Data management with Strata

NX works with Teamcenter for data management. NX-Style uses Strata, a FreeCAD add-on by the same author, for that job. It is on by default and needs git on the PATH; engineers never use Git directly.

Strata’s Versions and history panel among the navigators

Where it is

Resource Bar › Versions and history: Strata’s panel, in the same tab strip as the Part Navigator.
The PLM tab on the ribbon: Versions and History, Create Version, Compare, Releases and Sync.

Turning it on for a project

Save your parts into one project folder (sub-folders are fine).
In Versions and history, click Turn on version control and confirm the folder and your name.
Work and save as usual. Every save appears in the history with a plain-language entry, such as Edited Base plate: Length 10 mm → 12 mm.

What it does

Teamcenter idea	Strata
Saved revisions	Every save is a history entry; nobody types messages.
Named versions	Create Version: a permanent snapshot of the whole project.
Alternatives	Workspaces: separate lines of work. Main stays untouched until you merge.
Retrieve an old revision	Open any version or entry as a read-only copy, or Restore it. A restore adds a new entry, so nothing is lost.
Compare	Added, deleted and edited features with old → new values, and a 3D before/after overlay with the volume change.
Release	Part number and revision letter (A, B … skipping I, O, Q, S, X, Z per ASME Y14.35), an optional approval step, an Obsolete state.
Shared vault	Sync through a network folder, a synced drive or any Git server. Works offline.
Assemblies	All documents in a project folder are versioned together, so an assembly and its parts always match.

Teamcenter idea

Strata

Saved revisions

Every save is a history entry; nobody types messages.

Named versions

Create Version: a permanent snapshot of the whole project.

Alternatives

Workspaces: separate lines of work. Main stays untouched until you merge.

Retrieve an old revision

Open any version or entry as a read-only copy, or Restore it. A restore adds a new entry, so nothing is lost.

Compare

Added, deleted and edited features with old → new values, and a 3D before/after overlay with the volume change.

Release

Part number and revision letter (A, B … skipping I, O, Q, S, X, Z per ASME Y14.35), an optional approval step, an Obsolete state.

Shared vault

Sync through a network folder, a synced drive or any Git server. Works offline.

Assemblies

All documents in a project folder are versioned together, so an assembly and its parts always match.

The history is kept in a hidden .strata folder in the project; the .FCStd files stay ordinary FreeCAD files.

Keys

Ctrl+Shift+H opens Versions and history, Ctrl+Shift+V is Create Version and Ctrl+Shift+R is Releases. Strata’s own keys for Compare and Sync (Ctrl+Shift+D and Ctrl+Shift+Y) stay NX’s Drafting and Layout here; Compare and Sync are on the PLM tab.

Released parts go on to manufacturing with Publish to Manufacturing (Carbon).

Strata’s own documentation covers merging, releases and sharing in detail.

Without Strata

python launch_nx.py --no-strata starts without it once.
"plm": "none" in the settings switches it off for good.

A copy cloned without --recursive has no Strata until git submodule update --init (Installation); NX-Style starts without it and the launcher says so.

A Strata installed separately

If Strata is already in the NX profile’s own Mod folder, the launcher does not load the bundled copy as well, so it never loads twice. A Strata from freecad-strata 1f71005 on joins the NX layout through its embedding API (Development); an older one runs beside it with its own toolbar and panel.