first set up your asset library folders. See Configuring Vault for Factory for step by step configuration instructions.

Item and BOM Data Enhancements

In previous releases, it was difficult to identify which CAD files did not have the item data required to create Items and BOMs. Autodesk Vault Professional 2017 makes it easier to identify these files.

Administrators can now restrict users from assigning items to CAD files that do not yet have item data by selecting the Block Assign Item if file has no Item Data option on the Configure Item Assignment dialog.
If a user attempts to assign an item to a CAD file without item data, a message displays, informing the user that the action is restricted.

This feature is on by default.
Users can now create a job that generates a BOM object for selected Inventor files that are missing BOM information by selecting the Extract Item Data command on the Actions menu.
A job described as Extract Item Data <file name> is added to the job queue, where <file name> is the CAD file being processed.
A new system property is introduced called Item Assignable and is available on the Advanced Find and Customize View dialogs, making it easier to search for and view files based on this property.
If a file has Item Data (BOM information), the Item Assignable value is True.

Update Items Enhancement

In Vault 2015 and Vault 2016, Vault introduced a feature that automatically broke the link between a file and an item during an item update if the equivalences did not match. This proved to be problematic for some users.

Vault 2017 still has this feature but it's now off by default. You can enable this feature by selecting Break file links from items based on Equivalence Value during item update on the Items tab of the Administration dialog.

Check Files into a Vault from a Different Computer

In previous releases, checking files out from a vault on one machine and checking them in from another was not permitted. As of Vault 2017, users can now check files into a vault from a different machine than the one they originally used to check them out if they are using the Vault Client, the Inventor Vault Add-in, or the AutoCAD Vault add-in.

Checkout Updates

The Checkout command has been removed from the right-click menu for folders since a quick checkout cannot be performed on folders.

In addition, if there is a local version of the file and it is not the latest version of the file, then Checkout does not check out the file.

Multi-Select for File Lifecycle State Change Rollback

Vault Workgroup 2017 and Vault Professional 2017 introduce the ability to multi-select files for File Lifecycle State Change Rollback.

Custom Object Linked Property Support Enhancement

Vault Workgroup 2017 and Vault Professional 2017 now allow properties on a link level between:

two defined custom object entities
a custom object and a file, folder, or item entity
a folder and a file, folder, or item entity.

User-defined properties can be created for these links.

In addition, the new linking system allows administrators to import link properties using the Factory.config file so that information about the relationship between two vault objects can be tracked as a property link.

To support this new feature, a new Link association has been created and is visible on the Property Administration interface. Imported Factory property links show this link association as selected.

However, the link properties are not accessible via Custom View in the Vault user Interface (lists and tabs). The Administrator needs to create a custom tab to be able to display link properties.

New Folder List View in Copy Design

Vault Workgroup and Vault Professional 2017 introduce a new folder list view in Copy Design. Users can now set a destination path in the folder panel by manually updating the destination folder path or assign the destination folder by using Find and Replace capabilities to update the folder path string.

In addition, users can substitute values, such as the project number, in the folder path by simplifying the new file path in instances where there is a complex rules-based structure, or by individually browsing to folder locations by file.

AnyCAD Item Link Improvements

Following up on the initial implementation of AnyCAD, file reference enhancements have been made to the item assignment process.

Where previously Assign Item created a virtual component item attachment to the parent Inventor file, Vault Professional 2017 creates a direct link between the foreign file component and item, delivering a more familiar user experience and more accurate relationship.

Improved Password Security

Vault 2017 improves the security of passwords in the system configuration files to help prevent unauthorized access to other areas of the product.

In addition, administrators can now change the default password for the VaultSys and ADMS_%ADMS_%SiteName% SQL Service accounts from the ADMS Console.

See Change the Password for SQL Service Accounts for more information.

New Auto-Fix Feature for Certain Pre-checks

In an effort to reduce installation issues and administrator interactions, Vault 2017 introduces a new Auto-Fix feature for the IIS Connection Timeout and the ASP Status pre-check.

If the system finds an issue with either of these pre-checks during installation, the administrator can click Re-test to have the system attempt to automatically correct the issue.

If you prefer to do this manually, you can leave the install screen to perform the changes, but this simple enhancement for common settings issues can help simplify initial installation.