Bentley Transmittal Services (BTS) for ProjectWise FAQs


  
 Applies To 
  
 Product(s):ProjectWise
 Version(s):N/A
 Environment: N/A
 Area: N/A
 Subarea: N/A
 Original Author:Bentley Technical Support Group
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Installation and Setup

 

PLEASE NOTE:  For full installation instructions, please refer to the Bentley Transmittal Services (BTS) Implementation Guide provided with the software before posting questions.

 

1)      What is the recommended configuration for Bentley Transmittal Services?

 

BTS consists of three modules, Bentley Transmittal Server, Bentley Transmittal Portal and the Bentley Transmittal connector for ProjectWise, in addition to your existing ProjectWise V8i (SELECTseries 4) Integration Server (BTS does NOT function with prior SELECTseries versions of the Integration Server).  Each module should be installed on its own computer for optimal performance.

 

 

 

2)      What type of database is supported for Bentley Transmittal Services?

 

BTS currently is supported to run on Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard or Express (see BTS readme for specific requirements.)  Oracle is not currently supported for the Bentley Transmittal Services database, but we do support an environment where your ProjectWise database is running on Oracle.

 

 

 

3)      What is Filestream and why does it need to be enabled?

 

Filestream is a feature of SQL 2008 that allows transmittals themselves to be stored in the database.  Enabling file stream on an existing database engine should not affect any existing databases any more than reporting services would affect them; it’s just another SQL feature. 

Please read this link for more information on SQL FILESTREAM.

 

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc949109.aspx

 

 

 

4)      Can I customize the cover letter?

 

Yes.  Variables can be added or removed to the Excel template file, see the Bentley Transmittal connector for ProjectWise help for a full list.  To modify the template simply modify the existing template that was imported into your ProjectWise datasource when running the initial BTS configuration wizard.

 

 

5)      Can I move the cover letter template to a new folder?

 

Yes, since ProjectWise uses a GUID (global unique ID) to identify documents, BTS will be able to find the template wherever it’s moved within the datasource.

 

 

 

6)      When running the Bentley Transmittal Server Deployment Wizard, why is my Integration Server not listed?

 

On your ProjectWise Integration Server, open dmskrnl.cfg and search for CADOperators (default setting is CADOperators=Administrators)

If the user that you are logged into the Transmittal Server machine is not a local administrator on the Integration server, add it to this list

 

 

 

 

7)      Will Bentley Transmittal Services run in a load balanced cluster?

 

No. The Transmittal Service layer/portal does not support load balancing. You *can* load balance the PW Integration Servers, as long as they all point at the same Transmittal Service endpoint. 

See the BTS Implementation guide for further instructions on how to configure BTS with a ProjectWise clustered environment.

 

8)  Can one Transmittal Server be configured to handle multiple datasources?

 

Each Bentley Transmittal Services instance is configured for one ProjectWise Integration Server. If that Integration server is configured with multiple datasources, you will have the ability to enable transmittals on each of those datasources. 

 

9) After installing, I log into ProjectWise Administrator and am not prompted to enable transmittals in the datasource when it isn't already enabled.

What likely happened is that someone had already answered NO to the prompt to not enable transmittals in that datasource, which it will only ask once.  To then enable transmittals you can right click on the datasource after logging in through the Administrator and select All Tasks>Enable Bentley Transmittal Services for this datasource.  log out and log back in to get prompted to enable transmittals on that datasource.

10) My server is in a DMZ, what ports need to be open on the firewall?

When you configure your BTS Server you configured a net.tcp binding on your IIS Web Site, the port you chose to use is the port that is used from the Portal Server to the Transmittal Server and continuing to the ProjectWise Integration Server.

When you configure your Bentley Transmittal Portal, you similarly configured an IIS Web Site, this time with an https binding. This port is what users will connect over when accessing the portal through their web browser

​PWE:

PWIS:

​​BTS:

Portal:

 

11)  What process should be followed to upgrade Transmittals to a newer version:

The upgrade process for both Transmittals Server and Portal is similar to that of ProjectWise, in that you must uninstall and reinstall the software, with the additional steps of undeploying and redeploying through the wizard.

These are the steps to be take for each Portal and Server software:

1- Run the deployment wizard and select undelploy

2- Uninstall the software

3-Install the new version

4-run the deployment wizard and deploy

 

12) Must client and server versions be the same, or can the connector piece be upgraded prior to the server (or vice versa)

New client+old server configuration was not tested with the latest version. As per developers, the latest fixes should not brake new client+old server compatibility, but as I already mentioned, it is not certified scenario.  There were a number of improvements  between the old and the new builds. So, we recommend upgrading the servers and client at the same time. This is common upgrade scenario which is tested.

 

ProjectWise Explorer

 

1)      Can I enable multiple projects at once for BTS?

 

No, you must go to the properties of each project that needs it, and enable Bentley Transmittal Services. Once enabled, you can copy settings from another project that you have already configured.

 

 

2)      Why are the OK and Apply buttons greyed out in the Transmittal Settings in ProjectWise Explorer?

 

Make sure your user has the user setting “Allow user to change project types and project properties” turned on.

 

 

3)   When issuing a transmittal, I get the error “Cover letter generation has failed while filing the cover letter.  Class not registered”

 

Verify that Microsoft Excel is installed (see the BTS Readme for specific requirements)

 

 

4)   What happens if the number of transmittals I have in my project exceeds the number of digits I set in the Transmittal settings?

 

The number will automatically increment beyond the limit.

 

Portal

 

1)   When downloading content, Internet Explorer gives this error that it cannot be downloaded

Check your browser settings under Internet Options and turn off the setting under Security “Do not save encrypted pages to disk”

 

 

2)   Why can’t I see a thumbnail of the documents, “preview not available”?

 

Thumbnails are not available in V1.0

 

 

3)   My link sets aren’t appearing from the downloaded transmittal package

 

Transmittal packages do not currently support the adding of documents with link sets, if the linked documents exist in a different folder than the master document

 

 

4)   Why am I getting a corrupt file message when trying to download cover letter file from portal after changing my ProjectWise datasource name?

 

Renaming the ProjectWise datasource after configuring Bentley Transmittal Services is not recommended, as it can break certain Bentley Transmittal Services functionality.  To restore full functionality, change the datasource name back to what it was during the BTS install.

 

 

 

5)   Why am I getting an Internet Explorer dialog asking “Do want to stop running this script?” if you have lots of documents (About 700) in one folder or choose “Show all folder content”.

 

This is standard behavior for IE8.  To resolve this, upgrade to IE 9.  If upgrading to IE 9 is not an option, use the folder tree and save smaller amount of documents in each folder (ex 200 in one folder.) This work-around will solve the issue until pressing “Show all folder content” button.

 

 

6)   I opened a master file from my transmittal package, but the references are not appearing.

 

When you download the package, it will be a zip file, you must first extract the zip file before opening the files and it will find the valid reference files.

 

 

7) Can one Transmittal Portal be configured for multiple Transmittal Servers?

 

No.  Each portal is configured for one Transmittal Server.

 

8) What if I need to change the portal link in my transmittals email, my users cannot reach the https:\\servername\portal

 

Please see the following technote: http://communities.bentley.com/products/projectwise/content_management/w/wiki/configure-bentley-transmittals-portal-for-projectwise-to-use-a-specific-url.aspx

 

9) How do I customize the headline on the Portal site?

There are two files, one for the logon screen and another for the other pages of the portal.  They are both changed in the same manner.

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Transmittals\portal\views\account\logon.cshtml

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Transmittals\portal\views\shared\_Layout.cshtml

 The line that needs to be changed is
<span class="clientHeader">@View.Layout_CustomizableHeadline</span>

by changing the entire section between the ><, you can change the headline.

For example:  <span class="clientHeader">This is my headline</span>

  

 10) Has there been any expansion of the supported browsers? 

A list of supported browsers is left the same as in V1.0 (01.00.01.130). No additional browsers support added. We are going to review the list and probably expand it for V2.0.