It's All Just Ones and Zeros

Updating a Plug-in to Vault 2014

2013-05-23T07:59:13-04:00

Things changed just enough to be annoying when updating your plug-in to Vault 2014. So I thought I would make a quick video on how to update your app. This is actually me updating DECO 2013 to 2014, which makes for a good real-world example.

DevExpress DLLs

2013-05-17T08:12:58-04:00

The Vault 2014 SDK contains a bunch of DLLs from a third-party vendor, DevExpress. Autodesk and DevExpress entered into an agreement for usage and distribution of these DLLs in the Vault SDK. Here is my understanding of that agreement. Keep in mind that I do not represent the Autodesk legal department.

How to Acquire Files

2013-05-14T09:53:43-04:00

Downloading and checking-out is so last year. The fashionable Vault API developer acquires their files. It has more style and class. Also, DocumentService.DownloadFile and DocumentService.CheckoutFile are no more in the 2014 API. So that kind of forces the issue. Connection.FileManager.AcquireFiles is the replacement. I’ll go over the architectural reason for the change in a later article.

Finally a Good Splash Screen

2013-05-10T09:48:28-04:00

I’ve been waiting for this for almost 9 years, and it’s finally here. Vault has a good splash screen!

Getting to Know the VDF

2013-05-07T15:27:06-04:00

The VDF will feel a lot different than the rest of the Vault API. It’s almost as if it was built by a completely different team. The reason is because it was built by a completely different team. There are other reasons too. Working with UI components is different than working with server calls. Also, the VDF is able to follow a more object oriented approach than the web service layer. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This post is about getting to know the VDF. No talk of commitment or marriage or anything. It's just a nice casual tour of the major components.

DECO 2014

2013-04-30T08:25:35-04:00

Time to start updating my apps. The first on the list is DECO (Design Editor for Custom Objects). Not only is this a must-have when using custom objects, but it gave me a chance to play with the new grid control in the Vault SDK. If you are unfamiliar with DECO, have a look at the page for the 2013 version.

Vault 2014 SDK - Whats New

2013-04-23T17:17:42-04:00

The Vault 2014 SDK has some nice goodies for the development community. Of course there are also changes that you need to make when upgrading your old code. I’ll be going into each of these topics in more detail. For now, here is a quick overview of what’s new.

Logging in through the Vault 2014 API

2013-04-19T07:49:07-04:00

Now the Vault 2014 is out, I thought I would just jump in and show off one of the new API features - the Login Dialog. Next week I’ll take a step back and explain all the new stuff. For now, just sit back and enjoy my new intro sequence...

The Package Service

2013-04-12T08:23:06-04:00

The Package Service is harder to describe than the rest of the Vault web services. It was designed with one thing in mind, but ended up doing something else. As a result, there are some artifacts left around that make it confusing to work with. The main use nowadays is to import and export BOM data between the Item service and a file. But there is still some active legacy behavior that you might find useful.

Status Update

2013-04-03T12:25:32-04:00

Vault 2014 is out but only the Basic version. I’m waiting until Vault Professional 2014 is released before I dive into the technical details of the API. Stay tuned... or whatever the 21st century equivalent is. This upcoming year, I will try a new format for my videos. Currently most of the content is contained is a 6-hour block of videos, which I realize is probably intimidating to some people. The new format will favor more videos with a smaller size. I’m hoping for around 10 minutes in length. Each video will cover only one topic to make it more...