Table of contents
No headersIn a collaborative design environment, several people can work on a project at the same time. The project file (.WDP) lists all the drawings that are part of a project. You can use Autodesk Vault with AutoCAD Electrical for drawing management, version control, and revision labeling.
You must install Autodesk Vault to vault projects. Autodesk Vault prevents engineers from working on the original version of a project in the vault. To maintain the relationship between the drawing files that are defined in the project file, check out all files specified in a project file to modify one or more files. When edits are complete, the project can be checked back into the vault.
AutoCAD Vault ARX adds vaulting functionality to the Project Manager. Upon initial start-up of AutoCAD Electrical, you are not logged into the vault. Log into Autodesk Vault using the File 
Vault menu to vault projects. The vault commands are available by right-clicking a project or drawing within the AutoCAD Electrical Project Manager. You can use the Project Manager to:
- Check projects in and out of the vault
The most basic requirement of the vault is that you never work directly on a file in the vault. The projects in the vault are the Masters and cannot be edited. Check out the project to the working folder on your local drive to edit it. When you finish working on the project, check the project back into the vault.
Tip Other people can view updates you made to a project while you continue modifying the project. Select the Keep Checked Out option on the Check In dialog box. It checks in the updates you made to the project and keeps the project checked out to you.
Note You must have all references of a project file downloaded to your working folder to edit the project file.
- View the status of files in a design.
Vault status icons indicate the status of your local copy of the files as compared against the master copy of those same files in the vault. The vault status icons indicate when the local copy is in sync with the master and when it is not. Tooltips provide descriptions of the icons. Pause the cursor over a status icon to see a detailed description. The tooltips also help guide you to the next logical steps, especially when the local copy is no longer in sync with the master. The vault status icons are crucial to the overall understanding of how to work in a vaulted environment.
Note The vault status icons are only available in the list view and only appear when you are logged into the vault.
Key Concepts
- The master files are stored and maintained in the file store on the Vault server. The vault database is also located on the server. It can be on the same or a different server from where the file store is located. The database maintains the metadata for the files in the file store and the relationships between those files.
- The vault is referred to as the virtual location of the files. Users do not work directly on the master files. A file must be checked out from the virtual location in the vault to a physical location in the working folder before it can be modified.
- Each user must have a physical location on their disk mapped to the corresponding vault location. A folder that has been mapped to the root folder ("$") in a vault is called a working folder. Each Vault user can optionally set a local working folder (physical location on disk) for the root of the vault or rely on the default one (C:\My Documents\Vault) provided by Vault. Setting up a working folder creates a user-defined virtual-to-physical mapping that is maintained for as long as the user works with the vault. The working folder can be changed, but the mapping itself cannot be removed.
- When you check out a project, that project is copied from the virtual location in the vault to the physical location in the working folder. When you are ready to check the project back in, the mapping tells the vault where to check the files in from.
- Opening a project from the vault checks all files out to the working folder of the Vault user. In addition, you can open a checked-in file as read-only.
The essential rules to remember when working with AutoCAD Electrical Vault ARX are:
- The projects in the vault are the masters.
- You can check a project or a single drawing out of the vault to modify it.
- To check out a project for editing, set up a working folder on the disk.
Refer to the Managing Your Data book for more information on AutoCAD Electrical Vault ARX.
References
Project manager
Opens or creates a project of one or more drawings, and configures project-wide settings.
Toolbar: Main Electrical 2
Command entry: AEPROJECTLists the drawing files associated with each open project. Add new drawings, reorder drawing files, and change project settings. Right-click the properties icon for options to move, size, close, dock, hide, or set the transparency for the Project Manager.
You can dock the Project Manager into a specific location on the screen or hide it until you want to use the project tools. Right-click the properties icon to display options to move, size, close, dock, hide, or set the transparency for the Project Manager.
Note You cannot have two projects open in the Project Manager with the same project name.
Right-click menu
You can right-click in empty space in the Project Manager to display the following options:
New Project | Creates a project. Once created, the new project automatically becomes the active project. |
Open Project | Opens a different project from a file selection dialog box. In the Select Project File dialog box, navigate to the project to open and select it. |
New Drawing | Creates a drawing file and adds it to the active project. The new drawing displays at the bottom of the project drawing list for the active project. |
Project Selection menu
You can default to a predefined directory by adding an entry to your .env file. Exit AutoCAD and open the .env file with any generic text editor (such as Wordpad). Add this line:
WD_PICKPRJDLG, n:/{your directory}/, AutoCAD Electrical default pick proj
Recent | Opens a different project from a list of recent projects or from a file selection dialog box. |
New Project | Creates a project. Once created, the new project automatically becomes the active project. |
Open Project | Opens a different project from a file selection dialog box. In the Select Project File dialog box, navigate to the project to open and select it. |
Open Project from Vault | Allows you to browse to the vault to open a project and make it active inside of the Project Manager. You must be logged into the vault. In the Select Project dialog box, navigate to the project to open and select it. Click the arrow next to the Open button and select one of the following options: Open (Check Out), Open (Check Out All), or Open Read-only. |
Buttons
| | Open Project | Opens a different project from a file selection dialog box. In the Select Project File dialog box, navigate to the project to open and select it. |
| | New Project | Creates a project. Once created, the new project automatically becomes the active project. |
| | New Drawing | Creates a drawing file and adds it to the active project. |
| | Refresh | Refreshes the drawing list inside of the Project Manager. For Vault: Checks for changes in external file references and updates the Vault icons in the Project Manager. Files that have changed and are currently checked out to you are not updated. Files that are checked out to someone else are updated to their current version. Files that are checked out to someone else are updated to their current version on your local drive. If the Vault version is newer, then the Vault icon indicates that the file needs reloading (the Vault icon turns red). |
| | Project Task List | Performs pending updates on any drawing files inside of the active project that have been modified. |
| | Project-Wide Update/Retag | Updates the related line reference numbers, cross-reference text, device tagging, and signal reference updates on the selected drawing files inside of the active project. |
| | Drawing List Display Configuration | Configures the display options. There are ten values that can be associated with the drawings listed so you can display the information based on your requirements. |
| | Publish/Plot | Batch plots one or more drawings in the active project. |
Projects
Displays all the open projects in a list. You can have as many projects open as you need, but only one project can be active at a time. The active project appears in bold text and is always found at the top of the list. Right-click the project name to display the following project editing options: |
Descriptions | Edits the project descriptions. Displays unlimited lines describing the project. Descriptions can then be included in report headers and title blocks. |
Title Block Update | Automates updating title block information for the active drawing or for the entire project drawing set. |
Drawing List Report | Generates a report that lists project drawing information from the title blocks such as drawing descriptions, section, and file names. On the Drawing List Report dialog box, select to run a new report, redisplay the previously run report or select a format .set file to use for the report. |
New Drawing | Creates a drawing file and adds it to the active project. |
Add Drawings | Adds one or more drawings to the active project. When prompted, specify whether to apply the project default values to the drawing settings (in the WD_M block definition). |
Add Active Drawing | Adds an active drawing to the active project. The new drawing appears at the end of the project drawing list. When prompted, specify whether to apply the project default values to the drawing settings (in the WD_M block definition). |
Reorder Drawings | Moves drawings up or down in the drawing list for the project. The order determines how the drawings are processed for project-wide tagging and cross-referencing operations. |
Remove Drawings | Removes one or more drawings from the current project. Note The drawing file is not deleted, just the reference to the drawing. |
Task List | Performs pending updates on any drawing files inside of the active project that have been modified. |
Publish | Launches dialog boxes to plot the project, publish to the Web, publish to DWF, or create a zip file of the project. |
Settings | Displays the settings for the project and information about the AutoCAD Electrical environment. |
Exception List | Displays a list of drawing files that have different settings from the project definition file (.wdp). If all drawing files match the .wdp, the dialog box indicates that there are no exceptions. You can then use the Settings Compare tool to display the differences. |
Properties | Controls project-wide settings including tagging, component cross-referencing options, and catalog lookup file preferences. |
Activate | Makes an open project the active project in the AutoCAD Electrical session. This option also sends the project list to the top of the dialog box. |
Close | Closes an open project. Note You cannot close the active project; first activate another project in the list. |
Vault | You must be logged into the vault to see this menu in the Project Manager. The status of the selected object determines which vault commands are available for selection. |
| | Check In All | Adds the project definition file (.wdp) along with its drawing files to the vault. You can vault just the project file using the Project Check In command. You can vault the project file along with its drawing files using the project Check In All command. Note If files used to support the project (such as .wdl and .wdt) share the same file name as the project, they appear in the Vault Check In All dialog box. |
| | Check Out All | Reserves and locks the project definition file along with the associated drawing files listed in the Project Manager. If the project definition file is unavailable for checkout, you can still check out the drawings available for editing. |
| | Check In | Adds the project definition file to the vault and creates a version of the file. Use this option if you want to check in only the project definition file and none of its drawing file dependencies; otherwise use Check In All. Note If files used to support the project (such as .wdl and .wdt) share the same file name as the project, they appear in the Vault Check In dialog box. |
| | Check Out | Reserves and locks the master project definition file. Retrieves an updated copy, if necessary. Use this option if you want to check out only the project definition file and none of its drawing file dependencies; otherwise use Check Out All. |
| | Undo Check Out/Undo Check Out All | Removes the reservation/lock from the master project definition file. The master file is now available for others to check out. Any modifications made to the local copy are not checked back into the vault. Undo Check Out All removes the lock from all the checked out drawing files and project definition file listed in the Project Manager for the selected project. |
| | Get Latest/Get Latest All | Retrieves the latest master copy from the vault and copies it into your working folder. The status indicator displaying a red background indicates older files. |
Project Drawing List
Displays the drawings associated with a project. You can select multiple drawings from the project list to open, close, remove, apply project defaults, or paste properties all at once. You cannot select multiple drawings from two or more projects. The active drawing appears in bold text in the list. By default, the selected drawing highlights in the project drawing list regardless if the Project Manager is active or not. You can turn off this feature by clicking the Drawing List Display Configuration button and selecting Show selection highlight only when active. |
| | Indicates that the file is a drawing file. |
| | Indicates that a drawing file is a reference drawing. To make a drawing a reference drawing, right-click on the drawing name and select Properties Drawing Properties. |
Right-click the drawing name to display the following drawing editing options: |
Open | Opens the selected drawing in a new window. You can also double-click a drawing name or select a drawing name and press Enter to open the drawing. |
Close | Closes the selected drawing. |
Copy To | Copies the selected drawing into the same or another open project. Select the folder to copy the drawing to, enter a new file name and select the project to save the drawing to. When prompted, specify whether to apply the project default values to the drawing settings (in the WD_M block definition). |
Remove | Removes the selected drawing from the current project. |
Replace | Replaces the selected drawing with one that you select from a file selection dialog box. |
Rename | Renames the selected drawing directly in the drawing list. |
Drawing Properties | Assigns, edits, and removes section and subsection coding for a drawing. Assigns drawing descriptions to the drawing files. |
Apply Project Defaults | Applies project settings to new drawing files where the project default settings for the drawings were not applied at creation time. |
Copy | Copies the drawing settings and options from one drawing to one or more drawings. NoteDrawing-specific information (found on the Drawing Properties Drawing Settings tab) cannot be copied from one drawing to another. |
Paste | Applies the copied drawing settings and options from one drawing to the selected drawings. |
Settings Compare | Displays differences between all drawing settings and their associated defaults in the project definition file. |
Check In | (you must be logged into the vault) Adds a file to the vault and creates a version of the file. The first time drawing file is checked in, the project definition file is checked in at the same time. The project definition file is vaulted first to establish a location in the Vault database. |
Check Out | (you must be logged into the vault) Reserves and locks the master drawing file. Retrieves an updated copy, if necessary. Checks out the drawing files when the project file is under Vault control. |
Undo Check Out | (you must be logged into the vault) Removes the reservation/lock from the master drawing file. The master file is now available for others to check out. Any modifications made to the local copy are not checked back into the vault. |
Get Latest | (you must be logged into the vault) Retrieves the latest master copy from the vault and copies it into your working folder. The status indicator displaying a red background indicates older files. |
Note Two projects can reference the same drawing file. If both projects try to modify the same drawing with a project-wide tagging or cross-referencing function it can lead to conflicts.
Details
Switches between displaying drawing previews and drawing descriptions. The drawing details are updated when you highlight a drawing file and remain visible until a new drawing file is selected. Use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to switch drawings.
Details | Displays project and drawing detail based on what is highlighted in the Project pane. Information listed includes the status, file name, file location, file size, last saved date, and the name of the last user who modified the file. |
Preview | Displays the last saved thumbnail view for the highlighted drawing in the drawing list. |
Vault Status Icons
(you must be logged into the vault) The Vault Status Icons indicate the status of your local copy of the files as compared against the master copy of those same files in the vault.
The Vault Status indicate when the local copy is in sync with the master and when it is not. The tooltips help guide you to the next logical steps - especially when the local copy is no longer in sync with the master. These icons are crucial to the overall understanding of how to work in a vaulted environment.
Icon | Meaning |
| | File is not in the vault. |
| | File is in the vault and available to be checked out. The version in your working folder is the same as in the vault. Also referred to as the Latest Version. |
| | File is in the vault and available to be checked out, but the local version is newer than the latest version in the vault. This status typically means that your local file was changed without checking it out. If you want to save these changes, check out the file with the Don'tGet Local Copy option. |
| | File is in the vault and available to be checked out, but the local copy is out of date. Get the latest version from the vault. |
| | File is checked out to you and the local version is the same as in the vault. Also referred to as the Latest Version. |
| | File is checked out to you and the local copy is newer than the latest version in the vault. This status typically means that you changed the file since it was checked out but have not checked it back in. |
| | File is checked out to you and the local copy is older than the latest version in the vault. This status typically means that you started with aversion for the vault that was older than the latest version, and then checked it out to promote it to the latest. |
| | File is checked out by someone else, and the local copy is the same as in the vault. Also referred to as the Latest Version. This condition typically occurs if the other person did not check changes back into the vault. |
| | File is checked out to someone else, but the local copy is newer than the latest version in the vault. This condition typically occurs if the other person checked changes into the vault, but kept the file checked out. Use Refresh from Vault to update to the latest available version. |
| | File is checked out to someone else, but the local copy is older than the latest version in the vault. Use Refresh from Vault to update to the latest available version. |
