Many times the data that comprises projects consists of individual documents that exist in an unmanaged environment. There are a few things you should do before you add unmanaged documents to Teamcenter.
To prepare your unmanaged documents for Teamcenter, you should:
Create custom properties to define the Item Revision for non-Solid Edge documents (image files, .pdf documents, and Microsoft Office documents) and to define the properties for non-graphic parts (grease, paint, etc.).
When you add a folder to the library, every document in the folder is added to the library, regardless of whether or not you want to manage them. You should remove any documents that you do not want to manage before adding the folder to the library. These documents might include text or log files that reside in the folder you want to import.
You can add duplicate documents to a managed library, but duplicate document names cannot exist in the same folder. If duplicate document names are found, you should ensure that you are adding the correct document to the library.
Teamcenter supports the same conventions that the file system supports for naming folders and documents. Folder and document names can consist of all Unicode characters except the following characters: # : \ ? * < > % / | " ~ !
Search your local folder for invalid document names before adding them to Teamcenter.
Attribute mapping defines what document properties you will exchange between Solid Edge and Teamcenter. There are a number of property mapping definitions that are delivered for you.
|
Solid Edge property |
Teamcenter attribute |
Required |
File Property |
Maximum character length |
|
Teamcenter Item Type |
Item Type |
Required |
Custom (Localized) |
32 |
|
Document Number |
Item ID |
Required |
Project |
128 |
|
Revision Number |
Revision |
Required |
Project |
128 |
|
Project Name |
Item Name |
Required |
Project |
128 |
|
Dataset Name |
Dataset Name |
Required |
Custom (English) |
128 |
|
TC Engineering Description |
Dataset Description |
Optional |
Custom (Localized) |
140 |
The Dataset Name is not required on common property dialog boxes. However, if no Dataset Name is specified, one will be computed from the Item ID and Revision.
In Teamcenter, the key attributes used to track part numbers and revisions are Item ID, Revision, and Item Name. The corresponding Solid Edge properties are displayed in Solid Edge on the Project tab of the Properties dialog box. You can access the Properties dialog box by choosing Application button→Properties→File Properties. Defining these properties in Solid Edge before adding the documents to Teamcenter minimizes your future efforts and your Teamcenter database will be more accurately populated from the start.
Some things to consider regarding Solid Edge property mapping:
If the Solid Edge Document Number property is left blank, an Item ID is automatically generated and assigned for you when you import the data into Teamcenter. You should define the Document Number, Revision Number, and Project Name before loading your data into Teamcenter.
If any of the Solid Edge properties contain more than the maximum character length, or if the Document Number plus the Revision is greater than the maximum character length, you are notified of an error on import into Teamcenter. The error is recorded in the log file generated by the import application. Windows 7 records the log file in \AppData\Roaming\Unigraphics Solutions\Solid Edge\Version 104\Log Files.
In the Teamcenter-managed environment, only one Solid Edge 3D dataset is allowed per Item. However, multiple Drafts can be associated with each item as item revisions. When unmanaged 3D datasets using the same Document Number property are imported into Teamcenter, you must decide to save your Solid Edge Draft documents to the same Item Revision as the Solid Edge 3D content or save your Solid Edge Draft documents to a separate Item.
Solid Edge Properties and Teamcenter Attributes should match Type (ie String with String, Date with Date and Numeric with Numeric).
When Solid Edge transacts data with Teamcenter, it uses a name that is unaffected by localization. This is referred to as the real name. The real name has also been used for the display in the user interface. Beginning with Teamcenter 8.3, a unique prefix is added to all new business objects to guarantee uniqueness. The resulting name is often not desirable for display in the user interface. The use of a display name addresses this issue. The display name is used for column headers in common property dialog boxes for mapped properties other than the mandatory properties.
Additional information regarding display names can be found in the Solid Edge Embedded Client Administrator’s guide.
Mapping the Project ID is not supported.
The Dataset Name property is required. If it is null of blank, Solid Edge Embedded Client uses the default of Item ID<separator>Revision.
The Item Type and Dataset Description are localized, while the Dataset Name is English-only.
Note:
The Solid Edge property to Teamcenter attribute mapping is case sensitive.
You can create custom Solid Edge properties to map to Teamcenter attributes. For example, you can create custom properties to define the Item Revision for non-Solid Edge documents including image files, .pdf documents, and Microsoft Office documents (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint). You can also create custom properties to define the properties for non-graphic parts.
There are three basic steps to creating custom properties:
Provide a name for the custom property.
Select the type of property you are creating.
Type a value for the property.
Tip:
Refer to the Solid Edge Help topic Create custom document properties for instructions.
In the event you are importing non-graphic parts into Teamcenter, you should create the custom properties SE_Assembly_Quantity_Override, SE_Assembly Quantity_String, and Unit of Measure (UOM). These custom properties should also be added to the columns of the analysis spreadsheet datapreputilitiestemplate.xlsm explained in the Fine Tune Your Data section.
When non-Solid Edge documents are added to the Teamcenter database using Add to Teamcenter, the custom properties that map Solid Edge properties to Teamcenter attributes is used. If the Item Type, Item ID, and Item Revision are defined, the non-Solid Edge document is uploaded into Teamcenter using the defined property mappings. However, if any defining properties are missing, the Teamcenter attribute is automatically assigned as with any other document type.
Caution:
If the Solid Edge property that defines the Teamcenter Item Revision is not defined, the Item Revision will be auto-assigned upon import. The non-Solid Edge document may not receive the same Item Revision number as its parent document. Create custom properties to map Solid Edge properties to Teamcenter attributes defining the Item Revision before adding the non-Solid Edge document to Teamcenter.
You can use the Add to Teamcenter program to perform a dry run to accomplish many of the document preparation tasks.
As the dry run scans the list of documents to be added to Teamcenter, it checks for file name length, invalid characters, and identifies files that contain broken links. In the event duplicate document numbers are discovered, the dry run erases the document number of one of the parts in preparation for adding the documents to the managed environment. The dry run builds an ordered list of your files and produces the list in .xmlm format ready for use with the Analyze files program.
During the dry run, you have the opportunity to view log files and suspend the Add to Teamcenter process to fix the broken links. If no broken links were found, you can add the documents to Teamcenter and update the status of the documents to Checked In.
To learn more about using Add to Teamcenter, see the Solid Edge Help topic, Adding documents to a Teamcenter managed environment.
To make the task of preparing unmanaged files easier, a few programs designed to assist you with preparing and importing large batches of unmanaged data are made available to you in Start→Programs→Solid Edge ST5→Data Preparation when you install Solid Edge Embedded Client.
Analyze
Link Fixup
Modify
Add to Teamcenter
Note:
Microsoft Office Professional 2007 must be installed on the client to run the programs. The input file must be in .xlsm document format.
The Analyze program provides an automated set of tools for evaluating your unmanaged files. The program:
Evaluates Solid Edge files for duplicate document number values, duplicate file names, empty revision entries, empty project names, and broken links.
Performs a file name length analysis.
Evaluates the Solid Edge to Teamcenter property mapping.
Fine-tune the data generated by the analysis through the use of the analysis spreadsheet, datapreputilitiestemplate.xlsm, so that it correctly represents the data that will be imported into Teamcenter.
Caution:
It is imperative for your unmanaged data to be evaluated and corrected prior to import so you can have a correctly populated Teamcenter database from the start and minimize future efforts.
If you use custom Solid Edge data properties, you must define the custom properties for use in Teamcenter using the spreadsheet datapreputilitiestemplate.xlsm located in \Program Files\Solid Edge ST5 \Program. See the Help file Define custom properties prior to analysis for instructions.
The Link Fixup program locates the Excel spreadsheet produced from the file analysis process and defines the parameters used for repairing broken links before you import them into Teamcenter.
The Modify program updates unmanaged Solid Edge files based on entries in the spreadsheet that is produced as the output of file analysis. New property values are saved in the unmanaged Solid Edge files.