Mapping the Target PLM System

This section describes the process of mapping the target PLM system, mapping types, and general rules that you must follow in creating a mapping file.

Mapping involves synchronizing the object properties of the source and target PLM systems. Object properties that can be mapped are location, revision, life cycle, and life cycle state.

For example, consider a source Pro/INTRALINK system that follows the revision scheme of 1, 2, 3, and so on, and a target Windchill PDMLink system that follows a revision scheme of A, B, C, and so on.

There are three approaches that you can use to address revision and life cycle differences between the source and target PLM systems:

• Use implicit mapping (recommended). It is most likely that design partners want shared Creo Parametric data to appear identically in the source Pro/INTRALINK and target Windchill PDMLink systems. If that is the case, in the target PLM system for each source, create a new folder (structure) with the same revision and life cycle sequences of the source. Import the packages from the respective source Pro/INTRALINK system into their corresponding folder in your target Windchill PDMLink system. This approach eliminates the need to map revision, life cycle, and life cycle state.

• Use a mapping file to appropriately map the revision schemes between the source Pro/INTRALINK and the target Windchill PDMLink systems.

• Change the revision scheme in the target Windchill PDMLink system to be the same as in source Pro/INTRALINK system.

The wpc_preferences.txt file contains the default mapping file location for import. You can modify the wpc_preferences.txt file in any text editor. By removing the comment symbol, #, you activate the default mapping file location.

Once mapping preferences are set in the wpc_preferences.txt file, they continue to be used each time you want import a package. You can modify the wpc_preferences.txt file if you want to change the mapping location.

After reviewing the package and taking the required action; map (if necessary) the location, revision, life cycle, and life cycle state in the target PLM system to avoid conflicts while importing.

Import mapping for projects is the same as described in “Import Mapping in General,” except for the following conditions:

• If you use explicit mapping to import objects into projects, the target properties in the mapping are based on the Windchill ProjectLink properties (location, revision, version, life cycle state, and so on). Note that explicit mapping, rather than implicit mapping, might result in the mapping being invalid if these objects are checked into Windchill PDMLink later.

• Create separate mapping files for each project. The mapping files can be stored in the same folder as Windchill PDMLink mapping, but in order for Creo Packages to pick up the appropriate mapping file, use the unique context identifier modifier to specify the project name in the mapping file. For example: