Blog Xdrive
Xdrive is an app included with Xdesign on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. This new platform will provide engineers with cloud storage as well as other capabilities such as secure sharing and social collaboration for any file type. This will allow engineers all around the world to collaborate anytime, anywhere, without leaving the comforts of their office.
Xdrive will also serve as a collaboration bridge between Xdesign and SOLIDWORKS for the desktop. It will behave something like Dropbox in that users will be able to drag and drop files into Xdrive and have them automatically pushed to the cloud (subject to a 5GB limit). This is performed through a desktop app.
Once a user logs into Xdrive, the system will sync all updates to any files between the local drive and the cloud. During the time that the user is logged into the system, Xdrive will also regularly update so that users with whom the files are shared with are able to stay synchronized.
File viewing will be allowed through the company's popular eDrawings application, as Xdrive will be integrated within SOLIDWORKS. Users will email a link to a file to anyone and the recipient does not have to download anything or even log in to view. The system will allow users to give "view only" permissions rather than full editing rights for users who want a bit more control of the files that are shared.
Additionally, if a design team has both SW Desktop and Xdesign users, they will be able to share files through the Xdrive. There will be some file incompatibility issues, but the "world class" interoperability promises to recognize features from one system to another.
XDrive and XDesign will be available to every SOLIDWORKS Subscription user starting with the SOLIDWORKS 2017 release.
George Brañes
CATI Support Engineer