SOLIDWORKS PDM connectivity

CoPilot can drive SOLIDWORKS PDM from chat — check files in and out, search the vault, read and update data-card properties, move files through lifecycle states, revise them, and export BOMs — using the same vault SOLIDWORKS is already connected to.

Before you start: the SOLIDWORKS PDM client (formerly EPDM) must be installed and you must have a configured vault view and be logged in to that vault inside SOLIDWORKS. CoPilot reuses your existing, live vault connection — it never asks for a separate vault password in the chat.

Connecting

Start by confirming CoPilot can see your vault:

Am I connected to the vault?

CoPilot reports the connection status — whether PDM is active, which vault you are signed in to, whether you are logged in, and the state of the current document. If a connection has not been established yet:

Connect to PDM

CoPilot connects through the vault view SOLIDWORKS already has open, so no additional sign-in is needed. You can ask it to disconnect again at any time.

A freshly obtained vault handle can report itself as not logged in even when SOLIDWORKS is signed in. If a command fails with a login complaint, ask CoPilot to connect once and try again — that is what the connect step is for.

Checking files in and out

Check out the active part

Checks the active document out of the vault so you can edit it. Check-out is an exclusive lock, so a colleague cannot edit the same file until you release it.

What is the check-out state, version and lifecycle state of this file?
Check in this file with comment 'updated fillet'

Check-in uploads your changes, releases the lock and creates a new version. A short comment describing what changed is stored in the file's history — include one whenever you can.

Undo my check-out on this file

Discards your check-out and restores the last version in the vault, without saving your local changes.

Close the document before checking it in. PDM will not check in a file that SOLIDWORKS still has open; ask CoPilot to save and close it first, then check it in.

An assembly check-out may raise a PDM dialog asking which referenced files to include. That dialog belongs to PDM and cannot be suppressed — answer it yourself in SOLIDWORKS and the chat will continue.

Saving without changing check-out state

Save this document to the vault as a new version, but leave it checked out

This versions the file up without bumping its revision and without releasing your lock — useful for intermediate saves during a long piece of work.

Searching & browsing

Search the vault for parts named bracket
Search the vault for anything where the Project property is FRAME-2026
Show the contents of the Projects folder
Where is this part used?

A where-used query reports the assemblies and documents that reference the file — the question to ask before changing anything shared.

Show the references of this assembly
Open the vault file 12345-A from the Released folder in SOLIDWORKS

Opening a managed file resolves its references and pulls it into your local cache first, so you get the right versions of its children.

Properties and the data card

Show the data-card properties of this file
Set the Description property to 'Clamp bracket'

Updating a property normally requires a check-out; CoPilot handles the check-out and check-in cycle for you unless you ask it not to. Some properties are mandatory in your vault — if one is missing or invalid, CoPilot names it.

What attributes are required for a new part in this vault?

Bulk property updates

Properties can be changed across many files at once. Always preview first.

Show me what would change if I set the Project property to FRAME-2026 on every file in the Frame folder — dry run only, do not apply anything

Read the list. Then, and only then:

Apply that change for real

Lifecycle & revisions

What lifecycle state is this file in, and what transitions are available to me?
Transition this file to Released

Transitions follow your vault's workflow rules, including its permissions and required conditions — CoPilot cannot bypass them, and will report the rule that stopped it.

Revise this file to the next revision
Show the version and revision history of this file
Save this document into the vault as a new managed item

New items get their number from the vault's numbering scheme unless you give one explicitly.

What item types and numbering schemes does this vault use?

Bill of materials

Export the PDM BOM for this assembly

Exports the structured bill of materials the vault holds, with item numbers and lifecycle states — which is not the same thing as the assembly BOM read from the CAD model. For that one, see Assemblies.

Activity and reporting

What have I checked in over the last week?
List everything released between 1 and 31 July

A safe working pattern

  1. Check the state first. “What is the check-out state and lifecycle state of this file?” — before assuming you can edit it.
  2. Ask where it is used before changing a shared part.
  3. Check out, work, verify the model (see Verifying results), then save and close.
  4. Check in with a real comment. “Updated” helps nobody in six months.
  5. Transition deliberately. A lifecycle change is visible to your whole organization and is not undone by an undo.

Not available on SOLIDWORKS PDM

See also