Meridian Enterprise Configurator

The Meridian Enterprise Configurator is the tool Meridian System Administrators use to configure Meridian vaults. Configurator is installed as part of the Administrator components by the Meridian setup programs described in Installation. Configurator can be installed on the Meridian server but is more convenient to install and use on System Administrators' computers so that vaults can be configured remotely.

Important!

We recommend that access to the administration tools be secured by only installing them on the computers used by authorized System Administrators. For additional server security requirements, see Meridian Security Requirements.

A vault's configuration data is stored within the vault itself. This makes the vault's configuration just as secure as the documents the vault contains. The Configurator acts as a client application to open and edit the configuration data in the same way that the Meridian client applications open and edit documents. The privilege to edit configuration data is granted with the Change Configuration privilege described in Security Roles and Vault privileges.

Vault configuration data can be exported from one vault and imported into another vault. This process can be useful to transfer configuration objects and options between vaults, as described in the sections below.

ClosedConfigurator Window

The following figure identifies the various features of the Configurator window.

A screen shot of the Configurator tool.

The following table describes each area of the Configurator window.

Configurator area descriptions
Number Name Description

1

 Toolbar Buttons for frequently used commands. May be moved, docked, and hidden.

2

 Configuration tree Organizes the vault's configuration data and object types for easy access.

3

 Property pages

Configuration data for the currently selected item in the configuration tree. The quantity and names of property pages vary with the currently selected item.

4

 Status bar

Displays the current vault name, server name, user name, and status messages. Double-click the vault name to select a different vault. Double-click the user name to view your user info such as group membership, Windows account names, and email addresses. This information may only be edited by a System Administrator in the Administrator tool.

ClosedEdit Configuration Data

Important!

The ability to edit a vault's configuration is granted on a first-come, first-served basis. After a vault is opened by one Configurator session, if another Configurator session attempts to open the same vault simultaneously, only the first session will be allowed to save changes to the vault configuration.

To edit the configuration data for a specific object type:

  1. Select the object in the configuration tree.

    The property pages for the selected object appear in the right pane.

  2. Click Edit.

    This button is in the lower-right corner of the Configurator window.

    The properties become editable.

  3. Click options or type values in the property pages.

  4. Click OK.

    There is one exception when configuration data is not saved automatically; that is after editing event procedures, as described in Create and Edit Event Procedures. You must explicitly save those changes by selecting Save on the Vault menu.

ClosedCustom Icons

Meridian Enterprise includes icons for all of the objects that it shows graphically, including folders and documents. Instead of these icons, you can configure custom icons.

You might want to configure custom icons for:

  • Different folder types

  • Documents in standard formats and that appear with the generic Windows file icon

  • Showing the same icon for a document type regardless of the icon shown by different versions of the same program

  • Programmatically changing icons based on user actions, document status, workflow states, or property values

Meridian Enterprise shows icons in numerous places in the system:

  • Navigation views

  • Folder and document property pages

  • Application Integration

  • Show Revisions dialog box

  • Find and Key Find dialog boxes

  • Show Project Copy dialog box

  • Briefcase dialog boxes

  • Reference Explorer

Note:

Custom icons are not supported by hybrid document parts.

ClosedConfigure Custom Icons

To configure custom icons:

  1. In an image editing program, create the following files depending on whether you want custom icons for documents, for folders, or for both:

    • CustomDocumentImagesSmall.bmp (16x16 pixels)

    • CustomDocumentImagesLarge.bmp (32x32 pixels)

    • CustomFolderImagesSmall.bmp (16x16 pixels)

    • CustomFolderImagesLarge.bmp (32x32 pixels)

    You must create both a small icon file and a large icon file for each object type, documents or folders.

    Each image file must be an image list bitmap that contains all of the icons of each object and icon size. For example, CustomFolderImagesSmall.bmp must contain all custom small icons for folders. The folder image lists should contain pairs of icons that show the same icon as both closed and open similar to the following figure (not all open state icons drawn for simplicity).

    An image that contains the open and closed state for multiple icons.

    For more information about image lists, see About Image Lists on the MSDN website.

  2. Place the image list files in the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Cyco Shared (64-bit computers) or C:\Program Files\Common Files\Cyco Shared (32-bit computers) of each client computer.

    Alternatively, you can place the files in a different location and specify the path to the files in the following (String) registry settings:

    On 32-bit computers:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomDocumentImagesLarge
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomDocumentImagesSmall
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomFolderImagesLarge
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomFolderImagesSmall

    On 64-bit computers running 32-bit software:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomDocumentImagesLarge
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomDocumentImagesSmall
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomFolderImagesLarge
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\CustomFolderImagesSmall

    Or you can set the path to the location in the %CYCOSHARED% environment variable.

  3. If you want the custom icons to appear in PowerWeb , create a separate set of icon files in the IMG folder on the PowerWeb server.

    By default, it is located at C:\inetpub\AMM\Img.

    The icon images should be 16x16 pixels in size and each contain one icon. The files must be saved in the GIF format.

    You must create two files for each custom folder icon, one file showing a closed folder and a second file showing an open folder. The names of the files must conform to the following syntax where <ImageListIndex> is the index (one-based) of the corresponding icon in the image lists created in step 1 and where <ImageState> is the letter o for the open icon and the letter c for the closed icon: nav_icon_<ImageListIndex+38>_<ImageState>.gif . For example, the PowerWeb equivalents of the first (image list index 1) custom folder icon created in step 1 would be nav_icon_39_o.gif (1+38, open) and nav_icon_39_c.gif (1+38, closed).

    You must create one file for each custom document icon. The names of the files must conform to the following syntax where <ImageListIndex> is the index (zero-based) of the corresponding icon in the image lists created in step 1: ci_<ImageListIndex>.gif. For example, the PowerWeb equivalent of the first custom document icon (image list index 0) created in step 1 would be ci_0.gif.

  4. Select the custom icons in Configurator for the folder types and folder levels that you want to use the icons as described in the following topics.

    Your custom icons will appear in the icon lists after the built-in icons.

  5. Create custom script to set the AMFSObjectPropertySet._ICONINDEX property of documents to the index number (zero-based) of the corresponding icons in the image lists.

    For more information about working with script, see Effects Of Custom Scripting.

ClosedSet Custom Icons for Individual Documents

To manually set the custom icons for individual documents:

  1. In PowerUser, select a file for which you want to set a custom icon.

  2. On the Document property page of the document, click the document icon in the upper-left corner of the page.

    The Advanced Document Information dialog box appears.

  3. In the File/Folder property set, double-click the Icon Index row.

    The Change Icon Index dialog box appears.

  4. Click the custom icon in the Select icon list.

    Click Reset to select the default icon.

  5. Click OK.

ClosedExport Configuration Data

Exporting vault configuration data is useful for several purposes:

  • To create a backup of the configuration data before making major configuration changes or to re-create a vault's configuration.

  • To use vault objects and options from one vault in another vault, for example, to create development or training vaults that are identical to a production vault.

  • To send to Accruent technical support staff or a Accruent Partner for troubleshooting. The recipient can quickly re-create the vault without documents.

To export vault configuration data:

  1. In Configurator, on the Vault menu, select Export Configuration.

    The Export Vault Configuration dialog box appears. The Progress area of the dialog box lists all of the vault configuration object types that will be exported.

  2. Choose between two options:

    • Type the path and file name to which to save the configuration data in Export to.

    • Click Browse and select a destination.

      By default, the file will be saved with the same name as the vault from which it was made.

      Note:

      Save the file in the vault's Backup folder where it can be backed up with the vault's backup files. The configuration file can also be created automatically during normal vault backups as described in Prepare For Backups.

  3. Click Start to begin the export.

    A check mark appears next to each object in the Progress area of the dialog box as that object type is exported to the specified file.

  4. Click Details to see the names of each object that was exported or to read error messages.

  5. Click Close.

ClosedImport Configuration Data

You might want to import vault configuration data to:

  • Restore a vault's configuration to the state it was before you made configuration changes

  • Use vault objects or options from a different vault to avoid re-creating them manually.

Note:

Ensure that no users are connected to the vault. Importing vault configuration data while the vault is active can cause errors and potential data loss.

ClosedImport Vault Configuration Data

To import vault configuration data:

  1. In Configurator, on the Vault menu, select Import Configuration.

    The Import Vault Configuration dialog box appears. The Progress area of the dialog lists all of the vault configuration object types that can be imported. By default, all objects are selected.

  2. Choose between two options:

    • Type the path and file name of the configuration file you want to import in Import from.

    • Click Browse and select a file.

  3. Clear the check marks next to the object types that you do not want to import.

  4. Click Start to begin the import.

    A check mark appears next to each object in the Progress area of the dialog that is imported from the specified file.

  5. Click Details to see the names of each object that was imported or to read error messages.

  6. Click Close.

ClosedProperty definitions

If you import property definitions to an existing vault, the properties will not exist for the objects that use those properties until the next time that the objects are edited. Then the property will be assigned to the object and the new value (if any, including empty) saved. Under most circumstances, this is transparent and is not a cause for concern. However, it should be considered under the following circumstances:

  • Navigation views and searches that include the new property.

    Because folders or documents will not yet have a value (even empty) for the property, those objects will not appear in such a view or search.

  • Updating data outside of Meridian, for example, title block or file property updates.

    Do not assume that a new property added to a document type is empty and will clear an existing title block or file property value.

Closed.NET extensions

If the configuration that you are importing refers to .NET extensions (Meridian Asset Management Module 2010 or higher extensions, for example), the error No binary file is available to install extension may appear. If this occurs, register the extensions manually as described in Register Custom Interface Extensions.

ClosedDeleted items

Just as documents that are deleted from a vault are not permanently removed and can be restored, objects (for example, document types and properties) and references (for example, extensions applied to document types) that are deleted in Configurator are not permanently removed from the vault. The deleted items are exported to the configuration (.met) file and will be added as undeleted items to the destination vault when the configuration file is imported. You must manually delete the items in the destination vault.

ClosedSecurity roles

By default, all security roles are granted all privileges to tables that are imported to a vault's configuration. To restrict the security privileges for a table, see Create And Edit Tables.

ClosedWorkflow definitions

Importing workflow definitions will update existing workflow definitions in a vault only if:

  • There are no active workflows that use the workflow definition.

    Release the workflows first.

  • There are no document types to which the workflow definition has been applied.

    Remove the workflow definitions from the document types first.

ClosedHotspots

Hotspot configuration from the configuration file replaces the current hotspot configuration.

ClosedLanguage Support

Meridian Enterprise supports different languages to enable global collaboration with Accruent products in the following ways:

  • It can be installed with its user interface localized in the languages listed in Languages.

  • Documentation is available in several different languages from your Accruent Partner.

  • It supports installation on any language version of the supported operating systems and any selected system locale.

  • Its interfaces with other systems communicate in Unicode, if available.

  • Vault data is stored in Unicode format regardless of where the data is stored.

Note:

An exception is the Name property of configuration objects (property definitions, property pages, views, and so on) in a vault. This property is used internally by Meridian Enterprise and is not visible to end users. The corresponding Display Name property is visible to end users.

Name property values are permanent once set, but the Display Name property can be changed. The Display Name property can contain double-byte characters (for example, Japanese) and should be used for localized names. The (internal) Name property can only contain ASCII characters and cannot be empty.

When entering a Display Name value, if it contains ASCII characters, the Name property defaults automatically to the same value. But if a Display Name value contains double-byte language characters, the default Name value is not set and must be typed manually using ASCII characters.

2022 R2

 

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