Label Files

Throughout the design process, there are milestones that you want to capture. These milestones represent points in time such as customer proposals, design reviews, or concept variations. You can label these milestones so they can be easily identified. Using labels, you can establish baselines and track marked progress for work-in-progress files. As the design progresses, you can also use these milestones to archive and retrieve past versions.

When you create a label, the most recent checked in version of every file in the project is assigned that label. If files within the project have child references outside of the current folder, those files are also assigned the label. There is no limit to the number of labels that can be assigned to a project. You cannot create more than one label with the same name.

Labels do not include folder information, only the project files are labeled. To help you identify the labeled project, include the name of the project in the label name and add a descriptive comment summarizing the extent of the label.

The Labels dialog box allows you to create new labels and view existing ones. You can also delete labels, rename labels, extract labeled files from the vault using Pack and Go, and restore labeled files. Labels can be viewed by anyone with permission to see labels.

Manage Labels

All vault users can view labels; however, only user accounts assigned the role of Editor or Administrator can create and manage labels. The Labels dialog box is used to manage and view labels. Labels can be created, deleted, renamed, archived, and restored all from the Labels dialog box. The Labels dialog box also displays details about labels, such as who created it, when it was created, how many files are assigned to the label, and the comment associated with the label. 

Assigning a label to a project creates a dependency between the project files and the corresponding label. Files associated with labels cannot be deleted from the vault unless the label is deleted first. When you delete a label, only the label is removed. The associated files remain in the vault.

No two label names can be the same. When naming labels, the following characters are restricted: \ / : * ? " < > | 

Label files

Follow these steps to label files.

  1. Right-click a vault folder and then select New Label from the context menu.
  2. In the New Label dialog box, enter a name for the label that indicates the milestone for that project. Label names can contain any alphanumeric text, excluding \ / : * ? " < >|
  3. Optionally, enter a comment to describe the label. Labels help identify the contents of the label.
  4. Click OK.
Note: You can change the folder containing the project to be labeled by browsing for a different target location in the vault. 

Create a New Label

Follow these steps to create new labels to apply to files.

  1. From the Tools menu, select Labels. 
  2. Click New.
  3. In the New Label dialog box, browse to a vault folder containing files to label.
  4. Enter a name for the label.
  5. Optionally, enter a comment describing the label.
  6. Click OK.

Edit a Label

You can edit existing labels by performing the following steps.

  1. From the Tools menu, select Labels. 
  2. Select a label from the list.
  3. Click Edit.
  4. Enter a new name for the label.
  5. Edit the comment for the label.
  6. Click OK.

Delete a Label

Delete labels that are no longer needed by performing the following steps.

  1. From the Tools menu, select Labels.
  2. Select a label from the list of labels.
  3. Click Delete.
  4. You are prompted to confirm deleting the label. Click Yes.

Only the label is deleted. The associated files remain in the vault.

Extract Labels

Labeling a project allows you to archive or extract all of the project files that represent that milestone or baseline. By extracting the labeled project, you are capturing the project at a specific point in time. The captured project can then act as a roll-back target should it ever be necessary to return to the last labeled milestone.

Extract a Label

Extract labels to cpature a project at a specific point in time. The captured project can then act as a roll-back target should it ever be necessary to return to the last labeled milestone.

  1. From the Tools menu, select Labels.
  2. In the Labels dialog box, select a label from the labels list.
  3. Click Pack and Go.
  4. Specify the location on the local computer or a network drive for the extracted label to be saved.
  5. Select the type of package to be created, either a folder containing the files or a compressed Zip file. If you select Zip file, specify the name of the Zip file.
  6. Select the label to pack. If only one label is available, no other labels are listed.
  7. The extracted label can retain the folder structure from the vault or place all files in a single, flat directory. Select either Copy to Single Path or Keep Folder Hierarchy.
  8. Click OK.

Restore Lables

Because a label is applied to the entire project, it is a convenient way of restoring a project in a single operation rather than restoring individual files. Restoring a label returns the packed versions of the files associated with a label to the vault as the newest versions of the files. By restoring a label, you can rollback a project should it be necessary to return to a previous milestone. For example, you can rollback the project to the versions of the files labeled as "Initial Design" if the project has strayed too far off course or if the files have to be returned to the last known good state. 

All of the files associated with the label must be checked in before restoring the label. Even files checked out to the person restoring the label must be checked in.

When a label is restored, all of the files associated with the label are restored to the vault. You cannot choose which files within the label are restored. The label represents the project in its entirety.

If you cancel the restoration process, the files that have been returned to the vault up to that point stay in the vault. The remaining files associated with the label are not restored. 

Restore a Label

Restore a label to return the packed versions of the files associated with a label to the vault as the newest versions of the files.

  1. From the Tools menu, select Labels.
  2. In the Labels dialog box, select a label from the labels list.
  3. Click Restore.
  4. You are prompted to confirm restoring the selected label and creating a new version of all the associated files. Click Yes.

The progress of the restoration is displayed. The files associated with the label are restored to the vault as the latest version.

Parent topic: Work with Files and Folders in Vault