Installing the Desktop Integration Add-In
Included with Windchill is a Desktop Integration add-in that allows you to perform Windchill actions on documents (such as downloading, checking out, and checking in content) without opening Windchill in a web browser.
When you install the Windchill Desktop Integration (DTI) add-in, a new menu with Windchill actions is added to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Outlook. For more information, see Windchill Desktop Integration.
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For information about versions of Microsoft applications supported by Windchill Desktop Integration, see the software matrix available at the following link:
Expand the By Product menu and select the Windchill Software Matrices appropriate for your site. Information about DTI is located under the Windchill Client Components section of the document.
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To install Windchill Desktop Integration (DTI), complete the following steps:
1. Close all open Microsoft Office and Outlook applications.
2. From the Windchill web application, navigate to > and accept the license agreement.
3. On the Software Downloads page, click Windchill Desktop Integration (32-bit) or Windchill Desktop Integration (64-bit) depending on your operating system.
4. Follow the installer prompts to complete the process.
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• You are prompted to provide a Windchill server URL and an alias. This step is optional. You can configure a server at any time. For more information, see Configuration and Servers.
• Under the Custom Setup step, you can select which Microsoft Office applications you want to use with Desktop Integration. When installed, a Windchill tab is added to the application menu. For more information, see Microsoft Office Integration.
You can also select whether to include Windows Explorer integration. When installed, a Windchill Documents node appears in Windows Explorer. From here, you can access and manage existing Windchill documents. For more information, see Windows Explorer Integration.
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5. Restart your computer.
6. Complete the post-installation checklist below.
To later uninstall Desktop Integration, use the standard options available from Microsoft Windows Control Panel.
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For administrators performing a silent DTI installation, see Deploying DTI Using Silent Installation.
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Updating the Desktop Integration Add-In
When you move to an updated version of Windchill, you must also update your existing Desktop Integration add-in. You should receive an automatic prompt that guides you through this process.
To manually verify whether your DTI version is up to date, open a Microsoft Office document and select > > . Verify that the installed version and the server version match and click Check for Updates.
If available, you can install the updated add-in using the Check for Updates action. For more information, see Servers and Configuration.
You can also manually update your add-in through the Software Downloads page:
1. Close all open Microsoft Office and Outlook applications.
2. Uninstall your current Desktop Integration add-in using the standard options available from the Microsoft Windows Control Panel.
3. Restart your computer once the uninstall is complete.
4. Download and install the updated add-in as described above.
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It is recommended to reinstall DTI in case of CPS updates as there could be DTI related fixes/changes in the CPS.
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Desktop Integration Post-Installation Steps
Once installed, there are several steps you should take before using the Desktop Integration add-in:
Required Steps
1. From Windchill, set your > preference to Use Windchill Desktop Integration functionality to download files. For more information on setting preferences, see Preference Management.
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If this preference has not been set, then the DTI add-in does not recognize documents that you have downloaded from the Windchill web application. As a result, many Windchill actions (such as Check In and Check Out) are disabled for these documents.
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2. Establish a connection with the Windchill server. You can configure a server as part of the installation process or later.
◦ Open Windchill in a browser and download the primary content of a Windchill document. This Windchill server is automatically established.
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◦ Open a Microsoft Office application and select > . From the Windchill Desktop Integration Configuration window, you can manually configure and connect to a server. For more information, see Servers and Configuration.
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Most Windchill actions do not appear until you have established a connection with the server.
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Optional Steps
The Windchill Desktop Integration Configuration window includes the following options:
◦ Add the Windchill menu to the Windows Explorer right-click menu options for non-Microsoft Office documents.
◦ Control whether checkin, checkout, and overwrite prompts appear when you open and close Microsoft Office documents.
◦ Use the Compare Tools tab to identify document comparison tools for Windchill documents. By default, Windchill Desktop Integration provides actions to compare Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word documents and document versions. To compare additional file types, you can identify different third-party comparison tools.
The Attachments and Documents preference groups include the following options:
◦ Control document checkin behavior:
▪ Select the Send local file to Recycle Bin option by default.
▪ Select the Keep document open after check-in option by default.
▪ Determine whether the checkin process includes a step to edit attributes.
◦ Control upload and download behavior:
▪ Customize your default file path when downloading files from Windchill.
▪ Determine which contexts should appear in Windows Explorer by default.
▪ Determine whether you are prompted to open or save downloaded files.
For more information, see Desktop Integration User Setup.
Windchill Desktop Integration Administration
For administrators who are configuring their site to use Windchill Desktop Integration (DTI), see the following topics for additional information:
Includes additional setup options and instructions on running a silent installation to deploy the Windchill Desktop Integration add-in on multiple client machines.
Manage the availability of document templates.
Includes instructions on customizing the Windchill ribbon to include actions and menus, using macros to implement custom commands, and setting up form-based authentication for DTI.
Includes instructions on managing security labels for documents for sites that have security labels enabled.