View workspace as a structure

[phurschler]

It is often difficult to keep track of all the objects in a workspace. Therefore it would be useful if the objects could be shown as a structure. I am thinking of something similar like the view "As a Structure" or "As a Structure with Associated Objects".

[scleary]

Yes I agree. I think the default view for the workspace should match the structure of the assemblies/sub assemblies within it and not just a "blob" of parts, sub assemblies and top level assemblies. It is more logical to view assembly structure (ie. as you have created within the creo model) because you can see which parts are present in which assemblies vry easily. This format would also reduce refresh/load time as when the workspace is opened only level1 and 2 are open as default. If more detail is required down the assembly structure then the user can expand the desired sub assembly and so on.

[StevenDumon]

I understand your idea, but I think you'll have to specify a solution to some special cases, such as an object visible in two different assemblies. Would you like to have that part shown as two separate lines in your workspace ? We already have workspaces with several thousands of parts, this option could makes things even heavier...

[phurschler]

Maybe it could be possible to select which assembly is shown. I am thinking of something similar to the structure browser in the CAD system.

[nahamed]

The product designers will be delighted if this feature is provided.

[ywyffels]

Creo Elements/Direct Model Manager has a simular functionality. there only last modified and last loaded elements are shown. you can browse down the structure if it's an assmembly. This provides a way of quickly finding the stuff you are working on. And in case you need to modify somthing in the workspace, that is part of a structure, but not yet in the list, you can browse down the structure. every single Model Manager user finds this a great way of working,

[phurschler]

@PTC: Are there any plans to implement this in the future? If yes, at which release?

[BillRyan]

There are a few other workflows that may be acceptable work arounds. (We have multiple unrelated assemblies in workspaces)

Option 1) Go to the Information page in Windchill browser for assembly of interest.  Select "Structure" tab in the Windchill Page to see structure.  (In this page, you can see the structure of objects from the workspace or the original structure residing in WC server.)

Option 2) Select Assembly of interest in workspace, Use Remove From Workspace, this table can be viewed as a structure if the collector settings are set to required dependents.

If a solution was applied to the workspace table view, I still think the first step in the process would require a selection of the assemlby of interest prior to viewing the structure.  

[phurschler]

Thank you for suggesting possible workarounds. Option 2 is new to us.

Both options are possibilities to show the assembly as a structure. However, the problem we are dealing with is, that it is difficult to keep track of all the objects in a workspace. The workspace is just a sequential list of objects. Therefore working with objects can be confusing and cumbersome.

It is possible to search in the workspace table or use the CAD integration for check-in / check-out operations. But it also does not solve the problem.

[BillRyan]

We are in WC10.1 M020 and have done extensive time studies for workflows with different workspace views after reading Craig Pater's recommendations.  Below are images of the columns in the workspace that provides best performance and sorts the most important information to the top for visibility...IMO. The pictures do not include all the columns...but what is shown is the sorting and of note that compare and out of date status are not included.  I'm just taking a wild guess...but maybe the sorting function could help alleviate your issue?

I do like the Concept Sean alludes to which would only show the top level assemblies in the first workspace view and if the user wanted to see more,then they could expand on the assembly to see more levels.

These two pictures are for customizing the WS table view.

[phurschler]

Thank you for the feedback, Bill. The settings improve speed and visibility but IMO there is still room for improvement (from PTC).