Import and Export from Spreadsheet should support Documents

[jreding]

Import and Export from Spreadsheet should support Documents including:

Ability to:
- Create and Edit Documents
- Structure Documents to Parts (Part Reference)
- Structure Documents to Documents (Doc Usage)

Import and Export from Spreadsheet should enable the same features for documents as is there for Parts. 

Note:  This would be extremely beneficial even without the ability to load the Content.

[JimTVancouverCa]

Is your suggestion to build realitonships between documents and parts using an excel spreadsheet that you would import into Windchill?

[jreding]

Yes.  Currently the Importable Spreadsheet functionality only supports parts

[JimTVancouverCa]

What business work process leads you to having a large number of documents not connected to WT Parts? 

[LewisLawrence]

This would be a really useful way to support migration of legacy data into Windchill.

[JørnAHansen]

‌For migrating a few thousand documents and linking them to Parts we have previously used load from files

https://www.ptcusercommunity.com/tags#/?tags=loadfromfile

As you can see from Mike Lockwood's presentation in the collection above there is even a tool to convert from Excel (really CSV files) to XML.

[LewisLawrence]

To use LoadFromFile you have to be console connected to the server, so that toolset is really only for full blown system admin types. Importing from Spreadsheet is something at a Product/Library manager level, the ability to decentralise loading documents by using a spreadsheet is desirable.

[jreding]

To Lewis's point, we need a tool for the end-user.  This may be for loading documents from an acquisition or to support structuring WTDocuments (manufacturing docs, work instructions, inspection plans, non CAD design documents...) to other Parts or other WTDocuments.  It may even be to support an inch up / new configuration of an existing product (since I cannot do a save as from the part and have the document structure come with it).

[Vikram_Sinha]

We are working on enabling the same export commands on the Document Structure Browser (as on the Part structure browser). I cannot commit to a release yet but it is already on our backlog.

[jreding]

Great to hear!

[TomU]

Vikram Sinha‌, maybe I'm misunderstanding the product idea, but I don't think it's about generating an Excel file from a displayed table in Windchill.

[sm]

Correct. This idea is about using the same mechanism implemented for creating Windchill parts via Excel spread sheet import, but for Windchill Documents instead. The Import/Export Management Utility is nice, but it is only usable by Administrators. From a user perspective, you can use the New Multiple Document action, the Windchill Desktop Integration to drag-n-drop mulitple files, the HTML5 multiple document drag-n-drop or the Upload Documents from Compressed File action. While all good ways to perform end user document loading, they all are limited to a single document Type while being created. If you're not using Document Types, no problem, but if you are, there is a bit of pre-work and sorting of the content to determine which source files will be created as what type of Document Type.

I like Jen's ideas that extend this beyond bulk loading and include part association and structure.

• Structure Documents to Parts (Part Reference)
• Structure Documents to Documents (Doc Usage)

Check out this thread where Excel Import/Export now supports renaming.

[RajuPulavarthi]

It would be good to have an extensible framework that can have the excel file uploaded to server where custom Action / validation code can be invoked. In our industry (Medical), there are lots of documents generated that may not be just tied to a part. If this functionality exists, we can leverage this Document uploads, relationships etc...

[GregoryPERASSO]

And MPMLink Objects :

ProcessPlan and Operations

Workcenters

Resources, tooling, etc ....

[hbhattalwar]

I second to Gregory for MPM Objects

How about Options and Choices using Importable Spreadsheets?

[savinash]

Hi Vikram Sinha,

Can u please share us expected date of releasing export commands on the Document Structure Browser.

[Dana1]

This was so important for us that we had to build our own. Would have been great to have it available OOTB.