addtovault
Description
The addtovault command adds one or more files from disk to the SOLIDWORKS PDM vault. It supports single files, folders, and CSV mapping files. Additional options allow batch processing, filtering, ignoring existing files, updating references, and exporting results.
Note
It is highly recommended that you run PDMShell as Administrator before using this command.
Syntax
addtovault [-source <path> | -map <csvPath>] [-skip] [-count] | [-directory <Vault or outside directory>] [-search <pattern>] [-recursive] [-batch <size>] [-ignoreexisting] [-updaterefs] [-csv <outputPath>] [-propertymap] [-clear] [-label]
Parameters
| Parameter | Alias | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-source |
No | Specifies the source file or directory to be added to the vault. | |
-map |
No | Specifies a CSV file containing file mapping information. | |
-skip |
No | (Optional) | |
-count |
No | (Optional) | |
-directory |
-dir |
No | Specifies the destination folder in the PDM vault. |
-search |
No | (Optional) | |
-recursive |
No | (Optional) | |
-batch |
No | (Optional) | |
-ignoreexisting |
-ignoreex |
No | (Optional) |
-updaterefs |
No | (Optional) | |
-csv |
No | (Optional) | |
-propertymap |
No | A csv file path containing a list of files and their properties. Use DocManProps to generate a list and edit in excel. | |
-clear |
No | (Optional) | |
-label |
No | Text in the format LabelName;LabelComment. Quote the complete value. |
More about parameters
source: Specifies the source file or directory to be added to the vault.
Supports:
• Single file
• Folder
If a folder is specified, files can be filtered using -search and -recursive.
If not specified, the current working directory is used.
map:
Specifies a CSV file containing file mapping information.
The CSV must contain two columns (First row is header):
Column 1: Full source file path
Column 2: Destination folder path relative to the target vault directory
Example CSV:
FilePath,Target
C:\Data\Part1.sldprt,ProjectA\Mechanical
C:\Data\Part2.sldprt,ProjectB\Mechanical
With -map, you skip a specified number of items using -skip to start from a starting index in your map file. You can limit the number of items to process using the -count.
#uses a map file and starts from the index 5234 only processing 540 mappings
addtovault -map "C:\Users\hawkridge\Downloads\map\map.csv" -batch 50 -propertymap "C:\Users\hawkridge\Downloads\map\property.csv" -skip 5243 -count 540 -clear -ignoreexisting -csv "result.csv"
This parameter overrides -source.
skip:
(Optional)
Number of rows to skip from the map CSV file before processing begins. Header row is not included in this count.
count:
(Optional)
Maximum number of rows to process from the map CSV file after applying the skip value.
Important
Please make sure you don't have duplicates copies to the same target directory.
directory:
Specifies the destination folder in the PDM vault.
If not specified, the current vault directory is used.
Example:
-directory "Projects"
search:
(Optional)
File Explorer search pattern used to filter files when -source is a folder.
Supports:
• Wildcards (*)
• Multiple extensions
• Separators: , ; |
Examples:
-search "*.sldprt"
-search "*.sldprt;*.sldasm"
recursive:
(Optional)
Includes all subfolders when the source is a folder.
If not specified, only the top-level folder is processed.
batch:
(Optional)
Specifies the number of files to add per batch.
This improves performance and stability when adding large numbers of files.
Examples:
-batch 50
-batch 100
If not specified, all files are added in a single batch.
Important
Please use a batch size when processing large directory +1000 files. We recommend a batch size of 100.
ignoreexisting:
(Optional)
Ignores files that already exist in the vault. Prevents duplicate additions and overwriting.
updaterefs:
(Optional)
Updates file references after files are added.
This is recommended when migrating SOLIDWORKS assemblies to ensure references point to the correct vault locations.
Labels
(Optional)
-label adds a label to migrated files. It takes a string, not a boolean: -label "LabelName;LabelComment". The text before the semicolon is the label name; the text after it is the comment.
The command settings show a text field in both standalone and vault script editors. Enter Import;Imported using PDMShell in that field, without the surrounding command-line quotes.
Search using the label name only, for example Label=Import, not the full name/comment pair. Use a different label name for each import if subsequent commands must exclude earlier batches.
#Add files from a map (skip first 10 and only process 3) and add a label migration name and value
addtovault -map "C:\export\map.csv" -skip 10 -count 3 -label "Migration;Migration"
# addtovault
search -search "Name=%.sldprt;Label=Migration;Recursive=true"
clear:
(Optional)
Clears existing properties from the file before applying propertymap.
csv:
(Optional)
Exports the results of the add operation to a CSV file.
Example:
-csv "C:\Reports\add_results.csv"
A csv file path containing a list of files and their properties. Use DocManProps to generate a list and edit in excel.
-csv "C:\Reports\propertymap.csv"
You only need the columns that marked in red:
Important
If you specify the word "DELETE" as the value, PDMShell will delete that property from in the migrated file during the add operation. The original file will not be affected.
If you specify -clear, PDMShell will clear all the properties from the file before adding it to the vault and prior to apply the property map.
Examples
Pick a source folder, import, update references, and check in
Log into the vault and navigate to the intended destination folder before running this interactive script. The selected folder is the source; omitting -directory imports into the current vault folder. Both follow-up searches use the label and include subfolders.
browsefolder -global -variable folderLocation -title "Browse To Folder Please"
msgbox -icon Information -title "Selected Folder" -value "${global.folderLocation}"
addtovault -source "${global.folderLocation}" -recursive -label "Import;Imported using PDMShell"
updatereferences -search "Label=Import;Locked=true;LockedBy=$userName;Recursive=true" -scope UpdateOutsideVaultReferenceOnly
checkin -search "Label=Import;Locked=true;LockedBy=$userName;Recursive=true" -comment "Imported files and updated references"
msgbox -icon Information -title "Complete" -value "Processing complete. Review the console for any errors."
Reusing Import also matches previously labeled files checked out by you within the search scope. For a separate batch, replace all three occurrences of the label name with a new name. The completion message means the script reached its last line, not that every file succeeded. Review command errors before treating the import as successful. Cancelling the folder picker stops the script; unattended tasks and MCP cannot open this dialog. See File and folder pickers.
Other import examples
Adds a single file to the current vault directory:
addtovault -source "C:\Projects\file.txt"
Adds all parts and assemblies recursively:
addtovault -source "C:\Projects" -recursive -search "*.sldprt;*.sldasm"
Adds files using a CSV mapping file in batches of 50:
addtovault -map "C:\Projects\mapping.csv" -batch 50
Adds files and exports results:
addtovault -source "C:\Projects" -recursive -csv "C:\Reports\results.csv"
Adds files and updates references:
addtovault -source "C:\Migration" -recursive -updaterefs
Adds files to a specific vault folder:
addtovault -source "C:\Projects" -directory "Projects"
Add files from a map CSV (50 at a time) and save the results to ret.csv, while ensuring properties are updated using a property map CSV file. This also performs a search and ignores files that already exist in the vault.
addtovault -map "c:\export\map.csv" -ignoreexisting -csv "ret.csv" -batch 10 -propertymap "c:\export\propertymap.csv"
Remarks
• Files are left checked out after being added.
• Use checkin command to check in files after adding.
Example:
checkin -search % -recursive
• Batch processing is strongly recommended for large migrations.
• The ignoreexisting parameter prevents duplicate files from being added.
• The updaterefs parameter should be used when adding SOLIDWORKS assemblies.
• Ensure you have sufficient vault permissions before running this command.
• The map parameter overrides source if both are specified.
Note
It is recommended to perform large add operations in stages and verify results using the exported CSV report.