Save
By now Autodesk Vault Professional 2015 users have probably noticed the changes to the item editing and we have already touched on this in some of the earlier posts, but I thought it was worthwhile taking some time off the new BOM editing functionality to discuss how we edit items now.
The first thing to note is that we have consolidated the open and edit command – I am sure many of you have struggled in the past with accidentally opening an item you want to edit, having to close and re-select the edit command. In 2015 we now simply open the item read only and if we so choose we can hit the edit command to enable read / write access to that item.
We have also changed where we can open items from – you will notice in the 2015 project explorer that users can right click on a file and open the associated item directly – no need to go to the item master to open this, which brings up an interesting point, we can have the item open and still access other areas of Vault Explorer….
To accommodate a number of the new work-flows (drag and drop work-flows for files and items, assign item to file edit view) a new item "mode-less" dialog has been implemented, which has a whole bunch of additional applications for item users.
In 2015 we can open multiple items, do quick visual checks across item details or between item and files, we can leave items open while we complete other tasks (inc modifying files, searching, updating) saving the changes as we go, we can leverage dual monitor setup to increase productivity or just enjoy a simpler way to work with items.
In order to edit an item, its simply a matter of selecting "Open" – with the item open select "Edit" from the toolbar or file menu. You will see the item changes from read only (See dialog banner for status) and you are able to edit properties, modify BOM, drag and drop files etc.
Only one item can be edited at a time so if you do open a second item from the BOM, Item Master, Project explorer etc you will need to exit edit mode on the first item – you see here Vault will prompt you that another item is in edit mode and even supply a link to that item. To exit edit mode simply select "Exit Edit Mode" from the file menu – if you have made changes to the current item you are prompted to save these before returning to read only.
Once you are happy with your item changes we have a few options to move on – we can "Save" to keep the changes and the item active in edit mode, "Save and Close" to finish the current edit or simply close the item. Again the user is prompted to save any changes on close.
Its worth noting too that when we are turning on new item rows or adding new items to the BOM, Save will commit these new items, creating them in the background.
So there you have it, Vault Professional 2015 making it easier than ever to work across multiple items in different contexts with the freedom to make and change your item details as you need.
-Allan
