The document provides a comprehensive guide on configuring alias attributes in Windchill, detailing mapping instructions, examples, limitations, and troubleshooting steps. It discusses the significance of alias attributes in displaying related object information and offers syntax for creating these mappings. The document also highlights the tools available for identifying and managing alias attributes within the Windchill data model.

1. ALIAS ATTRIBUTE –
HOW TO CONFIGURE
Boris Blajevici
Senior Technical Support Engineer
November 20th 2015

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1. Introduction to Alias Attributes
2. Windchill Data Model
3. Mapping Syntax
4. Examples
5. Limitations
6. Troubleshooting
7. References
AGENDA

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INTRODUCTION
TO ALIAS
ATTRIBUTES

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• Purpose:
– Alias Attributes map to an attribute on a related object
– Mapping allows to display information of the related object on Information page or tables
– Mapping property using operators and the internal names
– Target object types need to be accessible either by reference or link
• Examples:
– Display Part Number on a CAD Document
– Display Master attributes on a versioned type
– Display Document Attributes on described Part
INTRODUCTION TO ALIAS ATTRIBUTES

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INTRODUCTION TO ALIAS ATTRIBUTES
• Alias Attributes can be defined through the Type and
Attribute Manager
– Name
– Data Type
– Properties  Mapping

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WINDCHILL
DATA MODEL

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OBJECT RELATIONSHIPS
Type L
Type C
Type B
Type A
Type D
IBA: Approver
MyType
Alias Attribute:
Documentation_Approver

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• Two ways of creating relations in Windchill Data Model:
– References
– Link objects
WINDCHILL DATA MODEL

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• References:
– Represented in the database as “Foreign Key” relations
– Can be identified by two columns in the database table:
• Column CLASSNAMEKEYxxx contains information on the database table this reference points to
• Followed by column Idxxx that contains the value of the referenced object’s IDA2A2
– Examples: Master references
REFERENCES
Some table… Table for CLASS_A
This tells which
table to look at.

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• Windchill uses link objects to explicitly link objects together
• Links are managed by a separate class
• Contains two references, one to parent and one to child (in general this is):
– Parent = Role A: CLASSNAMEKEYROLEAOBJECTREF & IDA3A5
– Child = Role B: CLASSNAMEKEYROLEBOBJECTREF & IDA3B5
LINK OBJECTS

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• Example:
– Part Usage Link for BOM
• usedBy = CLASSNAMEKEYROLEAOBJECTREF & IDA3A5
• uses= CLASSNAMEKEYROLEBOBJECTREF & IDA3B5
LINK OBJECTS
wt.part.WTPartUsageLink
WTPart WTPartMaster
usedBy uses Simplified view of WTPARTDESCRIBELINK table
WTPART table
WTDOCUMENT table
WTDOCUMENTMASTER table
WTPARTMASTER

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• Use Logical Attribute Report to identify Alias Attribute mappings provided per default
• The Logical Attributes Report is available from Customization ▶ Tools
– Site preference Client Customization=Yes
– Customization > Tools > Logical Attribute Report
LOGICAL ATTRIBUTE REPORT

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KDB ARTICLES
• Search Knowledge DB for articles containing relationship information
CS63595 - How to understand
Change Management objects
and their relations in Windchill
PDMLink

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RELATIONSHIP EXPLORER
Use the Relationship Explorer

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VISUAL HELP TO IDENTIFY THE DATA MODEL
• Leverage graphical Join Models that will be available in Query Builder of Windchill 11.0
• Easy and simple way identify available References and Links

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MAPPING SYNTAX

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• General Guideline:
– Starting point of the mapping is object where the Alias Attribute is defined
– This object is not included in the Mapping property
– Value of attribute at the end of mapping displays value of the alias attribute in the UI
• Operators:
– There are four operators available for navigation: ^, @, ~ and =
MAPPING SYNTAX

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• Usage:
– Takes a reference attribute and gets to the object that it refers to
– Used to navigate a direct reference to another object
– To the left is the name of the reference attribute, to the right the type the attribute refers to
– For example:
“ ^ “ OPERATOR

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• Mapping Syntax:
masterReference^wt.doc.WTDocumentMaster
• Explanation:
– Follow masterReference on wt.doc.WTDocument to get referenced wt.doc.WTDocumentMaster
“ ^ “ OPERATOR - EXAMPLE

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• Usage:
– Operator searches for an object that matches a reference parameter
– Similar to the dereference operator, but travels reference in other direction
– Commonly used when navigating link objects
– For example:
“ @ “ OPERATOR

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• Mapping Syntax:
usedBy@wt.doc.WTDocumentUsageLink
• Explanation:
– Find and return that wt.doc.WTDocumentUsageLink that has a reference called usedBy that links to
the current object (wt.doc.WTDocument)
“ @ “ OPERATOR - EXAMPLE

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• Usage:
– Changes the current type to what is stated immediately before the operator
– No change in actual business object type itself but gives access to attributes available to target
object type
– Examples:
“ ~ “ OPERATOR

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• Mapping Syntax:
masterReference^wt.doc.WTDocumentMaster~name
• Explanation:
– Follow masterReference on wt.doc.WTDocument to get referenced wt.doc.WTDocumentMaster
– Switch type to wt.doc.WTDocumentMaster to get access to the name attribute and get the value of
this attribute
“ ~ “ OPERATOR – EXAMPLE 1

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• Mapping Syntax:
usedBy@wt.doc.WTDocumentUsageLink~uses^wt.doc.WTDocumentMaster~name
• Explanation:
– Find and return that wt.doc.WTDocumentUsageLink that has a reference called usedBy that links to
the current object (wt.doc.WTDocument)
– Switch type to wt.doc.WTDocumentUsageLink to get access to the uses reference attribute
– Follow the reference to the wt.doc.WTDocumentMaster and switch type
– Return the name attribute value
“ ~ “ OPERATOR – EXAMPLE 2

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• Usage:
– Navigates to object with an attribute value that equals to the attribute value on current type
– No direct reference or link needs to exist
– Is a trident operator: <attribute1>=<attribute2>@<type>
– Only supported with modeled attributes of type Boolean, Integer, String and Date on left and right
side of the equal symbol
– Examples:
Display number of End Item that is stored in a SubFolder object with same name
“ = “ OPERATOR

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Display number of End Item that is stored in a SubFolder object with same name
• Mapping Syntax:
name=name@wt.part.WTPart~number
• Explanation:
– Find and return the wt.part.WTPart with same name as wt.folder.SubFolder object
(Note: the WTPart does not necessarily be located in the SubFolder)
– Switch type and return the number attribute
“ = “ OPERATOR - EXAMPLE

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MAPPING SYNTAX EXAMPLE 1
Type L
(link)
~ role_a_ref
~ role_b_ref
Type C
Type B
~ b_to_c_ref
Type A Type D
~ d_to_c_ref
~ Approver
MyType
~ type_a_ref
~Alias_D Type_D.Approver
type_a_ref ^ Type_A Type_L role_b_ref Type_B
@
~ ^
role_a_ref ~ ~ b_to_c_ref Type_C
^ Type_D d_attribute
@ ~
~ d_to_c_ref
^
^
^
@
@
Example: Define new alias attribute „Alias_D“ on MyType that shows the value of attribute „Approver“ from object of „Type D“

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ONE-TO-MANY RELATIONSHIPS
Mapping: describes@wt.part.WTPartDescribeLink~describedBy^wt.doc.WTDocument~Approver

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MAPPING SYNTAX EXAMPLE 2
Mapping: name=name@wt.doc.WTDocument~Approver
Example: Define new alias attribute „Documentation Approver“ on WTPart that shows the value of attribute „Approver“ from
WTDocument with same Name
Alias Attribute

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LIMITATIONS

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• Alias Attributes not supported in Advanced Search
– CS129256 - How to make alias attributes available for Advanced Search In Windchill PDMLink 10.1
– CS81826 - Alias attributes cannot be used as search criteria in Advanced Search in Windchill PDMLink 10
– Idea: 6402 - WTPart Alias-Attributes in Advanced Search (Criteria)
• Alias Attributes are not supported in Filters
– CS150341 - Is it possible to define a filter for Alias attribute mapping in Windchill PDMLink 10
• Alias Attributes not available in Table Views prior Windchill 10.1 M040
– CS40073 - Alias Attributes and Calculated Attributes are not available for Table View in Windchill PDMLink 10.0 M020
• Alias Attributes not supported in Desktop Integration
– CS70889 -Alias and Calculated attributes are not visible from Office Applications using Desktop Integration in
Windchill
• Alias Attributes are not propagated to CAD Applications
– CS202614 - Does it support to propagate Alias type Attributes value stored on EPMDocument object from Windchill to
CAD Application ?
– Idea: 4087 - Tool Support to create Alias Attributes
– Idea: 4442 - Alias Attribute support for workspace and CAD
• Alias Attributes can’t map to NPA attributes
LIMITATIONS

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TROUBLESHOOTING

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• Alias Attribute mapping only used once on a type or its subtypes
– Additional mappings will result in error message
– Logical Attribute Report can be used to check configured mappings (including OOTB mappings)
– Logical Attribute Report available on http://hostname/Windchill/meta/LogicalAttributeReport.jsp
• Alias Attribute results in comma separated list of values
– Attribute mapping does not return unique but multiple results
– Consider if equal operator in mapping syntax can narrow down result set
• Alias Attribute does not show any values even target attribute has value
– Possible issue in the mapping syntax
– Alias Attribute mappings are very often complicated
– Breaking down the mapping and adding one operator after the other helps troubleshooting
• Creating Alias Attribute mapping rises error messages that syntax can’t be resolved or is
incorrect
– Breakdown the mapping in multiple pieces and adding one operator after the other to identify
incorrect mapping
TROUBLESHOOTING

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REFERENCES

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• CS131355 - Understanding mapping syntax and operators for alias attributes in Windchill

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• CS131357 - Overview of link objects in Windchill

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• CS106319 - Mapping details for creating Alias Attributes to display object Numbers of various
types in Windchill PDMLink

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• CS41966 - How to display soft attributes added to master in Windchill PDMLink 10
• CS40087 - How to show the associated WTPart revision on the Cad Document details page
using the Alias attribute in Windchill PDMLink 10

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• Windchill Help Center:
– Alias Attribute Mapping
• Logical Attribute Report:
– http://<hostname>/Windchill/meta/LogicalAttributeReport.jsp
– Documentation: http://<hostname>/Windchill/meta/LogicalAttributeReportHelp.html
REFERENCES

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• Q&A

41. ptc.com