The Solid Edge data preparation utilities are available to assist you in automating the process of analyzing your Solid Edge data prior to importing them into a managed environment. The data preparation utilities are delivered when you install Solid Edge.
Use the tools in conjunction with one another to prepare your unamanged documents for importing into a Teamcenter, Insight, or Solid Edge SP-managed environment.
The Analyze program provides an automated set of tools for evaluating your unmanaged files.
Evaluates Solid Edge files for duplicate document number values, duplicate file names, empty revision entries, empty project names, and broken links.
Performs a file name length analysis.
Evaluates the Solid Edge property mapping.
Reports the results in spreadsheet form in the Analysis Report.
Note:
If you use custom Solid Edge data properties, you must define the custom properties for use in Teamcenter using the Analysis Template, datapreputilitiesteamplate.xlsm, located in the \Solid Edge ST6\Program folder.
The Link Fix-Up program repairs broken links in Solid Edge files before you import them into the managed environment.
The Modify program updates unmanaged Solid Edge files based on entries in the spreadsheet that is produced as the output of file analysis. New property values are saved in the unmanaged Solid Edge files.
You can use the Add to Teamcenter program to perform a dry run to identify many of the document preparation tasks.
As the dry run scans the list of documents to be added to Teamcenter, it checks for file name length, invalid characters, and identifies files that contain broken links. In the event duplicate document numbers are discovered, the dry run erases the document number of one of the parts in preparation for adding the documents to the managed environment. The dry run builds an ordered list of your files and produces the list in .xmlm format ready for use with the Analyze files program.
During the dry run, you have the opportunity to view log files and suspend the Add to Teamcenter process to fix the broken links. If no broken links were found, you can add the documents to Teamcenter and update the status of the documents to Checked In.
To learn more about using Add to Teamcenter, see the Solid Edge Help topic, Adding documents to a Teamcenter managed environment.
To make the task of preparing unmanaged files easier, a few programs designed to assist you with preparing and importing large batches of unmanaged data are made available to you in Start→Programs→Solid Edge ST6→Data Preparation when you install Solid Edge Embedded Client.
Analyze
Link Fix-Up
Modify
Add to Teamcenter
Note:
Microsoft Office Professional 2007 must be installed on the client to run the programs. The input file must be in .xlsm document format.
The Analyze program provides an automated set of tools for evaluating your unmanaged files. The program:
Evaluates Solid Edge files for duplicate document number values, duplicate file names, empty revision entries, empty project names, and broken links.
Performs a file name length analysis.
Evaluates the Solid Edge to Teamcenter property mapping.
Fine-tune the data generated by the analysis through the use of the analysis spreadsheet, datapreputilitiestemplate.xlsm, so that it correctly represents the data that will be imported into Teamcenter.
Caution:
It is imperative for your unmanaged data to be evaluated and corrected prior to import so you can have a correctly populated Teamcenter database from the start and minimize future efforts.
If you use custom Solid Edge data properties, you must define the custom properties for use in Teamcenter using the spreadsheet datapreputilitiestemplate.xlsm located in \Program Files\Solid Edge ST6 \Program. See the Help file Define custom properties prior to analysis for instructions.
The Link Fix-Up program locates the Excel spreadsheet produced from the file analysis process and defines the parameters used for repairing broken links before you import them into Teamcenter.
The Modify program updates unmanaged Solid Edge files based on entries in the spreadsheet that is produced as the output of file analysis. New property values are saved in the unmanaged Solid Edge files.
The processing of unmanaged documents by the Solid Edge data preparation utilities takes place on the client system running the programs.
Other considerations prior to running the utilities are:
A minimum of 4 GB of memory is recommended on the client system.
Available disk space 1.5 times the size of the dataset being processed is recommended for the client system.
The data preparation utilities are not compatible with the Windows 2000 operating system.
Microsoft Office Professional 2007 must be installed on the client to run the Solid Edge data preparation utilities.
Note:
Processing more than 65,536 files requires Office 2007 and the input file must be in .xlsm document format.
Perform a backup of your data prior to using the data preparation utilities.
The computer containing data being analyzed or imported should be on an isolated network and inaccessible by users actively modifying the documents in a production environment.
Identify the non-Solid Edge files you want to import before running the utilities. If the non-Solid Edge files are not linked to Solid Edge files, they should be imported into Teamcenter outside this environment. Consult Teamcenter documentation for importing the non-linked, non-Solid Edge files into Teamcenter.
Identifying a target data set (mass of data that has been broken down into logical pieces) for importing, such as a specific folder of data, is recommended over a mass importation of data into a Teamcenter-managed environment.
Caution:
If you are importing more than 20,000 documents, it is recommended that you contact your reseller or Siemens representative to discuss best practices.
A significant amount of time is required to analyze, prepare, and import your Solid Edge data into a managed environment. An estimate for analyzing and preparing your files is one week per 15,000 files being imported, depending on the state of your existing data.
While actual import rates vary, you can assume approximately 250 files per hour. There are several factors that affect this estimate including, but not limited to the following:
Available system memory.
Number of unmanaged files being imported.
Size of unmanaged files.
Number of top level assemblies.
Network bandwidth.
A unique Teamcenter user ID should be created for running the Import utility. File ownership inside the Teamcenter database is determined by this user ID.
Previously installed versions of the Solid Edge data preparation utilities should be removed before you install the latest version. Check the GTAC web site for the latest version available.
If you have a previous version of the Solid Edge to Teamcenter Utilities, use Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel to remove SolidEdgeIntoTeamcenterUtilities or Solid Edge Data Prep Utilities from your computer.