It's All Just Ones and Zeros

Q-Tools and Watch Folder 2013

For this post, I bring you two whole apps.  I’ve updated Q-Tools and Watch Folder for Vault 2013.  Technically the 2012 versions can still work with Vault 2013 server, but there were a few optimizations I wanted to do using the new API features.

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Q-Tools 2013

For Q-Tools, the feature set is the same as before, but I make use of the new Job.IsOnSite parameter to determine if a job needs to be rerouted or not.

Here is the full feature list:

• Logging - Issues are logged to a text file.
• Stale Job Detection - Jobs on the queue too long can be considered an issue.
• Email Reports - Issues can be emailed to one or more recipients.
• Queue Cleanup - Jobs with issues can be automatically removed from the queue.
• Queue Forwarding - In multi-site and multi-workgroup environments, jobs can get routed to a single site.

Requirements:
- Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2013
- Job Server feature enabled
Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

Click here for Q-Tools 2012

To setup:

• Designate a computer on the network that the Q-Tools service should run on.  Only 1 Q-Tools can be running for a given Vault deployment.
• Run the installer.
• Go to the installation folder and update the settings.xml.  The XML comments will explain this step.
• Run the Q-Tools service.

Migrating from Q-Tools 2012:

• Actually I don't recommend migrating.  The 2012 Q-Tools version should work fine with the Vault 2013 server. 
• If you still want to migrate, it should be fairly easy.  The Settings.xml has not changed.  I recommend making a copy of the XML file, uninstall Q-Tools 2012, then install Q-Tools 2013.

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

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Watch Folder 2013

Although the feature set is the same, the setup is much easier.  No longer do you have to configure Windows tasks to add notification jobs to the queue.  Using the new features on IJobHander, the jobs are added from JobProcessor plug in.  Right before JobProcessor goes idle, Watch Folder puts a new notification job on the queue.  That way new files are checked every time JobProcessor cycles.

In case you aren't familiar with it, Watch Folder is an app that allows you to "watch" a set of Vault folders so that you receive email notifications when files get added or updated in those folders.

Requirements:

• Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2013
• Job Server enabled
• An SMTP server somewhere on the network

NOTE:  This isn't something you can just download and run.  The Vault administrator needs to set up some server components before this feature can be used.

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

Click here for Watch Folder 2012

To use

For Vault users, download the application and run the installer.  Just make sure that the administrator has set up the Vault environment first.  Next, start up Vault Explorer and right-click on a folder that you want to watch.  Select the Watch Folder command and decide how frequently you want notifications.

For Vault administrators, download the application and run the installer.  Next follow the instructions in the readme file in the install folder (%ProgramData%\Autodesk\Vault 2013\Extensions\WatchFolder).

Notes:

• A watch on a folder will automatically apply to any sub-folders.
• Removing a watch will also remove watches on sub-folders.
• You can't have an immediate watch and a summary watch on the same folder.  Setting a folder to one type overwrites the existing setting.
• You need to be at least Document Editor (level 1) in order to set up a watch on a folder.
• You need to have a valid email address in your Vault user settings.
• The contents of the email can be customized by the Vault administrator.  See readme file.

Migrating from Watch Folder 2012:

• WatchSettings.xml now needs a Vault username and password.  Everything else is the same, so you can just add <Vault_Username> and <Vault_Password> tags to your existing config file.  The Vault user must be able to add and delete jobs from the queue.
• All the other settings files from R1 can still be used, just copy over WatchCollection.xml and WatchEmailBody over to the install folder.

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

Discussion Thread app

Change Orders have a feature where you can have a discussion threads on each object.  I thought it would be neat if you could do the same thing with files and items.  I also promised a sample app using Custom Entities, so here it is.

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Features:

• Add discussion threads to existing items and files.
• Files and items can have multiple threads on a single object.
• Respond to postings and see the whole discussion history.
• Works even if the items and files are released.
• App will configure Vault when the admin first runs it.  No need to manually create the custom object definition, UDP, etc.

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Requirements:

• Vault Professional 2013

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

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To Use:

Run the install and start Vault Explorer as an administrator.  You should be prompted to run a configuration.  After the configuration is complete, restart Vault Explorer.  You should now have the Discussion Thread custom object.

All users who want to make use of this app, should have the Custom Object Editor (Level 1) and Custom Object Manager (Level 1) roles.

When you want to add a discussion to a file or item, select the object and right click.  Select the New Discussion Thread command to create the new discussion.

 
To respond to the thread, use the Discussion tab.  Select the posting you want to respond to, and hit the Respond button in the tab.

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

vLogic 2013

The only part I don’t like about a new release is updating my sample apps.  Just like with last year, I don’t have time to update all my apps.  I’m just going to focus on the ones that are important to me. 

vLogic looks like a good place to start, even though I just built the 2012 version a couple months ago.  It’s one of those apps that I immediately wanted to add features to right after I posted it. 

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New for Vault 2013: 

Event support - vLogic scripts now come in two flavors.  Command scripts are invoked by the user when they click on the menu command.  Event scripts are invoked automatically when actions take place.  These scripts hook right into the web service command events, so you can run scripts during a checkout, add folder, delete item, and so on.  I also put in hooks for the OnLogOn and OnLogOut event in Vault Explorer.

There is a naming convention to determine which .ps1 files hook to which events.  See readme for more details.  Note, the example event scripts are inactive after installation.  You need to remove the ‘_’ prefix and restart Vault Explorer for those scripts to run.

Easier navigation - Hold down the SHIFT key when running the “Create New Command” menu item and an explorer window will open to the vLogic folder.

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vLogic Features:

• No Visual Studio required to write custom commands and event handlers.
• No compile step.
• No deploy step.
• Commands can be updated without having to exit Vault Explorer.
• Easy to share scripts or modify scripts from others.

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Requirements:

• Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2013
• Windows PowerShell (should already be part of your OS)

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

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Upgrading from vLogic 2012:

Your old scripts need to move to the “%ProgramData%\Autodesk\Vault 2013\Extensions\vLogic\command scripts” folder.  Some API functions have changed in 2013.  See the Vault 2013 SDK documentation for a list of all changed functions.  If the parameters are wrong on an API function, it will result in a runtime error.

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To use:

Run the install and start Vault Explorer.

Under the Tools menu is the vLogic menu.  This is where you can run existing scripts or create new scripts.
To create a new command script, select Create New Command from the vLogic menu.  After giving your script a name, you will have to re-start Vault Explorer.  When the program re-starts, your command should show up in the vLogic menu.

To edit a script, hold the shift key and click on the command.  The PowerShell ISE should pop up, allowing you to edit the script while Vault Explorer is running.  When you are done with your changes, save the file in the editor.

To run a script, run the command from the vLogic menu.

To delete a script, go to %ProgramData%\Autodesk\Vault 2013\Extensions\vLogic\[script folder] and remove the .ps1 file.  You can also add commands by putting .ps1 files into the appropriate folder.

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

Installer Project

Here is an example installer project for a Vault 2012 custom command.  It’s a Visual Studio 2010 project, no special software needed.

Click here for the installer project

The project itself is pretty straightforward.  Since Vault extensions all get installed to a special folder, it’s easy to set up the files in the installer project.  I also included a custom action to perform the menu reset. 

You can go here to get a Vault 2011 installer example.

vLogic

Update:  vLogic 2013 has been released.

As promised, I came up with something for those of you who want to customize Vault through the use of scripts.  I decided to use PowerShell as the scripting engine since it has a lot of tools ready-to-use for this sort of thing.  If you are not familiar with PowerShell, you can find tons of information on the internet, including the Microsoft web site.

vLogic Features:

• No Visual Studio required to write custom commands.
• No compile step.
• No deploy step.
• Commands can be updated without having to exit Vault Explorer.
• Easy to share scripts or modify scripts from others.

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Requirements:

• Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2012
• Windows PowerShell (should already be part of your OS)

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

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To use:

Run the install and start Vault Explorer. 

Under the Tools menu is the vLogic menu.  This is where you can run existing scripts or create new scripts.
 
To create a new script, select Create New Command from the vLogic menu.  After giving your script a name, you will have to re-start Vault Explorer.  When the program re-starts, your command should show up in the vLogic menu. 

To edit a script, hold the shift key and click on the command.  The PowerShell ISE should pop up, allowing you to edit the script while Vault Explorer is running.  When you are done with your changes, save the file in the editor.

To run a script, run the command from the vLogic menu.

To delete a script, go to %ProgramData%\Autodesk\Vault 2012\Extensions\vLogic and remove the .ps1 file.  You can also add commands by putting .ps1 files in this folder.

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There are some downsides to vLogic.  If you are not familiar with PowerShell, then it’s basically a new language that you have to learn.  If you have complex operations or UI, then you are better off using Visual Studio.  As this moment, I have no good story for debugging a vLogic script. 

This is just my first pass at adding scripting to Vault.  There is lots of room for improvement for future releases.

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

Vault Calendar for SharePoint

For the millions and millions of people using the Vault integration for SharePoint 2010, here is a utility that you might find useful.  It’s a calendar web part that shows you when your Vault ECOs are due.

(click for full image)

The data can be driven from any Vault Change Order list in SharePoint.  Clicking on the calendar entry brings up the detail view for that ECO.

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Requirements:

• Vault Professional 2012
• SharePoint 2010 Standard or Enterprise
• The Vault integration for SharePoint 2010

NOTE:  The SharePoint administrator needs to deploy and enable the web part before it can be used.  See readme file for instructions.

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

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Note from the programmer:

I’ll admit, I have next to no experience building web parts.  The end result seems to work fine, but the code probably doesn’t comply with the standards and practices. 

Also, if you know an easier way to deploy a web part, please let me know.

 

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

Watch Folder 2012

Update:  Watch Folder 2013 is now available.

Looking for that perfect gift to give this year?  Why not give the gift of Watch Folder?!  I just updated it to work with Vault 2012, and I added in support for HTML style emails.

In case you aren't familiar with it, Watch Folder is an app that allows you to "watch" a set of Vault folders so that you receive email notifications when files get added or updated in those folders. 

 

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Requirements:

• Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2012
• Job Server enabled
• An SMTP server somewhere on the network

NOTE:  This isn't something you can just download and run.  The Vault administrator needs to set up some server components before this feature can be used.

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

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To use

For Vault users, download the application and run the installer.  Just make sure that the administrator has set up the Vault environment first.  Next, start up Vault Explorer and right-click on a folder that you want to watch.  Select the Watch Folder command and decide how frequently you want notifications.

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For Vault administrators, download the application and run the installer.  Next follow the instructions in the readme file in the install folder (%ProgramData%\Autodesk\Vault 2012\Extensions\WatchFolderCommand).

Notes:

• A watch on a folder will automatically apply to any sub-folders.
• Removing a watch will also remove watches on sub-folders.
• You can't have an immediate watch and a summary watch on the same folder.  Setting a folder to one type overwrites the existing setting.
• You need to be at least Document Editor (level 1) in order to set up a watch on a folder.
• You need to have a valid email address in your Vault user settings.
• The contents of the email can be customized by the Vault administrator.  See readme file.

Migrating from version 1:

• The admin install is still a lot of steps.  I did a bit of consolidation, the Job Processor plug-in and the Vault Explorer plug-in have been combined.
• All the settings files from R1 can still be used, just copy over WatchCollection.xml, WatchSettings.xml and WatchEmailBody.txt over to the install folder.
• I recommend updating WatchSettings to use an HTML file instead of a text file.  There are more formatting options and you can have hyperlinks.
• More file informaiton can be provided in the email.  See readme for more details.

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

Vault Links View

Jan Liska has provided us with another Vault sample.  This one is a custom tab that shows all the links to the selected entity.  It works with files, folders, items or change orders.

The Where Used tab for files also has the ability to show links.  However it only applies to files, and it doesn't show the full folder path.  The new Links tab displays the full folder structure.

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Requirements:
Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2012

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

Vault ♥ Bluestreak

I finally completed a connector between Vault and Bluestreak.  A while back I asked for feedback, and the response was pretty minimal.  But, there was a common theme: file upload.

In addition to the upload feature, my extension will add items to your activity stream in Bluestreak.  It will log activities whenever you move a file or item to a released state.  It will also log all change order state changes.

That's about it for now.  This is just a first pass at something between Vault and Bluestreak.  There is a lot of room for new features and improvements.  If the response to this app is good, there may be updates in the near future.

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Requirements:

- Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2012
- A Bluestreak account

Click here to download the application

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To Use:

1. Run the install.
2. Launch Vault Explorer.
3. Run the Tools->Bluestreak->Connect command to log in to Bluestreak. 
4. Now the extension will be able to write to the Bluestreak activity stream.  This will happen automatically when certain actions are triggered. 
5. To upload a file, right click on the file and select the Upload to Bluestreak command.
6. Select which Bluestreak group you want to upload to.
7. If there is an attached visualization file, such as DWF, you will be given the option to upload the selected file or its visualization.

 

As with all the samples on this site, the legal disclaimer applies.

Vault Web View 2.0

Here is my update of Vault Web View.  It's basically a web control embedded in a Vault Explorer tab. 

To use it, your Vault administrator sets up a Vault property which will contain the URL information.  After that, whenever you select a Vault object that contains the property, the Web View tab will browse to that URL.  The URL can be set and updated using Vault's property editor.

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Requirements:
Vault Workgroup/Collaboration/Professional 2012

Click here to download the application
Click here to download the source code

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Enhancements:
In version 1.0 a custom command was needed to set and update a folder URL.  In Vault 2012, folders can have property values, so Web View was updated to use properties instead of a custom command.  Version 2 also allows you to set URL data on all main entity types (files, folders, items and change orders).  Lastly, you don't need to be an administrator to set the URL.  Anyone who can set property data, can set the URL.  I'm not sure if this is good or not, but it's a result of using Vault property data.