Saving Templates to the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform

Utilizing approved templates can standardize the CAD information your users create. For organizations that are implementing the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, templates can be saved and shared through the organization’s 3DEXPERIENCE tenant.

Both SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS can create and access templates in the cloud, but they follow different workflows.

On the organization’s cloud tenant, templates are saved to the Common Space. The Common Space is the default data vault on an organization’s tenant, and as such, its contents are available to all tenant members who create data. Templates are indexed like all data on the tenant, and they can be searched.

With each new session of SOLIDWORKS, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform will check to make sure the user has the latest templates on their system and will push missing or out-of-date templates to the user’s local hard drive.

Follow the basic steps outlined below to save new or existing templates to your cloud tenant.

Workflow 1: SOLIDWORKS

For best results, follow these steps rather than launching SOLIDWORKS from your desktop.

1.  Connect to your 3DEXPERIENCE tenant through a web browser.
2.  Click the Compass.
3. To launch SOLIDWORKS, from your list of applications select either:
   1. The SOLIDWORKS application, or;
   2. The SOLIDWORKS Add-in application.

4. Create a part, assembly, or drawing template and define the standards, units, contents, and metadata to be included in the template.
5. From the File menu, select Save As, and select the file type for the template you wish to create (.***DOT), and choose a location on your local hard drive to save the template file.
6. From the MySession tab within the 3DEXPERIENCE task pane, right-click the file and select “Save,” or “Save with Options.”

7. A dialog box will open with the Title displaying the name of the template saved in step 5. The user can give the template a description and define its maturity state (see below for details).

8. Click “Create As Released” or “Create As Private.”
9. Create a new path in the File Location within your SOLIDWORKS system options and point to the location that the templates are downloaded to. You can find this location within a user’s local AppData directory:

C:Users(username)AppDataLocalDassaultSystemesCATTempENOUSWCResources(tenant ID)Templates3DEXPERIENCE

Workflow 2: 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS (SOLIDWORKS Connected)

1. Connect to your 3DEXPERIENCE tenant through a web browser.
2. Click the Compass.
   
3. Click the SOLIDWORKS Connected application to start your SOLIDWORKS Connected session.
4. Create a part, assembly, or drawing template and define the standards, units, contents, and metadata to be included in the template.
5. From the File menu, select Publish, select the template type from the “Save as type” drop down menu, and choose a location on your local hard drive to publish the template file.
6. From the MySession tab of the 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS task pane, right-click on the template file and choose “Save” or “Save with Options.”

7. A dialog box will open with the Title displaying the name of the template saved in step 5. The user can give the template a description and define its maturity state (see below for details).

8. Click “Create As Released” or “Create As Private.”
9. Create a new path in the File Location within your SOLIDWORKS system options and point to the location that the templates are downloaded to. You can find this location within a user’s local AppData directory:

C:Users(username)AppDataLocalDassaultSystemesCATTempENOUSWCResources(tenant ID)Templates3DEXPERIENCE

Additional Details

The template must be saved/published locally before saving it to the tenant for it to be recognized as a template.

Maturity states define the lifecycle status of a file managed on the tenant. “Create As Released” will set the template to the Released state and make the template available to all CAD users on your tenant. “Create As Private” will make the template only visible to you (Private) and people you share it with for the purposes of reviewing and approving the template.

Once the template has been saved to the tenant, it is best to delete or sequester the local copy. In every new session of SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS, the platform will check to see if you have all the current released templates replicated to your directory and download the latest templates to you.

With the 3DEXPERIENCE platform it is easy for users to stay connected to the latest information. Templates controlled on the organization’s tenant ensures consistency in the creation of CAD data to meet company standards.

Todd Myers, CSWE
Application Engineer, Emerging Products
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.