Add Excel functionality to Tables in Creo Drawings

[LawrenceS]

Vote to add excel like functionality to ProE drawing tables.  Some important examples are:

1. Navigate through table boxes using the arrow keys, F2, and Enter
   (This would allow for much faster text entry without needing the mouse, just like in excel)
2. Copy and paste multiple cells simultaneously from one section of a table to another or across different tables
   (i.e. groups of cells, such as entire rows/columns)
3. Border thickness control for each individual cell or groups of cells in the same table
   (this is for greater visual clarity of the content of the tables into logical groupings)
4. Quickly deleting or adding new cells, rows and columns using keyboard shortcuts
   (In Excel shortcuts are CTRL+SHIFT+"+" or CTRL+SHIFT+"-")
5. Reording and moving Cells/rows/columns
6. Text to columns input where you can copy text from one program and paste it into Creo (like in excel) and set it to deliminate to the correct columns (Excel feature is called text to columns and can be done even through the pasting interface)
7. Include all above funcionality in comment areas of tables with Repeat regions

There is much more excel functionality that would be useful (such as conditional formating, logical operators, reference other cells, sorting rows alphabetically, etc) but the above are the areas where I see the biggest efficiency gains.
Voters, Please comment below if I missed other table functionality that would yield big efficiency gains if added to Creo.

Long have tables been slow to work with, clunky, in-flexible, and overall frustrating to work with in ProE, BUT this just means it is an area of great opportunity for improvement!  This is an excellent opportunity to dramatically increase the speed and efficiency of getting work done in Creo. 

Please vote if this added table functionality would help you get work done faster in Creo.

[Dale_Rosema]

Here is another one asking for the same thing. You can vote for each.

http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/1202#comment-5684

[rmitchell-2]

http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/1542

Simply, clicking on the link doesn't seem to work.

Copy it to your browser address field.

Please vote for my same idea, maybe PTC will understand.

[LawrenceS]

I am not sure why these did not come up when I searched for this before I posted but  I am glad you are posting links to make sure that other people find these to vote on them

[fmueller]

  FRIEDER MUELLER 05.05.2014 23:55

Very good idea,

I would like to add that reordering of rows and columns should be possible via drag & drop

AND:

Dont forget to vote for fixing the insertion of links:

http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/2622

from above

http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/1202

http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/1542

Thanks, Frieder

[dcookson]

The table functionality in drawings is ridiculously bad.  It is as if PTC purposely made it difficult to use, adding multiple unnecessary clicks and wasted time.

[irobinson]

@PTCModerator does acknowledged mean you know this request exists or that something is being done about it?

This post is 6 years old and we're all still crying out for this functionality.

We need you to fix things that make our lives easier / better / are driving us towards Solidworks rather than pushing IoT and other stuff we won't use. PLEASE fix this! Thank you.

[Mfridman]

These are all great ideas 

The table formatting ideas will be considered as potential candidates for our future releases 

[OliverHeins]

The functionality enhancement should be added to all kind of tables. In our case It was necessary to copy and paste multiple fields to a pattern table. Currently it is only possible to copy and paste the content of one cell only.

[JD_9876527]

I (and others) wrote numerous white papers regarding "repeat region" functionality as a member of the PTCUSER Technical Committees nearly 20 years ago.  The developers promised back in the Wildfire days that they would make this a priority.

One year, I believe this project took a back seat to the Drawing Tree project, because someone from Honeywell suggested it.  They own more seats than the company I worked for.  While useful, I would say not as important as fixing the deficiencies in repeat region functionality.

Guess what?

Nothing has happened yet on Repeat Regions.

[Mfridman]

Hi @JD_9876527 ,

Any chance that you still can find and share a copy of this white paper document that you've mentioned? 

[JD_9876527]

The chance is near zero as my wife made me throw out all the folders of the paper copies from PTCUSER stuff.  I am a pack rat (not a hoarder), but I have my limitations.

I can try going into the basement tonight and see if have saved anything.

You would hope that the developers archived all user white papers on the PTC side.

I had a great one on improving Pattern Functionality, and I kept asking Netesh Gohil, "Have you read my white paper?".  He said "Many times". 

Nothing has happened with patterns since (to my knowledge).

[Mfridman]

@JD_9876527  It seems that we are talking about very old documents. I was not around 20 years ago and I could not find this white paper anywhere I looked. As in every organization, some people are no longer working at the same company.

Nonetheless, being responsible for that area now, I am very interested to get a copy of this document or any other good summary documents that describes the problem statements for repeat regions and tables. There are many long time Creo users in this community, so they might have a record of it as well

Mentioning some of them below, in case they can help to find this lost treasure 😀

@TomU @kdirth 

[JD_9876527]

Mfridman,

I found the paper.  It is hand-written.  I am planning to scan it and send to you.  There were also some notes from the Drafting Technical Committee at the time, that I found.   I know there were other white papers written (by other people), but I don't have those.

I know someone mentioned the ability of the table to access  Windchill data (Windchill was being developed at the time).   It would certainly have access to revision history tables (this was one of the use cases that we explored as a committee.)

What is your email address?   You can send correspondence to my personal email jdurston@yahoo.com

Regards,

Jonathan

[Mfridman]

Thank you Jonathan ( @JD_9876527 ) for going the extra mile on this

I've just sent you an email

Best regards,

Michael