Keeping Workspace Objects Up-to-Date
There are three actions available in the Windchill workspace that enable you to ensure that you are working with the most up-to-date data. These actions are summarized in the following table.
Action
Description
Update
Identifies objects in the workspace that are out-of-date with object versions that are currently available in the common space. To perform an update action, click File ▶Update.
Modifications to an object (such as revisions or iterations) made by other users, or by you in another workspace, may cause your current workspace object to become obsolete or out-of-date with respect to either:
The document configuration specification (for CAD documents and dynamic documents)
The part configuration specification
The workspace objects are defined in the workspace preferences. The most recent iteration or revision becomes the default workspace configuration specifications.
Refresh
Rewrites the list of content in the workspace. The refresh action can be performed explicitly or triggered implicitly. To perform an explicit refresh action, click the refresh icon in the toolbar.
An implicit refresh action is triggered:
• Upon the completion of a PDM action (through the embedded browser).
• Through preferences, Workspace ▶Access Rights Refresh Interval; which sets a frequency of checking access rights and performing a comprehensive workspace refresh. The default refresh interval is 1800 seconds.
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• Starting from Windchill 10.2 M030, the Workspace Refresh Enhancement performs an implicit synchronization in the backend when a refresh action is performed. The refresh action synchronizes Object Number, Name, and State information.
• The Workspace Refresh Enhancement does not synchronize File Name by default. To synchronize File Name, ensure Workspace▶ Refresh to synchronize File Name is set to Yes.
Starting from Windchill 11.0, an implicit synchronization is performed in background. This action is performed after a time interval of 180 seconds of a PDM action; which improves the performance of PDM actions with server.
Synchronize
Rewrites local cache with the latest information for all the objects in the workspace. When you click Tools ▶ Synchronize, the following server checks are performed:
Synchronize out-of-sync objects. For example, changes made to the object from another source or computer.
Rename objects in workspace whose File Name has been changed or updated.
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For best results, we recommend you synchronize out-of-sync objects by clicking Tools ▶ Synchronize before you perform a new action.
If you work in a multi-user environment, you are likely to encounter the situation where changes to product data are made by others while you have the objects in your workspace. To manage this dynamic situation, Creo Parametric and Windchill Workgroup Manager can notify you of changes in object status and allow you to update selected or any changed workspace objects to be sure that you remain current with the latest server information. Status information regarding whether a workspace object is out-of-date is communicated via three optional status columns, which you can add to your workspace table view. The status columns are the following:
Out of Date status
Out of Date with Workspace Configuration status
Compare status
For more information on these status columns, see About Object Status.
You may select one or more objects to update (for example, when their status column symbols indicate that they are out-of-date). In addition, you can select the Update action without preselecting an object (action-object). In this case, the Update page is automatically populated with any out-of-date objects from the workspace. After you specify how you would like the content handled (for example, whether to update, download, or link for download as needed), executing the update adds the latest iteration of an out-of-date object to the workspace.
For more information, see Updating Out-of-Date Objects.
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Use the Creo Parametric configuration option overwrite_contents_on_update to control behavior during the Update action from the Creo Parametric user interface. Note that "yes" is the default setting.
If set to "no," the system does not overwrite the locally modified contents for out-of-date objects, but updates their metadata only.
If set to "yes," the system overwrites the locally modified or out-of-date objects with the ones in the server in addition to updating their metadata.
The Synchronize (workspace) action updates the local cache with the latest information for objects already in the workspace (for example, modifications made from a standalone browser) and is described in the section Refreshing the Cache.
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