ENOVIA SmarTeam’s Import Options

If you’re looking to load files or metadata into ENOVIA SmarTeam, you have five options.  Three of those five options are utilities that Dassault provides to allow administrators and users to populate the PDM system with information.  Each has its own purpose and focus, and when used together, can cover almost any scenario. 

The five ways of getting files and metadata into ENOVIA SmarTeam are:

• Import Tool
• Bulk Loaders
• Import from Excel
• ENOVIA SmarTeam API
• Direct database / filesystem access

The first three options listed are the utilities provided by Dassault.  The Import Tool is the most flexible, allowing you to load objects as well as links, and also allowing you to update existing information in SmarTeam.  The Bulk Loaders are specialized for bringing in CAD files and CAD file relationships.  Import from Excel does a great job of bringing in multi-level object hierarchies where it is important to load objects and links simultaneously (although it is only available via the Express offerings, working against PLMDB).  Let’s take a deeper look at each tool.

Import Tool

• Can load or update objects or links
• Can read from databases, delimited files, and other sources (but not from files)
• Can be extended using virtual attributes (to perform basic calculations), and using scripts
• Import “profiles” can be saved and reused
• Has its own set of best practice methodologies (like maximum records to load at a time)

Bulk Loaders

• There is a Bulk Loader for each CAD Integration
• Can create new objects and links
• Only reads from the filesystem (not from databases or delimited files)
• Can be extended using normal scripting mechanisms (since it is really just automating SmarTeam Save operations)
• Reads file and custom properties while loading (based on Integration Tools Setup mappings)
• Has its own set of best practice methodologies (like loading parts before assemblies, and loading drawings last)

Import from Excel

• Creates new objects and links simultaneously, can link existing objects
• Only reads from Excel (not from databases or the filesystem)
• Cannot be extended, but can be configured to import different classes
• Import “profiles” can be saved and reused
• Simple enough for most users to work with
• Has its own set of best practice methodologies (like loading objects one class at a time, then building heterogeneous structures afterward)

Beyond these three utilities, you can also import data into ENOVIA SmarTeam using the system’s API, or by accessing the underlying data stores (the database and the filesystem) directly.  These last two avenues are advanced and can create serious problems if you aren’t familiar with them, so be appropriately careful if you decide to go beyond the utilities that Dassault provides.  As always, contact us if you need help with any of these options – we use all of them regularly.

Tags: CAD file management, data migration, ENOVIA SmarTeam, import, item management, legacy data, metadata, Microsoft Excel