Selecting Preview in Vault Thin Client: Error 404
Issue:
Since upgrading to Vault Professional 2022, some users have experienced an Error 404 when trying to view visualization files in the Vault Thin Client. Starting with Vault Professional 2022, the Thin Client now utilizes the Autodesk Forge Viewer to display visualization files so this is a relatively new issue.
Causes:
This problem is due to Lifecycle Security settings in the Vault restricting the user’s ability to view visualization files. This is often difficult to troubleshoot since most admins will attempt to troubleshoot the Lifecycle of the drawing or model file. However, this issue is caused by Lifecycle Security settings on the visualization file and not the drawing or model file.
There are a few other scenarios that should also be considered since they can generate similar looking notices.
For example, the message in the image below indicates that the visualization for the file has not yet been generated.
Alternately, the message in the following image is due to the user having “Read” permission to the visualization, but not “Download” permission. Both are required for viewing in the new Autodesk Forge Viewer.
Both of the permissions highlighted below are required for viewing visualization files in Vault Thin Client.
As you can see below, in this example, the drawing file and the visualization of the drawing (the DWF file is normally a hidden file but is displayed here for illustrative purposes only) have different Categories and subsequently different Lifecycles.
Since they have different lifecycles, it is possible for the users to have permission to view the drawing, but not the visualization. This scenario is what leads to users being able to find the drawing in the Thin Client but then get the 404 Error when trying to view the Preview (visualization) of the drawing. This could affect some or all users depending on the specific security settings in your environment.
For example, the following settings were used to illustrate the problem for this article:
When the visualization file is not set to visible for the users, in addition to the 404 Error in the Thin Client, the users would also see the following message in the Thick Client:
Solution:
The steps to correct this issue will vary depending on the specific settings in each environment. However, below I will provide an example that should point you in the right direction for correcting the issue in your own environment.
Each instance of this issue which we’ve come across up to this point has been experienced by only a portion of the total users. That is typically a quick indicator that the issue is related to permissions and is not a network related issue.
You can quickly check which Category and Lifecycle your visualization files belong to by temporarily turning on the display of hidden files as shown below. This will allow you to see the visualization files and their pertinent information before you attempt to make any changes to your configurations.
Please remember to turn off the display of the hidden files when you are done troubleshooting. This will help avoid any temptation to manipulate the visualization files outside of your normal workflows and will help distinguish system generated files from files you have manually generated for things like markups.
As we saw earlier, the visualization files are in the Design Representation Category. When we investigate the Design Representation Category, we can see that the default Lifecycle is the Design Representation Lifecycle (the name could vary based on your configuration).
When we go to the Design Representation Lifecycle, we can then correct the cause of the issue. In the example below, the “Everyone” group is being used for illustrative purposes. The specific groups in use may vary depending on your environment but anyone who will be viewing the visualization files through the Thin Client will need, at minimum, “Read” and “Download” permissions set in the Lifecycle assigned to visualization files.
Once the proper permissions have been given to the users, normal visualization viewing behavior should be restored. If this doesn’t restore normal visualization behavior, then please reach out to our support team for additional assistance.
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