Ever wish Enterprise PDM specifically supported Microsoft Office products? Well, actually, EPDM already does support the files from Word, Excel, etc. So, of what value is an application that runs EPDM from within MS Office products? According to Extensible CAD:
Without Office2PDM, Enterprise PDM users who want to manage their Microsoft Office documents in their PDM vault must close their files and then operate on them in Windows explorer. This can be time consuming and requires extra steps. Office2PDM provides access to common Enterprise PDM functions as well as timely access to document status information, all without requiring you to open up a separate interface.
There’s really not much else for me to say without seeing a demonstration. I’ll follow up on this after SolidWorks World 2010.
Here’s some press images of Office2PDM:
Office2PDM EPDM Dashboard in OutlookOffice2PDM interface in Word
As a drafter, mechanical designer and CAD engineer, I've been in the mechanical design field since 1991.
For the first 8 years of my career, I was an AutoCAD professional. I utilized AutoLISP and many other AutoCAD customization features to streamline drafting activities for 6+ drafters and designers. I authored several custom functions, one of which was published in the March 1997 issue of Cadalyst Magazine.
Since 1998, I've been used SolidWorks non-stop. I've worked to utilize the SolidWorks' user environment to simplify drafting and design activities for 20+ engineers. I've created this website to provide current information about SolidWorks from a variety of contributors.
More recently, I am now employed by Dassault Systemes as SOLIDWORKS Sr. Product Definition Manager to improve drawing, annotation and MBD related areas.
View all posts by fcsuper
EPDM does allow users to Checkin, Checkout, change versions and preview Microsoft Office files out of the box. You are correct about that. The problem, however, is that you can only do it from Windows explorer. This forces users to bounce between Microsoft Office and Windows Explorer to get their work done.
Let me give you a concrete example:
You have version 5 of your Word document open and you want to go back to version 2 to check something. Without Office2PDM, you have to close your document in Word, open Windows Explorer, browse to the file in Windows Explorer, perform a Get Version on the file and then reopen it in Word.
With Office2PDM, you simply go to your Ribbon Menu or Task Pane and select Get Version, 2 and you are in business. That may only save you two minutes but two minutes each time adds up quickly throughout each day.
Thanks for noticing us and please do stop by booth 726 at SolidWorks World so you can see Office2PDM in action.
Looking forward to hearing about this latest version of Office2PDM after SWW. Nice work Jeff!
2 Minutes each time? Is a memory upgrade somwhere in the future?:)
Seriously, I have heard positive reports on this add in!
Thanks Patrick. We had really good feedback on Office2PDM at the show and we have plans to make the product even better. Thanks again for your support.
EPDM does allow users to Checkin, Checkout, change versions and preview Microsoft Office files out of the box. You are correct about that. The problem, however, is that you can only do it from Windows explorer. This forces users to bounce between Microsoft Office and Windows Explorer to get their work done.
Let me give you a concrete example:
You have version 5 of your Word document open and you want to go back to version 2 to check something. Without Office2PDM, you have to close your document in Word, open Windows Explorer, browse to the file in Windows Explorer, perform a Get Version on the file and then reopen it in Word.
With Office2PDM, you simply go to your Ribbon Menu or Task Pane and select Get Version, 2 and you are in business. That may only save you two minutes but two minutes each time adds up quickly throughout each day.
Thanks for noticing us and please do stop by booth 726 at SolidWorks World so you can see Office2PDM in action.
Looking forward to hearing about this latest version of Office2PDM after SWW. Nice work Jeff!
2 Minutes each time? Is a memory upgrade somwhere in the future?:)
Seriously, I have heard positive reports on this add in!
Thanks Patrick. We had really good feedback on Office2PDM at the show and we have plans to make the product even better. Thanks again for your support.