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Configurable Links

hvaradharajan-2
1-Newbie

Configurable Links

Hi all,

We are using 10.2 PDMLink.

In documentation / help, it is mentioned that there are 4 types of configurable links possible, namely

Configurable Describe Link—A version to version relationship --- this is same as the Part to its "Described by Documents", when doc is revised, only the old revision is linked to the Parent, new revision is not referenced. Revision Specific Documentations are an example.

Configurable Reference Link—A version to master relationship --- Here, the Document connected as Reference link is always the latest--Example is a general spec document on Surface finish(Master documents are used like this).

Configurable Masters Link—A master to master relationship --- CAD to CAD, CAD to Part, Part to Part (All uses and used by links)

Configurable Revision Link—A revision to revision relationship----  What is this ?? and where it is recommended to be used, any example?

Best Regards

Hari

2 REPLIES 2

PTC Live 2013 Presentation by Todd Baltes‌ is one of the best presentations out there explaining configurable links - The Power of the Configurable Link

Hi Hari -

I have not used the (relatively new) version-version link.  My understanding, based on the description and my experience with the behaviors of the other links, is this...

This is a link from a version (any and every iteration) to a specific revision (latest iteration.)  It would be similar to a describes link, but instead of being able to change/remove/add links at the iteration level, the linkage would be at the version level.  If you don't need iteration specific linkages, this link could be a benefit as it does not need to be "carried forward" to new iterations, just new versions.

There are several areas where this type of link would have been out preferred choice (compared to describes link,) if it existed when we modeled our links.  Two issues we have run into with describes links that could be avoided with version links are:

  • The volume of describes link records in the database.  Since describes links exist at each iteration of a version, "A.32" could mean there are 32 instances of the describe link in the database for version "A".
  • The "forever persistence" of a describes link.  Since describes links are stored for each iteration, it can become "impossible" to remove an object once it has been linked, as a reference to that object can exist in the link table for non-latest iterations.  When this happens an attempt to delete the (previously linked) object results in a referential integrity violation.

Again, I have not used these, and this opinion is based on my understanding of how these should work.

I hope this is helpful in trying to determine what types of links to use.

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