Using Lists to Control Quality and Consistency in PDMWorks Enterprise

PDMWorks Enterprise (PDMWE) can help users populate Data Cards more quickly and easily by creating custom lists to choose pre-set values from. This can help save time both on the front end and the back end of the PDM process.

Create List

Open the PDMWorks Enterprise Administrator

RMB (Right Mouse Button) on List and Select Add New.

Key in a Name in the List name: area - Clients

Select the type of List from the Data type drop down - Text

Enter the desired List Values in the Dialog Box.

Note: Hit Enter at the end of every entry to get to the next line.

File/Save – to save List

Close the list by hitting the X in the upper right hand corner.

Create Variable

Create a new Variable by RMB on Variables.

Define Variable name: – Client

Choose Variable Type: – Text

Select the New Attribute button to define a new attribute with the following values:

Define Attributes

    Block name: - CustomProperty

    Attribute - Client

    Extensions - sldprt

Click OK to Close the Edit Variable Dialog Box.

Open the Card Editor

Open the Card Editor by RMB on Cards and select Open.

Use File/Open to select the card you want to add the List to.

Note: This can be a newly created card or an existing card.

In the example below, we are selecting a new card called NPD Part Card.

Insert List into Data Card

Select the Combo Box Drop Down Control from the Toolbar and place the control in the card into the desired position by clicking and dragging to position and size.

Notes:

You can resize and reposition the control after the fact.

There are several controls that will work with Lists including:

  Combobox Dropdown

  Combobox Droplist

  Combobox Simple

  List

On the right side of the screen select the Special value: Radio Button and then select the newly created List (Clients) from the drop down menu in the Combobox properties.

Select the Variable created in the Variable name: drop down (Client)

Select the Specify value radio button and choose one of the drop down options as a default value.

Note:

This is a good test to see if your drop down list is working as expected.

Label Drop Down Field

Choose the Static Text Tool from the Toolbar.

Key in the Text for a Label. - Client

Position the Text to the left of the List Field.

Save the Card and Close the Card Editor.

Test Card in Vault

Open Vault using Explorer.

Choose a document type with the extension controlled by the Data Card just edited.

Check Out the Document.

Populate the Data Card with an item from the drop down list just create.

Save the Data Card changes.

Conclusion

By creating Lists for fields with standard options, you can ensure the quality and consistency of your database. This technique can help reduce spelling errors, save data entry time and improve search accuracy for any fields (variables) where a defined set of options exist.

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