Winchill folder structure best practice

[pcnelson]

I am looking forbest practice recommendations on Windchill folder structure.Particularly the question of using a folder structure vs one huge folder.

What are the pro’s and con’s? Coming from Intralink several years ago we migrated the old folder structure, but there are now some advocating for flattening the structure into a single folder or a few very large folders. Currently on 10.2 M020. Table display size limits are one con that I think I can see, if a user tried to navigate rather than search. Is there a size or quantity limit after which Windchill starts to slow for searches, or do the vault folder sizes handle those issues? Any other performance issues as folder size increases? Thanks for the input.

[HugoHermans]

Hi Pete,

If you approach Windchill data the same way you approach Windows data, via folders and subfolders, you need to think about folders in Windchill indeed. But Windchill allows users to search tovaluable data instead of browsing.

Although our old Intralink (3.4) had folders according the old school, Windchill only has folders where it servers access rights. They contain a huge amount of objects. Our users seldom approach their data by going to the folders, they 'Search' for their data.

Regards, Hugo.

<< ProE WF5 - PDMLink 10.1 M040>>

[cc-2]

Why is there another thread about this topic started by mike?

[davehaigh]

I believe the answer is because Mike replied to the original question not subsequent emails.

Most of us read this in our email so we don’t see threads. Don’t care about threads.

David Haigh

[ddemay]

Pete,

I have posted my opinion about this numerous times
advantages/disadvantages. You can read them (should be able to still
search) on the ptcuser.org to see old exploder discussions about the topic.

I for one LOVE folders, but they must be used wisely and proper solution
architecture. The pros for loving folders is because of the access rights
they provide or hinder. Nested folders can pose a problem on this because
objects in the folder must have the folder permissions recursively checked.

Dave


On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 2:58 PM, pete nelson <->
wrote:

> I am looking for best practice recommendations on Windchill folder
> structure. Particularly the question of using a folder structure vs one
> huge folder.
>
> What are the pro’s and con’s? Coming from Intralink several years ago we
> migrated the old folder structure, but there are now some advocating for
> flattening the structure into a single folder or a few very large folders.
> Currently on 10.2 M020. Table display size limits are one con that I think
> I can see, if a user tried to navigate rather than search. Is there a size
> or quantity limit after which Windchill starts to slow for searches, or do
> the vault folder sizes handle those issues? Any other performance issues
> as folder size increases? Thanks for the input.
>

[JeffStevenson]

Folders are a double-edged sword. They are great for applying security as David pointed out, but they can be a beast to navigate in environments with high volumes of content.


In short, folders can be a tool for applying security (alongside state and role), but searching should be the preferred method to find content (given accurate metadata). Good solution architecture is key for both.

In Reply to David DeMay:

Pete,

I have posted my opinion about this numerous times
advantages/disadvantages. You can read them (should be able to still
search) on the ptcuser.org to see old exploder discussions about the topic.

I for one LOVE folders, but they must be used wisely and proper solution
architecture. The pros for loving folders is because of the access rights
they provide or hinder. Nested folders can pose a problem on this because
objects in the folder must have the folder permissions recursively checked.

Dave


On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 2:58 PM, pete nelson
wrote:

> I am looking for best practice recommendations on Windchill folder
> structure. Particularly the question of using a folder structure vs one
> huge folder.
>
> What are the pro’s and con’s? Coming from Intralink several years ago we
> migrated the old folder structure, but there are now some advocating for
> flattening the structure into a single folder or a few very large folders.
> Currently on 10.2 M020. Table display size limits are one con that I think
> I can see, if a user tried to navigate rather than search. Is there a size
> or quantity limit after which Windchill starts to slow for searches, or do
> the vault folder sizes handle those issues? Any other performance issues
> as folder size increases? Thanks for the input.
>

[soerton]

We have 2 types of users at our company. A small group of searchers and a large group of browsers. Fortunately, each group has their own context. I myself am a long time browser. For the browsers, we recognize that folder structures are important, but they must be kept to a minimum and must be consistent from project to project

Stephen Oerton

Windchill Process Specialist