How do I write a Batch file that will run in the Windchill Shell Environment?

[GaryMansell]

I want to automate a series of Windchills task that I would normally carry out interactively using the Windchill Shell.

The Windchill Shell command shortcut appears to be:

C:\ptc\Windchill\bin\windchill.exe -w "C:\ptc\Windchill" --java="C:\ptc\Java\jre\bin\java.exe" shell

But if I put this as the first line in the Windows Batch file, it spawns a sub-shell with the Windchill Environment and hence any later commands in the batch file do not run in it.

It seems as if I need to specify a further argument to the Windchill.exe command line to refer to the commands that I want to run but this does not seem to be possible.

Can anyone advise me how to achieve this?

Thanks in advance

Gary

[GaryMansell]

Just found the search tool - nothing to see here...

Here is the answer:

A little off topic for this thread. But in Windows you just need to create
a bat file that starts with a line like;
call c:\ptc\windchill\bin\toolssetup.bat

[GaryMansell]

OK - the toolssetup.bat file does not exist in Windchill 9.1

My question still stands...

[praseeth.moothe]

Hi Gary,

I guess, using ANT scripts would be a better choice.

In Reply to Gary Mansell:

OK - the toolssetup.bat file does not exist in Windchill 9.1

My question still stands...

[GaryMansell]

Praseeth,

Thanks for taking the time to respond, but writing an ant script seems like massive over kill when all I want to do is run some command line in a Windchill Shell environment - surely there must be a way to seed the Windchill Environment into a command tool shell?

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Rgds

Gary

[LewisLawrence]

Gary,

Here are some examples to get you started.

This one issues a stop command to the servers and shuts them down:
D:\ptc\Windchill\bin\windchill.exe -w "D:\ptc\Windchill" --java="D:\ptc\Java\jre\bin\java.exe" stop

This one issues a start command:
D:\ptc\Windchill\bin\windchill.exe -w "D:\ptc\Windchill" --java="D:\ptc\Java\jre\bin\java.exe" start

This one gets you a Windchill shell/command prompt:
D:\ptc\Windchill\bin\windchill.exe -w "D:\ptc\Windchill" --java="D:\ptc\Java\jre\bin\java.exe" shell

This one issues a load from file command:
D:\ptc\Windchill\bin\windchill.exe wt.load.LoadFromFile

Note that you can also add some switches to actually process the file, E.G:
D:\ptc\Windchill\bin\windchill.exe wt.load.LoadFromFile -u username -p password -m D:\ptc\Windchill\loadfiles\csvmapfile_mod.txt

Hope that helps,
-----
Lewis

In Reply to Gary Mansell:

I want to automate a series of Windchills task that I would normally carry out interactively using the Windchill Shell.

The Windchill Shell command shortcut appears to be:

C:\ptc\Windchill\bin\windchill.exe -w "C:\ptc\Windchill" --java="C:\ptc\Java\jre\bin\java.exe" shell

But if I put this as the first line in the Windows Batch file, it spawns a sub-shell with the Windchill Environment and hence any later commands in the batch file do not run in it.

It seems as if I need to specify a further argument to the Windchill.exe command line to refer to the commands that I want to run but this does not seem to be possible.

Can anyone advise me how to achieve this?

Thanks in advance

Gary

[mmeadows]

Gary,

There are some options depending on what you are trying to accomplish. I use all these approaches when they fit the situation.

• 
  
• You can run batch scripts from an existing Windchill shell. That is the easiest approach but requires human interaction to kick off the process. I do this more often when I'm implementing Windchill.
• 
  
• Lewis' list of commands are perfect for common Windchill functions like start/stop and can be fully automated/scheduled. However, these are single line commands and as you noted originally, we lose the ability to programmatically work within the Windchill shell after launching it (&$^!@). This should really be enhanced by PTC to support batch creation and usage of a Windchill shell.
• 
  
• ANT works well and can be scheduled. I use it for nightly backup procedures. But it is overkill for the more simple operations and tends to run slower than batch files.
• 
  
• The last option in my arsenal is to recreate the Windchill shell environment without running the 'Windchill shell' command. This gives me a command prompt (Windchill shell) that I can interact with programatically. It also opens up the door to using PowerShell where you can really report and manipulate the Windows environment.
• 
  

You have to understand what the Windchill Shell command does and how it does it for the particular Windchill release(s) you use. Launch a Windchill shell from the command line in verbose mode. For example, from a Windows command shell:

windchill.exe -v shell

Note: Replace %WT_HOME% with the actual path to your Windchill home.

The previous command generates a long list of information and you have to figure out what it is really doing (e.g. setting WT_HOME, loading properties files, configuring the ANT environment, etc). In 9.1 I found it was really setting the current directory, some key environment variables like WT_HOME and JAVA_HOME and calling setvars.bat and tools.bat. So I added this to my batch files:

set JAVA_HOME=D:\ptc\Windchill_Apps\Java

pushd %WT_HOME%\bin\

call tools.bat

[GaryMansell]

Matt,

You are a star - thanks very much, I do indeed want to schedule this batch file of Windchill Shell commands to run overnight.

I am running Windchill 9.1 and have tried doing exactly what you have detailed and have proved it works.

I can now schedule some out of hours work to be done whilst I am not in the office, thus saving me having to work out of hours !!

Many thanks

Gary