Docupoint DrawingSearcher Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How does DrawingSearcher work?
A. DrawingSearcher reads all the text, attributes (visible and non-visible) and block names in all the drawings on your network and indexes them into a text search engine stored on the index server. To find a drawing the index server is accessed via your web browser just like you use a search engine on the web.
Q. What makes DrawingSearcher easy to use?
A. To find a drawing with DrawingSearcher the user needs only to know what they want to find and not how to find it. Need to find all drawings that reference a part number? Just type it in the search field and press submit. A list of drawing is instantly generated! There is no need to learn how to search a complex database system. DrawingSearcher's search capabilities go far beyond that found in standard "card catalog" search systems. Instead of being limited to finding documents based on the data entered in the card catalog, DrawingSearcher searches all text and alphanumeric strings inside the drawing.
Q. Our drawings are highly confidential. There's no way we would put them on the Internet. How can DrawingSearcher help us?
A. While DrawingSearcher can be used to publish drawings to the Internet the most common use is on a standard LAN behind the system's firewall. In this configuration the drawing files are protected from outside, Internet, access.
Q. How do I access DrawingSearcher from our network?
A. It's simple. Just point your web browser to the network address of the DrawingSearcher server. A search screen will be displayed. Enter a simple or advanced search and press the submit button. That's it! A list of drawings containing the search criteria is created instantly. Click on the hot link and the drawing is automatically opened in the Autodesk Design Review application. A compatible browser and DWF file viewer is the only software required on the client computer.
Q. We have over 20,000 drawings. How can DrawingSearcher help us?
A. DrawingSearcher's cataloging process is fully automatic. Simply install the server, configure it for the machines and drives/directories that are to be searched, and let it go! DrawingSearcher will automatically open all the drawing files and read the text into the search engine database. Within just a few hours after installation you will be able to search for any drawing on your network. The indexer constantly maintains the accuracy of the index database thru regularly scheduled re-indexing.
Q. Does DrawingSearcher require a copy of AutoCAD to read the drawings?
A. No, DrawingSearcher directly reads the AutoCAD binary files (.dwg) without requiring the use of an AutoCAD license.
Q. How big are the DrawingSearcher index files?
A. DrawingSearcher index files are extremely compact, typically 1-2% of drawing file size. DrawingSearcher's advanced compression techniques minimize the disk space required to store the drawing data.
|
