Autodesk Vault provides many options for managing your vault data and streamlining the vault workflow. Administrators can configure user access, manage properties, introduce behaviors that automatically trigger based on certain events, define revision and numbering schemes, and customize other vault behavior based on design needs.
Vault Client ReviewBefore you being modifying Vault behavior and settings, it's important to understand how Vault works to make the most of the options available.
What is a Vault?A vault is a repository where documents and files are stored and managed. It has two principle components: a relational database and a file store.
Autodesk Vault consists of two components: a server and a client. The server stores the master copies of all your documents and designs. By storing all your data in a common, centralized location, you can easily share and manage information with your design team.
The Autodesk Vault is a client/server application. Separate software components are installed for the server and for client applications.
The Autodesk Vault server stores user data and manages access to that data. The Autodesk Vault server keeps all user files in a common, secure, and centralized location. It provides users with access to their files and maintains information about the status of those files and which users have permission to change and update the files. When changes are made to files, a complete version history of all changes is maintained, providing a convenient mechanism for accessing the latest versions as well as previous versions.
The Autodesk Data Management Server (ADMS) console is an application that allows administrators to manage vaults on the vault server. With the ADMS console, administrators can manage multi-site vault environments, replicate vaults, backup and restore vaults, and perform other vault management tasks.
Autodesk Vault Basic, Autodesk Vault Workgroup, Autodesk Vault Collaboration and Autodesk Vault Professional are standalone applications that provides access to the vault data. Add-in clients for CAD and non-CAD applications provide a fully integrated way to manage your data. When you are working on files that are managed by a vault, it is important to understand that you are checking out a copy of the files that are stored in the vault. You never directly edit the files in the vault. These files are read-only until they are checked out. You check-out copies of the files to edit them. A file may be checked out by only one user at a time. Changes that have been made to checked out files are sent back to the server when the file is checked in by the user.
A vault client is any stand-alone application or integrated add-in that connects to the vault server to access files and perform vault operations.
An example is the Inventor add-in. When data is added to a vault using the Inventor add-in, the add-in preserves all the complex relationships that are created by assemblies, drawings, presentations, and other files.
Vault Stand-Alone ClientYou can use the stand-alone vault client, sometimes referred to as the vault explorer client, to browse the complete vault structure, add any file to the vault, and perform most other file-based operations, depending on your level of permission. You can also configure revision schemes, numbering schemes, define lifecycle behavior, manage items and change orders, and perform other administrative tasks in the vault stand-alone client. The features available for administration depend on which vault edition you are using.
Vault Add-in ClientAdd-in clients provide basic vault functions within the environment of a parent application. Add-ins maintain application-specific data relationships when adding files to a vault.
There are add-ins available for Autodesk and non-Autodesk design applications.
In which Applications Can I Find the Autodesk Vault Add-in? Autodesk Vault can be used as an add-in with several applications, allowing you to manage your data throughout the lifecycle of the design process. Following is a list of supported applications.
