Amazing how something so simple is avoided. Perhaps, this whole thing also has to do with use case that Windchill is the respected repository for all documentation in the business process.
In general whatever you want to do is be cautious adhering a business process to a tool you do not have control over, reduce total cost of ownership and process,
I would rather come up with a configuration that is neutral to anything mentioned. In theory my previous posted ideas are not all customization, but does require knowledge of POP/SMTP/IMAP, filtering and forwarding content. The fact that you can get information about the content using a workflow to generate a URL, send that text as a link in an email, and start that workflow when the Windchill content holder reaches a certain lifecycle state is mostly configuration.
The second idea about using an alternate web server to fetch documents is fairly easy to do with Apache and the mod_rewrite module alongside
You are of course not allowed to customize anything that allows a fake windchill user to connect and download data. However, content in the vault is wide open provided no PTC licensed technology is used.
Using mod_rewrite to control access - Apache HTTP Server Version 2.5
You combine this with policy in Apache to take input passed along the URL, that makes the link valid only for a certain amount of time, one time, and be able to actually retrieve the file with an alternate filename from what is the filename inside the vault. Only setback is the filename of downloaded content may be not the same unless it is passed as a parameter to Apache within the URL.
Whatever is passed to the URL should use something that severs access after a period of time or initial download using that access code. Many ways to do this, but the idea is whatever you pass should be able to identify the file you want from the vault through an encoded key that is translated [possibly through several rewrites] so it fails to identify the correct file after a certain period of time elapses.
RewriteQueryString - Httpd Wiki
On email, you control this entirely, but it would be much better to know what your operating system is to comment further.
For example on Windows:
Send Automated Emails Using SendEmail & Windows Task Scheduler
Allows attachments, you can send from the actual windows server running Windchill.
UNIX-like systems can do this as well as free e-mail systems like hMailServer, a favorite of mine.
Send email with attachment(s) from script or command line « \1
Additionally, this can be kicked off via workflow that executes something externally.
If all of this not a good idea thus far or need extra ideas...use a workflow robot to invoke, call, retrieve a URL with parameters. That URL could go off and do a basic script at the operating system level of that web server...ftp the file, copy the file, query database, whatever. If you know DOS on Windows, or willing to do Powershell. The server access log can be parsed by a scheduled task to do something you want, send an email, copy files, whatever.
Given I do not know the unique situation or skill level, I am trying to throw darts out there to answer the question and also make others who responded think more about what I am posting.
You could also pay for software already created, but then still have to configure that.
Cheers!
