Server Maintenance Part 5: Maintain Content Center Libraries

In addition to hosting vaults, Autodesk Vault server hosts Content Center libraries. Use the server console to perform Content Center Library administrator tasks.

A Content Center library is contained within a SQL Server database. The database comprises of a pair of files with the extensions MDF and LDF. These files together make one library and need to be maintained together.

The console displays the list of Content Center libraries currently installed on the server. Using the Backup command, you can create a back-up of an existing library on the server. Select a library from the list to manage it.

The following is the list of content which can be installed with the Autodesk Inventor products. In the Select Content Center Libraries window of the Installation Wizard, check boxes are selected for the libraries installed by default.

List of Content Center Libraries

ANSI Standard Content

ANSI Fasteners, Shaft parts, Steel shapes, more

DIN Standard Content

DIN Fasteners, Shaft parts, Steel shapes, more

GOST Standard Content

GOST Fasteners, Shaft parts, Steel shapes, more

ISO Standard Content

ISO Fasteners, Shaft parts, Steel shapes, more

JIS & GB Standard Content

Standard parts for JIS and GB - Fasteners, Shaft parts, Steel shapes, more

Feature Generators Standard Content

General features in metric and imperial units

Other Standard Content

Standard parts for AFNOR, AS, BSI, CNS, CSN, GOST, IS, KS, PN, SFS, SS, STN, and UNI

Parker Standard Content

Standard content supplied by Parker Hannifin for tube and pipe fittings ( Autodesk Inventor Professional and Autodesk Professional Routed Systems only)

Routed Systems Standard Content

Standard content for Cable & Harness and Tube & Pipe parts ( Autodesk Inventor Professional and Autodesk Professional Routed Systems only)

Sheet Metal Standard Content

Standard content for Sheet Metal parts

Mold Metric Standard Content

Standard content for Metric Mold components

Mold Imperial Standard Content

Standard content for Imperial Mold components

Mold Meusburger Standard Content

Standard content for Mold Meusburger components

Create Libraries

You can create a read-write or read-only Content Center library. You can configured it for use in either a local or Autodesk Inventor project that accesses the Content Center libraries from a central server.

  1. In the server console, select the Libraries folder in the navigation pane.
  2. Click Actions Create Library.
  3. Enter a name for the new library.
  4. Select a library partition from the drop-down list.
  5. Enter a name for the library database.
  6. Click OK.

Delete Libraries

Deleting a library detaches the selected library from the database server, and deletes the data files (.mdf and .ldf) from the hard disk. All data contained in the library is permanently deleted.

  1. In the server console, select a library you want to delete in the navigation pane.
  2. Click Actions Delete Library.
  3. Click OK.

Attach Libraries

Use Attach to make a Content Center library available on the server from a pair of existing .mdf and .ldf data files already on the computer.

  1. In the server console, select Libraries in the navigation pane.
  2. Click Actions Attach Library.
  3. Click the browse button, and locate the .mdf file you want to attach. The .ldf file is automatically attached.
  4. In the Attach Library dialog box, click OK.

Detach Libraries

Detaching a library removes a Content Center library from the list of available libraries in the server console. Detach does not delete its data files (MDF and LDF) from the server. The data files can be reattached and made available at a later time using the Attach command. They can also be manually copied to another location to be backed up, or moved to another machine.

  1. In the server console, select Libraries in the navigation pane.
  2. Click Actions Detach Library.
  3. Click the browse button, and locate the .mdf file you want to detach.
  4. Click OK.

Copy Libraries

Access the server console:
  • On the local machine if the Content Center libraries are installed locally.
  • On the remote server if the Content Center libraries are being hosted by a remote server.
  1. In the navigation pane, expand the Libraries folder.
  2. In the Libraries folder, right-click the library to copy and then select Copy.
  3. In the Copy Library dialog box, the display name, partition, and database name associated with the library to copy are displayed.
    • Enter a name for the new copy of the library.
    • From the Partition drop-down list, select a partition for the new copy of the library. The partition associates the copied library with a particular release of Autodesk Inventor. Only Inventor users using the corresponding version of Inventor can access the libraries in the matching partition.
    • Enter the database name for the copy of the library.
  4. Click OK.

You must be a Content Center Editor to make edits to Content Center libraries in Autodesk Inventor.

You must be a Content Center Administrator to perform Content Center administrative task in the server console.

Copy Libraries During Migration

If you chose to migrate existing libraries, the Copy Libraries dialog displays. The Copy Libraries dialog lists the custom and standard libraries that require migration. Standard content libraries can be either kept and migrated for use with the new version of the data management server or deleted. Custom content libraries can be kept and migrated for use with the new version of the data management server, deleted, or copied forward for use with a newer version of Autodesk Inventor. By default, all libraries are set to be kept and migrated for use with the new version of the server and custom libraries are set to be copied forward to the latest version of Autodesk Inventor.

Note: The Copy Libraries dialog box is only available during the initial migration immediately following an upgrade installation.
  1. To delete either a standard library or a custom library, turn off all of the check boxes for the corresponding library. If all check boxes for a library are turned off, the library is deleted during migration.
  2. To copy a custom library forward to a new version of Autodesk Inventor, turn on the check box for the library corresponding to the new version of Inventor.
    • If the current version of the custom library is also checked, the existing library is both migrated for use with the new version of the server, and copied forward for use with the new version of Autodesk Inventor. Choosing to keep the original library and copy the library forward requires additional disk space. The amount of disk space required and the amount of disk space available is displayed in the dialog box.
    • If the current version of the current library is turned off, the existing library will be copied forward for use with the new version of Autodesk Inventor and then the original library is deleted.
      Note: To return the dialog to the default settings, click Reset.
  3. Click OK. A summary of the migration operations to be performed is presented. If the summary matches your expectations, click Yes to proceed with library migration or click No to return to the Copy Libraries dialog box and change the migration settings.

Export Libraries

Export copies a set of library files (.mdf and .ldf) that are in the server console to a specified location. You can specify a folder on the same machine, or a location available on the network.

  1. In the server console navigation pane, select a library you want to export.
  2. Click Actions Export Library.
  3. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, specify the location you want to export the .mdf file to, and click OK.

Import Libraries

Import copies library files (a pair of MDF and LDF files) into the standard SQL Server data files directory. Then it performs an attach operation to register them with SQL Server and make them available as a Content Center Library. For example, use Import to copy library files from a third party supplier to the Content Center Library you are administrating.

  1. In the server console navigation pane, select a library you want to import.
  2. Click Actions Import Library.
  3. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, locate the .mdf file you want to export, and click OK.

Display Library Summary

Highlight a library to display high-level information about the library and its data files in the main pane.

Control Library Status

To turn the status of a library to Read-Only or Read-Write, right-click a library in the browser and select Read-Only. You cannot change the status of a default read-only libraries installed with Autodesk Inventor.

Grant Content Center Permissions

If you require editing permissions for one or more Content Center libraries, you must have a Content Center Editor account set up for you in the data management server console.

Accounts are not required if you use only read-only access to the Content Center library.

Create Content Center library user accounts in the data management server console:
  1. In server console, click Tools Administration.
  2. In the Administration dialog box, click Users.
  3. In the User Administration dialog box, click New users.
  4. In the New User dialog box, enter the desired information for the user. Click the Roles button to assign the user a Content Center role.
  5. Select Content Center Editor to assign editing permissions.
  6. Click Vaults to assign the user to a vault. Assign a user to a vault, even if you are not using Autodesk Vault Explorer. This assignment is required to log into the Autodesk Vault server in Autodesk Inventor to access the Content Center libraries.
  7. If necessary, click Groups to assign the user to a group (optional).
  8. Click OK.
  9. In the User Management dialog box, and then in the Administration dialog box, click Close.
  10. Communicate user account information and the Login procedure to each member in the team.

Add New Properties

When a new iFilter is installed, the vault database must be re indexed to recognize the related properties. After, run the Re-Index command to extract the new property data from all the files in the vault, including the historical versions.
Note: Some iFilters create actual properties that are searchable and can be displayed as columns in the vault. Others only index file contents which are searchable, but cannot be displayed as a column. For more information on searching file contents, see Manage Indexing.