ANSYS EKM Collaborate Tutorial

8/10/2019 ANSYS EKM Collaborate Tutorial

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ANSYSENGINEERINGKNOWLEDGEMANAGER(EKM)

TUTORIALGUIDE

November2011


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EKMTUTORIAL GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS

ANSYS, Inc. Nov-11 ii

TABLEOFCONTENTS

1.WORKBENCHCOLLABORATIONUSINGEKM.................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3

PREREQUISITES

..............................................................................................................................

3

ASSUMPTIONS................................................................................................................................ 3

WORKBENCHPROJECT.................................................................................................................. 4

PRELIMINARYSTEPS...................................................................................................................... 4

TUTORIALPROCEDURE................................................................................................................. 4

STEP1:SAVETHEWORKBENCHPROJECTTOEKM(JESSIE)................................................. 5

STEP2:LAUNCHTHEEKMWEBCLIENTANDSETALERTSONTHEPROJECT(JESSIE)......13

STEP3:OPENTHEWORKBENCHPROJECTFROMEKM(DANA)......................................... 20

STEP4:MODIFYTHEPROJECTANDSENDCHANGESTOEKM(DANA)............................. 23

STEP5:RECEIVEANALERTANDGETCHANGESFROMEKM(JESSIE)................................ 26

STEP6:EXITTHEPROGRAM.................................................................................................... 28

SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................

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EKMTUTORIAL GUIDE WORKBENCH COLLABORATION USING EKM

ANSYS, Inc. Nov-11 3

1.WORKBENCHCOLLABORATIONUSINGEKM

INTRODUCTION

This tutorial demonstrates how two users Jessie and Dana collaborate on a

Workbench project using EKM. Jessie begins by saving her current project to ashared EKM repository that is connected to her Workbench session. Then, she sets

up an alert so EKM will send her an E-mail whenever the project is modified. Jessie

notifies her colleague Dana that the project is archived and ready to use. Dana opensthe project from his Workbench session, adds a new design point, and sends changes

back to EKM. Once Jessie receives an E-mail alerting her that the project has been

modified, she gets changes from EKM to update her local copy of the project.

This tutorial has prerequisites that are required to run the tutorial, and makes a

number of assumptions that should be read first. Preliminary steps also need to betaken before you can start the tutorial.

PREREQUISITES

The following prerequisites are required to run this tutorial:

ANSYS Workbench 14.0 is installed on your machine and has the following

ANSYS, Inc. products installed:

o ANSYS Mechanical Products*

OR

o ANSYS CFX* (includes ANSYS CFD-Post)

Two separate projects are supplied with the tutorial. One contains astructural (ANSYS Mechanical) system and the other a fluid (ANSYS CFX)

system.

*An ANSYS CFX license is required to run the CFX tutorial; an ANSYS

Mechanical license is required to run the Mechanical tutorial.

Internet Explorer 7, 8 ORFirefox 3.5+ is installed on your machine and your

default web browser is set to it.

ASSUMPTIONS

This tutorial makes the following assumptions:

Two users have been set up by an administrator for the shared EKM server

that you will be accessing, for the purpose of running this tutorial. These

users are arbitrarily named Jessie and Dana (with default passwordsJessie123and Dana123) and belong to the Defaultworkspace. Permissionshave been set for these users to have Full control on a folder named EKMTutorial that is located under /Repository.


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The user profile for Jessie has been configured for your E-mail address byan EKM administrator.

You will log in to the shared repository as both users for purposes of this

tutorial, only. In reality, these steps will be conducted by two separate users

from their own desktop or laptop machines.

You can access a shared EKM repository in your LAN or WAN and youknow the address for the EKM server. Contact your system administrator for

details.

WORKBENCHPROJECT

Two Workbench projects are supplied with this tutorial: one that utilizes ANSYSMechanical and the other ANSYS CFX. Use the project that works with your

Workbench installation. Each project is compressed into an archive file and contains

the Workbench project file (.wbpj) and its associated_filesfolder:

wing.zip (ANSYS CFX)

ThinPlate.zip(ANSYS Mechanical)

PRELIMINARYSTEPS

Prior to starting this tutorial, you will need to perform the following operations:

1. Expand the archivethat contains the Workbench project.

2. Create local folderson your machine for each user, and then move theWorkbench project to a user folder.

1.ExpandtheArchive

This tutorial employs ANSYS Workbench project files that are contained in anarchive. Before starting the tutorial, you must render the files usable by expanding the

archive to a temporary folder on your local computer system.

2.CreateLocalFoldersandMovetheWorkbenchProject

This tutorial simulates the workflow for two separate users on the same machine.Before starting the tutorial, create two separate folders on your local machine, one for

each user. Name the folders Jessie Folder and Dana Folder. The paths to thesefolders used in the tutorial are C:/Jessie Folderand C:/Dana Folder, but you can storethem in any location. Then, move the project listed in the Workbench Projectsection

above, to Jessies folder.

TUTORIALPROCEDURE

The steps to be performed in this tutorial are as follows.

Step 1: Save the Workbench project to EKM (Jessie)

Step 2: Launch the EKM web client and set alerts on the project (Jessie)


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Step 3: Open the Workbench project from EKM (Dana)

Step 4: Modify the project and send changes to EKM (Dana)

Step 5: Receive an E-mail alert and get changes from EKM (Jessie)

Step 6: Exit the program

STEP1:SAVETHEWORKBENCHPROJECTTOEKM(JESSIE)

The ANSYS Workbench File menu contains options that allow you to work directlywith a shared repository and perform operations such as saving project data. The first

step in this tutorial involves opening the project in Workbench and then saving the

project to a shared EKM repository.

This tutorial step involves the following sub-steps:

1.1 Open the Workbench project

1.2 Save the project to the shared EKM repositoryo Create a new connection to the shared repositoryo Open the connectiono Create a new folder in the shared repository

o Save the project to the new folder

1.1OpentheWorkbenchproject

1. Start Workbench and on the Workbench window menu bar, select File > Open.

Workbench opens theOpendialog.

2. On the Opendialog, browse to the Jessie Folder you created in the PreliminarySteps(for example, C:/Jessie Folder) where you saved the Workbench project filefor this tutorial (wing.wbpjor ThinPlate.wbpj) and click Open.

Workbench opens the project (for example,wing), and displays it in itsProject Schematicview.


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1.2SavetheprojecttothesharedEKMrepository

1. On the Workbenchwindow menu bar, select File > Save to Repository.

Workbench opens the Save Project to Repositorydialog.

If the connection to the shared repository already exists, then you can select the

connection from the Save todrop-down list and the following steps on creatingand opening a new connection can be skipped.


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Createanewconnectiontothesharedrepository

1. On the Save Project to Repositorydialog in the top right corner, click the Create

a New Connectionbutton .

Workbench opens the Create a New EKM Reposi tory Connectionwizard.


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2. Select Shared Connection on the connection wizard. Click Next >to display thenext panel on the connection wizard.

3. Enter the EKM Server Addressfor the shared connection you will be connectingto.

The address shown above(http://ekmserver.mycompany.com:8080) is used forexample purposes, only. Contact your EKM administrator if you areunsure of the address.

4. Click Next >to display the next panel on the connection wizard.


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The panel contains a drop-down menu that includes all workspacescurrently available on the shared connection.

5. Use the drop-down menu to select the Defaultworkspace on the sharedconnection.

6. Enter a name for the connection (for example, Jessie Connection).

7. Keep the default option to Open connection after creating.

8. Click Finishto create the connection.

Because you selected the Open connection after creatingoption, Workbench

automatically opens the Open Connectiondialog.


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Opentheconnection

9. On the Open Connectiondialog, input the User nameand Passwordfor Jessie(Jessieand Jessie123, respectively).

10.Do not select the Save credentialsoption and click OK.

Workbench closes the Open Connectiondialog, opens the repositoryconnection (for example, Jessie Connection) and sets the Save tolocation inthe Save Project to Repository dialog to the Repositoryfolder.

Createanewfolderinthesharedrepository

11.On the Save Project to Repositorydialog, double-click on the EKM Tutorialfolder to open the folder.

The EKM Tutorialfolder was created by an administrator before the tutorialwas started. SeeAssumptionsabove.

12.Click the Create New Folderbutton .

Workbench adds the new folder with the default name New Folder.


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13. Place your mouse cursor in the New Foldertext box and change the default nameto a new name (for example, Wing Analysis for CFX tutorial; ThinPlate

Analysis for Mechanical tutorial). Press Enteron your keyboard or click outsidethe text box.

Once the folder name has been changed, the folder will display.

You cannot delete or rename the new folder you create in the Workbench client

interface. You must launch the EKM web client to do this.

Savetheprojecttothenewfolder

14.Double-click on the new folder (for example Wing Analysis or ThinPlateAnalysis) to open it.


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15.Keep the default project name (for example, wingor ThinPlate).

The Saveoption allows you to (optionally) include a project Description(forexample, car wing for project XYZ). Such descriptions can be useful when searchinglarge collections of data for a particular file.

16.Click the Savebutton to save the project to the shared repository.

Workbench closes the Save Project to Repositorydialog. Workbenchautomatically archives the project and uploads it to the EKM repository

as a Workbench Project Archive File (.wbpz). If you Show Progressin theWorkbenchwindow, you can monitor the status of the upload. When the

upload is completed, the status will indicate Ready. This may take a fewmoments.

Workbench writes a file named ekmRepository.xml to the_files/user_filesfolder forthe project on your local machine (for example, C:/JessieFolder/wing_files/user_files/ekmRepository.xml) to remember the location when Jessiegets changes in the future.


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EKM automatically extracts metadata from the project archive during upload.

Since this operation occurs asynchronously in the background, extraction may

not be completed in EKM when Workbenchstatus is set to Ready. If you go onto the next step in the tutorial and view the project in the EKM web client before

metadata are fully extracted, you will see a warning icon next to the file that

indicates Extracted data is not set. You will need to manually Refreshthe displayin the EKM interface to determine when the extraction process is completed.

STEP2:LAUNCHTHEEKMWEBCLIENTANDSETALERTSONTHE

PROJECT(JESSIE)

The EKM web client allows you access to the full features of EKM. In this tutorial

step, Jessie launches the EKM web client from Workbench, views the Workbench

project report for the project she just uploaded, and then sets an alert on the project to

notify her whenever the copy is modified in EKM.


2.1 Launch the web client from Workbench and log in to EKM

2.2 View the Workbench project report in EKM

2.3 Set an E-mail alert on the project

2.4 Delete the shared repository connectionin Workbench

2.1LaunchthewebclientfromWorkbenchandlogintoEKM

1. On the Workbench menu bar, select File > Launch EKM Web Client.

TheANSYS EKM login window will open in your default web browser and aseparate blank web browser window will open as well. Close the blank window.

The server address for the shared EKM repository will be displayed the title bar

(for example, ekmserver.mycompany.com:8080/ekm).

If multiple connections exist in a real scenario, the Launch EKM Web Clientdialogwill open first where you will select the connection from the drop-down list of

available ones.


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2. On theANSYS EKM login window, enter your User name(for example, Jessie)and Password(for example, Jessie123) for the Defaultworkspace.

3. Click the Log Inbutton.

TheANSYS EKMweb client opens in a new window as shown below. Theserver address is displayed below the title bar (Internet Explorer only).

Connection information such as user name (for example, Jessie) andworkspace (for example, Default) are displayed at the bottom of the

window as highlighted below. Your startup location in the shared repositoryis determined by the preference that is set in the Settings menu.


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4. On the Folders tree on the left, expand the Repository folder by clicking on the +sign. Open the Wing Analysis or ThinPlate Analysis folder by double-clicking theEKM Tutorial folder followed by theAnalysisfolder.

The contents of the folder will be listed in the Object view on the right.


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2.2ViewtheWorkbenchprojectreportinEKM

5. Open the Workbench project report for the wing.wbpzor ThinPlate.wbpzfile youjust uploaded from Workbench by double-clicking on it.

The report opens with the navigation tree displayed (for example, wingproject).

The tree allows you to go directly to a particular section of the report. Click

to close the tree and to get it back. You can also use the scroll bar to view

the contents.


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6. Verify the Design Pointstable:

For the wing.wbpz project, DP1has the following parameter values:

P1 - angle = 10

P4 - velocity [m/s] = 30

P2 - Drag [N] = 22.731

P3 - Downforce = 103.88

These values are shown at the bottom of the sample report on the previous

page.

For the ThinPlate.wbpz project, DP0(Current) has the following parametervalues:

P13 Momentum Magnitude [N m] = 500

P7 W1 = 1

P8 W2 = 1

P9 W3 = 1

P10 Radius = 0.5

P11 Width = 2

P12 Thickness = 0.25

P2 Safety Factory Minimum = 0.12792

P3 Equivalent Elastic Strain Minimum = 0.0097718

P4 Total Deformation Maximum [m] = 0.0068105

P5 Mesh Elements = 500

P6 Mesh Min = 0.54295

In Step 4of the tutorial, Dana will modify wingor ThinPlateproject to addanother design point.

2.3SetanEmailalertfortheproject

7. Click the Upnavigation arrow in the EKM web client navigation toolbar todisplay the contents of the Wing Analysisor ThinPlate Analysisfolder.

8. Right-click on the wing.wbpzor ThinPlate.wbpzWorkbench Project Archive Fileto display the context menu. Select Edit > Alert Settings.


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EKM will open the Edit Alert Settings dialog.

9. Check the option to send an alert when This object is modified.

10.Click OK to close the dialog.


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11.Log out of the web client by selecting File > Logout from theANSYS EKM menubar.

12.Close theANSYS EKMbrowser window.

2.4DeletethesharedrepositoryconnectioninWorkbench

Since this multi-user tutorial is being run by a single user on the same machine

for demonstration purposes only, you will need to delete the connection to the

shared repository that Jessie created (Jessie Connection) before you exitWorkbench, so that Dana can create a new connection in the next step.

13.Select File > Open from Repositoryon the Workbench menu bar.

14.On the Open Project from Repository dialog, click the Up one folder iconuntil you navigate to the top-level connection folder (Jessie Connection). Right-click on the connection folder to open the context menu, and then select DeleteConnection.

15.Click Cancelto close the dialog.

16.Exit from Workbenchby selecting File > Exit from the menu bar.


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STEP3:OPENTHEWORKBENCHPROJECTFROMEKM(DANA)

In this tutorial step, the Workbench project that Jessie archived in EKM in Step 1isopened by Dana in his Workbench session. Dana first creates a new connection to the

same shared repository that Jessie belongs to and then browses the EKM repository

and opens the project. The project will be saved to Danas local folder named DanaFolder that you created in the Preliminary Steps.


3.1 Open the project from the shared EKM repository

3.2 Create and open a new connection to the shared repository

3.3 Browse the repository and open the Workbench project

3.1OpentheprojectfromthesharedEKMrepository

1. Start Workbench and on the Workbench window menu bar, select File > Openfrom Repository.

Workbench opens the Open Project from Repositorydialog.

Since Workbench projects are saved in EKM as archives, the WorkbenchProject Archive (*.wbpz) fileformat is automatically selected.


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2. Click the Browsebutton next to the Save local copy tofield and select thelocation of the Dana Folder you created in the Preliminary Steps(for exampleC:\Dana Folder).

This is the location where the project will be downloaded from EKM.

3.2Create

and

open

anew

connection

to

the

shared

repository

3. On the Open Project fr om Repositorydialog, click the Create a New Connection

button .

Workbench opens the Create a New EKM Reposi tory Connectionwizard.

4. Follow the same instructions in Step 1of this tutorial for creating and opening a

shared repository. Name the new connection Dana Connection and enterDana and Dana123 for the user credentials.

Workbench closes theOpen Connectiondialog, opens the repository

connection (Dana Connection) and sets theOpen fromlocation in theOpenProject from Repository dialog to theRepositoryfolder.

3.3BrowsetherepositoryandopentheWorkbenchproject

5. On the Open Project fr om Repositorydialog, double-click on the EKM Tutorialfolder and then double-click on the Wing Analysisor ThinPlate Analysisfolder toopen the folder.


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6. Double-click on the Workbench project archive file (wing.wbpzorThinPlate.wbpz), or select the file and click the Openbutton to open the project inWorkbench.

Workbench closes the Open Project to Repository dialog. Workbenchdownloads the project to the local folder (for example, C:/Dana Folder) and

then unarchives it before opening it. If you Show Progressin theWorkbenchwindow, you can monitor the status of the download. Whenthe download is completed, the status will change to Ready. This maytake a few moments.

Workbench writes a file named ekmRepository.xml to the_files/user_filesfolder forthe project on your local machine (for example, C:/DanaFolder/wing_files/user_files/ekmRepository.xmlto remember the location when Danasends changes in the future.


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STEP4:MODIFYTHEPROJECTANDSENDCHANGESTOEKM(DANA)

In this tutorial step, Dana will modify the project he just downloaded from EKM.

Dana will add a new design point, send the changes back to EKM from Workbench,and then verify the changes in the web client.


4.1 Add a new design point to the Workbench project

4.2 Send changes to the shared EKM repository

4.3 Verify the changes in the EKM web client

4.4 Delete the shared repository connection in Workbench

4.1AddanewdesignpointtotheWorkbenchproject

1. On the Project Schematicview in the Workbench window, right-click theParameter Setbar to open its context menu.

2. On the context menu, select Editto edit the parameters.

Workbench displays the parameter charts for the project including the Tableof Design Pointspane, which includes the existing design points. The wingproject for the CFX tutorial is shown below.


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3. Add a new design point to the table.

CFX tutorial:

a) On the Table of Design Pointspane, place your cursor in row 4, right-click toopen the context menu, and select Duplicate Design Point. A new row 5will

be added to the table as DP2with the same values as DP2.

b) Double-click the value for P4-velocity, change it from 30 to 29, and press

Enter.The P2and P3output parameters for DP2now indicate that they are out ofdate by the icon.

Mechanical tutorial:

a) On the Table of Design Pointspane, place your cursor in row 3, right-click toopen the context menu, and select Duplicate Design Point. A new row 4willbe added to the table as DP1with the same values as Current.

b) Double-click the value for P12-thickness, change it from 0.25 to 0.24, andpressEnter.

The P2 throughP6 output parameters for DP1now indicate that they areout of date by the icon.

4. On the Workbenchtoolbar, click Update All Design Points.

Workbench updates all design points. In the CFX tutorial, the Solution and

Results components in the Fluid Flow system for design point DP2areupdated. In the Mechanical tutorial, the Geometry followed by Model and

Solution components of the Static Structural system for DP1are updated.

5. When the status is Ready, click Return to Projecton the Workbenchtoolbar.

Workbench redisplays the project schematic. The checkmarks in all of the

system containers indicate that the project has been successfully updated


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using the new values for the new design point (CFX tutorial project shown

below).

6. On the Workbenchmenu bar, select File > Save.

Workbench saves the modified project to Dana Folder.

4.2SendchangestothesharedEKMrepository

7. Send changes to the shared EKM repository by selecting File > Send Changes toRepository.

Workbench automatically archives the project before sending changes to

EKM.

If youShow Progressin theWorkbenchwindow, you can monitor the statusof the send changes. When it is completed, the status will change to

Ready. This may take a few moments.

4.3VerifythechangesintheEKMwebclient

8. On the Workbench menu bar, select File > Launch EKM Web Client and followthe same instructions as Step 2.1 Launch the web client from Workbench and

log in to EKMof this tutorial, but this time log in to the Defaultworkspace asuser Dana with password Dana123.

9. Follow the same instructions in Step 2.2 View the Workbench report in EKMof

this tutorial as user Dana, with the following exceptions. Verify that DP2(CFX tutorial) or DP1(Mechanical tutorial) has the same values that wereupdated in Workbench in Step 4.1above.


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The CFX tutorial design points are shown below.

10.Log out of the EKM web client by selecting File > Logout from theANSYS EKM

menu bar.

11.Close theANSYS EKMbrowser window.

4.4DeletethesharedrepositoryconnectioninWorkbench

Since this multi-user tutorial is being run by a single user on the same machine

for demonstration purposes only, you will need to delete Danas connection to

the shared repository before you exit Workbench, so that Jessie can create a

new connection in the next step. If this tutorial was being run by two different

users on two separate machines, this step wouldnt be necessary since Jessie

would already have the connection created on his machine from Step 1.

12.In Workbench, delete Danas connection to the shared repository. Follow the

same instructions as Step 2.4 Delete the shared repository connection in

Workbenchof this tutorial but delete Dana Connection.

13.Exit from Workbench by selecting File > Exit from the Workbench menu bar.

STEP5:RECEIVEANALERTANDGETCHANGESFROMEKM(JESSIE)

In this tutorial step, Jessie will receive an E-mail alert sent by EKM when the project

was modified by Dana. Jessie will open the local copy of her Workbench project and

update it from EKM to get the changes that Dana made to the project.


5.1 Receive an E-mail that the Workbench project has been modified

5.2 Open the project and get changes from the shared EKM repository


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5.1ReceiveanEmailthattheWorkbenchprojecthasbeen

modified

1. Verify that you received an E-mail alert from EKM notifying you that Dana

modified the project.

The user profile for Jessie was configured for your E-mail address byan EKM administrator before the tutorial was started. SeeAssumptions.

You may receive two E-mails from EKM, one when Dana modifies the project in

EKM and another when new metadata are extracted for the changes.

5.2OpentheprojectandgetchangesfromthesharedEKM

repository

2. On the Workbench menu bar, open the Workbench project saved locally in theJessie Folder (for example, C:/Jessie Folder) by selecting File > Open.

Workbench remembers that this file is saved in the EKM repository and it

wants to establish a connection to it. Since no connection exists, a new

connection with the default name is created (for example, Default @ekmserver.mycompany.com).


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SUMMARY

In this tutorial, you simulated collaboration between two different users, Jessie andDana, who were working on a Workbench project that was saved to a shared EKM

repository. Jessie saved the project from her Workbench session to EKM, launched

the EKM web client, viewed the project report, and set an alert to notify her by E-mail when the project was modified. Dana then opened the project in his Workbench

session, modified the project by adding a new design point, and sent changes for the

local project back to the copy stored in EKM. Jessie received an E-mail alerting herthat the project was modified, launched Workbench and updated her local copy by

getting changes from EKM that Dana had made.

Documents

ANSYS EKM Collaborate Tutorial