The ProjectWise working directory is a temporary location where files are placed when checked out by ProjectWise Explorer. As files are transferred to and from the server, ProjectWise creates sub-folders under this directory for each involved ProjectWise directory.
While users work with directories by their name, ProjectWise maintains a
numerical ID for each directory. Folder ID’s typically start with the number 50 and increment upward. The first folder created, folder A in this case, will have ID=50, folder B will have ID=51, and so on. Within the storage area, the physical storage folder for A is dms00050, and the physical location for B is dms00051.
Within ProjectWise, document names need not be unique unless they are in the same folder. So, folder A could have a document named readme.html, as could folder B. In this case, what would happen if a user attempted to check out both of those documents at the same time? To prevent one from overwriting the other, ProjectWise Explorer creates sub-folders under the working directory matching the physical folder names on the server. Assume for the moment that the working directory is set to C:\pw-wrkdir.
In the example, if the user checked out both readme.html files, the local working directory would look like:
C:\pw-wrkdir\dms00050\readme.html C:\pw-wrkdir\dms00051\readme.html
When both files are checked back in, the local working directory would look like: C:\pw-wrkdir\dms00050
C:\pw-wrkdir\dms00051
Note: By default, the local copy of each file is removed when the document is checked back in, however the sub-folders are not.
For each master MicroStation or AutoCAD document you check out, an XML file is created in the working directory. This file lists all the master document's
references, and records all reference-related changes to the master document. When users select Check In or Update Server Copy, the changes documented in the XML file are saved to the logical set in the database. If users free the master document, changes documented in the XML file are discarded and not saved to the database. Each XML file will have the name of the master file prepended to the file name. For example, master1.dgn.fileinfo.xml, master2.dwg.fileinfo.xml. The working directory is configured as a per-user setting and should be unique for each user. The administrator has the option to pre-set this configuration for each user, and to determine if the user is allowed to change it. The administrator can access the settings for any user from ProjectWise Administrator. The user can access just those items the administrator allows them to change from ProjectWise Explorer.
Exercise: Changing the working directory user properties setting
1 In ProjectWise Explorer, select Tools > Options.
2 Select the Settings tab.
3 You see the Working Directory item.
This means the user can change the working directory.
4 Click Cancel to close the dialog.
5 Log out in ProjectWise Explorer.
6 In ProjectWise Administrator, click on Users in the console tree.
7 Double click the administrative user in the list view.
Basic File Operations
9 Double click the Working Directory item.
10 Disable Allow user to change working directory and click OK.
11 Log in to ProjectWise Explorer using the administrative credentials, and then and select Tools > Options.
12 Select the Settings tab.
Since you can no longer change the Working Directory setting, it is removed.
13 Click Cancel to close the dialog.
14 Exit ProjectWise Explorer.
Exercise: Returning the working directory user properties setting
1 In ProjectWise Administrator, double click the administrative user in the list view.
2 Select the Settings tab in the Properties dialog.
3 Double click the Working Directory item.
4 Enable Allow user to change working directory and click OK.
Note:
• If two users are sharing a client system, they should not share working directories. Each user should have a unique working directory.
• Working directories can be set to network drives, although there is no advantage to doing so. Performance is better when working directories are local.
• When a user checks out a document, the document can only be worked on from the requesting client system. This holds true even if their working directory is set to a network drive. A user may not check out a drawing on one system, and expect to work on it from another.
Warning:
• Administrators should take care to check in all files and purge all copies if a client system will undergo a node-name change. Once the name is changed, the user cannot check in files that were checked out prior to the name change.
• Users should not work on files directly from the working directory using Windows Explorer. Users should not attempt to maintain the working directory from Windows Explorer. For the most part, ProjectWise maintains
this directory automatically. ProjectWise Explorer provides tools for advanced users to manage this directory if they must.
• Users should not change their working directory unless all documents are checked in and all copies purged. At this point, the directory is empty and can be deleted.
• Thought should go into establishing a standard for working directories. You must plan for a location that provides storage drive space. In addition, if you don’t allow users to change the setting, and inadvertently set it to a non- existent drive, the user cannot log in.
• If multiple datasources are in use, it is also a good idea to include the
datasource name or abbreviation in the working directory path. Therefore, a suggested standard for working directory names is:
C:\pw-wrkdir\datasourcename\username
This standard provides for multiple datasources as well as multiple users on a single client system. In addition, ProjectWise provides a mechanism to make it easy to define this path as a default for all users.
A document must be checked out by the user prior to being opened for modification. The user can open a document in two steps, Check out and then Open, or simply Open the document in a single operation. In the event that the user chooses Open for a document that is not checked out, ProjectWise will check out the document and then open it. By default, the Open command is executed when the user double clicks a file. Similar to the working directory, this setting can be changed in the user’s settings.