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An Intralink alternative

M

maxweston

New member
Hi,
I have been using Intralink since its inception
and must say that I was completely comfortable with the software and
its functionality up until the time that PTC made the announcement that
support would end in 2008. Not only would support for Intralink end but
also the big cost of migration from Intralink to Intralink 8 would
leave a sizable hole in your pocket.

I decided to "shop around"
for an alternative and am very glad that I did because I found Design
Data Manager. I have been using it now for about 8 months, and I would
suggest that anyone looking for an alternative to Intralink, at least
try this software, you will be pleasantly surprised. There are a number
of "big hitters" around the place that are using DDM and have publicly
announced their approval.

DDM is definitely worth a try, It's free for a months evaluation.

MW Solid Model Design
 
I recently saw this product mentioned in another thread. It caught my eye because of the bad reviews and price of Intralink 8/PDMlink. I'm interested in other opinions of this software. How does it compare to Intralink? Are there things that it can't do? Does it do things that Intralink can't?


My initial feeling is that it can't work as well with Pro/E as the data management tool that PTC makes, but I'd like to hear from others that have used it.
 
I don't know Intralink but we've worked with PDMLink for 2 years but kicked it out and are currently working with DDM and I can confirm that all the stuff that we used from PDMLink, we find back in the functionality of DDM. This goes from searching part/assemblies, assembling parts in ProE via DDM, releasing parts/assemblies/drawings, creating new versions, ... . All engineering functionality that we require, we find back in DDM.
You would be surprised how well non-PTC software can work together with ProE. I also was of the opinion that only PTC can write decent software regarding ProE but DDM has proved me wrong.
DDM is certainly something to look at.
 
Can DDM rename a ProE object without loading all the assembly into the memory where the Part is assembled?
If NO don't use DDM, that is my opinion.
 
Sounds impressive.
smiley32.gif
But without ever seeing the software I've could have found a fatal flaw. The name. Design Data Manager is a generic term. When I google Design Data Manager, or Design Data Management I get 8 million referneces to this term
smiley7.gif
and have yet to see the software your talking about. So could you tell me who makes this so I can check it out?


Thanks
smiley1.gif
 
Hi Hermann_ger,<br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I cannot believe what I am reading here, your saying that if you can't rename in the database don't use DDM! Would you say if Intralink can rename in the database there is no need to look at any other features or functionality I will buy the software based solely on this one feature, I don't think so. When you evaluate any software you should be looking at the overall package to ascertain if the software fits your requirements, not dismiss a product because it lacks one particular function.

Pro/E on its own will not rename and propergate the renamed components through the assemblies in the database, using your rationale you shouldn't buy or use Pro/E.
DDM has a lot to offer and any potential buyer would be a fool to themselves and their company if they don't at least try it, after all it's free to trial for a month.

DDM has functionality that Intralink doesn't have and vice versa so why not do yourself a favor and check it out (no pun intended) and see what you think. If performance and support is not important to you then stick with what you've got but while you're still checking data out or in, I'll be a long time finished and enjoying my coffee and cake.

MW Solid Model Design


Edited by: maxweston
 
I have been using Agile E5 software to manage Proe data for the past 2-1/2 years. I was using Intralink but needed a more complete package to handle more than just Proe data. Agile software provides a complete PLM system. Currently it does provide a rename functionality in the database, but is in the works for the next upgrade.


Tom
 
Hi all,


You'll see from my previous postsmy company is aDDM user. We have 4 seats of WF 3.0 and DDM and have been running the software since 2004. If you're on a budget (like us) and want an easy to maintain system (I do IT and CAD admin as well as engineering), it is worth a look. DDM runs on MSDE (free)/SQL serverand is fairly idiot proof to install. We run the database on our solitary server and it all works OK.


The rename deal is manageable, considering the alternative, i.e. files and folders. I agree with maxweston. Take a look at what this system could offer you overall.


Free free to contact me if you have any questions.


Davy
 
Is it able to handle Pro-E references if it is able to duplicate parts, assemblies and subassemblies in a "workspace"?


Also, can it rename parts and assemblies system wide from a "commonspace", if it can is it also able to rename instances? I worked with smarteam and the rename functionality was poor and totally fell on it's face when renaming instances.
 
Hi DDrichards,

I assume by duplicate parts you mean save a copy or save as. If that is what you mean then the answer is yes. DDM cannot rename from commonspace (vault in DDM).
Yes it can rename instances (not system wide) but as in intralink once renaming takes place the instances need to be verified and re saved. Saving in DDM has the same effect as "checking in" in Intralink.

MW
 
When I talk about doing a duplicate, I don't mean just being able to do a save-as, that can be done with standalone Pro-E. I mean can it handle dependancies at the same time? I done a lot of duplicating using the "update dependencies" funcionality that many don't seem to utilize.


The renaming functionality I've experienced with Pro-PDM and Intralink, also updated all the places it is used, Smarteam had difficulty with Pro-E dependencies and I doubt anyone can do it as well as PTC can?
 
I have news for you... Intralink can not rename either. What it does is keep a table of what you think the name is and what the name really is and intercepts every call for a file name(or something like that, I have not seen the code ;-) This is especially easy to see with batch plotting.

Maybe that is nit picking, if its invisible to the user who cares? But it makes it suicidal to try and pull any file management trickery with intralink.
 
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