Data Management Capabilities > Managing Configurable Products > Windchill Options and Variants Capabilities > Creating and Managing Variants > Creating Variant Structures Using the Configure Process > Preview Step: Reusing Existing Variant Specifications and Variants
  
Preview Step: Reusing Existing Variant Specifications and Variants
The Preview step allows you to either reuse any of the matching existing variant specifications or variants, or continue with the configuration process and create a new variant specification.
Possible Matching Results
The Matching Variant Specifications table identifies the variant specifications and variants parts that match the user-specified and rule driven choices and the resulting structure (inclusive of the advanced logic user-specified or constraint driven parameter values). The following matching scenarios are possible:
Scenario type
Description
Scenario 1:
Both the variant specification and the variant part match
Identifies the existing variant specifications that match the user-specified and rule driven choices and the resulting structure (inclusive of the advanced logic user-specified or constraint driven parameter values) where the variant part matches as well.
The Matching Variant Specifications table shows the matching variant specification and the matching variant, with the status for the variant indicating Matching Variant.
Scenario 2:
Only the variant specification matches
Identifies the existing variant specifications that match the user-specified and rule driven choices and the resulting structure (inclusive of the advanced logic user-specified or constraint driven parameter values) where the variant part does not match.
The Matching Variant Specifications table shows the matching variant specification, and lists the variant part with the status Non-Matching Variant.
Scenario 3:
The matching variant specification does not have a variant part
Identifies the existing variant specifications that match the user-specified and rule driven choices and the resulting structure (inclusive of the advanced logic user-specified or constraint driven parameter values) where the variant part does not exist.
The Matching Variant Specifications table shows only the matching variant specifications.
Completing the Preview Step
1. Review the matches in the Matching Variant Specifications table.
2. Select one of these actions:
◦ Go to selected Variant Specification information page—Valid for the scenarios #1, #2, #3. Click Finish to close the window and go to the information page of the existing variant specification you selected.
◦ Go to selected Module Variant information page—Valid for the scenarios #1 and #2. Click Finish to close the window and go to the information page of the existing variant part you selected.
◦ Use selected Variant Specification—Valid for the scenarios #2 and #3. When you click Next to continue with the configuration process, input values for the current variant specification are set to those from the selected variant specification.
◦ Create a new Variant Specification—Available for all scenarios. Click Next to continue with the configuration process to create a variant specification and request deliverables.
3. Click Next to go to the next, or click Finish to complete the configuration.