Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks Windchill ProductPoint 2.0 September 2010 Quick Start Guide The Windchill ProductPoint 2.0 beta software is intended for beta testing only. It should not be used in a production environment or to upgrade a production installation. What s Inside This quick start guide provides: Basic steps for integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks Steps for performing common configuration and operations tasks For comprehensive information, including detailed integration steps, operations, and troubleshooting, refer to the Windchill ProductPoint Application Integration Guide (not available for beta). SolidWorks Supported Versions Windchill ProductPoint 2.0 supports the following SolidWorks versions: SolidWorks 2009 SolidWorks 2010 For detailed system requirements, refer to Windchill ProductPoint System Requirements.
Contents Contents... 2 Install the Windchill ProductPoint Workgroup Manager for SolidWorks... 1 Create a Storage Location for SolidWorks Data... 12 Working with SolidWorks... 19 Create a New SolidWorks File and Save to Windchill ProductPoint... 19 Saving Data from the File System and Windchill ProductPoint... 32 Open SolidWorks Doc s Managed by Windchill ProductPoint from SolidWorks... 41 Open SolidWorks Doc s Managed by Windchill ProductPoint from Internet Browser 43 Modify a SolidWorks Document Stored in Windchill ProductPoint... 45 SolidWorks Toolbox... 48 Beta Functionality Summary... 49 Beta SPRs (Software Problem Reports)... 54
Install the Windchill ProductPoint Workgroup Manager for SolidWorks Perform the following steps to install the Windchill ProductPoint Workgroup Manager for SolidWorks on your SolidWorks workstation. Note: For illustration purposes, SolidWorks 2010 is used in this procedure, but the same installation steps apply to SolidWorks 2009. 1. Launch Microsoft Internet Explorer and enter the URL of your Windchill ProductPoint server (e.g. http://my.server.com:1975/ ). 2. Under the Welcome to Windchill Product section, click SolidWorks. 1 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
3. Under the ProductPoint Downloadable Components section, select the SolidWorks version and either 32 or 64 bit operating system platform. For beta testing we recommend using SolidWorks 2010 (rather than SolidWorks 2009) on XP 32 or 64 bit platform (rather than Windows 7) since this has received greater attention for beta stabilization. Note to administrators: It is possible to download the Workgroup Manager executable to the ProductPoint server, which will place a link to the executable on this downloads page. See the Windchill Product Installation, Administrator s, and Upgrade Guide for more details. 2 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
4. Select Run to start the SolidWorks Workgroup Manager installation. 5. When the installer launches, select Next. 3 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
6. Enter the Destination Folder for the Windchill Workgroup Manager components and select Install. 4 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
7. Wait for the installation to complete and then click Next. 5 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
8. Enter the following in the fields provided: Server Name: A descriptive name for your Windchill ProductPoint server. Server Location: The URL of your Windchill ProductPoint server (e.g. http://my.server.com:1975/ ) Then click Test Connection. 9. Note the confirmation that the Windchill ProductPoint server has been registered successfully. 6 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
10. Select Next. 7 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
11. Windchill ProductPoint Workgroup Manager for ProductPoint is now installed. Click Finish. 8 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
12. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel. 9 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
13. Double click on PTC Places Options. 14. Note that the default location for PTC Places (the entry point to ProductPoint on the file system) is located in your User Profiles. 10 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
15. Because the above path is not a convenient access point from the SolidWorks Open/Save/Insert dialogues, it is recommended that you move the PTC Places entry point to a location more frequently accessed by the user such as under My Documents. Note: You must manually create the PTC Places folder the application will not do it for you. We aim to improve the default location for the production release. Click Ok to finish. 11 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Create a Storage Location for SolidWorks Data Windchill ProductPoint is broadly split into two main data repository areas: Catalog (for standard parts libraries, drawing standards, templates) Products (create individual repositories for data specific to each of your products) For purposes of this guide, we will illustrate how to setup a product to give you a basic location to store your data. For more detail on the Catalog and Repository areas, see the Windchill Product Installation, Administrator s, and Upgrade Guide. To set up a storage location for a Product, perform the following steps. 1. Launch Microsoft Internet Explorer and enter the URL of your Windchill ProductPoint server (e.g. http://my.server.com:1975/ ) 2. From the Home page select Products. 12 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
3. Select anywhere within the Products border which will enable the toolbar to create new Products (this is a beta issue which should be addressed in production release). 4. Select New Item. 13 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
5. To create a new Product, enter a Name (required) and any additional details in the fields provided, and click Save (see Windchill Product Installation, Administrator s, and Upgrade Guide for more details). 14 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
6. Your new Product appears on the Products page. 7. Select the icon next to the new Product name. 15 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
8. Select the SolidWorks Documents structure library. 9. This is the default location for storing your SolidWorks documents within this product. Note that default libraries are created based on the CAD application; but these can be created, changed, and deleted in order to organize data in way that makes sense to your organization. 16 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
10. To further organize your data, you can create folders in the structure library. To begin, select Documents and then select within the view header empty space to enable the toolbar (beta issue which will be resolved in production release), then New Folder. 11. Enter a Name for the new Folder and click Save. 17 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
12. The New Folders you create are shown in the viewing pane. 18 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Working with SolidWorks After installing the Windchill ProductPoint Workgroup Manager for SolidWorks and setting up a storage location, you have the basic elements in place to enable SolidWorks to work with Windchill ProductPoint. Create a New SolidWorks File and Save to Windchill ProductPoint 1. Start SolidWorks in the normal manner. 2. When starting SolidWorks for the first time after installing the Workgroup Manager, the Windchill ProductPoint Client Service agent will be installed automatically from your ProductPoint server. 3. You may get a Windows security warning to allow the Windchill ProductPoint Client Service agent to communicate with the Windchill ProductPoint server. If this occurs, click Unblock. 19 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
To allow reloading of Out of Date files and Locked by other user scenarios to work correctly, it is strongly recommended to enable the SolidWorks collaboration option. From the System Options tab, click Collaboration and enable the appropriate check boxes. Again from the System Options tab, click External References and enable the Open referenced documents with read-only access check box. When you are finished, click Save. 20 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
4. Once SolidWorks has started, create a file using the standard SolidWorks New action. 5. Select a Template for a Part, Assembly, or Drawing and click OK. Note: You can store templates in Windchill ProductPoint and configure your SolidWorks template location to point to the Windchill ProductPoint location. 21 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
6. Notice that the new Solid Works Document has been autonumbered by Windchill ProductPoint to ensure database uniqueness. You can assign the file a different name when you save it, but it must be a unique name not already in the database. If your chosen file name already exists, you will receive a conflict message and you will not be allowed to save the file until you change the name. 22 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
7. Create geometry in SolidWorks in the normal way. Note that the Windchill ProductPoint task pane does not show any information at present, since the new file is not managed by ProductPoint. 8. When you are finished creating SolidWorks geometry, click the Save icon in the taskbar. 23 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
9. In the Save dialogue, browse to the location that is configured as the PTC Places entry point. Note the autonumbered file name as the default name for the Save action. 24 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
10. The default Save in location, PTC Places, lists all registered ProductPoint servers. There is usually only one registered ProductPoint server - the server you registered as part of the Workgroup Manager installation. To learn more about PTC Places and registering a ProductPoint server, see the Windchill ProductPoint Application Integration Guide. 25 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
11. At the PTC Places Save in location, browse to the Products ->Folders you set up in the previous steps. 26 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
12. Enter a Description in the field provided (this will be mapped to ProductPoint description) and click Save. 27 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
13. The Windchill ProductPoint task pane is now populated with information about the file stored in ProductPoint Note: You may briefly see the icon as SolidWorks uploads the new file to the Windchill ProductPoint server. 14. Click the Information icon to view the Windchill ProductPoint properties page of your SolidWorks drawing. 28 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
15. If you do not have a browser open that is logged into Windchill ProductPoint, you will be asked to login. 29 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
16. After login, your internet browser opens and displays the Windchill ProductPoint Properties page for the new SolidWorks drawing. Click Close after viewing the page. 17. You are directed to the top level of the SolidWorks Documents library. If you stored your data directly at the top level of the Product, your data will be visible here. 30 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
18. If you created subfolders within the SolidWorks Documents library, click on the relevant folder to browse the data within the folder. 31 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Saving Data from the File System and Windchill ProductPoint This procedure describes a simple way to use the SolidWorks Save As dialog to save data from the file system into Windchill ProductPoint. However, this method only allows you propagate one part/drawing/assembly at a time. The recommended method of uploading multiple files is to use Windchill ProductPoint Explorer, which is a more advanced procedure. 1. Open a part/assembly/drawing from the file system using the SolidWorks Open command. 32 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
2. Select Save As in SolidWorks. 3. If the file is a drawing or assembly, click References. 33 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
4. Click Browse. 34 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
5. Navigate to your PTC Places location, and browse to the Windchill ProductPoint location where you want to store your data. Click OK. 35 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
6. Verify that the folder path is correct and click Save All. 36 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
7. The assembly has now been saved to Windchill ProductPoint. The Server Quick View pane now shows all parts/assemblies/drawings in the SolidWorks session that are managed by ProductPoint. 8. Click the Information icon to view the Windchill ProductPoint Properties page for your new SolidWorks part/assembly/drawing. 37 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
9. If you do not have a browser open that is logged into Windchill ProductPoint, you will be asked to login. 10. After login, your internet browser opens and displays the Windchill ProductPoint Properties page for the new SolidWorks part/assembly/drawing. Click Close after viewing the page. 38 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
11. You are directed to the top level of the SolidWorks Documents library. If you stored your data directly at the top level of the Product, your data will be visible here. 12. If you created subfolders within the SolidWorks Documents library, click on the relevant folder to browse the data within the folder. 39 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
13. If this is an assembly, note the assembly structure. 40 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Open SolidWorks Doc s Managed by Windchill ProductPoint from SolidWorks 1. Click Open in SolidWorks, navigate to your PTC Places location, and browse to the location of your data on your ProductPoint server. Select SolidWorks Document and click Open. 41 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
2. The document you selected opens in SolidWorks. The Windchill ProductPoint task pane indicates that the document is managed by Windchill ProductPoint, and that SolidWorks is connected to the ProductPoint server. 42 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Open SolidWorks Doc s Managed by Windchill ProductPoint from Internet Browser 1. Wherever SolidWorks Documents are listed in a Windchill ProductPoint view, the Open in SolidWorks action is available from the drop-down menu associated with the list view. This occurs when you are browsing Products, search results, on the home page, Recently Modified, and so on. 43 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
2. Click Open from the File Download dialog box. Beta note: This step will not be in the production version. 3. The selected part/assembly/drawing launches in SolidWorks. 44 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Modify a SolidWorks Document Stored in Windchill ProductPoint 1. Open the part/assembly/drawing requiring modification in SolidWorks. Instructions on how to open SolidWorks documents stored in Windchill ProductPoint can be found in previous sections. 45 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
2. Once you modify the drawing in SolidWorks, it will be immediately locked on the Windchill ProductPoint server. This prevents other users from modifying the file, and notifies other users that you have this file locked. 3. Any user viewing data in the Windchill ProductPoint database will see that the file is locked, and by whom. 46 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
4. If other users have the locked file open, they are notified that the file has been locked by another user. As shown below, the notification appears as a popup which is recorded in the Alerts Log; and the Selected Component and Server Quick View panes show the document as locked and on whose behalf. Note that the Lock icon is different when you have locked an object, as opposed to when it has been locked by another user. If the collaboration option is enabled, the file will be made read-only in your session when another user has locked it. You can override and remove the read-only designation so that you can modify the file in your SolidWorks session (after receiving a warning), but you will not be able to save the file back to ProductPoint. You can still perform Save As or Save the file as a new file to either ProductPoint or the file system. 47 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
SolidWorks Toolbox In order to work with SolidWorks Toolbox when working with Windchill ProductPoint you must configure Toolbox User Settings as follows: 1. Create Parts: Only the create parts will be supported when working with ProductPoint (configurations options will not be supported at Beta or FCS). 2. Create parts in this folder: Should be set to a ProductPoint location that users have write access to. One this has been done, SolidWorks Toolbox parts should be silently uploaded to ProductPoint in the background when they are used in SolidWorks session. 48 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Beta Functionality Summary The following is a rough summary of the functionality that should be available for the beta release and also functionality missing from the beta release that is planned for the production release. 1. ProductPoint Server Install a) Bundled install should work on Windows 7 64 bit as well as Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 b) Custom install should work a single box and with a separate box for SQL Server (no other configurations will be supported for beta) c) SQL Server 2005 will not be supported for beta or for FCS but may be supported in a 2.0 maintenance release depending on demand. 2. Upgrade a) There will be no upgrade support from Windchill ProductPoint 1.x to 2.0 beta. b) There will be no upgrade support from Windchill ProductPoint 2.0 Beta to 2.0 production release. 3. Representation Generation (i.e. publishing of ProductView and other derived formats) a) Should be enabled by default for overnight publishing. b) Should work for Pro/ENGINEER parts, assemblies, drawings, family tables, to generate thumbnails, viewables, PDF and IGES c) Manual publish action should include at least the following selectable formats OOTB (thumbnail, viewable, PDF, IGES, JPEG) d) Should work for AutoCAD drawings and all AutoCAD formats (DWF, PDF, IGES etc.) e) All job views should be selectable and correct f) All Job actions should work (delete all failed, delete all completed, restart failed) g) Not available for SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor in beta release. Should be supported for FCS. 49 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
4. ProductPoint Explorer (for importing/exporting files to/from ProductPoint) a) Launch from Windows Start menu > Programs > PTC > Windchill ProductPoint Explorer. b) Upload from file system to server c) Download from server to file system through WPP Explorer d) Change locally on file system and upload changes to ProductPoint. e) Change attributes on server (such as description) and have changes reflected locally f) Add new item locally g) Compare local content with server h) Upload to server i) Update from client j) Synchronize bi-directionally k) Add favorites and select from favorites l) Create folder on server m) Includes support for AutoCAD. n) Support for SolidWorks will not be complete or stable (only included to give people an idea of how it will work). Do NOT file bugs. Will be fully functional for FCS. o) No support for Autodesk Inventor at beta. Should be supported for FCS. 5. Search a) Summary search should work with ProductPoint facets (state, content type, and application type) b) Details search should support standard columns with icons c) Details search should support filtering by any column including icon (for type filter) d) Details search should support export to Excel e) Advanced search should support our standard attributes and custom attributes (custom site columns) 6. Client component install a) All client components (i.e. CAD integration components) will be downloaded from PTC.com via link on ProductPoint server. b) Super installer will install of all components for each CAD app (CAD integration, VFS, Client Manager, WPP Explorer) c) Automatic registration of server in CAD app and PTC places with d) Provide Pro/INTRALINK loader components for download with documentation (English) 50 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
7. SolidWorks Integration a) Save from file system to server b) Retrieve from server, lock, edit and save c) View status in SolidWorks UI. d) Save a copy e) Rename/Save As on ProductPoint server. f) Generate thumbnails/viewable on client g) Support configurations h) Manual/Automatic Synchronization i) Server quick view j) Toolbox (for SolidWorks 2010 beta has an issue with SolidWorks 2009 Toolbox support) k) Bi-directional attribute propagation of Custom attributes l) Configuration support m) Windchill ProductPoint Explorer (limited functionality & stability may not be good only included to give an impression of how users will be able to import SolidWorks data in the production release) n) Client side viewable generation (server side publishing service not available for beta will be available for production version). o) Update SolidWorks session with out of date files. p) SolidWorks Exclude from BOM check box q) Envelope parts do not contribute to BOM r) Update models in session with latest version from server. Clients should enable the SolidWorks Collaboration option to fully utilize the Update/Reload capabilities. s) Performance: The integration has not been tuned for performance yet, so while it will be interesting to get feedback on performance with large data sets to get a feel for current performance, beta testers should not be surprised if performance is slow in the beta release. 8. Pro/ENGINEER Integration a) Create folder on server from Pro/E b) Register server during client install and update server manager c) Automatically start client manager following component install 51 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
9. AutoCAD Integration a) Block support with block content reports b) Layout report and associated viewable c) DWF Viewable Support d) Server side publishing service e) Windchill ProductPoint Explorer support f) Utility to promote block attributes to Drawing Properties. g) Support for AutoCAD Architecture h) Performance: The integration has not been tuned for performance yet, so while it will be interesting to get feedback on performance with large data sets to get a feel for current performance, beta testers should not be surprised if performance is slow in the beta release. 10. Inventor Integration a) Save from file system to server b) Retrieve from server, lock, edit and save c) View status d) Save a copy e) Rename/Save on ProductPoint server f) Generate thumbnails/viewable on client g) Manual/Automatic Synchronization h) Performance: The integration has not been tuned for performance yet, so while it will be interesting to get feedback on performance with large data sets to get a feel for current performance, beta testers should not be surprised if performance is slow in the beta release. i) Server side publishing service not available in beta should be available for FCS. j) WPP Explorer support not available in beta should be available for FCS. k) Performance: The integration has not been tuned for performance yet, so while it will be interesting to get feedback on performance with large data sets to get a feel for current performance, beta testers should not be surprised if performance is slow in the beta release. 11. MathCAD Integration (only 1.1 basic integration functionality expected at beta with Mathcad 14) 12. ProductView (deliver 9.1 M060 with beta) a) 1.1 level of functionality for view, measure and markup b) Support for AutoCAD and Inventor formats (2D DWF, 2D DWFx, 3D DWF, 3D DWFx, PDF) 52 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
13. Usability a) Support node stickiness for structure tree views b) Support column stickiness for structure tree views c) Support expand all/collapse all for node and for structure as a view as a whole d) Support creating custom structure view with standard SharePoint filter, sort configurations e) Delete multiple items (should work for assemblies, parts and drawings) f) Delete latest iteration not available in beta should be available for FCS. g) Remove all locks for items locked by me h) Remove all locks (administrator only) i) Coverflow (home page web part) j) Performance of AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor integrations: The integrations have not been tuned for performance yet, so while it would be interesting to get feedback on current performance with large data sets to get a feel for current performance, beta testers should not be surprised if performance is not is slow in the beta release. 14. Chooser a) Should go directly to search by default (no initial dialog) for associating SharePoint items b) Search should include same facets as ProductPoint summary search c) Should support single and multi-select for adding associations using both search and browse mechanisms d) Should support valid destinations only for save as and move operations using both search and browse 15. Pro/INTRALINK Loader a) Capability to load 10,000 PIVs (all versions of real customer database) b) Documentation of use (first draft) 16. Cross-firewall support for clients (we are planning to host beta system outside PTC firewall so this capability is important for beta) a) Cross-firewall support for Pro/E b) Cross-firewall support for SolidWorks c) Cross-firewall can be tested only against beta server that is hosted outside the firewall. Trademark Acknowledgments Registered Trademarks of Parametric Technology Corporation or a Subsidiary: Mathcad, ProductPoint, Pro/ENGINEER, PTC, Wildfire, Windchill. Third-party trademarks: Adobe is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems. Microsoft, Excel, Sharepoint, and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. 53 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks
Beta SPRs (Software Problem Reports) SPR No. 2004775 Short Description Ghost is not getting created for assembly which is attached as sub-assemlby from local disk to main assembly (retrieved from server). 2005262 SWX: User is not able to save a part after editing server name from SWX Tools > PTC Places. 2012103 2012247 2014188 SWX: After creating drawing of an assembly, if user adds part in the assembly and saves it to WPP server, assembly will not get updated. Please refer long description for details. When a part/subassembly is "Excluded From BOM" from an assembly, the excluded part/subassembly is listed in Model Structure Report as well as a separate instance. The listing of part/subassembly as separate instance is incorrect. When an assembly is saved along with the children modified in context using 'Save All', some children remain in locked condition on server. Even though status in SQV and on server is shown properly. 2015507 WPP_SWX: save as SLDDRW file from wpp server opens in read only mode in SWX session. 2015560 2016235 1982358 WPP_SWX : save as template files, ASm files on wpp server are not listed in SWX File-> Open window. [SolidWorks 2009] When ToolBox "Create Part" location is configured on server, user can not use ToolBox. On dragging a ToolBox component into an assembly, Drop File Error occurs. WPP_SWX : save as with "Save all as copy" option does not work correctly. pls see detail SPR notes. 2014154 Saving of old AutoCAD file versions back to server - fails. 2003754 UPloaded SWX files are not visible in File Open Window. User needs to restarts the session and Client Manager to see them in the folder. Trademark Acknowledgments Registered Trademarks of Parametric Technology Corporation or a Subsidiary: Mathcad, ProductPoint, Pro/ENGINEER, PTC, Wildfire, Windchill. Third-party trademarks: Adobe is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems. Microsoft, Excel, Sharepoint, and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. 54 Integrating Windchill ProductPoint with SolidWorks