CADnection Advances AutoCAD and SharePoint Co-Operation

By DE Editors

CADnection (Santa Ana, CA), developers of distributed file-sharing and AutoCAD integration technology, announced extended reference file management capabilities in its namesake product.

The CADnection product forms a seamless integration between Autodesk's AutoCAD — the most widely used engineering and architectural drafting program — and Microsoft SharePoint, a suite of server-based capabilities for data sharing, content management, and business process acceleration.

The new capabilities combine the power of SharePoint's content management platform with an extended data structure specifically designed for treating AutoCAD reference files. This added integration enables users to ensure the data integrity of AutoCAD drawings and reference file relationships coupled with visibility into these relationships both in and out of the AutoCAD application.

As users check-in drawings into SharePoint, CADnection automatically establishes or updates drawing and reference file relationships accordingly.

In addition to managing the reference file relationships, CADnection ensures complete file integrity during the check-out and check-in processes. During the check-out process, users have the option to copy reference files out with the primary file and set lock or unlock flags. During the check-in process, CADnection analyzes the drawing and updates the reference file relationships. The information is immediately visible to other users in SharePoint.

Application of CADnection's reference file management and visibility capabilities also benefits non-CAD users. In combination with SharePoint's collaboration capabilities, organizations can establish change-management processes that permit users to assess the impact of change without direct access to AutoCAD.

A full demonstration of the reference file management capabilities is available at CADnection.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.