Additional Capabilities > Windchill PartsLink > Searching for Classified Objects > Finding Similar Objects
  
Finding Similar Objects
You can use the Find Similar Objects action to search for Windchill PartsLink classified objects based on how they compare to the selected object. It searches for objects within the same classification node.
For example, if you want to find all parts that are similar to a selected part but that have different weights assigned, you can launch the Find Similar Objects action and then specify a new weight range.
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The Find Similar Objects action is only available when indexing is enabled for classification objects.
Administrators can restrict its visibility using the Find Similar Objects profile.
1. You can access the Find Similar Objects action from the information page Actions menu and from the right-click actions menu in the following locations:
◦ Search Results table
◦ Folder Contents table
◦ Part structure browser
2. The Find Similar Objects window displays all available classification attributes defined for the Object. The Value column pre-populates the attribute fields with values defined on the selected Object.
3. Select the rows that you want to include in your search.
If you change the value or provide a modifier range but do not select the table row, it is not included in the search.
4. Modify the values you want to search:
Explicit
To search for an explicit value, modify the field in the Value column.
For example, the following search would return objects with an outside diameter of 0.045 m:
Range
To search for a range, enter a value in the Modifiers column:
• Select Absolute to search for an explicit range using the base unit. For example, the following search would return objects with an outside diameter of 0.045 m to 0.065 m:
• Select Percent to apply a range based on percentage. For example, the following search calculates a range of 10% greater or smaller than 0.055 m. The search would return objects with an outside diameter of 0.0495 m to 0.0605 m:
Value list
For attributes that have a legal value list, select additional values from the drop-down menu. These values are included using an OR operator.
For example, the following search would return objects with grease or oil lubrication:
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The Units column displays the base unit. To provide values in another unit, explicitly specify the base unit in the Value field. It is automatically converted when you click Search.
For example, to search for an outside diameter using inches, you can enter 2.5 in instead of 0.0635:
The units are automatically converted on your behalf.
5. Click Search.
If no match for your input is found, check your search criteria, or use visual navigation to browse the parts.