About DesignSync File Access

The DesignSync File Access tools allow certain apps to access files, folders, and modules created and stored on a DesignSync server.

These apps are available:

• Semiconductor IP Classify and Reuse. Adds IP and design reuse capabilities to the issue management and collaboration provided with Defect Management and Collaboration. It uses IP Classification for the IP catalogs.
• Defect Management and Collaboration. Provides web-based issue management and collaboration in secure, structured, virtual workplaces for on-demand collaboration among cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams. Members can collaborate on design data documents and other content through discussions, notifications, alerts, and review/approval processes.

Your system could use one or both of the Semiconductor Accelerators.

When you check in a file using DesignSync File access, the file is checked into the DesignSync server, not the server. A business object is created and all metadata related to the check-in is stored in this object.

If you create a DesignSync file using a selector, for example Trunk:Latest, and you later specify a different selector for the associated business object, the existing file version cannot be found.

If you select a file that already exists but in a different branch than specified by the selector, the dialog box redisplays the first screen in the wizard and you see this message in red at the top:

java.lang.Exception: Request failed - Server error: som-E-152: No Such 
Version. Checking in: file:///r5/5File1.txt;

Where file: shows the file name that you chose. You can either edit the Selector, or choose a different file on the second page of the wizard. Other selector errors will also redisplay the first screen with an error message. Fix the indicated error and continue the process.

If you see an error message with "connection refused," then the DesignSync server is down or otherwise unavailable. Contact your System Administrator for help.

If you try to create a file in DesignSync from the Folder Contents page but do not have connect access privileges to the parent object, no errors are issued. A new object is created and connected to the file in the DesignSync server. However, the object is not connected to the parent object.

A file created in DesignSync does not maintain the "Latest Version" and "Active Version" relationships maintained by the Common Document Model (CDM).

You can also check files into a module. When you check in a file, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform creates a new module version. You cannot check into a module branch.

The selected tar or gz file for checking into the module must contain the full contents of the new module version. Any objects not in the new version but were in a prior version will NOT be included in the new module version.

For modules that have hrefs defined, the new module version will include those hrefs and a hidden tag. For subsequent downloads, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform system uses the hidden tag to locate the current module version.

The check in process also compares the new module with the prior module and creates a manifest file that lists objects removed, added, or modified.

When you use DesignSync File Access to check in a folder, the folder is checked in as a compressed file with a file extension of .zip, .gz or .tgz. The compressed file name is not the name of the folder that gets created in DesignSync. The name of the DesignSync folder is the value you enter in the Path field.

During check in, the compressed file is expanded and its contents are placed in the DesignSync server. A combination of factors like the folder information provided in the DesignSync server, the information provided in the Path field, and the folders within the compressed file, determine how the contents of the compressed file get unpacked in the server.

A business object is created and all metadata related to the check-in is stored in this object for reference.

If the folder has files locked by users other than you, the check-in fails immediately.

If a folder check-in is not successful, the properties page of the object associated with the folder shows Check In Status= FAILED.

If the folder you are checking in contains empty subfolders, the subfolders are created within DesignSync but are not empty. Instead, a file .SYNC_EMPTYDIR is auto-generated and checked into each folder. On subsequent checkouts, the .SYNC_EMPTYDIR files are checked out in your Bookmark Root like any other file.

If you check in a folder but the DesignSync folder contains files locked by other users, the check-in fails and an error message displays. However, some files that were locked by you or were not locked may have been checked in and a new version created. To resolve the situation, the DesignSync administrator must investigate the situation. After the situation is resolved from the DesignSync side and all files in the DesignSync folder are unlocked, you can then use the Semiconductor Accelerator to check in the compressed file as a folder.

If you try to create a folder in DesignSync from the Folder Contents page but do not have connect access privileges to the parent object, no errors are issued. A new object is created and connected to the folder in the DesignSync server. However, the object is not connected to the parent object.

If you see an error message with "connection refused", then the DesignSync server is down or otherwise unavailable. Contact your System Administrator for help.

When you connect to a DesignSync file, folder, or module, connections are created for files that physically exist in DesignSync and also for those that do not exist but can be referenced later.

If you try to connect to a file or a folder in DesignSync from the Folder Contents page but do not have connect access privileges to the parent object, no errors are issued. A new object is created and connected to the file or folder in the DesignSync server. However, the object is not connected to the parent object.

If you see an error message with "connection refused", then the DesignSync server is down or otherwise unavailable. Contact your System Administrator for help.

You can check out and download files, folder, and modules checked into a DesignSync server by using the checkout and download icons in the Actions column of the content summary page.

This table provides more details about the icons in the Actions column:

Icon	Name	Action
	View	Open the file for viewing.
	Subscribe	View and select subscriptions for a document.
	Download	Download one or more files to your local machine. Browse to the directory or folder you want to contain the file. Multiple files are downloaded in a single zip file.
	Check Out and Lock	Check out one or more files to your local machine and lock the files from other users who cannot unlock it. Navigate to the folder or directory you want to contain the file.
	Update Files	Update a file to its next version. See Uploading Files.
	Check In	Check in a new file. See Uploading Files.
	Lock	Lock the file without checking it out.
	Unlock	Unlock the file without checking in a new version.

When you download or check out a file from DesignSync, you get the latest version of the file in your local machine. To view files, you can either check out or download the file. To edit a file you should check out the file with a lock. Other users who try to edit the file get a warning to prevent simultaneous editing.

When you check in a DesignSync folder from an app, the app uses the CHECK_IN tag to identify the files. During subsequent checkout, the app checks out the files contained in the folder that have the CHECK_IN tag. New files checked into this folder directly from DesignSync are not visible to the app during the checkout process as they do not have the CHECK_IN tag.

If you see subfolders under the DesignSync folder object but do not see any files in these folders (and you know there should be files in those folders), the files do not have the CHECK_IN tag, most likely because they were created in DesignSync.

When checking out objects, you may see one of these error messages depending on the lock status or folder contents:

• If the file is not physically stored in DesignSync:

  There are no Files to download in one or more of the selected Objects. 
  Click Done to close this and continue.
  

• If the file or folder is locked by another user:

  DesignSync File(s)/Folder is already locked by another user. 
  

• If the folder is not physically stored in DesignSync:

  There are no Files to download in one or more of the selected Objects.
  

The check out dialog box varies depending on your browser and operating system.

The DesignSync server locks the file(s). If another user tries to check out a file, the following message is displayed.

You cannot check out a file locked by another user to prevent 
simultaneous editing of the file. 

If you see a "There are no Files to check out in one or more of the selected Objects" message, but you know that the object does have files, then the DesignSync server is down or otherwise unavailable. Contact your System Administrator for help.

When a checkout fails, the DesignSync folder is downloaded as a *.tgz file and contains a file named 00_Download_Failed.00_FAILURE. This file lists all errors encountered during the checkout, including:

• Some successfully downloaded files that were not locked.
• A FAILURE file for every file that failed to download because they were locked by a user other than you. For example, if a file called parts.jpg failed to check out, a file named parts.jpg.00_Download_Failed.00_FAILURE containing the error message is placed in the compressed file. Because of the choice of name for the failed files, they appear near the top when the compressed file is expanded for viewing.

The check out process identifies files that were previously locked by you and checks them out without reporting an error.

Customers using internal business models may require that the material in a catalog be under control of the Librarian or team that manages the catalog. To accomplish this, a master copy of the material is imported from a remote DesignSync server into the IP Library catalog in the local DesignSync server using the "Copy from DesignSync" command. The local DesignSync server must be configured using the emxCommon.LocalDSServer and emxCommon.LocalDSPath settings. A JPO access program determines if the Copy From DesignSync command should be shown based on the local DesignSync property being set.

To configure the local DesignSync server, see DesignSync File Acess Administration Guide.

The Librarian, Limited Author, and Part Family Coordinator must have object access for Part Specification and Reference Document pages.

The Copy from DesignSync command copies only a specific version of a file from the remote DesignSync server. It does not copy all versions of the file. For folders, it copies just a single version of the files in the folder.

After filling in the needed information and clicking Done, the remote DesignSync files are copied from the specified server and path to the computed local destination.

The source URL for the file to copy is determined by the server and path entered by the user on the dialog box. The destination URL for the file is computed based on the document name. The format for the resulting destination path is:

sync://HOST:PORT/relative path/Family_#

where:

• # is the name of the document
• sync://HOST:PORT is the value of the emxCommon. LocalDSServer setting
• relative path is the value of the emxCommon.LocalDSPath setting

For example:

sync://HOST:PORT/relative path/Family_MyTestDoc

A new document business object is created with the information specified in the dialog box. Once the copy of the file/directory is complete and successful, the document object is then connected to the context part with either the Part Specification or Reference Document relationship depending on the page from which the copy was initiated. Subsequently, any downloads of the file will be from the local server.

• If the copy fails, the document object will be deleted and there will be no connection to the part.
• If the copy is successful, the new document object appears in the document summary pages. You can now download a local copy of the file/directory using the common download actions, provided that you have download access to this document.

To copy files, see Copying Files from DesignSync.

You can download a file, folder, or module from a DesignSync server if you have read and check out access. After the download is complete, you can modify the file and check it in. See Creating a New or Connecting to an Existing DesignSync Object for details.

When downloading a file or folder, the latest version of the files are copied to your workstation. If no selector was specified at the time of check-in, you get the latest version of the file from the Trunk (the default branch).

When downloading objects, you may see one of these error messages depending on the lock status or folder contents:

• If the file is not physically stored in DesignSync:

  There are no Files to download in one or more of the selected Objects. 
  Click Done to close this and continue.

• If the file or folder is locked by another user:

  DesignSync File(s)/Folder is already locked by another user. 

• If the folder is not physically stored in DesignSync:

  There are no Files to download in one or more of the selected Objects.

The download dialog box varies depending on your browser and operating system.

If you see a "There are no Files to check out in one or more of the selected Objects" message, but you know that the object does have files, then the DesignSync server is down or otherwise unavailable. Contact your System Administrator for help.

You can access DesignSync modules from the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. When working with modules, you must follow the DesignSync rules.

When you create a DesignSync object, you must ensure that the check-in path for the object (store path + local path) is valid for the given type (file, folder, or object). Modules can only be checked into stores with a path of "/Modules," and stores defined with a path of "/Modules/*" can only hold modules. Files and Folders can be checked into stores with any path except "/Modules." If the store you are checking the object into does not have a path defined or has a path of "/," you can check in any object type as long as the local path begins with "/Modules" for a module object.

For example, a store path could be defined as:

sync://src.enovia.net/Projects/Documents/Release

The local path begins at the end of the store path. To include a module, the path (store plus local) would be:

sync://src.enovia.net/Projects/Documents/Release/Modules

Only modules can be checked into this path. To check files or folders into the same store, you would need to create a local path separate from the modules path. An example path (store plus local) could be:

sync://src.enovia.net/Projects/Documents/Release/ProjectXYZ

No modules can be checked into the ProjectXYZ hierarchy. The local path for files and folders can be named anything required for your business needs, but the local path for modules must be /Modules.

When you use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to check in or create files, folders, or modules, make sure you select the appropriate path for the type of object you are working with.

When you check in a new module to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, the module is created as a new branch in the check-in location. In addition, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform does not track module ancestry or vault branch compliance. If you check in an updated module, the check-in includes the entire module and creates a new version of the branch.