Creating a Distribution Target

Integration with Other Applications > Introduction to Windchill ESI > Using Windchill Integration for MES > Using the Graphical User Interface > Managing Distribution Targets > Creating a Distribution Target

The following types of distribution targets can be created:

• Email

• File

• FTP

• Oracle Applications

• SAP

For information on enabling integration with MES, see Enabling Windchill Integration for MES.

The fields that are available in the New Distribution Target window vary depending on the Type selected.

To create a distribution target, use the following procedure:

1. Navigate to the Manage Distribution utility, available from Utilities under Organization or Site.

2. From the toolbar of the Distribution Targets table click

Create Distribution Target. The New Distribution Target window appears.

3. Click the find

icon to choose a Context for the distribution target. The Find Context window appears.

4. Use the Type drop-down list to select a context to search for:

◦ Site

◦ Organization

◦ Product

◦ Library

Depending on the type of context chosen different fields may appear. Fill in the appropriate fields as necessary.

5. In the New Distribution Target window choose a Type of distribution target:

◦ Email

◦ File

◦ FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

◦ Oracle Applications

◦ SAP

6. Enter in all relevant information pertaining to the chosen type and click Next.

◦ Fields present for all types:

▪ Number — The unique identifier you entered for the distribution target.

▪ Name — The name you gave to your distribution target

▪ Description — The description you gave to your distribution target

▪ Status — Indicates whether the distribution target is Active and can receive published business objects, or Inactive and unavailable to receive published business objects.

▪ Default for Context — Indicates whether the distribution target is the default distribution target for all business objects, for the context that the distribution target belongs to.

▪ Languages For Publishing — Select the languages in which you ant to publish the ESI response.

Languages For Publishing attribute is currently not supported for Oracle Applications and Proficy type distribution targets. For more information, see Translation Support for Windchill ESI.

◦ Additional fields present when File is the chosen type:

▪ Storage Type — The storage type to which you want to publish the ESI response.

▪ Path — The file path or Azure Blob Storage path to which you want to publish the ESI response. Example for Azure Blob Storage path: /<container name>/<folder name>.

◦ Additional fields present when FTP is the chosen type:

▪ FTP User ID — The user ID that is needed to access the site

▪ FTP Password — The password that goes with the user ID

▪ FTP Host — The name of the FTP server host that the file is uploaded to

▪ FTP Port — The port number for the server

▪ FTP Path — The path on the FTP server to which you want to publish

◦ Additional fields present when Email is the chosen type:

▪ To — The e-mail address to which you want to publish

▪ Cc — Any addresses to which you want to send a Courtesy Copy

▪ Bcc — Any addresses to which you want to send a Blind courtesy copy

▪ Reply To — The e-mail address to which you want replies to be sent

▪ Email Host — The name of the mail server

▪ From — The e-mail address from which you want to send e-mails

◦ Additional fields are available when creating a distribution target for SAP:

▪ System ID — The SAP system ID which is the name of an SAP instance.

▪ Client — The SAP client number, for example, 800 or 850

▪ Plant — The representation of an SAP manufacturing unit. For example, 1100 or Berlin Manufacturing

◦ Additional fields are available when creating a distribution target for Oracle Applications:

▪ DSN — The ODBC data source name used to access an Oracle Applications database.

▪ Organization — The organization unit in the Oracle Applications instance

◦ Additional fields are available when creating a distribution target of the type Distributed Process:

▪ Target System Identifier: This is a unique identifier for identifying the end system that the Distributed Process delivers the data to.

◦ Additional fields are available when creating a distribution target for MES or Proficy:

▪ Storage Type — The storage type to which you want to publish the ESI response.

▪ Path — The file path or Azure Blob Storage path to which you want to publish the ESI response. Example for Azure Blob Storage path: /<container name>/<folder name>.

▪ Web Service Definition URL — URL to the Web Service Definition. This is the language that can be used to invoke services on a distribution target, such as MES or Proficy.

▪ MES User ID — The user identification that is needed to access the MES or Proficy system.

▪ MES Password — The password of the user ID.

7. Use the Define Settings and Parameters window to further define your distribution target and click Finish. Different settings and parameters appear, depending on the type of distribution target being created.

You can specify a previously saved (and shared) filter to be used when publishing an object, by selecting an existing filter in the Saved Filter to be used field. However, this filter does not apply to the top node. By default, the view that the top node belongs to is used with the saved filter while navigating a structure. For the view that is set on the saved filter to be used instead, the preference Use View Information from the Applicable Saved Filter should be set to Yes. This has relevance only to those saved filters that use a Windchill view in their configuration specifications

Note the following:

• The Saved Filter to be used field appears under each of the following sections in the Define Settings and Parameters step of the Create Distribution Target window: BOM Settings, Change Notice Settings, and Process Plan Settings.

• The attributes that appear under CAD Document Settings are used for processing a CAD document structure. This is regardless of whether the structure was released as a standalone object, or in association with a Change Notice or a promotion request. For example, the attribute Saved Filter to be used when Publishing a CAD Document Structure is only used even if a Change Notice holding the structure as a resulting object was released.

• The attribute Publish Control Characteristics when Publishing a Part that appears in the Part Settings section determines whether to process control characteristics associated to a part. This is regardless of whether the part is published as a standalone object, or in association with an assembly, a change notice, a promotion request, or a process plan.

• The attribute Publish Control Characteristics when Publishing a Process Plan that appears in the Process Plan Settings section determines whether to process control characteristics associated to a process plan (or to an operation). This is regardless of whether the process plan is published in object-centric mode, or in association with a change notice or a promotion request.

• With the attribute Publish Control Characteristics when Publishing a Process Plan set to Yes, control characteristics associated to an operation is published on publishing the holding process plan. This occurs regardless of the value of the attribute Publish Control Characteristics when Publishing a Part, even if the control characteristic is also associated to a part.

• Since publishing of control characteristics to Oracle Applications is not supported, you may want to set both the Publish Control Characteristics attributes to No.

• The attribute ESI Response Output Format that appears in the General Parameters section determines the format of the ESI response that gets generated for a distribution target. The attribute has a value ESI XML by default, which refers to the standard ESI response XML format. If a distribution target expects to receive product data in the JSON format, this attribute may be set to ESI JSON. This attribute is available only for the following types of distribution target – File, FTP, Email; and MES. Also, the attribute can be set only at the time of creating the distribution target.

• To specify the Path attribute to publish ESI response to an Azure Blob Storage, you must have a storage account configured using blob configuration tool using security credentials mode of authentication.

◦ When Windchill is configured to use MSI mode of authentication then to use Azure Blob Storage for File and MES type distribution target for ESI, the following property must be set to use a specific storage account.

◦ For information on configuring vault storage using blob configuration utility, see Configuring Windchill File Vaults to Use Azure Blobs.

◦ For information on configuring Azure Blob Storage for Windchill ESI, see Configure Azure Blob Storage Containers for Windchill ESI.

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