Not exactly sure what you mean.  Could you explain more fully exactly how this would function.  If it is for passing information to vendors, it is something associated with inventory items that wouls pull into Purchase Orders?

Enter the link in IN-B and then in IN-B and IN-A if you click a WEB button it takes you to that page which might be a page from a vendor catalog or something?  That is definitely possible!

If there is the capability to have weblinks to drawings & vendors, how about links internally from WO to cad drawings for shop usage?

This week's IS Tech Support update will include Phase 1 of this enhancement.  These features can all run in the standard TAS 5 DBA.  The TAS 6 Evolution menu is NOT necessary for any of this.
 
IN-B will have a place to enter a path and file to link to anything related to the item - could be a PDF file, JPG or GIF, Word Document or web page either on the internet or your local intranet.  Anything Internet Explorer can open can be used.  IN-A, RO-A, BM-A and the item lookups in SO-A and PO-A will have a camera icon you can click to open the linked file.  As other programs are compiled, the icon will be available everywhere there is an inventory lookup.
 
Phase 2 will enable multiple links per item - drawings, MSDS sheets, processing specs - anything you want that IE can open and each link (if it is a printable file type) can also be tagged to print as part of the shop paperwork when travelers are printed.  
 
Phase 3 will be the actual printing of the linked files with Traveler printing and may be sold as an add-on rather than part of the standard update but phases 1 and 2 will definitely be part of standard IS Tech updates.  
 
For DBA users who are not yet IS Tech Support subscribers, a free version of the Phase 1 features in IN-A and IN-B will be made available, albeit with annoying splash screens of shameless advertising for IS Tech.  

With all these new features on the way, you are taking away all of the incentives to go EZIJOBZ. Keep it coming!
 
Steve

Kevin, I realize we could create .dwf (or .pdf, or whatever) of all drawings.  We're not going to maintain our thousands of drawings in two different formats...not only is the work involved unjustified (and I'm lazy, darnit), but then there are two places to access one drawing, which means that they could differ...this really leads to problems.  This is why we're looking for solutions like this to get away from paper copies of drawings as well.
 
Viewers like VoloView (and there are lots of others for Autocad, and lots more for other formats) avoid this:  everyone works from the same document, and only those who need write access need have it.  It shouldn't be hard to invoke a different viewer from DBA.
 
Another approach might be for DBA to open the file (drawing, instructions, or whatever) using the file type associations in the registry.

Hmmm...this could work.  IE already uses file associations, so it opens the necessary application...Acrobat (or Reader) for .pdf, Word for .doc, or whatever associations you have defined in Windows Explorer (not IE), Tools, Folder Options, File Types.  (Normally, these are set up when you install applications.)  
 
On this machine, Autocad is registered for .dwg files.  A machine without Autocad (MDT, etc.) but with VoloView (or whatever viewer) should start the viewer from IE...job done, at least if it prints from VoloView instead of Autocad.

We create a manufacturing document for each part.
 
This is a word document
 
In it we create an OLE link to the AutoCAD file as well as placing all the related manufacturing info,  Tool list, Photos, and CNC machine setup sheets ect.
 
When we print work orders the custom program I had Ben create forced MS word to open the word.doc and print it  its get the file name from the drawing field and it requires a short word macro to be installed.
We also have the option of not printing the word doc.
 
I can print hundreds of work orders at a time and all the doc’s come out with the work orders.
 
All I have to do is match them with the traveler and pick list and off they go to the shop.
 
To be sure drawings always match the AutoCAD files you open the word doc and the double click on the drawing it then opens AutoCAD for editing. When your done it updates the word doc and everything stays synced.
 
This has saved us thousands of hours of office work from the old way of having print books that were always out of date, dirty and full of metal chips from the machine shop.
 
I hope Lynn can incorporate this into her DBA as a standard feature.
 
John Waddington
www.waddingtonelectronics.com

Thanks Lynn

Import utility is a good idea, I had already thought of it as well.  Also looking at how difficult it would be to enable specifying different applications and a default path.
 
We are also changing the camera icon on the lower right to a small one up in a toolbar in the upper right with the forum link icon and others as they are developed to eliminate the resolution issues.

Not yet but that is in the plans for Phase 2.  We plan to have both multiple links and a way to link shop sketches and/or manufacturing instruction documents to a specific routing sequence of an item.

OK, we are about to release Phase 2 - should be out by the end of the week.  We now have:
 
Unlimited number of links for each inventory item - drawings, inspection instructions, .
 
Ability to enter a central path to a folder holding links so each inventory link need only specify a file name for those files located in that folder.  Other links located elsewhere need the full path specified.
 
Each link can be associated with any application to open it.  Default is Internet Explorer but anything else can be specified - AutoCad, VoloView, anything you want to specify.
 
A link can be further associated with a routing sequence, such as setup or inspection instructions.
 
A link can be set Y or N to print with the shop traveler (actual printing capability to follow later).
 
An import utility is available to populate the link table from a comma delimited file.
 
Icon to open the linked files is available in IN-A, IN-B, BM-A, RO-A, PO-A, SO-A.

We use autocad too  and the way I get arround haveing 2 copies, one in word and one in autocad is to use MANUAL OLE links in word and always open the word doc to edit the drawing.  The word doc can even have many drawings or views in it. You cant have large format drawings though.  maybe you can  Im not sure.
however I can click the camera icon
pull up the word doc
double click on the drawing and it brings up the master drawing in autocad.
There I can large format print, laser print, edit, ect and then update the word doc automatically if I wish.
 
It would be nice to have autocad print the doc but autocad has so many printing options I dont see how you could get the proper views ect from a simple print command.
 
besides our word doc's have lots of things in them that are not in the autocad file. Tool list for the cnc machine.
setup screen shots from the CAM program, some have setup photos.
 
heres a link to an example word doc  that we use
http://www.waddingtonelectronics.com/pfTPT72000.doc
 
Note the info in the header  this really helps to match up the word docs with the workorders and the pick slips.
 
JW

I believe it loops at the link so you can enter many links if you need to.
 
I love the links I think i hit that camera icon 100 times a day.
 
Im setting up a camera dedicated  to takeing photos of stuff we buy where there is no drawing so we can document those hard to deal with items
 
jw

I love the weblinks! When do I set the global path for links? I think I read there was such a thing but can't find it now.

Thanks for the reply. It worked as you said. One more question if I may, how can I use the Win XP picture and fax viewer instead of IE. IE doesn't let you zoom and doesn't let you rotate the picture if it was scanned 90 degrees off. The default Windows viewer is quick and a little mmore flexible. You can even say the image to another format if you needed to. The problem is, I think the viewer is not a separate application that can be called up. Any help is appreciated.
 
Thanks

Anyone figue out how to get the default Win XP picture and fax viewer to open the image links yet?