Windchill attributes on CAD documents can be mapped to specific CAD parameters in other applications. Attributes are mapped to CAD parameters using either implicit mapping or explicit mapping.

Implicit mapping refers to the system matching the attribute and CAD parameter automatically. No user intervention is necessary.

Implicit mapping is recommended as the preferred mapping method because otherwise released data could be changed without a new iteration being reviewed. If a change is made to an explicitly mapped attribute and then a file is downloaded, you might see a different result than before the change to the mapping was done.

When Windchill attributes are implicitly mapped to CAD parameters, they have read and write access in both Windchill and the CAD application.

Implicit attribute-to-parameter mapping occurs when there is a reusable attribute in Windchill with an all uppercase base name (the attribute name minus the reverse domain name prefix) identical to the name of a designated parameter in a Creo Parametric model file, or other CAD application, and that reusable attribute is associated with a Windchill type as a global attribute on the type. When the CAD parameter is uploaded into Windchill as content of a CAD document, the values of the CAD parameter are transferred to the Windchill attribute on the type. The evaluation of the implicitly mapped attribute happens at the time the CAD document is uploaded into Windchill.

For example, the com.acme.BLUE reusable attribute in Windchill is associated with the CAD Document type as a global attribute. There is also a parameter in the CAD application named BLUE. When the CAD document is uploaded to Windchill from the CAD application, the value of the BLUE parameter is transferred to the Windchill global attribute on the CAD document.

If a reusable attribute with the same base name such as BLUE (com.acme.BLUE and com.DemoOrg.BLUE) exists in both the site and the organization context and both are added to the same type, implicit mapping between the attribute and parameter fails and a warning is displayed. If no ambiguity exists, that is, if only one of the reusable attributes with the same base name is added to the type as a global attribute, implicit mapping occurs on the attribute that is added to the type.

For more information on specifying global attribute names, see Creating Reusable Attributes.

If an existing reusable attribute associated with a type as a global attribute is removed and another reusable attribute with the same base name is associated to that type as a global attribute between uploads of the CAD document, it is possible that the attribute to which a CAD parameter is implicitly mapped can change between iterations of the same object.

Currently only Windchill global attributes on the CAD Document subtype of the following types can be explicitly mapped to parameters in CAD applications:

Explicitly mapping Windchill attributes to CAD application parameters publishes Windchill information to the Creo Parametric system and other CAD applications.

The site and organization administrator can specify per subtype whether a Windchill global attribute is explicitly mapped to a parameter in a CAD application. This mapping is specified on the attribute on the subtype in the Manage Types window.

When considering attribute mapping, keep in mind the following guidelines:

For more information, see Creating an Explicit Attribute-to-Parameter Mapping.