Both Windchill and Creo Parametric use default template files when creating a new object. In Creo Parametric, these objects are called start parts and in Windchill they are referred to as CAD document templates. The Creo Parametric start parts traditionally reside on your local file system, while the CAD document templates are stored in the Windchill database. In a concurrent engineering environment, it can be challenging to keep all of your CAD document templates up-to-date with your Creo Parametric start parts. To remedy this, you can manage your Creo Parametric start parts in the Windchill database.

Additionally, you can also create new CAD document templates that reference the same start part files. The result is that regardless of whether a designer uses Creo Parametric or Windchill to create a new object, both applications use the same set of template files.

Other advantages to managing your start parts in Windchill PDMLink are: