Collect Support Information for PDM
How to Collect PDM Support Information
In order to properly troubleshoot behavior in PDM it is often helpful to collect support information. This includes gathering selected files and/or folders from the vault in order to replicate behavior and test potential solutions outside of the production vault. SOLIDWORKS PDM has a built-in utility for collecting this information which is easy to use.
Open PDM Administration
Locate the Administration tool on your desktop or start menu, then right-click on it and select “Run as Administrator” or “More->Run as Administrator”
Run Utility
Rick-Click on Vault Name -> Collect Support Information
When prompted, login to vault with admin account
Collect Logs and Settings
Deselect any items you don’t wish to collect.
Tip: If you have large Event Viewer logs (specifically the Windows Application & System logs), the “Collect Local Logs” option can cause the process to take an extremely long time, or possibly not complete at all. You can export these logs directly from Event Viewer and add them to the zip file created by the Collect Support Information tool
Collect Archives
Add any affected File(s) or Folder(s) if your issue seems to be file or folder specific (including permissions, states, transitions, data cards, etc.)
Create a SQL backup (optional)
You will need to have SQL Server login credentials stored for this step to be successful. The backup file will also be saved on the SQL server. It will not be included if you are running this utility from a PDM Client. You can also perform this step using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio which can be simpler. Based on our filename format the SQL backup filename would be: SQLBackup-06012022
Add Additional Information
Type in any additional information you would like to provide. This is a good place to describe the behavior you are experiencing and any steps required to replicate the behavior.
Create Package
Enter the location to save the support information to.
We recommend that you name any files created with the following format for ease of identification: [File Type]-[Date]
For the purposes of demonstration, we will assume a date of 6/1/2022, so the filename would be: SupportInfo-06012022
Add Additional Files
Depending on the issue, there are additional files that may be helpful to troubleshoot your issue. Add these files to the zip or zip and include them when you contact support.
- Full SQL Server Backup. If you could not create a SQL Server Backup in Step 5 above, copy one from the server or create one using the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
- Event Viewer logs if they were not collected in Step 3 above. See this article for instructions. https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/52088.windows-10-how-to-save-a-copy-of-the-event-viewer-application-and-system-logs.aspx
- Administrative Export of Vault Settings. Right-Click the vault name and select Export. Click the X in the top right corner to save the file. Recommended filename would be AdminExport-06012022.cex
Technical Support
If you have any questions or experience unexpected behavior, feel free to reach out to MLC CAD Systems technical support.