PWA Problem Report - Invalid Credentials?
Hello, Been trying to get the PWA Problem Reports Aras Labs up and running. Everything installed, followed the instructions and restarted IIS twice. But when trying to login, getting "Invalid Credentials" even though the same login and password work just fine logging in normally. This is on Aras "2023" / the current free version (V14?). Appreciate any assistance on this one!
A Complete Guide to the 2025 Aras Community Edition
If you're new to Aras Innovator® or just curious about the latest Community Edition, here’s some good news: the 2025 release is available and packed with the latest features to explore. Whether you're a developer, low-code builder, or systems thinker, this edition is your invitation to dive into a powerful, composable PLM platform at no cost. Why choose the Community Edition? The 2025 Community Edition gives you access to a full-featured PLM platform without any licensing fees. It’s ideal for: Exploring Aras architecture and tooling Prototyping digital thread strategies Learning low-code app development on an enterprise-grade platform Demonstrating value to stakeholders Bootstrapping PLM processes for small organizations You'll get access to core applications like Product Engineering right out of the box, with optional modules including Variant Management, Requirements Engineering, Simulation Management, and more - all designed to help you build traceable, connected solutions. Wondering how the Community Edition compares to a full subscription? This side-by-side breakdown can help you decide if you'll need additional support or features as your project grows. How to try Aras Innovator without installing Want to see Aras in action before installing? Try one of these: Take the interactive product tour to explore digital thread use cases in your browser Request a demo to see how Aras Innovator fits your team’s goals Watch an on-demand webinar to dive deeper into use cases, platform capabilities, and best practices Ready to install? Here's how to get started Here's what you need to know if you're ready to install the Aras Innovator 2025 Community Edition. 1. Check your system requirements The first step is to ensure that your systems are up to the task of running Aras Innovator. Don't worry if that sounds intimidating. While it's important to carefully consider production system specs, an average Windows 10/11 laptop or Windows Server VM should be sufficient to help you evaluate the platform or start building solutions. Client Requirements Server Requirements Windows 10/11 or macOS 15 Windows Server 2012 or newer Chrome (v135+), Firefox ESR (115/128), or Edge .NET 4.7.2 and ASP.NET Core 8.0.1 2.0 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 80 MB free disk space SQL Server 2016 or newer 2.0 GHz processor, 32 GB RAM recommended, 1 GB disk space Check out the Installation Guide (PDF) for more details. 2. Install prerequisites Before running the installer, make sure these components are installed and configured: .NET Framework 4.7.2: Download from Microsoft's .NET site ASP.NET Core Runtime & Hosting Bundle 8.0.1: Available at dotnet.microsoft.com SQL Server: Use SQL Server 2016 or newer. You can install SQL Server Express for development purposes if you don't have a full SQL Server license. Enable mixed-mode authentication and remember your admin credentials IIS (Internet Information Services): Enable via "Turn Windows features on or off" on the server. Ensure that Application Development Features (e.g., .NET Extensibility, ASP.NET, CGI) are also enabled Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable: Install versions for 2015, 2017, and 2019. These are often bundled together in the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Tip: After installing all prerequisites, restarting your machine can help ensure everything is properly registered and ready before launching the Aras Innovator installer. 3. Download the installer Visit the Download page to download the installation files. Be sure to save the .msi file—you'll need it for reinstallation or repair. 4. Obtain your license key You'll need your server's MAC address to generate a Framework License key: Run ipconfig /all in Command Prompt to find your MAC address. Visit the license request page and request a key using that address. 5. Run the installer Double-click the InnovatorSetup.msi file to launch the installation wizard. Here's a step-by-step guide: Welcome Screen: Click Next to begin License Agreement: Read the agreement, accept the terms, and click Next System Prerequisites: Confirm you have: Admin access to the server SQL Server installed and accessible A valid Aras license key. Select all checkboxes to enable the Next button Destination Folder: Choose the install path (default is C:Program Files (x86)ArasInnovator ) and click NextAdmin access to the serverSQL Server installed and accessible Setup Type: Choose Complete for a full install Choose Custom to configure features like Vault Server, OAuth, and more Custom Setup (if selected): Select or deselect optional components License Configuration: Enter your license key Server Web Alias: Define the alias used in the URL (e.g., http://localhost/InnovatorServer ) SMTP and Language Settings: Configure as needed or use defaults Database Configuration: Specify your SQL Server instance Set admin credentials Choose to create a new database or connect to an existing one Begin Installation: Review your settings and click Install Installation Progress: Wait for the wizard to complete the process Finish: Click Finish to exit the installer A detailed guide with screenshots is also available in the Installation Guide. 6. Log in and explore Once installation is complete, open a browser and go to http://localhost/<your_web_alias>; . Log in with the default admin credentials and start exploring. Need help or inspiration? If you have trouble getting started with the Community Edition, you can check out the documentation or visit the Aras Community Forums with your questions. They're a great resource for troubleshooting issues, learning how companies are using Aras to solve problems, and connecting with fellow community members. I hope we'll see you there!Say Goodbye to DLL Headaches with the Aras IOM SDK on NuGet
If you’ve ever built a .NET application that connects to Aras Innovator®, chances are you’ve worked with the Aras IOM (Innovator Object Model) SDK. It's a powerful tool to have in your back pocket - packed full of handy classes and functions to streamline development. You just download the IOM SDK for your version of Aras Innovator and then reference the local copy in a Visual Studio project. Pretty easy, right? It was easy... until you wanted to build an integration that supported multiple versions of Aras Innovator. Or you shared a project with a colleague who saved their local IOM.dll in a different location. Or that colleague's version of the SDK didn't match yours. Sound familiar? Then I have good news for you! Aras published the IOM SDK as a NuGet package, making it easier than ever to integrate with Aras Innovator in a modern development environment. Meet the Aras IOM SDK The Aras IOM SDK is a .NET client library that lets you connect to Aras Innovator and interact with the platform using a high-level API. It abstracts the details of SOAP and simplifies tasks like authentication, querying, and item manipulation. If you're more familiar with the Aras REST API, you might wonder which you should use in your projects. The IOM SDK and the REST API each offer unique advantages. Choosing between them depends on your application's specific requirements and context. You might use the IOM SDK if: In contrast, the Aras REST API may be a better fit when: You're building a custom integration or automation tool in .NET. You're building lightweight or cross-platform applications. You want synchronous or stateful behavior that REST doesn't offer. You prefer a stateless, standard HTTP interface. You're working in a Windows-native context and prefer a .NET-first approach. You need easier integration with non-.NET tech stacks. Your app should send and receive XML. Your app should send and receive JSON. Both the standalone IOM SDK on NuGet and the Aras REST API are suitable for connectors and applications that need to support multiple versions of the Aras Innovator platform. Curious about how Aras InnovatorEdge APIs stack up? You get all the benefits of the standard Aras REST API plus API key authentication and a low-code editor to publish your own custom versionable APIs. Add the SDK to your Visual Studio project To get started, all you need is Visual Studio and a .NET project. Here’s how to add the SDK from NuGet: Open your solution in Visual Studio. In Solution Explorer, right-click your project and select Manage NuGet Packages for Solution. In the Browse tab, search for Aras.IOM Select the package published by Aras Corporation and choose Install. Accept any license prompts. That's it! No more copying DLLs by hand. You can use the package manager to check for updates and install the latest Aras.IOM release in your project. Updating a project that uses a local IOM.dll If you’re upgrading an existing project that has a hardcoded IOM.dll reference, here's how to switch over to the NuGet package: Remove the old reference: In Solution Explorer, right-click the Iom.dll reference and select Remove. Add the NuGet package: Follow the same steps above to install Aras.IOM from NuGet. Rebuild your project: The namespace and classes remain the same, so no code changes should be required. Takeaways Switching your .NET projects to the Aras IOM SDK package on NuGet is an easy way to simplify resource management and improve compatibility across Aras Innovator releases. Want to play with the SDK in the sample app shown in this post? Check out the aras-innovator-cli repo on the Aras Labs GitHub.
What's New in Release 35?
Available since May, Release 35 introduces a significant update to the Aras Innovator® user interface, delivering a modern and streamlined look and feel throughout the platform. These changes aim to improve clarity while keeping the layout similar enough to be familiar. In addition to the UI changes, we'll go over a handful of nice-to-have features in this blog. New UI features As you can see, the platform's general look has shifted slightly, but not enough that you’d be unable to navigate as expected. As seen below, things like forms and search grids also got a facelift. Additionally, new helpful messages appear when there is a lack of data in the system. Now it’s instantly clear why a grid might be blank: For example, the above grid is empty because the Manufacturer Parts relationship has no data in that relationship, while the below icon is shown before you initiate a search in the main grid. Theme customization New in R35 is the ability to theme your instance of Aras Innovator. New properties in the Global Presentation Configuration allow you to set your instance's primary, secondary, and branding colors. This will change the default color of things like buttons, grids, and some client theming. Pick related type-ahead When adding an existing item as a relationship, you can search directly for the item you want with an embedded smart type-ahead search box. If you know what you're looking for, this will save you the effort of going through an additional modal search dialog. Rules-Based Grid Display This release introduces a no-code interface that empowers administrators to define rules for dynamically formatting data within tabular grids. Now, you can easily color-code critical information based on specific conditions. Highlight lifecycle state values, flag numerical data exceeding defined thresholds, or apply sophisticated styling based on complex combinations of properties – all without writing a single line of code. In the toolbar of an ItemType, there is a new Manage Rules button, which will open a dialog for setting rules for individual properties. Here’s an example: This quick example, which is provided out of the box, will highlight your Lifecycle State in green when it matches the condition provided. This works very similarly to our responsive forms rule editor and can be utilized for some very powerful, low-effort improvements to your team’s effectiveness. Here’s what the result looks like in the search grid. The formatting of released parts is immediately noticeable. This isn’t limited to the state of the item; any property could be used to have some conditional formatting. Takeaways Those are the major improvements in Aras Innovator Release 35. It’s important to note that we also just made the open release 2025 available. This will allow you to download the newest version for free and test it out. What’s your favorite addition? I’m excited to see how people utilize the new rules-based grid customization. Feel free to use the comments below to share interesting ways of using it!Consuming CWS Endpoints in Aras Innovator
My previous blog reviewed how to configure a simple Web Service using Configurable Web Services. This companion blog will use the same example created in my previous blog and go over how to submit requests to the Web Service you created. It will be similar to previous blogs about authenticating with and utilizing our Rest API. We’ll be using Postman to execute our requests, but you can also use this method to communicate with Aras Innovator from your own custom applications. API Key vs Oauth In the previous blog, I showed how you could generate an API Key for your Web Service. I want to take a moment to say that while those are useful, they should not be used except in unique circumstances. The biggest reason is the lack of traceability. When external systems are accessing or modifying your Aras Innovator instance, you want a record of who is making those transactions. For custom applications, you should be authenticating via OAuth, as we will in this post. API Keys are intended for use in cases where a server-to-server connection is being made, and you wouldn’t be worried about who is committing that action. An example would be an Azure service called s called automatically and programmatically. The API Key would be the better option there as a user wouldn’t be responsible for the transaction. An Example – Launching Postman Since we’ve already created our Web Service, the next step is to launch Postman. If you’re unsure how to use/authenticate with Postman, take a look at these two blogs on authenticating and utilizing our Rest API. The format for querying your Web Service is exactly the same as using our OData endpoint. Using OData, a request for all parts looks like this: http://localhost/31demo/Server/Odata/Part Querying our new endpoint looks like this: http://localhost/31demo/Server/ws/partBom/v1/Part The URL you use is specific to your Endpoint, and of course, you can have multiple. You can find the URL in the Endpoints tab of your Web Service. It’s also important to note that you can use all the same tricks to get specific data that you can use in the OData endpoint. Things like filtering, getting specific items, and querying relationships all work. Here’s an example of the part output. The only things that are returned from your query are the things you defined in your Web Service. If you try to get Documents without including them in your Endpoint, you’ll see the following result. This is very powerful, allowing you to ensure that only the required data is exposed. A great example of this would be if you wanted to create an external application that queries Aras Innovator®. You’d want to limit the app's access to avoid potential security issues. That was a quick demonstration of how you can consume your Configurable Web Services. I highly recommend playing around with the Endpoint editor to see if it could suit the needs of your external applications.
Calling Methods via Configurable Web Services
In previous blog posts, we’ve covered how to set up a Configurable Web Service (CWS) within Aras Innovator®. In this post, we will cover a way to extend the functionality of a CWS endpoint by calling a server method. Creating our Method To start, we will need to create the server Method that will be called via our CWS endpoint. In this example, we will be creating a new endpoint for registering Alternate parts. If a user passes in a Part Number for a part, and a Part Number for an alternate part, this method will create a Part Alternate relationship between the two. Log in as an admin Navigate to TOC -> Administration -> Methods Create a new method with the method code below gist.github.com/christophersgillis/f25bfd73feb7148715a44d72ac01e880 Save and close the Method Note that at the start of this method we are retrieving two properties: the base_part_number and an alternate_part_number. When we make our web service below, we will configure the method endpoint to accept these two parameters. Defining our CWS Web Service Now that we have our Method defined, we can configure our CWS service such that we can call this Method from it. Log in as an admin Navigate to TOC -> Administration -> External Access -> Web Services Create a new CWS web service Title: Parts Management Endpoint Name: PartsManagement Click save and now configure a new endpoint related to this web service Instead of clicking Add ItemTypes as you might have done following our previous blogs, click Add Global Methods Search for and select the method we created above The Alias here will determine what the actual URL will be, so set the Alias to AddPartAlternate We’ll also add two parameters to match what the method is expecting: the base_part_number and alternate_part_number Save both the endpoint and the web service and open Postman for testing Calling our Method With Postman open, we can set up the sample call we will be using to test our new Method endpoint. If you’ve been following along, your request should look something like the screenshot below. Note that because this is a Method endpoint, the request type should always be POST. After configuring the Authorization for the request (either using an API Key or authenticating via OAuth), we should be able to click send and see that our Part Alternate was successfully added! This is just one example of the ways that we can leverage server methods to make our CWS endpoints even more valuable. Let us know if there are any business needs that this functionality would be useful to address. We hope you will be joining us at this year’s ACE Tech Summit March 31, 2025 from 9:00 AM – 4:30, followed by a reception. Details and registration information may be found here.Experience the Power of Community at the ACE 2025 Tech Summit
It’s that time of year again! Our annual Aras Community Event (ACE) is right around the corner. This year the event is taking place near Aras’ hometown of Boston from March 31 to April 3. This year’s ACE is special as it marks the 25th anniversary of Aras as a company. The event is shaping up to be one of our best yet, with tons of great presentations and breakout sessions for everyone. Like most who have attended it, the Tech Summit is my favorite part of the event. It will be on Monday, March 31. In previous years, it was invite-only. This year, we're opening it up to the entire community, welcoming anyone who wants to participate. We hope to bring in some new technical voices who might not have participated in the past. Email Beth Ewing after completing your ACE registration to register for the Tech Summit. The session lasts most of the day and allows the Aras Innovator® tech community to get together and discuss all things Innovator. In the past, we’ve covered everything from new features to best practices, and even explored ways to enhance the product based on feedback from users like you. The Tech Summit provides a space to hear how our partners and customers are using Aras Innovator. This year we’ll have presentations from customers and partners, in which they will share some of the interesting modifications they’ve made to our platform. Community presenters will: Show capabilities they built in Aras Innovator and discuss how they did it (ex: Impact Matrix extensions, pervasive search) Demo the tools they use to manage their Aras Innovator development projects Share how the next generation of engineers are building PLM skills and knowledge with Aras Between Aras presentations, customer showcases, and open discussion, the Tech Summit is a favorite part of the ACE experience. (It certainly was my favorite part of last year’s event!) The summit will be followed by a welcome reception, and the following days are filled with interesting sessions to attend. If any of the above topics are interesting to you or someone you know who is attending ACE, register now to save your place! Here's a quick breakdown of the Tech-Summit agenda: Welcome & Introductions - get to know the attendees and presenters Community Demos - community members show off what they've built and share their knowledge AI Spotlight - AI demos and insights from Aras Lab Lunch Community Update - what's new and what's coming Open Forum Discussions - bring your questions and ideas! This session is all about connecting with your fellow Builders and learning from the group's collective experience. I’m looking forward to ACE this year and to meeting some of you there. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions regarding this year’s Tech Summit or want to get involved. To secure your spot for the Tech Summit, email Beth Ewing after completing your ACE registration. Registration is open right up to the event, but I’d recommend locking in your registration and hotel as soon as possible!Customize Your Endpoints with Configurable Web Services
Alongside Aras Innovator® Release 31, we provided a new set of functionalities called Configurable Web Services, or CWS. CWS is a platform component, which means it comes out-of-the-box and can be used across the platform. What is Configurable Web Services? Configurable Web Services is a low-code tool for defining and publishing custom REST APIs within your Aras Innovator® instance. It allows you to create a robust API without utilizing SQL, AML, or any coding. While we continue to provide access to our standard REST API, this new tool will enable you to expose subsets of data with fine-tuned permissions. All of this can be configured in Aras Innovator with an easy-to-use user interface (UI). Let’s take a look at how that works. A CWS Example: Creating a new web service Since CWS is an administrative feature, it appears in the Table of Contents under Administration > External Control. We’re going to create a new Web Service. A Web Service is the foundation of CWS, allowing you to create one or multiple different endpoints for your needs. On the form, we’re greeted with some basic parameters for our Web Service and two relationships. API Keys can be generated to allow external applications to communicate with Aras Innovator easily. Endpoints are exactly what they sound like. Here, you can define OData endpoints for your Web Service. For my example, we’ll be configuring an Endpoint that only has access to Part and Part BOM data. In this screenshot, I’ve already added the Part ItemType to our selection of Web Service Items. On the right, you can see that for each ItemType we select, we can modify what our end users have access to. This can be things like properties and relationships or what kind of actions the users can perform. For this example, I’m just going to get permissions. Let’s make sure we also add the Part BOM relationship as well: Once we’ve done that, we can see that the Part BOM relationship is also one of the Web Service Items. Let’s take the same action and then move on to properties. Looking at the Part_BOM Properties, we can see that we need the ID since it’s a relationship, a source, and a related ID. I’ve also added quantity to that example so we can see how many of each Part there are in a given BOM. And there we have it! Once we’ve saved our Endpoint and the parent Web Service, we will have a URL we can use to query our data. In a follow-up blog, I’ll go over connecting to and utilizing the newly created endpoint! While this was a pretty high-level overview of CWS, there’s so much more that it can do. We’ll be posting more content about CWS in the coming weeks, along with a sample application showing off the strength of this tool. Let us know if you’d utilize this in your business for external connections. And feel free to reach out to me with any questions.Aras Innovator: Three Quick Configuration Tips
Hello! As I continue to tinker with Aras Innovator® working on internal projects, I’m constantly discovering cool tips and tricks on how you can improve your user experience with our low-code tools. This blog will have three quick tips for configuring your instance of Aras Innovator to improve collaboration and visual clarity. Reverse graph navigation direction When looking at a Graph Navigation, you can move left or right (assuming horizontal orientation). Items that flow from left to right follow a standard or item property relationship. Items moving right to left use a referencing item relationship. This can make some Graph Navigation Views difficult to parse with left and right connections. I prepared a demo to show how it’s done and for visual quality. Read on to learn more. Go to the TOC > Administration > Configuration > Graph View Definition. Open the Graph View Definition you’d like to modify the direction of. Open the Connectors tab. It should look like this The important part of this is the Source and Target Node columns. Find the relationship you’d like to reverse the direction of by looking at the start/end query item. Once you’ve located the row you’re looking for, you can swap the values for the Source and Target Nodes. This will flip the direction of the connector, allowing for more easily digestible Graph Nav Views. Label your graph connectors Another way to add visual clarity to your graphs is to label your connections. It’s an easy way to ensure people understand the connections within your digital thread. This one has two steps. First, we need a View Card Definition with the following Template Definition. This definition is just a simple black line with a label affixed to it. Once that View Card is created, we’ll have to add it to our Graph View Definition. Open the Connector View Relationship. You’ll have to add your new View Definition to the Connector View Column. This simply states that you want your connector to follow the definition we set previously. The final step is opening up the Connector Type for the row you just modified. Under the Properties relationship, you can add a new Property called description (case sensitive), and in the value template, add the text you’d like to add to your Connector. When you open your Graph Nav View, you’ll see beautifully labeled Connections. Auto-enable SSVC pane This is a quick one, but it helps ensure people are aware of the discussion surrounding whatever Item they may be viewing at a given moment. Having the pane default to open allows any new discussions to be immediately visible to anyone viewing a given Item. To do this, we’ll take a look at the Part ItemType. Start editing the Part ItemType and open the Secure Social relationship: Right click the Discussion Template and open the related item. You’ll see a Discussion Template with two relationships. Open the Discussion Template View tab. Here, you’ll see a single Item with a few properties. The important one is Discussion Panel Behavior. Editing this relationship and setting this to Discussion Panel On will make it so the discussion panel automatically opens when you open an Item. This is set on an ItemType by ItemType basis, so set it wherever you think collaboration could use a boost! These were just three quick customizations you can make in your own system. Things that improve visual clarity and make things more apparent to users save everyone time in the long run. If you’ve made changes like this that improve efficiency at your company and want to share them, take it to the Forums! We’d love to see some of the amazing user-friendly customizations people have made to make Aras Innovator.
