Lock down permissions to prevent rogue CAD users from causing damage

[Inferno6919]

Hi all,

We recently employed an engineer (dear oh dear!) who doesnt want to adopt the company's standards but feels like changing pretty much everything. From text styles, dim styles, layers, everything. Although we have talked to him about it and asked him not to do that, he simply doesnt listen. Therefore, we need to take drastic measures to ensure that standards are kept. We have a centralised CUI file that all workstations load at startup (which he messed up quite a few times). Is there any way we can lock the cui file or/and anything else we need to lock in order to prevent him a. from changing the cui file and b. from changing the default text styles, dim styles, etc that the company uses as standards?

Thanks

until you reply with a solution the only thing I can do is...

[rkmcswain]

NTFS File permissions?

BTW: To quote Mark Kiker from his AU classes... "Don't let a management problem become a technology problem"

[Opie]

Hi all,

We recently employed an engineer (dear oh dear!) who doesnt want to adopt the company's standards but feels like changing pretty much everything. From text styles, dim styles, layers, everything. Although we have talked to him about it and asked him not to do that, he simply doesnt listen. Therefore, we need to take drastic measures to ensure that standards are kept. We have a centralised CUI file that all workstations load at startup (which he messed up quite a few times). Is there any way we can lock the cui file or/and anything else we need to lock in order to prevent him a. from changing the cui file and b. from changing the default text styles, dim styles, etc that the company uses as standards?

Thanks

until you reply with a solution the only thing I can do is...

For your styles, look at the CAD Standards tools in AutoCAD. You can link your template with a standards file. This will alert the user of standards violations. You will need to create a standards file to use.

You can set the CUI to be the Enterprise CUI. This will prevent him from editing the CUI accidentally. Howevere, he can remove the Enterprise CUI from loading as the Enterprise CUI. It is adjustable in the Options menu.

You could write protect the directories your standards are in to allow only certain users to modify standards files. You should also document the amount of time you are having to correct these issues to discuss with management.

Good Luck. Here, have a pillow.

[Maverick91]

Hi all,

We recently employed an engineer (dear oh dear!) who doesnt want to adopt the company's standards but feels like changing pretty much everything. From text styles, dim styles, layers, everything. Although we have talked to him about it and asked him not to do that, he simply doesnt listen. Therefore, we need to take drastic measures to ensure that standards are kept. We have a centralised CUI file that all workstations load at startup (which he messed up quite a few times). Is there any way we can lock the cui file or/and anything else we need to lock in order to prevent him a. from changing the cui file and b. from changing the default text styles, dim styles, etc that the company uses as standards?

Thanks

until you reply with a solution the only thing I can do is...

Can you make the files red-only? Can you restrict his access to the files? Can you handle this as you would with an errant CAD tech?

[Inferno6919]

NTFS File permissions?

BTW: To quote Mark Kiker from his AU classes... "Don't let a management problem become a technology problem"

That could be a good option. I will have to look into it and see if we can use it. Thanks

[Inferno6919]

For your styles, look at the CAD Standards tools in AutoCAD. You can link your template with a standards file. This will alert the user of standards violations. You will need to create a standards file to use.

You can set the CUI to be the Enterprise CUI. This will prevent him from editing the CUI accidentally. Howevere, he can remove the Enterprise CUI from loading as the Enterprise CUI. It is adjustable in the Options menu.

You could write protect the directories your standards are in to allow only certain users to modify standards files. You should also document the amount of time you are having to correct these issues to discuss with management.

Good Luck. Here, have a pillow.

Unfortunately, we have done these things and it didn't work. He changes things at will. I had a chat with the technical department manager and we also had a chat with him too. Nothing. This is why we require drastic measures.

As for the pillow, thanks! Hopefully though this situation wont go on for much longer. Otherwise, a pillow wont be enough!

[Inferno6919]

Can you make the files red-only? Can you restrict his access to the files? Can you handle this as you would with an errant CAD tech?

We had files as read-only but he went into the properties and unticked the read only box. So this failed.

We are trying to figure out a good way to restrict his access to the files without though preventing him from using the files (just like read-only).

I am not saying that only engineers can be a pain when it comes to AutoCAD. There are Cad techs that are even worse some times. The problem though is that some times engineers care only about having their job done and dont care at all about cad standards, cad management or anything else. Just their work matters. And everything else is "just a piece of software that anyone can use and learn"

[Inferno6919]

Apart fomr Windows options and/or AutoCAD options, are there any 3rd party programs that could do that?

[sschwartz85916]

Hi all,

We recently employed an engineer (dear oh dear!) who doesnt want to adopt the company's standards but feels like changing pretty much everything. From text styles, dim styles, layers, everything. Although we have talked to him about it and asked him not to do that, he simply doesnt listen. Therefore, we need to take drastic measures to ensure that standards are kept. We have a centralised CUI file that all workstations load at startup (which he messed up quite a few times). Is there any way we can lock the cui file or/and anything else we need to lock in order to prevent him a. from changing the cui file and b. from changing the default text styles, dim styles, etc that the company uses as standards?

Thanks

until you reply with a solution the only thing I can do is...

Fire him. That is my solution. Or take away AutoCAD all together. If he is an engineer, should he be doing his own CAD? Hire a CAD slave and take that out of his pay. (lol) But, seriously, I would make sure that someone is keeping a file on him, if he goes out of his way to change the standards, make it as difficult as possible to change things. If his job is harder and harder each and every day, maybe he will bend a little. Other than that, I personally would start tracking his standards deviations, and on a weekly basis, and in a very direct and professional meeting, sit down and explain WHY the standards are the way they are. (If he can't adopt them, perhaps he would be better off starting his own company?) I would also have documentation as to what was said, when, his replies, and what purpose he hopes to achieve. MAYBE some of the things he does, perhaps they are done like that for a reason... (stupidity? ignorance of autocad?? he didn't know how to do it any other way, therefore he may do it the only way he knows)

Here is a thought: what about reverse psychology? You know, like a 4 year old ... lol good luck

[Maverick91]

Fire him. That is my solution. Or take away AutoCAD all together. If he is an engineer, should he be doing his own CAD? Hire a CAD slave and take that out of his pay. (lol) But, seriously, I would make sure that someone is keeping a file on him, if he goes out of his way to change the standards, make it as difficult as possible to change things. If his job is harder and harder each and every day, maybe he will bend a little. Other than that, I personally would start tracking his standards deviations, and on a weekly basis, and in a very direct and professional meeting, sit down and explain WHY the standards are the way they are. (If he can't adopt them, perhaps he would be better off starting his own company?) I would also have documentation as to what was said, when, his replies, and what purpose he hopes to achieve. MAYBE some of the things he does, perhaps they are done like that for a reason... (stupidity? ignorance of autocad?? he didn't know how to do it any other way, therefore he may do it the only way he knows)

Here is a thought: what about reverse psychology? You know, like a 4 year old ... lol good luck

Always remember the managers axiom: time = money. And it's taking time for someone (maybe you) to fix problems