Microsoft Teams

Mehul_Gala

I stumbled into a what may be a cool workflow and I would appreciate someone pointing out some of the pitfalls. 
We are developing a product that needs feedback from several functional areas outside engineering.  I have placed anonymous links into a channel inside MS Teams.  This will allow other functions to reference some of the CAD data. 

I have placed a link for a top level assembly and the 3D model separately into different tabs of Teams.


Pros? 
Cons?
Thoughts?

Ste_Wilson

I'm just looking at this type of thing myself as the next academic year is promising to be much more remote learning and we are using teams.
It seems like a sensible way of sharing models with non-engineers.
I think it would be even better if Onshape could add MS Teams integration in the form of an app, then share links could be dropped into Chats.

tim_hess427

@stephen_wilson554 Is there some particular functionality you're looking for in an integration with teams? If you're wanting to quickly share links, you can do that without a Teams integration app. 

They way Onshape works, you can set document permissions using the "Share" function in a document, then just copy/paste a document or tab URL wherever you want. When someone clicks the link, they'll need to sign in and they'll only be shown what they're allowed to see or edit. So, I think sharing is pretty straight forward. 

To take things to the next level, it would be cool a preview of a model could be embedded directly in a chat (MS Teams, Slack, Google Chat). 

Mehul_Gala

@tim_hess427 @stephen_wilson554 I have been able share the link inside a tab to allow a preview within teams. It helps members of the team that are less technical get to the drawings and models.  

tim_hess427

Oh! That's because you can create tabs within the Teams app that basically just show a specific webpage, right? I haven't used teams in a while and forgot about that. The users are still required to log in, but they can do everything without leaving teams?

Mehul_Gala

@tim_hess427 I make sure that link sharing is turned on and it works well within Teams. I could also place different versions in there if needed.

Mehul_Gala

tim_hess427 said:

 The users are still required to log in, but they can do everything without leaving teams?

No, since link sharing is turned on, it is not necessary for any login.

tim_hess427

Oh, ok. I understand now. I forgot link sharing without sign in was an option in Onshape. 

Ste_Wilson

@tim_hess427 Not a big thing really, for example, if I install the youtube app in Teams then when I put a youtube link in the chat stream that video can be viewed directly in the stream.  Having the same functionality for a sharing link from onshape would be nice!  I appreciate that you can put it in a separate tab or just put a link in the chat stream