Policy-Managed Naming and Numbering
Windchill Workgroup Manager supports four policies to determine how newly created objects are named and numbered:
• Auto-numbering
• Name-driven
• Parameter-driven
• Custom
These policies are only used during the initial creation of parts and CAD documents. These policies are used during upload of new CAD data (when a new CAD document can be created based on a model file), and auto-associate (when a new part may be created for a CAD document). If the policy is changed later, existing data is not affected.
These policies can be used together to drive the naming and numbering behavior. For example, auto-numbering can be used with Custom to form a numbering policy. The four policies can be described as follows:
• Auto-numbering
◦ Auto-numbering is the default naming and numbering policy.
◦ The CAD document number is provided by the CAD document number generator (either using the standard Windchill number generator, or through customization).
◦ When using auto-associate to create new Parts, the part number is provided by the Part Number generator.
◦ When using auto-associate to create new Parts, the default value for the part name is copied from the associated CAD document name. If a file extension is present in the CAD document name, it can be optionally dropped from the part name controlled by a preference.
◦ The CAD document and part name field can be edited using Rename.
New CAD documents must be created in the CAD application. If no attribute mapping exists, then the Windchill name is automatically set to file name. The user can then use Rename in the workspace to allocate a different value before check in.
◦ In the Rename user interface, the number field cannot be edited, unless auto-numbering is disabled or the override preference is set by the administrator that allows users to override the auto-numbering sequence and manually enter a value in the number field.
• Name-driven
◦ When auto-numbering is disabled, name-driven policy comes into effect.
◦ The Windchill CAD Number is copied from the CAD model file name (the file extension can be dropped and is controlled by the Windchill preference Upload Drop Number File Extension). The Windchill Number is propagated to the CAD environment and stored on a property in the CAD file called PTC_WM_NUMBER.
◦ The Windchill CAD Document Name is copied from the Creo Elements/Direct Drafting Part Browser name (the file extension can be dropped and is controlled by the Windchill preference, Upload Drop Name File Extension). The Windchill Number is propagated to the CAD environment and stored on a property in the CAD file called PTC_WM_NAME.
◦ If you use Workspace Rename to set the Windchill Name or Number attribute for a new CAD document, its value is pushed from Windchill to the CAD environment and stored on a property in the CAD file called PTC_WM_NAME or PTC_WM_NUMBER, respectively.
◦ The default value for the part number is copied from the CAD document number (the file extension can be dropped, and is controlled by the Windchill preference Auto Associate Truncate Number File Extension).
◦ The CAD document and part Number field can be edited using Rename. If parts are auto-created from CAD documents, then the user does not get the chance to specify a part number. If parts are created manually, the user has the option to specify number during creation (assuming autonumbering is disabled). If a CAD document is created in the CAD application, it has no ability to define the Windchill CAD document number. Even if the PTC_WM_NUMBER attribute is created before saving to the workspace, it is overwritten by the Windchill file number. The user must then use Rename in the workspace to allocate a different value before check in.
• Parameter-driven
◦ Parameter-driven naming and numbering is where Windchill Name and Number attributes are mapped to existing properties in the CAD file.
◦ The CAD document Number is copied from the value of the CAD application property identified by the Windchill preference Numbering Parameter.
◦ The value for the CAD document name is copied from the CAD application property identified by the Windchill preference, Naming Parameter.
◦ The value for the part number is copied from the value of the global attribute identified by the Windchill preference Auto Associate Numbering Parameter.
◦ The value for the part name is copied from the value of the global attribute identified by the Windchill preference Auto Associate Naming Parameter.
◦ The CAD document and part name and number fields can be edited by the user using Rename. The new value is pushed from Windchill to the CAD environment and stored on a property in the CAD file.
• Custom
The OIR (Object Initialization Rules) Administration, available from the Utilities menu, provides a way to specify default values for the attributes and display constraints on attributes of a specific object type. The default values and attribute constraints are then used when Windchill creates objects of that type. Each OIR can contain default values and constraints for one object type. The rules only apply on object creation and do not change or set values for existing objects. Rules can be set up to provide auto-number generation as well as to provide custom behavior. OIRs are set per Windchill context, allowing different naming/numbering rules to be applied to different contexts.
For more information on Object Initialization Rules Administration, refer to the Windchill Help Center.
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Regardless of the naming and numbering policy used, when creating a new object, system uniqueness constraints require that the CAD document attributes Number and File Name must both be unique within a Windchill organization, or within each Windchill ProjectLink project.
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