When you install a new major release of SolidWorks, you can use the SolidWorks Task Scheduler to schedule a batch conversion of Workgroup PDM vault files to work with the new version of SolidWorks.
Converting the Workgroup PDM vault files increases user productivity. It prevents them from being prompted to convert them each time they save a file in the new version of SolidWorks.
This process is different from Update/Reload from Vault, which updates local copies of files with the latest versions of the files in the vault.
For a full description of the file conversion process, see SolidWorks Task Scheduler Help: Convert Workgroup PDM Files.
Keep these tips in mind as you plan for conversion:
- Only vault administrators can convert files.
- Checked out files do not prevent conversion. However, notifying users to check in files before conversion begins ensures that all changes are preserved when the files are converted.
- If the Workgroup PDM add-in is enabled in a client sessions, it is disabled when the conversion is performed.
- The vault is locked automatically during the conversion.
- You can convert the entire vault or specific projects.
- You can specify that only the latest revision be converted.