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Extending FileType table with additional types for software files - what do I have to consider? @Aras: Could you provide an official extension?

AngelaIp

Hi community,

does any one have experience with extending the FileType table with custom entries? Is there anything we need to know before adding own new entries?

We use Innovator for more and more software related tasks, but the FileType table mostly contains general or CAD related file extensions. 

The missing file types are not really a big issue from a technical perspective. Innovator just ignores FileTypes it doesn´t know. It´s more a nice to have. But well, let´s say our PLM implementation is so advanced that stuff like this are now the BIG issues people complain about. Smiley 

Extending the FileType table is pretty easy. We can create own entries like this:

But I wonder if it´s really smart when end users expand the FilesType table by themselves? In case Aras adds similar file types in the future, my own file types would conflict with the new ones. And I right now don´t know, if there are any cross references to other tables or even the codetree that we should consider (despite the Files table). 

Does anyone know if there are "official" extended Aras FileType entries for software files?

@Aras: Could you provide some official FileType extension package? A official dataset would ensure that everyone works on the same items a minimize conflicts when people update!!

These are the file types I miss so far related to typical software files: hex, ini, exe, app, bin, rom, dfu, dmg, iso, md5, msi, deb,...

If we think even further, we could also add the file types for source code files like cpp, py, json, html, dll,.... Not sure if storing sources is somebody ever will do, but who know the future?

Other file types that are missing are trivial common stuff like 7z, rar and ico. I assume there are more than enough file types that could be part of an "extension" package. Would be a great work for an intern :D

Despite that, if any one from this forum community has experience with adding own FileTypes I would be happy to know!

Best regards!

Angela

  • 0

    As I am of course aware that Aras cannot provide something like this in time, I have a better idea:  I will try to provide my collection as Github and as some unofficial official expansion pack. This way we can expand the FileTypes continuously without conflicts between the various users who might be interested in somethign like this.

    @Aras: If you confirm that my extension pack will be the official one, just don´t react to this post at all! Many thanks ThumbsupGrinning

    @Community: One other question from my initial posts remains: What can go wrong when using more FileTypes? There are some references to the codetree especially to the files where Innovator decides whether I file shall be opened in the browser or downloaded. Of course files like EXE shouldn´t be executed automatically.

    Innovator provide the possible to add some "viewers" to certain items, e.g. it´s used for 3D PDFs. Not sure if there is anything meaningful we can bind when it comes to software files, but who knows.

    There are also some additional properties we can specify, which might be useful. Does anyone know how to use them?

  • 0 in reply to AngelaIp

    Hi community,

    I created a GitHub project to collect and share the new file types.

    https://github.com/AngelaIp/aras-filetype-extension-package/tree/main

    The import file is still missing, cause I still want to add a few more filetypes. But I will try to provide some this week.

    I noticed an interesting behavior of Innovator. As soon as you add a new FileType, exiting Files that use the FileType are automatically assigned. This is done by a server Method in the background. This is a convenient feature, but also bit risky. When you add a new FileType, you better don´t make big mistakes. That´s another pro argument for an official extension package.