Drawing formats

[ssuttle]

Is there a way to lock down the tables in a format so that users cannot manipulate what is inside of them but still have parameters inside the table update?

[BenLoosli]

What are you trying to prevent?

The users need to be able to change the column widths, usually, to get the descriptions to fit within the cells.

In some cases, my users have had to build custom relations when they use a normal part for pcitoral purposes but want it in the BOM as a bulkitem (qty = A/R).

From my experience with WF/Creo, you cannot prevent the users from changing a BOM table. That comes down to training and management enforcement of rules. best practices/standards.

[ssuttle]

Ben,

      It is not a BOM table I am trying to prevent them from modifying. They are the tables that are used for Title Blocks and other tables we want to be taken from the drawing format as a standard.

[BenLoosli · Accepted solution]

OK, I understand and presumed BOM, since that is the one most likely to be manipulated by the users.

My answer is still Not to my knowledge. Change the wording in my first response from BOM table to table.

We have some things in the titleblock as symbols driven from the model/assembly file. The tolerance block is a formatted and generated from text in the std_tol model note. They can go back in the model/assembly and edit the note and it will change on the drawing. For the most part they leave that alone, but that may be due to training and being told "You don't need to change that." However, we updated our standards and they do need to change the std_tol note these days since we went from referencing AME Y14.5M-1994 to ASME Y14.5-2009 as the standard for tolerancing.

Can you provide some explanation of what exactly you are trying to prevent your users from changing?

[ssuttle]

Ben,

    My lead just wants to lock them down so they cannot change any values that are not parameter driven either accidently or on purpose. I did not think nor had I ever seen them locked down. Thank you for the input.

[BenLoosli]

I have some users who override the parameters in tables from time to time. It usually doesn't come up until someone else goes to revise and change some parameter and then wonder why the format is not updating. I give the user that broke the parameter a 'Broken Finger Award' for doing something they should not have done.

You would think that 20+ years on Pro/E, Wildfire and now Creo, they would know better. Plus 9 years dealing with Windchill. At least for me it is only 3 fulltime users plus another 4 that use it occasionally. I get more broken things from the 3 full-time users, who should know better.

[MikeLockwood]

A wise man who I worked with for 12+ years (Bill Kunz) liked to start about every 3rd sentence in discussions with users who did this type of thing with

"Your replacement probably won't..."

[dschenken]

A surprising number of X year users are 1 year or less, just repeating the same over-and-over.

[ssuttle]

Just some follow up information. I ended up getting what was wanted with a combination of tables, sketched entities and text. Now the parameters are driven by the model and Windchill and all of the other information cannot be changed. Unless they go and try to edit the format which they will not be able to save into Windchill.

[manjunathrv]

Steve,

Could you please elaborate on that combination of tables, sketches.... I could not get that.

I have a similar requirement.....

[ssuttle]

Manjunath,

     Use table where you need parameters to be driven and where you just want/need test create sketched boxes around it the size of the table that you would have created. Place text in the box that you created. Then when the format is used either in Template or just format you will not be able to edit the text portions. The parameters that are in tables can still be changed but I could not resolve that problem.

[manjunathrv]

Thanks.

I now understand. But still the table can be edited in the drawing.

So there is no other way to protect the table and the contents of the table from changing.

[ssuttle]

Manjunath,

         That is correct the way I did it is only the parameter in the table could be changed. Everything else is text, there are places where I just have text laying on top of the table. I could not find a way to lock the parameter in the table down.