Migrating your data

Once you have  gotten started with the Workbench Desktop App, it's time to ramp it up with more projects! This guide will tell you the best way to sort all your CAD files into projects and get them into Workbench. 

First, organize your files into folders

Each project on Workbench will be in sync with one folder on your computer's hard drive. Here are a few things to consider that should help you decide how best to use GrabCAD Workbench projects.

• Each project gets its own design team

  Only give access to the people who need it. Projects allow you to have custom roles for each product. Click to learn more about  roles and permissions

• Each project tells the story of one product

  The home page for each project, the Updates Feed, contains events and comments relevant only to the product. Because of this, it is best for each project to have all the necessary files for each product your team is working on.

• Core files can be grouped into a Library Project

  If your products share a group of files that you would not like to duplicate, you can keep them in a separate project. This works best if these files do not change often, and is ideal for standard parts such as nuts and bolts.

  The  web viewer will read the 3D data from any component files when they are available, so it is recommended to include all parts of an assembly, including these standard parts, in your Workbench account. If assemblies have components that are on Workbench in another project, check the "Common Parts Library" box in Project settings for the best viewing experience. For more information, check out this guide to  setting up a common parts library.

  This setting does not effect user permissions or access to your files, it only enhances the web viewer performance.

Then, the folders become projects on Workbench

Decide who has the master set of files and organize into folders to become projects. For tips on getting your files into one location, see this guide for pack-and-go. Then:

1

If you have not already, install the  Workbench Desktop App onto your computer and log in. Click on "GrabCAD Folder" to bring it up in a Windows explorer window.

2

In a second Windows explorer window, go to where you have your CAD files sorted into folders.

3

Drag the folders from where they are into the GrabCAD Folder.

4

In the Desktop App, click "Connect" to upload the folders into Workbench projects.

When your collaborators open the Desktop App, they will see there are new projects in the account. Simply by clicking "Connect" they can download the projects into the GrabCAD folder and start working on their files.

If your folders are too big to move, or you would like to keep them in a different location on your local drive, use the "Manually connect project" option in the gear menu. Click "Create new project" in the upper right and select the location of the project folder.