First, I'd like to make a general comment on Pro/INTRALINK 8 (a.k.a. Windchill)...
Until recently, I have been using Pro/INTRALINK 3 and I must say the user-friendliness and functionality of that version (which is over 10 years old) completeIy blows Pro/INTRALINK 8 (a.k.a. Windchill) out of the water. I truly hope that future versions are improved because this software is almost completely useless as-is. At first I thought maybe it was just my lack of experience with the new software so I've spent the last two months using it trying to learn and have been on contact with PTC Support few times to find out how to do things I used to take for granted in Pro/INTRALINK 3. Every time I'm dissapointed as the answer has almost always been that it's possible in Pro/INTRALINK 8.
The INFORMATION WINDOW is a perfect example of this dis-functionality, it contains a lot of useful information but I can't do anything with it as I could with Pro/INTRALINK 3. A specific example is the WHERE USED function where I can get a wonderful list showing me where an item is used but I can't do anything other than look at it. Not being able to interact with it makes it completely useless for me.
In Pro/INTRALINK 3 (almost on a daily basis) we used the WHERE USED function and not just for parts and assemblies, sometimes we would use it to find where a UDF was used as well. One of the main advantages of using it was that it allowed us the ability to instantaneously ADD TO A WORKSPACE that entire WHERE USED list of items. Many times that list would contain hundreds of items but in extreme circumstances it would be thousands. The reason for needing to check all these into a workspace was because we need to modify all Parts, Assemblies, etc. that used them.
Sometimes the design had changed and we needed to replace that WHERE USED item with a different component. Other times we needed to simply revise (i.e. modify a dimension) of anything that was included in that WHERE USED list. There are other reasons, but these are the main two.
In Pro/INTRALINK 8 (after some discussions wit PTC Support) I've discovered that that ability is simply not there anymore. Just last week I needed to revise all assemblies that used a certain piece of hardware. Using the WHERE USED function, I determined that I had to update almost 600 assemblies where that hardware was used. Without the ability to add all those WHERE USED items to a WORKSPACE from the list generated, I literally had to do each either individually or in small groups. What should have taken seconds to do ended up taking me an entire day.
PLEASE IMPROVE THE USEFULLNESS OF THE INFORMATION WINDOW TO BE MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY PLACE TO LOOK AT THINGS!!!!
