Hello.
We added Windchill Fields Revision and LifeCycle State to Our Document Headers; This way if it gets printed we can track. User-Defined Attributes and Revision are fine but Lifecycle State is not.
Basically, Documents do not learn about changes in Windchill till they are opened with Desktop Integration. Similar to CAD Data, but with CAD Data you always open via a WGM and the Native App.
With A document, you could Download with Desktop Integration or you could just Download and Open in Word.
Issue:
Rev A.1 Design is Checked In; Header shows Rev: A State: Design
Then it goes through Change Process and the State is Changed to Released.
IF
You Download with DTI then it will open with Design in header... you can select Refresh Properties or sometimes just wait and it will update to say Released.
IF
You have IE configured to Download to your Computer, it does not pass the info as well, So if you open it shows the last value it knew: Design.
You can see the same thing with Iteration Etc...
To Confirm WorldWide Consitency, we have added an activity to the Workflow where after it is Released, that a person receives a task to Check Out the ISO Document, Refresh Property and Check In... This Works and garuntees that the Properties are correct no matter how it is pulled down.
Problem is it is a Risk to System to grant a User permission to Check In a Released File.... I would rather not give them that Authority.
Can Anyone think of an Alternative Solution?
It appears as if the Document MUST BE open in Wordlinked to DTIfor the Fields to be updated...?
Any ideas?
I proposed another State called Published that would appear on Documents, and I could grant access to the User... but it was not selected... Only other protective measure would be to grant access to modify via the Workflow for the Resulting Object List instead of via normal ACL Policy.
Not sure if an answer exists.. may be limitation that it has to be opened in Microsoft Office to Update. Though I could see an InfoEngine Task, Program that Automates the Task... can not occur a cost.
Brian
PS system is not Publishing to PDF... I know PTC offers the ability to publish all Docs as PDFs and maybe that action of opening would refresh the properties. We allow native File, as facilities need to download and complete many of these documents (and or excel files); As well as translate them into Local Languages... (No Arbor Text)
PPS
If not using Windchill Fields, would just use Activity after Approval, to have someone Type in Released... but you know Users... they would fill in prior to Review, and a Reviewer would print, and a rework loop/ problem would be found.. but the Document went out.. yada yada... Same reason you place State on a Format Border... but Creo View Publishes properly for CAD... Just not these Documents that we don't publish...
