Understanding Document Sub-Types
Windchill provides a simple method to create document sub-types using the Type Manager at either the Site or Organizational level, depending on how the type is managed and proliferated.
Document sub-types provide the following business values:
- Document-type-specific attributes (and constraints)
- Document-type-specific searches
- Document-type-specific lifecycles and workflows
Here’s how to create a document sub-type in Windchill:
- On the Utilities page, select Type Manager (Figure 1)
- Once in Type Manager, select wt.doc.WTDocument to expand
- Select Create Type. Enter information accordingly (Figure 2)
- The new document sub-type has been created and remains checked out to the current user (Figure 3)
Here’s how to create document sub-types - specific attributes and constraints:
- Once the sub-type is created, click on the Template tab to create constraints and attribute definitions
- Highlight the Root row to create a new attribute, which can be chosen from pre-defined Instance Based Attributes (Figure 4)
- Once an attribute is defined, additional sub-type-specific constraints may be applied, such as a discrete set (Figure 5)
- Complete the attribute definition with default value, if desired. When finished, check in the document sub-type (Figure 6)
Searching using the document sub-type. When specifying a specific object type for searching, the newly-created sub-type appears in the list of document types (Figure 7). This sub-type may be selected for a filtered search. The sub-type-specific attributes may be used to further filter the search (Figure 8).
Document sub-type lifecycles and workflows. Lifecycles and associated workflows may be assigned to document sub-types. This provides business process management of the typed documents upon creation in the system. For example, a document checked into the system as a “specification” sub-type could be assigned to a “specification” lifecycle and could automatically be routed through a pre-defined review process. A document checked into the system as a “contract” may behave quite differently. This provides a flexible, consistent means to automate business rules and processes throughout an organization.
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