Improving Download Performance of Large Assemblies from the Commonspace (CATIA V5)
When a large assembly is downloaded from the commonspace, the default behavior is to download all files. If you want to improve performance, you can use the wwgm.download.method.upon.open preference in the wgmclient.ini. You can modify this preference to only add CGR files of CAD models and other secondary contents to the workspace. The options for this preference enable you to choose whether the primary contents are downloaded and when that download occurs. For more information about setting this preference, see Frequently Used Preferences: wgmclient.ini File.
No matter how this preference is set, primary contents (CATParts and models) are downloaded for document types that do not have CGR files, such as CATDrawings, CATAnalysis documents, CATProcess documents, and catalogs. Primary contents (CATParts and models) are always downloaded for these document types.
Choosing a Download Method
The following download method options are available:
• Full (default)—The full Windchill Workgroup Manager downloading behavior. All contents (primary content and secondary attachments) are added to the workspace, regardless of whether the cache is enabled in CATIA V5.
• CGR—For *.CATPart and *.model document types, CGR files are downloaded along with secondary attachments. Primary content files (.CATPart and .model files) are not downloaded unless an operation requires the full content to be available in the workspace.
• Async—For *.CATPart and *.model document types, CGR files are downloaded along with secondary attachments. Primary content files (.CATPart and .model files) are downloaded once the assembly is loaded in CATIA V5.
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• When the download method is set to Async or Full; if you attempt to close Windchill Workgroup Manager while the download operation is running in the background, a warning message is presented. You cannot close Windchill Workgroup Manager while these download operations are in progress. To recover, click the OK button in the message window to allow the download operation to continue.
• If the download method is set to Async, if you clear the cache while files are being downloaded in the background, the Windchill Workgroup Manager client can become unresponsive until the download has completed.
• If the download method is set to Async, it is not possible to change the active workspace or primary server while files are being downloaded in the background.
• If the download method is set to CGR or Async, the following circumstances cause the primary content (*.CATPart) to be immediately downloaded to the client, despite the download method setting:
◦ When opening an annotated assembly
◦ When CATIA V5 data has an external reference (CCP/KWE) and the reference is renamed in the commonspace
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Following are advantages and disadvantages of each option:
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Download Method
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Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Recommended Use Case
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Full
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Provides the best performance for getting all primary contents (CATParts and CATProducts) and secondary contents (CGRs) of a CATIA V5 assembly from the commonspace.
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The Open in CATIA action takes more time than with other download methods.
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For opening an assembly with its dependents in design mode from the commonspace.
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CGR
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Provides the best performance for opening and downloading a large assembly from the commonspace.
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When a CATPart is loaded as CGR mode, the primary content (CATPart) must be downloaded from the server when switching to design mode in CATIA V5.
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For the best performance when opening a large assembly in CATIA V5 with its dependents in CGR mode, work with a small number of CATParts in design mode.
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Async
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Provides good performance for opening and downloading a large assembly from the commonspace.
Provides good performance for switching to design mode in CATIA V5 when the subsequent background downloading thread finishes the primary contents.
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Switching to design mode in CATIA V5 is slower than with the CGR download method if the primary content files are downloading in the background.
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For good performance when opening a large assembly in CATIA V5 with its dependents in CGR mode, work with a large number of CATParts in design mode.
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Additional Requirements when Using CGR-Only or Async Download Mode
To enable CGR-only download mode, in addition to setting the wwgm.download.method.upon.open preference, you must also do the following:
• Enable the CATIA V5 cache. If the CATIA V5 cache is not enabled, Windchill Workgroup Manager downloads all files.
• Attach the CGR file as secondary content of CATParts in Windchill. If this is not done, the CATPart is downloaded and the CGR file is created on the fly. In this case, a performance enhancement is not realized.
CGR-only download mode works with assembly-level CGRs. Assembly-level CGRs are downloaded and loaded with CGR-only download mode. Remember that no matter what the setting of the wwgm.download.method.upon.open preference, the primary contents of the assembly CGR are always downloaded. CGR-only download mode is applicable to the following actions:
• In CATIA V5: Open from Windchill, Insert from Windchill, Replace Component from Windchill
• In the commonspace: Open in CATIA, Add to Workspace and Open in CATIA from the local workspace