Managing Trace Links
Trace links can be managed using the actions available in the Traced To table.
Actions on the Traced To table are accessible only to users with the following profiles:
• Parts, Documents, Options, Choices, and Resources:
◦ PTC PDMLink Module License
◦ PTC ProjectLink Module License
◦ PTC EBOM Management License
◦ Windchill Advanced License
◦ PTC Windchill Premium License
• Standard control characteristic:
◦ PTC Manufacturing License
◦ PTC MPMLink Module License
◦ PTC BOM Transformation License
Administrators can control the visibility of these actions through standard profiles and monitor usage through license profiles.
Creating Trace Links
is available on the toolbar of the Traced To table. It creates a trace link, Satisfy, Allocate, or Implement between an external item and Windchill traceable object.1. Select an object to add a trace link. Click .
. | Duplicate trace links cannot exist between a traceable object and a remote object. |
2. Select the values for Server, Resource and Type in the Add Traces window.
3. In the Select Context tree, select the desired node.
| | The display of root or child nodes for PTC Modeler OSLC server is determined by the TRACELINKS ROOT SELECTION DIALOG model tag added to the PTCModelerConfigThing. This tag is ignored when the PTC-PLM:TRACELINKS-OSLC-QUERY-SEARCH model tag is specified for a configuration Thing. |
4. Click Open.
| | User-selected values for Server, Resource, Type and Select Context are retained as the default selections when you click Open. To change the default value, select a new value and then click Open. |
 | In the event of any modifications to the external OSLC server, such as the addition, renaming, or deletion of projects, your context selection values may become outdated. To update the context hierarchy and clear the previous selections, click  Refresh button in the Add Traces window. |
5. Select one or more items of the appropriate resource type in the dialog box of the selected external server or the external resource search picker and submit your selection.
| | • The type of link between an external item and Windchill object is unique. For example, link between requirement XYZ and Windchill part ABC. You can create an Allocate or Satisfy link between them. If Satisfy link exists between XYZ and ABC, you cannot create another Satisfy link for them. However, you can create and an Allocate link between them. Similarly, you can create an Implement link between an architecture item XYZ and Windchill part ABC. • When a trace link is added to an object with link types Satisfy or Implement, a new iteration of the part is created. |
6. In the Traced To table, the trace link between the Windchill traceable object and the external resource with the selected link type is created. The data related to the external item appears in the Traced To table.
Viewing Trace Links
In the Traced To table, you can view the trace links for Windchill traceable objects. The data is fetched in Windchill at runtime. When an attribute is enabled to display a preview, you can see the following:
• Small preview—Hover your cursor on the attribute value to display a small preview.
• Large preview—When large preview information is available for an OSLC server, an attribute value is displayed as a hyperlink. Click the hyperlink to open large preview on a new tab.
| | OSLC servers configured with PTC RV&S do not support large preview. |
| | • A preview opens only if you log on using the authentication credentials for basic authentication of the external system. • Out-of-the-box, the Number attribute is configured to display a preview. For more information, see Configuring the Windchill DPT Extension. |
Copying Trace Links
You can copy one or more trace links by using the 
action and then paste the copied objects using the 
action.
action and then paste the copied objects using the action.| | • The copied objects are not displayed in the clipboard. • Duplicate trace links cannot exist between a traceable object and a remote object. |
Updating Trace Links
You can mark the trace links as Suspect using the 
action or clear suspect flag using the 
action in Windchill. These actions are available only on the latest version of a revision. The actions are not available if the object is checked out by another user. For more information, see Suspect Links in Working with Traces.
action or clear suspect flag using the action in Windchill. These actions are available only on the latest version of a revision. The actions are not available if the object is checked out by another user. For more information, see Suspect Links in Working with Traces.Deleting Trace Links
On the toolbar of the Traced To table, use the 
action to delete trace links. Select one or more objects with a trace link and click .
action to delete trace links. Select one or more objects with a trace link and click .| | • action is available only on the latest version of a revision and is not available if the object is checked out by another user.• If an Allocate link is deleted, it is removed from all the versions of a revision. • If a Satisfy or Implement link is deleted from a version of an object, a new version is created. The link is removed from the new version of the object, though, the link is present in earlier versions. |