Viewing Data Cards

Data cards can be displayed in two different ways: the fingertip view and the full data card view.

Common vault commands can be accessed from any of the data card views using a context menu. You can quickly refresh from vault, get a revision, check in, check out, undo check out, revise, or change state without ever having to switch back to the vault browser or access the vault ribbon.

Fingertip View

The fingertip view is the default view for Data Cards. This view is a collapsed, read-only version of the full data card. When a file is selected and the data card feature enabled, the fingertip displays the:

View Fingertip Information

  1. Enable data cards by click the Data Card button on the Autodesk Vault ribbon.

    The data card window displays.

  2. Select a part in the model.

    The data card grid updates automatically to show the part's file name, a thumbnail, revision, state, category, and vault status.

Full Data Card View

The fingertip can be expanded into a full data card which displays all of the information in the fingertip view as well as certain property information. The CAD administrator can determine which properties are displayed on the Configure Data Card dialog, which can be accessed through the Vault Settings dialog in the Autodesk Vault client.

The tasks you can perform with the data card depend on whether the data card is in read-only mode or edit mode.

Read-only mode

The read-only mode is the default mode for viewing the full data card. This mode allows you to compare selected files and to filter the property values based on your needs.

When a data card opens for a selected file or when a Refresh command is performed, the values for the properties are grabbed from the server and displayed. A pending icon displays next to the property name when the retrieval is in process. The pending icon disappears once the value is received for that property.

Edit mode

The property grid can be changed to edit mode by clicking the Edit Button. When in edit mode, the file is automatically checked out of the vault and you can edit the displayed property values. When you are finished editing, the new values are written to the local file and to the server file. These edits are made permanent when the file is checked into the vault. All actions performed on an individual card affect only the component associated with the card.

View Full Data Card Information

  1. Click the >> button in the lower right-hand corner of the data card to switch between the fingertip view and the full data card view.

    The data card expands to display the properties. Some properties will show a pending icon until the value is retrieved from the server.

  2. Click the tabs at the bottom of the grid to see additional properties.
    Note: Property information on additional tabs is determined by the CAD administrator on the Configure Data Card dialog in the Vault client.