Pack and Go vs. EPDM's Copy Tree - Who Wins?

Pack and Go vs. EPDM’s Copy Tree – Who Wins?

When working with files outside of the vault, you have no choice -Pack and Go is the only tool you have, and it is a good tool -all the cool kids are using it.

However, for copying files within SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM, both tools are an option, which one should you use?

Easy. Copy Tree. No question, no contest. I don’t want to hear your argument for Pack and Go…your argument is bad. Copy Tree gives you:

• Speed
• Less Mistakes
• More Options

Speed – What happens when you click “Include Drawings” with Pack and Go? Pack and Go goes through all of your referenced paths looking at each and every drawing trying to decide if it is a parent of one of the chosen parts. That can take time. If you have lots of paths, that can take a loooong time. Click “Include Drawings” in EPDM, since there is a database – all drawings are found almost immediately.

Less Mistakes – See those two radio buttons “Use latest version of references” and “Use attached version of references”? Pack and Go doesn’t have those options. This means that Pack and Go is going to simply copy the version of the file that is in your local cache. Is it the right version? You better hope so! These two options in Copy Tree help ensure you are copying the version you want.

More Options:

• Rename with Serial Number – If you are using EPDM’s serial numbers, Copy Tree will look those numbers up for you and rename the new files on the fly
• Check in files with comment – Checks in the new files after the copy.
• Name drawings after their models – Very handy if you are renaming the models, you can get the drawings to have the same name automatically

Every tool has its place, ensure you are using the right one at the right time.