About Publication Structures

A publication structure organizes service information associated with an information structure (see About Information Structures) or stored independently in Windchill into a hierarchical structure that can be published. After you have added content to a publication structure, you can publish a representation of the document.

You can reference one of the information structures associated with a product or library when editing a publication structure. It is then possible to select content from the information structure and insert it into the publication structure. See Information Structure Tab of the Publication Structure.

Filtering criteria provides the ability to identify and manage information associated with product variations. Publication structures can be filtered to show optional components or parts with specific attribute values. Objects are displayed in the structure according to the currently active structure filter. Filters can be edited, and the structure refreshed, to show the objects that meet the new filter criteria.

Publication structures can be compared to determine the impact of product changes. The publication structure that is currently in production can be compared to a new publication structure under development to reveal the impact of the proposed changes. Relationships to supporting information can help determine the quantity and scope of the work to be done.

A publication structure can contain an indented hierarchy of other objects. Each entry in the structure is identified by an icon and name. A publication structure contains the following types of objects:

An information element is reusable content in a Windchill Service Information Manager structure. You can reuse these components at various levels within and across service structures. For example, repair procedures for an engine can be reused by all the products which use that engine.

Publication structures are listed in the Publication Structures table. You can display a publication structure from the Navigator pane:

◦ Select Details to display the Publication Structures table listing the publication structures for the product or library. Click the view information icon

next to a structure to display its information page.

◦ Select Publication Structures to display a table of publication structures for the product. Click the view information icon

next to a structure to display its information page.

Objects can be expanded one level at a time using the expansion arrows to the left of each object, or you can specify the levels using the

Display menu within the Viewing action set or the shortcut menu. Columns can be added using Views > Manage Structure Views.

You can enter an object name in the Find in Structure field just above the structure pane to locate a specific object if using expansion is impractical for a large structure. You can also enter a number if the view displays the Number column.

The Structure tab on the Service Structure Information Page provides tools that enable you to develop a document hierarchy using these objects.

You can reorder items in a publication structure. For more information, see Rearranging Service Structure Objects.

You can also generate a publication structure from an information structure. For more information, refer to Generating a Publication Structure.

You can publish a representation of an entire publication structure, a selected publication section, or a selected content holder. For more information, see Publishing from a Publication Structure.