Utility for Caching Metafile Renditions For Matrix

Transcription

1 Utility for Caching Metafile Renditions For Matrix

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 How does it work?... 3 What is a metafile?... 3 Supported Document Formats for Metafile Renditions... 3 Steps for Creating Metafiles... 4 i. For Files with XREFs (3D Assemblies or 2D files with XREFs)... 4 ii. For all other files... 4 Architecture... 5 Administrator Guide... 6 System Requirements... 6 Installation... 6 Manual Setup... 7 Starting the Utility... 9 Configuration Setting Trigger Mechanisms in Matrix i. On-Demand Mechanism ii. Event-Based Mechanism Enabling Icon Mail for Matrix Users Feedback General Inquiries Sales Inquiries Customer Support Cimmetry Systems Corp. 2 / 16

3 Introduction Metafile Utility uses the AutoVue server as a rendition tool to generate and check metafiles into the Matrix Product Data Management system (Matrix PDM). Once a metafile rendition is added to the native document, the next time the file is viewed in the AutoVue client, the AutoVue server fetches the metafile rendition instead of the native file. How does it work? Here is a brief description of how the utility handles requests for creating metafile renditions: 1. The client application sends the rendition request to the PDM server. The actual request dispatched by the client depends on the triggering mechanism, which can be configured on the PDM server side. Examples of triggering mechanisms include check-in, promotion, or on-demand actions. 2. The Server stores the request in a special queue item. Each queue item represents a request made by a client to generate a metafile rendition of the native file. 3. The utility polls the queue items from the PDM at predefined intervals, and retrieves any pending requests. 4. The utility sends relevant information of each request to the AutoVue server to generate the metafile rendition. 5. The utility asks AutoVue server to check-in the metafile rendition to the PDM. The AutoVue server in turn passes the request to VueLink to add the metafile as a rendition to the native document object in the PDM. What is a metafile? A metafile is a true replica of the original file. It is a lightweight format developed by Cimmetry. Its main advantage is performance enhancement of document viewing on the client side. Supported Document Formats for Metafile Renditions The utility generates metafile renditions for all Engineering and Vector formats that are supported by AutoVue Client- Server Edition. Currently, AutoVue Client-Server Edition supports many file formats, including 2D engineering drawings and 3D assemblies. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 3 / 16

4 Steps for Creating Metafiles For Files with XREFs (3D Assemblies or 2D files with XREFs) Special care is given when creating a metafile for files with XREFs. For the utility to properly generate a metafile for a particular file, follow these steps: 1. Launch the Matrix client application and login. 2. Check in all the XREFs and the assembly, then define the relationship between the master file and the XREFs. 3. If the On-Demand trigger mechanism is setup, select the Assembly business object, right-click and select Execute > csicreatequeueitemondemand from the popup menu. 4. If the Event-Based trigger mechanism is setup, check out the Assembly and check it back into Matrix. For All Other Files If the Event-Based trigger mechanism is setup, the metafile request is generated as soon as the file is checked into Matrix. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 4 / 16

5 Architecture Whenever a predefined event occurs, such as a file check-in for example, Matrix invokes a server-side custom program called csicreatequeueitem, which creates a custom object inside a Matrix vault. This custom object represents a unique Rendition Request. Meanwhile, a polling application retrieves these queue items from Matrix, using API provided by VueLink, extracts information from the QueueItem to identify the checked-in document. This information is added to an internal Queue, which is polled by a QueueReader. Each entry retrieved by the QueueReader is then dispatched to the AutoVue Client- Server Edition server using Vuebean API. Thereafter, the metafile is created and checked into Matrix by the AutoVue Client-Server Edition server, which interacts with VueLink for Matrix for this purpose. The status of the rendition, whether it is Errored or Successful is then sent back to the user by the Polling Application using Matrix Icon Mail. The Polling Application and the QueueReader run asynchronously, leading to greater efficiency. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 5 / 16

6 Administrator Guide System Requirements The utility itself is a Java application program and therefore can be run on any platform equipped with Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The following software must already be installed on the machine hosting this utility: Sun's Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or higher Matrix Thick Client Applications v At least the MQL Application. The following software must also be available for the utility to work but may be installed on a different machine than the one hosting the utility: AutoVue Client-Server Edition v19.1 (or any SP of v19.1) Matrix Collaboration Kernel 10.7 VueLink for Matrix v19.1 Matrix Application Exchange Framework AEF 10.7 Matrix Engineering Central or Designer Central 10.7 Installation Metafile utility requires the AutoVue Server and VueLink. Before installing Metafile Utility with Matrix, make sure that Matrix, AutoVue Client-Server Edition, and VueLink for Matrix are properly installed and configured on your system, according to the manufacturer s instructions, and are operating correctly. To install the utility for caching metafiles for Matrix, complete the steps outlined in the following sections: Manual Setup Setting Trigger Mechanism in Matrix Enabling Icon Mail for Matrix Users Starting the Utility Cimmetry Systems Corp. 6 / 16

7 Manual Setup Take the following steps to install Metafile Caching Utility manually. If you installed Metafile Caching Utility during the automatic installation of VueLink, skip the following steps. 1. Create a folder called /cimmetry/metafile_utility. For example: c:/program files/cimmetry/metafile_utility 2. Copy the content of the metafile_utility folder found on the distribution CD to the folder created in previous step. 3. In the /metafile_utility/bin folder, open run.bat in a text editor and modify the following settings: JDK_DIR JARDIR PASSWORD MX_CLIENT_JAR Full path to the root folder where Sun s JRE is installed. Example: c:\jdk1.3.1 Full path to the folder that contains metafile.jar along with other JAR files. Password of a valid Matrix account with administrative privileges. There are two entries in run.bat. You need to uncomment one entry only based on version of Matrix you have installed. If you are using Matrix v , ematrixservletrmi.jar should be in the classpath. Otherwise, ematrixappletdownloadxml.jar should be in the classpath. If you are using RIP mode, use full path to ematrixappletxml.jar instead of ematrixservletrmi.jar. Note: By default, the csiqcmatrix.properties file is located under same folder as metafile.jar. If this file is moved to another location, then you need to set the full path to PROPFILE. PROPFILE Full path to csiqcmatrix.properties file. 4. In the /metafile_utility/bin folder, open the csiqcmatrix.properties file in a text editor and modify the following settings: JVUE_HOST JVUE_PORT MAX_THREADS QUEUE_CLIENT_PROP The host server Name or IP where AutoVue Client-Server Edition Server is running. The Port Number to which AutoVue Client-Server Edition Server is listening. By default, this value is For each request for rendition, the utility creates a new thread (process) that interacts with the AutoVue Server to perform the rendition as well as the check-in of the metafile. The maximum number of such threads that the polling client can run simultaneously can be configured here. Increasing this number leads to quicker rendition because more files can be rendered at the same time. But it also leads to a greater load on the machine hosting this utility as well as the machine hosting AutoVue Server. This number cannot exceed the number of seats procured for AutoVue Client-Server Edition Server. For example, if you are running AutoVue Client-Server Edition server with a 50-user license, then the value supplied in this text field may never exceed 50. Full Path to csimfmatrix.properties properties file. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 7 / 16

8 5. In the /metafile_utility/bin folder, open csimfmatrix.properties file in a text editor and modify the following settings: MX_HOST The host server Name or IP where the Application Server (e.g. Weblogic) hosting Matrix Thin Client applications is running. MX_PORT MX_CONNECT Any Matrix Thin Client installation needs a Webserver to be the point of entry for all requests. The Webserver then transfers requests to the underlying application server. For example, when the Weblogic server is installed, it comes with a default Webserver that listens to port 7001 by default and transfers all requests to Weblogic. The value supplied in this text field should be the port number to which the Webserver is listening. Matrix Collaboration Kernel type. RIP, RMI or EJB. Default is RIP. If using RIP mode, input MX_CONNECT is APPSERVER. MX_RMIPORT Port number if Matrix RMI server is used. Default is MX_USER MX_VAULT MX_CSI_CONFIG CODEBASE MX_FILEURL MX_SVLT Name of valid Matrix user with Administrative Privileges to Application Centrals. Default is Test Everything. The utility needs to sign into Matrix to access Rendition Requests. This user ID should have permissions to read and modify Business Objects of type csiqueueitem. It should also have permissions to send icon mail notifications to users about the status of their rendition requests. Matrix vault name, which contains all the csiqueueitems. Care should be taken to ensure that this is the same Vault that contains VueLink for Matrix specific business objects. This object (Cimmetry Configuration Business Object) is created when VueLink for Matrix is installed. It contains all the required meta-data for VueLink functionality. Since this utility depends on VueLink to function (please refer to the architecture diagram), the object name specified here should be accurate. Web path to the client file specified above (MX_CLIENT_JAR), with web app context name. Example: /ematrix/webclient/java/classes Web path to MxAutoVue servlet. Example: /ematrix/servlet/mxautovueservlet Web path to VueLink servlet. Example: /ematrix/com.cimmetry.vuelink.matrix.dms 6. In a text editor, open schemacreatebc.txt file found under /metafile_utility/bin folder and modify the following settings: context_user Replace " USER " with the name of valid Matrix user who has administrative privileges. Default is creator. context_password Replace " PASSWORD " with the password of valid Matrix user who has administrative privileges. Default is empty. context_vault store_name Replace " VAULT with Matrix Vault name. Replace " STORE " with Matrix Store name. 7. Launch Matrix MQL Application (mql.exe) and run the script contained in schemacreatebc.txt file. For example, at MQL prompt, type run c:/temp/schemacreatebc.txt. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 8 / 16

9 Starting the Utility Invoke run.bat from the command line. It asks you for a password. Enter a password that belongs to a valid Matrix user who has administrative privileges. Make sure that Application Server (Weblogic or WebSphere) is running before invoking run.bat. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 9 / 16

10 Configuration Setting Trigger Mechanisms in Matrix Metafile Utility for Matrix takes advantage of the event mechanism provided by Matrix. Two kinds of triggering mechanisms are employed with Metafile Utility: The On-Demand (explicit) mechanism, metafile request is implemented with Matrix Thick-client. The user can initiate a metafile request when needed. The metafile Utility takes care of that request and creates the metafile. Note: The On-Demand mechanism is recommended for files with XREFs. The Event-based (implicit) mechanism, the triggering method is involved with registering with a particular event such as the check-in event. That means once a document is checked in, an event, which is defined by Matrix is fired which invokes csicreatequeueitem program. Note: The Event-Based mechanism is recommended for files without XREFs. On-Demand Mechanism The script file creates a program called csicreatequeueitemondemand within Matrix. This program functions exactly like the program csicreatequeueitem. The difference is that csicreatequeueitem is meant to be associated with Business Objects as a trigger while this program is to be associated with Business Objects as a method. The administrator may also associate the program csicreatequeueitem with Business Object types other than CAD Model. 1. Run Matrix Business application (eg.: business.exe). 2. Open the Matrix CAD Model type in edit mode. 3. In the Edit window that appears, click the Methods tab. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 10 / 16

11 4. Click Add. 5. Type csicreatequeueitemondemand in the Name field. 6. Click Ok. Event-Based Mechanism ii-1 csicreatequeueitem The script file creates a program called csicreatequeueitem in Matrix. When invoked, this program creates a Business Object, which represents a request for Metafile Rendition. You can set the Check-in trigger on CAD Model Business Objects to invoke this program. You can choose to associate the program with any other trigger. In addition to this, you can also associate the csicreatequeueitem program with Business Object types other than CAD Model. 1. Run Matrix Business application (eg.: business.exe). 2. Open the Matrix CAD Model type in edit mode. 3. In the Edit window that appears, click the Triggers tab. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 11 / 16

12 4. If the trigger you want is not in the list, click Add, then double-click the desired trigger. 5. In the Edit Trigger window that appears, type the program name, i.e. csicreatequeueitem, in the Action text field. ii-2 csicreatequeueitemmeeting The script file creates a program called csicreatequeueitemmeeting in Matrix. When invoked, this program creates a Business Object, which represents a request for Metafile Rendition. You can set the Create trigger on MeetingAttachment Relationship Business Objects to invoke this program. You can choose to associate the program with any other trigger. In addition to this, you can also associate the csicreatequeueitemmeeting program with Business Object types other than MeetingAttachment. 6. Run Matrix Business application (eg.: business.exe). 7. Open the Matrix MeetingAttachment type in edit mode. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 12 / 16

13 8. In the Edit window that appears, click the Triggers tab. 9. If the trigger you want is not in the list, click Add, then double-click the desired trigger. 10. In the Edit Trigger window that appears, type the program name, i.e. csicreatequeueitemmeeting, in the Action text field. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 13 / 16

14 11- Make sure the Meeting Attachments relationship is from Type Meeting to Type DOCUMENTS as well. In this case, the trigger would act on any type of document that is derived from type DOCUMENTS successfully. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 14 / 16

15 Enabling Icon Mail for Matrix Users Once the utility is installed successfully, you need to enable icon Mail for all users who will be creating Rendition Requests. This is needed because the utility relies on icon mail to send notification to users about the status of their requests. 1. Run the Matrix Business application (eg.: business.exe). 2. Select Object > Find from main menu. 3. Select Person from the Object list, then click Find. 4. From the search result, select the user who needs icon mail enabling. 5. Select Object > Open > Edit from main menu. 6. In the Edit window that appears, make sure the Icon Mail box is checked. Cimmetry Systems Corp. 15 / 16

16 Feedback Cimmetry System products are designed according to your needs. We would appreciate your feedback, comments and suggestions. We can be contacted by fax, or telephone. There is a feedback button on our Web page that activates an easy-to-use feedback form. Let us know what you think! General Inquiries Telephone: Fax: (514) info@cimmetry.com Website: Sales Inquiries Telephone: or Fax: (514) sales@cimmetry.com Customer Support Telephone: Website: Cimmetry Systems Corp. 16 / 16