SOLIDWORKS PDM workflows represent internal workflows practiced in your company. A workflow can control the life cycle of a document, project, or process by defining what files a user or group can access.
For example, a workflow can define that the Engineering department has full access to engineering documents in the first stage of development, whereas the Quality Assurance group has access only after the documents have reached a ready-for-approval stage.
Use workflows to automate repetitive tasks such as:
- Updating file data card information when a document moves through the workflow
- Notifying users and groups when a document has reached a milestone
- Assigning revision numbers to approved documents
By combining a workflow with add-ins created by SOLIDWORKS PDM Dispatch or other systems, you can automate publishing of documents and their data, for example, creating PDF files or distributing information to an intranet server as documents move through the workflow.
It is recommended that you define an entire workflow before adding associated files to the vault. However, you can also revise an active workflow.
When you create a new vault, SOLIDWORKS PDM creates a default workflow for you named Default Workflow. You can modify this workflow or create new ones to match the processes used in your company.