Policy-managed Naming and Numbering
Windchill Workgroup Manager supports four policies to determine how newly created objects are named and numbered.
• Automatic numbering
• Name-driven
• Parameter-driven
• Custom
These policies are only utilized during the initial creation of parts and CAD documents. These policies are used during upload of new CAD data (when a new CAD document can be created based on a model file), and auto-associate (when a new part is created for a CAD document); if the policy is changed at a later date, existing data is not affected. The CAD document number is provided by the automatic CAD document number generator (by using the standard Windchill number generator, through customization, or selecting > > ).
These policies can be used together to drive the naming and numbering behavior. For example, automatic numbering can be used with customization to form a numbering policy. The four policies can be described as follows:
• Automatic numbering
◦ Automatic numbering is the default numbering policy.
◦ When using auto-associate to create new parts, the part number is provided by the part number generator.
◦ When using auto-associate to create new parts, the default value for the part name is copied from the associated CAD document name. If a file extension is present in the CAD document name, it can be optionally dropped from the part name controlled by a preference.
◦ The CAD document and part name field can be edited using Rename.
New CAD documents must be created in the CAD application. If no attribute mapping exists, then the Windchill name is automatically set to the file name. The user can then use Rename in the workspace to allocate a different value prior to checkin.
◦ In the Rename action window, the number field cannot be edited, unless automatic numbering is disabled or the override preference is set by the administrator that allows users to override the automatic numbering sequence and manually enter a value in the number field. If you change the part number, you must include the file extension if you would like it to be included in the part number.
• Name-driven
◦ When automatic numbering is disabled, the name-driven policy comes into effect.
◦ The Windchill CAD number is copied from the CAD model file name (the file extension can be dropped and is controlled by the Windchill preference, Drop File Extension From Number). The Windchill number is propagated to the CAD environment and stored in a property in the CAD file called PTC_WM_NAME.
◦ The Windchill CAD document name is also copied from the CAD model file name. The Windchill number is propagated to the CAD environment and stored in a property in the CAD file called PTC_WM_NAME.
◦ If you use Workspace Rename to set the WindchillName or Number attribute for a new CAD document, its value is pushed from Windchill to the CAD environment and stored in a property in the CAD file called PTC_WM_NAME or PTC_WM_NUMBER, respectively.
◦ The default value for the part number is copied from the CAD document number (the file extension can be dropped and is controlled by the WindchillAuto Associate Truncate Number File Extension preference).
◦ The CAD document and part Number field can be edited using Rename. If parts are auto-created from CAD documents, then the user does not get the chance to specify a part number. If parts are created manually, the user has the option to specify number during creation (assuming automatic numbering is disabled). If a CAD document is created in the CAD application, it has no ability to define the Windchill CAD document number. Even if the PTC_WM_NAME attribute is created prior to saving to the workspace, it is overwritten by the Windchill file number. The user must then use Rename in the workspace to allocate a different value prior to checkin.
• Parameter-driven
◦ Parameter-driven naming and numbering is where Windchill name and number attributes are mapped to existing properties in the CAD file.
◦ The CAD document number is copied from the value of the CAD application property identified by the Windchill Numbering Parameter preference.
◦ The value for the CAD document name is copied from the CAD application property identified by the Windchill Naming Parameter preference.
◦ The value for the part number is copied from the value of the soft attribute identified by the Windchill preference, AutoAssociate Numbering Parameter.
◦ The value for the part name is copied from the value of the soft attribute identified by the Windchill preference, AutoAssociate Naming Parameter.
◦ The CAD document and part name and number fields can be edited by the user using Rename. The new value is pushed from Windchill to the CAD environment and stored on a property in the CAD file.
• Custom
The Object Initialization Rules Administration utility, available from the Utilities page, provides a way to specify default values for the attributes and display constraints on attributes of a specific object type. The default values and attribute constraints are then used when Windchill creates objects of that type. Each object initialization rule (OIR) can contain default values and constraints for one object type. The rules only apply on object creation and do not change or set values for existing objects. Rules can be set up to provide automatic number generation as well as to provide custom behavior. Object initialization rules are set per Windchill context, allowing different naming/numbering rules to be applied to different contexts.
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Regardless of the naming and numbering policy used, when creating a new object, system uniqueness constraints require that the CAD document attributes Number and File Name must both be unique within a Windchill organization or project.
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