Allow PDMLink user to do anything to multiple unrelated objects that they can to one: Rename, Delete, State Change, etc (especially from Search Page)

[LawrenceS]

Basically allow a user to do anything to multiple objects that they can do to a single object.

This includes but is NOT LIMITED to:

1. RENAME of Multiple unrelated objects from Search page (or folders) [Windchill 11.0 F000]
2. DELETE Multiple unrelated objects from Search page (or folders) [In Roadmap for future release]
3. Change STATE of Multiple unrelated objects from Search page (or folders) (It looks like this one may be implemented in 10.1) (I crossed off Item 3 because I heard it was available in in WC10.1, but since switching we found it is not available under the search results page...so I am re-including it) [Windchill 10.1 M040 Folders, 10.2 M030 Search)
4. Any other action that you can do for one object should be able to be done for many objects from a search page (or folder)

There are product ideas submitted for each one of these but I think they all need changing.

Some references to other Product Ideas for more details:

Rename: http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/1982/communities.ptc.com/ideas/1982   Renaming multiple objects in Windchill 10.0

Rename: http://communities.ptc.com/message/186891#186891

Set State: http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/1597           Set State for multiple objects

Set State: http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/1597#comment-6727 (to be implemented in 10.1 M040)        Set State for multiple objects - PTC Community

PS. Another example that falls into this category but was not listed above:

  5. Purge Non-latest Iterations (Added per comment below on 6/18/2014)

PPS: Crossed out broken links and provided new ones.

[JZ 12 Jan-16 I am going to close out this idea.  If other actions are needed please open ideas specific to those actions.  It is difficult to try to track these broad "bucket" idea categories]

[GregoryPERASSO]

From search and also from a QueryBuilder result (as some more complicated query can be done).

But results in QueryBuilder are only lists ... no ability to do mass actions

[StevenDumon]

We have +/- 5000 objects created by the EFX instance creator that created models for fasteners, but didn't set the Document name. Renaming one by one goes really slow, batch rename could help us a lot.

[gdesantis]

I also put in a "Product Idea" for this very thing back in Windchill 9.1.  Never heard a peep nor a comment. So of course PTC did not do anything.  Seems to me these are standard functions the system should allow for.  I often need to perform multiple Set State.  My work around id to add the objects from my search to a temp Workspace, and Set State there. Since Set State is immediate, I then delete the WS.  Has anyone heard if PTC is looking into this one?

[LawrenceS]

According to my original post, supposedly PTC has implemented setting the state of groups in WC 10.1 M040...However we are now using this and I cannot find this functionality.  I just posted that questing in the other form to Jeffrey in the other thread so watch it and hopefully we both find out it is true and know how/where to do this.

Set State for multiple objects

[LawrenceS]

As the above forum states, it is only available in the Folder section of PDMLink and NOT in the Search Results page...so I re-included the request back in the above idea section.

[SvenR]

Let's add 'purge non-latest iterations' to the list of actions.

This would facilitate work much more because one could easily select an epmdocument and wtpart for this action. Right now I can select this action from the epmdocument - but it fails because there are associated parts via epmbuildhistory - and I get the same error when doing the action on a wtpart. I found no easy way of selecting both objects and then selecting this action.

[AL_ANDERSON]

In the Workspace, you can already do mass set state, as an example, even on WTParts.  However, the Search Results, in particular, should allow for any operation that can be applied to all objects in the search criteria to be available in multi-select Actions from the results page.  They already have this functionality, sort of, in the Search Input page where if you use Advanced Search to ask for Parts, then you get attributes to filter the search that apply to Parts only.  If you add Documents as well as Parts, then you get only attributes in BOTH Parts and Documents.  Similarly, you could evaluate all common actions for classes in the search criteria, and add all common actions (set state, check out, reteam, relifecycle, revise, etc.) and put them in the results Actions pull down for multiselect on the results, then actions to launch the action.  Some of the actions will take some thought, but it is very possible and would help a lot.  For example, Revise for CAD will launch a collector.  If you multi-select, then do you launch a single collector for all of the mult-selected objects?  Probably you do, but that type of problem and be worked out if  PTC just tried to do it.

I like this idea a lot.   I hope PTC looks into it!

Al Anderson

Solar Turbines Incorporated

[LawrenceS]

Albert,

Thanks for the positive feedback. I think the collection problem you mentioned could be handled quite gracefully by adding this option to (and have it be controlled by) the PDMLink Setting Preferences. Even if an option was not added and it just used the same collection methods as now, it would still be MUCH better. In fact, I am not sure a new option would have to be added as I would think the user would want the same collection method for all as they would want for one, so as long as it was controlled by the existing preferences I would be very happy! But if others want this to be individually controlled voice your opinion so PTC can have this in one place.

[JeffZemsky]

Set State will be available from Search results in 10.2 M030

Also in 10.2 M030 we have multi-Object Check out, Check In and Undo Check in Folder, Search and Change tables for the following use cases:

1. Parts
2. Documents (no content)

Looking at the Delete from Search - have you tried with recent releases?  I believe it should meet your request.

[LawrenceS]

Can you verify that the set state will be for cad objects too?  If so that will be very useful!

As for the delete, PDMLink 10.1 M040, canNOT delete multiple objects like it can delete single objects. 

E.g.1: If I select more than one CAD file, and say delete, it will delete the latest Revision (along with all their iterations).  This is sometimes useful.  However, often times this is not what we want to delete (eg. we usually want to delete the latest iteration only)

E.g.2: If I select only 1 CAD object and Select delete, it will come up with a dialog where I hav three options on what I want to delete (Entire latest Revision, Latest Iteration only,

[JeffZemsky]

Set State works for CAD objects

[cmilligan]

I also find this irritating. Why do the objects have to be collected and therefore related via links. If I can pull them up in a list (search results, folder contents, etc)(your could say they are related in that manner) and check boxes of those which need some action applied to, I should be able to do so to all checked.

I could see some of the automatic collection preferences causing performance issue if a large list was checked and and an action started that fires those collection rules. So maybe just disable the automatic collection when more than a set threshold (set by preference, 10, 50, etc) of unrelated objects are selected.

Gary,

You can do a mass set state by reassigning the lifecycle (which does allow mass updates) and leaving the lifecycle alone and only changing the state. It does iterate the objects though so may not be acceptable.

[STEVEG]

What about allowing the Rename of multiple CAD objects from a Search?

By the way...3 of the 4 links in the original post do not work anymore.

[LawrenceS]

Still?  They work for me now.  I don't remember if I already updated them, or something else is going on.

[STEVEG]

They work now but at that time they didn't.

[klozier]

I voted this up because I see this as being answered by allowing a collector to be able to contain objects that are otherwise unrelated.  That is to say I started with an assembly and have the components that are required from and as stored configuration, but then allow the use of a search from within the collector to add other objects.  Think of adding objects to a baseline only for the purposes like rename, etc..

[sm]

Windchill Documents are supported for multi-object Set State, Check Out, Undo Check Out and Check In at Windchill 10.2 M030 in the browser and Windows Explorer with DTI.

[LawrenceS]

Kelly,

     Yes, I use the collector when I am able to.  Adding to a baseline seems like an unnecessary work around to just searching, selecting and modifying.  Searching inside a collector would not be a bad secondary feature after being able to do it from a normal search page.

[LawrenceS]

Scott, that is good and definitely in the right direction...now we need the more ubiquitous CAD objects to be able to be able to do this.

[mmuth]

How do you see the rename working? I don't think you want multiple objects with the same name, do you?

[DonSenchuk]

Currently, when I rename a drawing I already get multiple files listed. I'd guess this suggestion would work the same way it does out of the box except the files gathered wouldn't necessarily be related to one another.

(edit to add) Or when I rename an assembly, all component pieces are included.

[LawrenceS]

Mary-Ann Muth, no the objects will not have the same name.  Like Don Senchuk says, it will just be a way to easily collect components that are not related to each other.  This would be so you don't have to keep going back into the rename dialog again and again, and you could just collect them all at once, and then choose a new name for them (and this would also give the ability to rename them all in the same way using the wildcard/label, using the stars ** , interface that is already built into the rename interface)

Often we have to rename objects that are not related to each other.  The simplest way is to do a search for all of them, then would be to select them all at once, go into the rename dialog, change all the names, then hit okay.  It works this way from a WS rename (before checking something in for the first time), but just not after checked in or from a search result.

[JeffZemsky]

In 10.2 M030 most items support multi-Check In, Check Out and Undo Checkout - from Folders, Search, Change tables - except CAD objects.  There are some issues in that - particularly as you might end up with results from multiple Workspaces.

[LawrenceS]

Jeffrey Zemsky‌, thanks for the update.  With the types of things you listed, I can see why the programing would have to be more complicated for CAD objects which require WSs...however that should not prevent from implementing all the ones that I mentioned in the title of this idea, namely: "Rename, Delete, State Change".  These should not have any of the same limitations that you described when trying to change from a search page.  So this has not yet been implemented as of 10.2 M030?

[JeffZemsky]

State change is already implemented and Rename is next on deck