Advanced Customization > Business Logic Customization > Data Exchange using Standards in Windchill > STEP Data Exchange using EXPRESS
  
STEP Data Exchange using EXPRESS
The Windchill STEP (Standard for Exchange of Protocol Data) connector allows for the exchange of product data that is managed in Windchill in ISO 10303 STEP format. The STEP connector has closely ingrained EXPRESS schema support. EXPRESS is an information data modeling language that is used to define the schema for all the ISO10303 STEP application protocols. The connector supports the ASCII (P21) or XML (P28) file formats. The connectors provide support for AP214 and PLCS standards.
The AP214 connector supports processing of CAD, part structure, and related documents including reusable attributes and content.
The PLCS connector supports processing of parts and related documents along with reusable attributes and file content. The connector provides support for numerous templates that are used by A&D DEX1 and DEX3 (refer to S3000L). There is also support to augment reference data definitions that would be used in an exchange. The mapping between the reference data definition and the part or document properties is configurable.