Best way to automate promotion of files?

[tjallen29]

I'm trying to implement an added feature to my company's release procedure, but I'm unsure as to the best way to go about it.


Currently we have 4 release levels: Drawn, Checked, Approved, and the newly added Outdated. Designers check-out a model/drawing at Approved, change it to Drawn, bump the Rev. level, make changes, check in, etc. The files are then manually promoted to Checked by the checker, then manually promoted to Approved by the Engineer. That much works fine, and now you have two or more models/drawings at Approved level in Commonspace.


What I want to make happen is this: that when the Engineer "Approves" a drawing/model, that the older Approved files are automatically promoted to Outdated. This ensures that there are not multiple Approved versions in Commonspace, only one, the latest one. The older ones are now considered "outdated".


The reason for this is that we use ProductView for our viewer and we can watermark the old file based on release level to protect against anyone accidentally using an old version for production while still leaving the older version available to ProductView for reference.


I'm unsure if this can be handled using a script. This may require a trigger, which would be difficult since we do not have the Intralink toolkit.


Does anyone know of the best way to make this happen? If this does require a trigger and we need to have one made does anyone know where would be the best place to go?

 

[jnoval]

Perhaps there is other solution on that problem. I do not have a solution but perhaps I can give you some ideas. I would try to get productview do the work and not promote to Outdated. If you promote to outdated you will not easybe able to later on find out what drawing in which versions have been in Approved.


If you like we havea folder structure in ProductView as your relaese levels. Then you will have a folder/database for Approved and another for Outdated. If Intralink on publish only publish the latest in to approved. The batchpublish is making a list of all files that is goint to be publish. Perhaps you can use that list to make a new publish into the folder outdated for the old version/revision.


Is your watermark done in ProE or in Productview? I have my watermark done in ProE.

 

[Guest]

<DIV>You definately need a trigger.</DIV>
<DIV>There is no built-in mechanism to do what you want.</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Even though you did not purchase the Intralink toolkit, you can still use it to create a trigger. A trigger (dll) does not use any license (during creation or usage).</DIV>
<DIV>The toolkit run-timelicense is only required for a stand-alone application (exe).</DIV>

 

[tjallen29]

You've lost me there. We don't have the toolkit, so there's really no other way for me to create a trigger myself without outside help, or the toolkit. Am I correct?


You'll have to excuse me, I'm rather new to this, especially to triggers.

 

[williaps]

It is NOT possible to accomplish the task in a trigger. The reason being that a trigger cannot modify the commonspace (ie demote an Approved object to Outdated) during execution. The way to get around this is to have an Intralink/TOOLKIT application execute at several intervals during the day that will look at all PIV's for a given PI and demote the appropriate PIV's to Outdated if there is a later Approved object.

 

[Guest]

<DIV>williaps,</DIV>
<DIV>Thanks for that clarification. I forgot thata trigger cannot modify commonspace.</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>

 

[Guest]

<DIV>Regarding the avialbility of Intralink toolkit: If you are under maintenance, you can download the toolkit just like anything else at ptc.com, even though you had not purchased it.</DIV>

 

[williaps]

Correct but you must have an intralinktoolkit access license to run an intralink toolkit program.