PRUNE

TC-BASICS-M01

My Teamcenter Training Manual

This training manual covers the basic concepts of My Teamcenter from the functional and Teamcenter perspective. The a
Contents
Revision History...........................................................................................................................................5
Target Audience..........................................................................................................................................6
Prerequisites................................................................................................................................................6
Technology..............................................................................................................................................6
Teamcenter.............................................................................................................................................6
Course Objectives........................................................................................................................................6
Functional Perspective................................................................................................................................7
What is a Workspace?.............................................................................................................................7
What is a Workbench?............................................................................................................................7
What are the different types of Workbench?..........................................................................................8
What are the salient features of a good Workbench?.............................................................................8
What is workbench in software?.............................................................................................................8
Workbench in Teamcenter..........................................................................................................................9
Basic Teamcenter Tools.............................................................................................................................10
What is a business object?....................................................................................................................10
What is an Item?....................................................................................................................................10
Why do I need an Item Revision?..........................................................................................................10
Are the different Revisions of an Item inter-connected?...................................................................11
What attributes go on Item and What go on Item Revision?.............................................................11
What is a Document?............................................................................................................................11
Is there a way to manage physical files in Teamcenter? - Datasets.......................................................11
Where are the physical files related to business data stored in Teamcenter?......................................12
Form – is it the same as a driving license application form?.................................................................12
Check-in & Check-out – Did you hear this before?................................................................................12
Vault..................................................................................................................................................13
Can I create a business object from an existing business object?..........................................................13
What is revising a business object mean?.............................................................................................15
Can I send my business objects through email?....................................................................................15
Is there a way to find business objects?................................................................................................15

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 What is ‘Where Referenced’ and ‘Where Used’?..................................................................................16
Where Referenced.............................................................................................................................16
Where Used.......................................................................................................................................17
Teamcenter UI and Navigation..................................................................................................................18
Views and Editors – Parts......................................................................................................................18
Perspectives...........................................................................................................................................19
Different Views in My Teamcenter........................................................................................................20
Menus....................................................................................................................................................22
File Menu...........................................................................................................................................22
File New Menu...................................................................................................................................23
Edit Menu..........................................................................................................................................23
View Menu........................................................................................................................................24
Tools Menu........................................................................................................................................24
Window Menu...................................................................................................................................25
Teamcenter Data Model............................................................................................................................26
Objects & Relations...............................................................................................................................26
Item, Item Revision and its Master Forms.........................................................................................26
Document, Document Revision and its Master Forms.......................................................................27
Dataset..............................................................................................................................................27
Folder................................................................................................................................................27
Commonly used Relations’ Information............................................................................................28
Important Attributes.............................................................................................................................29
Preferences............................................................................................................................................31
Commonly Encountered Configuration Scenarios.....................................................................................33
Scenario 1 – Business Objects................................................................................................................33
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................33
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................33
Scenario 2 – Documents........................................................................................................................35
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................35
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................35
Scenario 3 – Datasets............................................................................................................................37
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................37

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 Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................37
Scenario 4 – Where Referenced............................................................................................................39
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................39
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................39
Scenario 5 – Where Used......................................................................................................................40
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................40
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................40
Scenario 6 – Item Revisions...................................................................................................................41
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................41
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................41
Scenario 7 – Check-in and Check-out.....................................................................................................43
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................43
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................43
Scenario 8 – Dataset Versions...............................................................................................................45
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................45
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................45
Scenario 9 – Cleanup unwanted older versions.....................................................................................46
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................46
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................46
Scenario 10 – Organize Using Folders....................................................................................................48
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................48
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................48
Scenario 11 – Rename Item and Item Revision.....................................................................................50
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................50
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................50
Scenario 12 – Using Forms.....................................................................................................................52
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................52
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................52
Scenario 13 – Export to Excel.................................................................................................................53
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................53
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................53
Scenario 14 – Deep Copy.......................................................................................................................55

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 Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................55
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................55
Scenario 15 – Delete an Item.................................................................................................................58
Functional Requirement....................................................................................................................58
Teamcenter Configuration.................................................................................................................58
Appendix...................................................................................................................................................60
Terms Used............................................................................................................................................60
OOTB.................................................................................................................................................60

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Revision History

Version No. Name of Author Date Comments

v01 Rahul Bhalerao 26.Jul.2014 Initial Version

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My Teamcenter Training Manual
Target Audience
The target audience for this module are learners who would like to get introduced to Teamcenter and
understand its basic modules / functionalities. The 2 broad level categories for the learners are as
mentioned below

 Freshers
 Lateral Hires

Prerequisites
Since this is the introductory or starting point for learning Teamcenter the pre-requisites are very
minimum and are as enlisted below

Technology
 No specific knowledge required on the technology end

Teamcenter
 Knowledge of PLM Basic Concepts

Course Objectives
The objectives of this training are as enlisted below

1. Understand the importance of My Teamcenter application as a common access point for many
Teamcenter tools.
2. Understand the concepts of business object and data management in Teamcenter
3. Understand the most commonly used Teamcenter tools

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Functional Perspective
A century ago, Workbench and Workspaces were words common to artists, painters, carpenters,
scientists and many more such professionals, where these individuals were creating something new or
designing something new. With the advent of computers, these 2 terms have also not been left
untouched and have found their own form / application in the virtual world. Although they have moved
into the virtual world, their reason for existence still remains the same and if we understand how they
are used outside the virtual world we can better relate to their applications in the virtual world.

What is a Workspace?
Workspace is a place where the work is done. It is an area designated for a certain kind of work. For
example if you go to a carpenter’s shop the area of the shop is his/her workspace, similarly for an
automobile factory the factory area is its workspace and for an engineering working in its Design
Department, the department area is his workspace.

What is a Workbench?
A workbench is a specialized table which is designed to be used in a workspace to provide a designated
area to work. There are many different types of workbenches, each of which is customized to a
particular type of work. Workbenches can be purchased from companies which make furniture and
equipment, and they can also be built from scratch to suit custom needs. Many people grow quite

attached to their

Workbenches, adjusting and organizing them to perfection so that they can work more efficiently. The
figures above show a ‘Garage Workbench’ in a simplest form and another one in a more complex form.

The term “bench” is a bit misleading in this case, since many people think of benches as places to sit,
rather than places to work. The relation between workbenches and conventional benches is that both

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Figure 1: Complex Workbench

Figure 2 : Simple Workbench
are sturdy, durable, and designed for years of use. In some cases, both are designed as permanent
installations, as well

What are the different types of Workbench?

There are different types of Workbenches depending on the requirements of a given profession. Some
of the examples of the different applications based on the profession are as enlisted below.

 Woodworkers use workbenches to work on projects.

 Many people like to keep a workbench or utility bench in the garage or shed for various
construction projects
 Gardeners also utilize workbenches for potting, managing seedlings, keeping records, and
performing other gardening tasks
 In laboratories, workbenches are critical for scientists and researchers, used to lay out
laboratory equipment, samples, and other materials.
 Workbenches can also be used by jewelers, patissiers, cooks, electronics technicians,
metalworkers, sculptors, artists, and essentially anyone who does work which requires
constructing objects.

What are the salient features of a good Workbench?

 User comfort is an important aspect of the workbench, as typically users would be spending
most of their working hours on the work bench. For example if the height of the workbench
chair is adjustable then every user can adjust the chair height to his/her comfort.
 Should be configurable enough to handle different types of projects. A theatrical set designer,
for example, might need a basic workbench with room to store construction tools, while a
jeweler might require a workbench with cabinets which can be easily divided and moved around
to hold metals, jewels, and other supplies
 Easy Accessibility to the different tools used by the professional is another important aspect of
Workbench.
 Flexibility to integrate additional tools or safety features as needed. For example a laboratory
workbench may require a facility to cover its surface with nonreactive surface to prevent
damage from chemicals while undergoing a certain type of experiments.

What is workbench in software?

Software used the metaphor of a workbench for exposing file management and application launching
functionality or for designing processes connecting data sources to operations and models. Commodore
International was one of the first software companies to use the metaphor ‘Workbench’ for its ‘Amiga
OS’. The Amiga Workbench uses the metaphor of a workbench (i.e. a workbench of manual labor),
rather than the now standard desktop metaphor, for representing file system organization. The desktop
itself is called Workbench and uses the following representations

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  Tool: An executable program.
 Project: A data file of an executable program. The program which created the file is named in
the icon file, double-clicking on the icon loads the program that created it.
 Drawer: A directory containing files, and other drawers.
 Volume: A physical disk or a RAM disk.
 Garbage: The Trashcan - a deleted file backup, which works in a similar way to the 'Recycle bin'
in Microsoft Windows

Using the same concept of Workbench, different software applications have come up with their own
‘Workbench’ modules which provide a single access point for the different modules in their application.

Workbench in Teamcenter
Teamcenter provides the ‘Workbench’ functionality through its ‘My Teamcenter’ module. It provides the
users with a single access point for the different modules of Teamcenter. It truly represents a virtual
workbench where the user can organize work data, manage communication, access commonly used
tools, and rearrange the UI to best fit his/her work needs. An analogy of My Teamcenter features with
the ‘Salient Features of a Good Workbench’ is as given below.

# Workbench My Teamcenter

1 User comfort as user spends his/her Users can configure the UI to best suit their
maximum work time on the workbench daily work needs as well as use different short
cut menu commands to increase their
productivity.

2 Should be configurable enough to handle My Teamcenter can be configured as well as

different types of projects customized using OOTB tools, to accommodate
requirements of different industries / domains.

3 Easy accessibility to different tools used by All the tools needed or modules needed are
the professional well segregated under respective heads and are
just a click away from the user

4 Flexibility to integrate additional tools or Through the Organization and Access Control,
safety features as needed My Teamcenter can enforce different security
measures while the user is working on different
business objects

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Basic Teamcenter Tools
What is a business object?
The term business object is not specific to Teamcenter but to enterprise software
applications. These are elements that the user of the software application can easily relate
to as they are nothing but a manifestation of the tools, processes and other business
elements that the user comes across in his/her daily work. As an example let’s look at an engineer
working in an engine assembly plant in an automobile company. As a part of his daily work
routine he has to handle engine drawings, its different components and actual physical
engines. Using Teamcenter’s NX dataset business objects we are able to simulate the drawings
that the engineer has to handle/review. Similarly using other types of business objects such as
Items/Parts/Documents/Workflow Processes we can simulate the different components of engine or for
that matter the needed design or manufacturing approvals also.

What is an Item?
Item is one of the types of business objects that can be used to map the business data in
Teamcenter. It is a basic business object and can be used to represent different types of
business data. For example if an automotive company wants to manage its different
assemblies’ and components’ data in Teamcenter then it can create different Items to represent each
assembly or component or if it wants to manage the specification documents for a vehicle it can use
Item to represent those documents.

The different characteristics of the business data can be mapped to

the different attributes of the Item. Typically, Item identification
characteristics (Item Id and Name) are put on the Item and other
characteristics of the business data are managed on a separate
business object called Item Master Form.

Item can be seen as a container which keeps all your business data related to a business element in one
place. For example if you create an item to represent the engine cylinder then you will find the CAD
data, drawings, specification documents, different versions all collated under this single item.

Why do I need an Item Revision?

Although, Item is able to help map business data in Teamcenter as well as act as a container to collate all
relevant information, we would need a business object which will help track the
changes to the item. For example consider a situation where a braking mechanism
design gets approved from the design perspective but the prototype fails to work
correctly when installed on the car. In such case I would need a facility to create a
business object similar to the earlier brake design but one that addresses the issues
observed during prototype. Also the old and new design should be linked to a common business object,
because both of them are functionally addressing the same brake requirement.

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To address this Teamcenter provides the business object Item Revision. An Item Revision is
created automatically when an Item is created and has the same identification attributes
(Item ID and Name) as Item albeit with the additional identifier, ‘Revision’. As Item has its
own form (Item Master Form) to capture additional characteristics of business data, Item Revision also
has its own form, ‘Item Revision Master’ form. This is created automatically when an Item Revision is
created.

Are the different Revisions of an Item inter-connected?

Item is the container for all the business data generated for a given business object and hence one can
find all the Item Revisions for an Item collated under it. So in our brake example
described above the drawings and design created for prototype testing would be
available under Item Revision #1 and the modified drawings and design created to fix
the prototype test issues would be available under Item Revision #2. Both these
Item Revisions can be found collated under the Item created for Brakes.

What attributes go on Item and What go on Item Revision?

Characteristics or Attributes that would remain constant through the different alterations that the Item
goes through are placed on Item. In case of our brake example the material used for
making the brake is pre-decided and will remain the same even if the design
changes. Such attributes are made available on the Item.

Attributes such as weight of brake will change every time the dimensions of the
brake are changed and hence we would put such attributes on the Item Revision as it is meant to
capture the changes that the brake design goes through.

What is a Document?
Document is just a specific type of Item, available OOTB to address the
requirements of managing the data related to business documentation that is
generated over the course of development of a product. If we revisit the brake
example, to manage the design data I will use Item, but there may be some
technical documents such as service manuals, which I would like to classify as different business objects
than using the same type of business object, Item. In such case I would create a Document business
object to manage the service manual related data in Teamcenter.

Is there a way to manage physical files in Teamcenter? - Datasets

If we look at the service manual from the previous section, it would typically be a physical file either in
pdf or word format that provides details about servicing the brake. Through the
‘Document’ business objects we can manage the business data such as ‘who created it’,
‘who last modified it and when it was modified’, ‘is it reviewed?’ or ‘is it approved’, etc.
However can I view the physical file which has actual content in Teamcenter? The
answer is a resounding ‘Yes’. Using the ‘Dataset’ business object one can bring the physical files also
under the managed environment of Teamcenter.

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It is called manage environment as Teamcenter keeps track of changes to the physical file by
maintaining a separate copy every time the file is modified. As a user I don’t need to leave the
Teamcenter application for accessing this file and also I can always go back to an older version of the
physical file as Teamcenter has already maintained the copies.

Where are the physical files related to business data stored in Teamcenter?
Volume is the physical storage location in which Teamcenter stores its physical files related to the
business data. It is nothing but a hard drive or mounted drive on the server, but accessible only through
Teamcenter application. If one has put a local file from his/her machine into
Teamcenter managed environment, then even if he/she deletes the local file
from the machine, it will not affect the physical file stored in Teamcenter.

Another important aspect of Volume is that the names of the files stored on the
physical drive are auto generated and are different from the names of the datasets. So even if one has a
direct access to the physical drive he/she would not be able to identify the business data to which these
files are attached, thus ensuring that the Teamcenter UI is the single access point for all business data
and information.

Form – is it the same as a driving license application form?

Forms are some things that we come across very often in our daily life. Take an example of the passport
or driving application. We have to fill different types of forms as a part of completing the application
process. Each form would capture specific type of details such as personal
information, medical fitness, etc. In any engineering industry also the
different types of information related to a business object is captured using
forms. There could be a form for approval of part number, another for
quality check of the manufactured component and another for material
entry into the factory premises.

Teamcenter has a business object with the very name as Form and is used to capture business data that
one would have instead captured using paper based form. The advantage of capturing forms in a digital
format is that it makes storage, sharing, and retrieval of data much easier than paper based forms. The
forms being managed in Teamcenter not only helps one manage changes through separate copies, but
also helps one track these changes easily.

Check-in & Check-out – Did you hear this before?

We have many times heard these words, mostly when we are travelling or when we go to access the
bank lockers. I think the bank locker scenario is more relevant for our discussion. Lockers are vaults
which symbolize safety and restricted access to unauthorized users. Every time one wants to access his
bank locker he/she has to validate his identity with the bank authorities and update the bank register
with in-time and out-time when the locker was accessed. This is more over done to keep a track of the
access to the valuables in the vault and also to avoid unauthorized access.

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Vault
The same concept is implemented in Teamcenter to safeguard valuable business data and also avoid
unauthorized access. Whenever a business object is created it is automatically stored in a ‘Vault’. You
won’t find a business object or any data model entity, with the name as a Vault but it is kind of a
concept level place where the business objects will be stored by default.

Every time one tries to edit any business object the access rules laid out for that
object are evaluated to avoid unauthorized access. If the person has necessary
privileges / access rights the business object is checked out from the Vault and an
entry is made in the system specifying the business object, the person who
checked it out and the time when it was checked out. A copy of the business object is
then provided to the user to perform the necessary modifications.

Until the time this business object is not checked in to the vault other users will not be able to modify it.
Once it is checked in to the vault an entry is again made in the system specifying the time of check in.
This copy of business object now becomes the latest copy in Teamcenter and would be the default for
that business object.

Can I create a business object from an existing business object?

‘Save As’ is one tool that is very common to any software application and functionally no different in
Teamcenter. To understand it better let’s take an example when one would actually require to create a
new copy of the business object. A design engineer has designed a new bracket for the chassis using a
material not used before. To represent this new bracket in Teamcenter he has created an Item/Item
Revision and to it he has attached the specification document, the 2D/3D drawings, testing results
document. He was able to test this bracket successfully in the prototype car and now his design has
become a standard according to which other chassis brackets will be designed.

Another of his colleagues wants to use this new design to create another similar bracket. He wants to
copy the different business objects but selectively. His logic for selective copy is as follows.

Business Objects Selective Copy Requirement Teamcenter Solution

Item, Item Master Form, Since these are elements which give an Default Behaviour :
Item Revision and Item identity to the business object these Completely new Item/Item
Revision Master Form would have to be created as new business Revision objects are created
objects. having own Id and Name

UG NX Dataset (2D/3D Here he wants to use the existing design Select the option of ‘Copy as
Model) with minor changes to the dimensions object’ to reuse old design
by maintaining separate
copies of old and new UG –
NX files

Specification Document The specifications are going to be the Select the option of ‘Copy as

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 Business Objects Selective Copy Requirement Teamcenter Solution

same for all the chassis brackets and for reference’ as the
this he just wants to refer to the same specifications are same and
specification document need only to be referred.

Test Results Document This new bracket would have to go Select the option of ‘No
through the testing process separately and Copy’ as the test results
hence the test results may be different would be altogether new for
from the earlier one. Hence he would like this bracket.
to create a completely new Test Results
document.

In Teamcenter this behavior of selective copy is facilitated through ‘Deep Copy Rules’ that can be
configured for different business objects depending on the organization’s requirement. The figure below
shows the sample example explained above in a graphical manner.

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 Figure 3 : Deep Copy Graphical Representation

What is revising a business object mean?

Revision in Teamcenter perspective means rework. Rework can either be to correct an existing issue or
to address a change needed for enhancing an existing capability. In either case you would have to create
a new copy of the business object similar to the ‘Save As’ functionality, but in case of ‘Revise’ the copies
are related to each other as successor and predecessor.

If we look back at Item and Item Revision business objects we can now easily
make out the importance of Item Revision. Item would represent what
functional aspect that business object is created to address, whereas Item
Revisions will keep a track of all the different changes the business object has
gone through.

Not all business objects in Teamcenter are managed as revisions, for example Datasets and Forms
cannot be revised. These business objects would hardly have any business significance if they exist in
isolation and hence their revisioning is driven by the Item Revision/Document Revision that they are
attached to.

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As with ‘Save As’ functionality in Teamcenter, ‘Revision’ functionality also provides for different options
of what is carried forward from previous revision to the new revision. The options are exactly the same
as ‘Save As’, in which some options have a default behavior whereas the others can be selective.

Can I send my business objects through email?

Teamcenter provides its own mail functionality which is similar to any other mail client.
Here however a mail is called as an ‘Envelope’. The name is chosen to be in line with
the different types of elements that are/were handled on work benches and envelope is
one such element.

Apart from the standard functionalities of mail, Teamcenter Envelope provides the added functionality
of sending Teamcenter business objects (Items, Forms, Datasets, etc) through mail to other Teamcenter
users. One can also send mail to external users who are not part of Teamcenter using the Teamcenter
Envelope. However to send mails to external mail addresses one would need to provide valid SMTP
details.

Is there a way to find business objects?

To address the needs of different departments within an organization, Teamcenter
provides an extensive search capabilities. Apart from wild card search, one can run a
search for any specific business object based on various criteria such as Identifier, Name,
Creator, Creation Date, Last Modified Date, Current Owner, Is Checked-Out, etc.

Apart from this one can also run a full-text search which not only looks into the attribute values of
business objects but also searches the content of the physical files such as MS Office / Text Files / CAD
Files which are available in Teamcenter through the dataset business object.

For Administrators, Teamcenter provides a separate module called as ‘Query Builder’ that can
be used to build complex search criteria for some of the searches that are performed on a periodic basis.
For example one can create a search criteria to find all the Item Revisions and Datasets of a particular
engine project, released within a given time frame. An administrator can build this query and publish it
for the different users from the engine department.

What is ‘Where Referenced’ and ‘Where Used’?

To explain the concepts of ‘Where Referenced’ and ‘Where Used’ let us take some real life examples.

Where Referenced
Let’s consider a scenario where I have created a training material for Java. The training material is
divided into different chapters and the content of each chapter is being developed by taking reference
of an existing Java Book. The figure below shows a sample list of chapters and the reference books used
for the same.

Java Training Material Books Referred

 Chapter 1: Java Fundamentals  Thinking in Java

 Chapter 2: Java Syntax  SCJP
 ChapterPvt.
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If I remove any of the Chapters from the Training Material and keep the reference book for the chapter
as it is in the reference section, it won’t cause much harm to the training material. Obviously I will have
to cover that chapter somehow to address every aspect of Java, but the existence of the reference
without the chapter would just be an additional information which can exist on its own. However if we
look at the other scenario where I keep one of the Chapters and remove its reference book is kind of
creating an inconsistency. I don’t have a way to get additional information about the chapter and hence
one should not be allowed to remove the reference book if it is used in some chapters.

Teamcenter also enacts similar constraints. If an Item Revision for an Engine Part is referencing a
Document Revision for Specification Document, then I cannot remove the Document Revision unless it is
removed from the list of references of the Engine Part. However if I decide to delete that engine part
and create a new one altogether based on new specifications, then I can delete the part and
subsequently the Specification Document Revision.

Using the ‘Imapct Analysis’ viewer one can easily check which other business objects are using the
selected business object as a referenced. For this we use the ‘Where Referenced’ option in the viewer
panel.

Where Used
Let’s consider a scenario where I have ordered a set of Java Books containing 3 different books from an
online shopping website. The website offers free shipping if the order value is more than INR 1000/- and
in the case of the 3 Java books, the value is more than INR 1000/-, so I’m eligible for free shipping.
However now if I decide to remove any one of the books, my order value becomes less than INR 1000/-
and I have to bear additional charges for the shipping. So what can we infer from this?

My Books Order #1 My Books Order #2

Thinking in Java

Java in a Box Java in a Box

EXTRA SHIPPING
FREE SHIPPING
Java SCJP Java SCJP

Each Java book is an integral component of the set of books and is critical for the
identity of that set. If you remove any one of the books from the set, the identity of that set is changed
or disturbed (in our example identity changes as regards package eligible for free shipping or not). Each
book is used in the set of books and hence it is integral to the identity of that set.

In Teamcenter we have similar concept demonstrated through ‘Where Used’ relation. If I have an Item
Revision for ‘Engine Assembly’ which is built by using different engine components then removing any

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engine component from the assembly means changing the identity of the assembly and hence such a
change would need a good assessment of the impact before removing the component from that
assembly.

Using the ‘Impact Analysis’ viewer we can find the different assemblies where a given component is
used and based on that information gauge the impact the removal of this component would have on the
other assemblies. Typically if one is removing any component from an assembly (disturbing the ‘Where
Used’) it calls for an approval from the relevant authorities.

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Teamcenter UI and Navigation
To understand the basics of Teamcenter UI and Navigation, let’s first understand the concepts of Views,
Editors and Perspectives as elaborated in the sections below.

Views and Editors – Parts

Parts are user interface components which allow you to navigate and modify data. A part can have a
dropdown menu, context menus and a toolbar. Parts can be freely positioned in the user interface.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Figure 4 : Teamcenter UI Analogy to Eclipse UI

Figure 5 : Eclipse UI Parts

A view is typically used to work on a set of data, which might be a hierarchical structure. If data is
changed via the view, this change is typically directly applied to the underlying data structure. A view
sometimes allows us to open an editor for a selected set of data. In the above figure ‘Part 3’ is a view
where the different folders are shown in a hierarchical manner.

Editors are typically used to modify a single data element, e.g., the content of a file or a data object. To
apply the changes made in an editor to the data structure, the user has to explicitly save the editor
content. When you edit the properties of an Item in Teamcenter, it prompts you to ‘Save’ and hence
that is our editor part from Teamcenter perspective. The figure below shows a screen grab of that
editor.

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 Figure 6 : Sample Teamcenter Editor Part
Perspectives
A perspective is a visual container for a set of parts. Perspectives can be used to store different
arrangements of parts. For example the one of figure given below shows the ‘OOTB My Teamcenter’
perspective whereas the other shows a ‘Customized My Teamcenter Perspective’.

With ‘Perspectives’ every Teamcenter user gets the flexibility to arrange his / her workbench to best suit
the work needs. For example as an employee working in the Technical Publication department may not
need the ‘Impact Analysis’ and ‘Process History’ view, so he/she can create his/her own perspective
which doesn’t show these views by default.

Figure 7 : My Teamcenter Perspective

Figure 8 : Customized Perspective

If you look beyond ‘My Teamcenter’ some of the other

perspectives available with Teamcenter are Structure Managed, CAE Manager, Workflow Designer,
Relation Browser, Schedule Manager, Workflow Viewer, etc. Typically each module has its own

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 Different Views in My Teamcenter
Some of the basic Views available in Teamcenter for My Teamcenter module are enlisted in the table
below.

View Name How it looks? When do I use it?

Component  This view as the name suggests lists the

different elements contained in the
selected Teamcenter object as a ‘tree’
structure
 A typical example of its usage would be
a case where I need to see the different
documents and datasets attached to an
Item / Item Revision.
 With this view I can navigate from Item
to Item Revision, its Forms, related
Documents or attached Datasets

Summary  True to its name this view summarizes

the key information of any Teamcenter
Business Object.
 Referring to the screen shot provided in
the adjacent column, the Summary view
can be understood. It shows the name
of the assembly, its 3D model, who
created it, who last modified it, which
group is responsible for the design, its
approval status, etc
 One would typically use it to get the
high level information using this view
and then move on to the specific view
for detailed information

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Details  This view is used to see information in a
about Teamcenter Business object and
its related business objects in a tabular
format.
 One would typically use this view to see
the related business objects
(documents, datasets, items/item
revisions) and their attributes
 Since the information is presented in a
tabular format you can add/remove
column as per your requirement.
 Also with tabular information comes the
facility to export it in excel, word, csv
format thus providing for easy sharing of
information with others.

Viewer  Viewer can be used either to view the

business object properties or the CAD
files or MS Office files.
 Although it can be used for any business
objects it is more preferred to view the
2D/3D drawing files, MS Office files, PDF
files or Tasks assigned to oneself.
 2D/3D viewing is facilitated through
Teamcenter Visualization module which
converts CAD data into neutral format
(JT) and makes it easier for users to view
drawings without having specific CAD
software installed.
 For MS Office, PDF files respective
integrations need to be installed.

Impact  Impact Analysis is used to assess how

Analysis the selected business objects is related
to other business objects and the impact
changes to this business object may
have on its related components.
 One would be typically use it scenarios
where a business object needs to be
deleted or one of its relation needs to
be deleted. In such cases it would be
important to know how the delete

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 action will impact other business
objects.
 Take a case where I’m deleting a
business object representing an Engine,
then ‘Impact Analysis’ would help me
understand if it is used in some car
model or is it referred by some other
engine made with a similar design.

Menus
Let’s look at the different Menu pertaining to My Teamcenter.

File Menu
Command Purpose

New Creates a wide range of Teamcenter objects.

Open Opens for viewing and editing a selected data object—folder, item, item revision, or dataset
in the default application for that object or file type

Open With Opens a dialog box to let you select an application for viewing a selected data object or file.

View Opens for viewing a selected data object—folder, item, item revision, or dataset in the
default application.

View With Opens a dialog box to let you select an application for viewing a selected data object.

Save Saves the information entered for a selected data object.

Save As Duplicates a selected item, form, dataset, or item revision and saves it under a different
name.

Revise Creates a new revision of the selected item.

File New Menu

Command Purpose

Item Creates Teamcenter objects such as items, folders, forms, datasets, etc.

Folder Creates a graphical representation of an aggregation of objects.

Form Creates a data object used to display product information (properties) in a predefined
template. Forms can be used to create an electronic facsimile of a hardcopy form.

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 Dataset Creates a Teamcenter data object used to manage data files created by other software
applications. Each dataset can manage multiple operating system files, and each dataset
references dataset tool object and a dataset business object.

Envelope Creates a mail object for use with Teamcenter mail.

Other Create any available business objects, including custom business objects created using the
Business Modeler IDE.

Edit Menu
Command Purpose

Cut Removes a selected data object reference from the current location and places it on the
clipboard. You must have read privileges on the object and write privileges on its container to
move or remove an object.

Copy Replicates a data object reference in another application. You must have read privileges for
the selected object that you want to copy. You can also create a copy by dragging the object
to another Teamcenter application.

Paste Moves a data object reference from the clipboard to the current location in the data object
area. It is important to select the proper destination for the data object reference before
choosing the Paste menu command. You must have read and write privileges to the
destination object.

Paste Allows you to specify a relation type rather than using the default paste relation when
Special pasting an object reference into an item or item revision

Properties For selected single editable objects, displays the Check-Out dialog box, and then displays the
Edit Properties dialog box for the selected object.

For selected multiple editable objects, displays the Check-Out dialog box, and then displays
the Common modifiable properties dialog box for the selected objects.

Delete Deletes a selected data object from the database. You must have delete permission for the
object to use this command

Purge Permanently removes old versions of a dataset from the database. You can select whether to
purge all old versions or specific versions of a dataset.

If sequence functionality is enabled and the latest sequence is selected, the system removes
all non-immune sequences of an item except for the latest sequence.

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 Make Specifies an item revision sequence cannot be deleted from the system by a purge or check-
Immune in action.

Remove Removes immunity from an item sequence. The item can then be deleted from the system
Immunity during a purge or check-in operation.

View Menu
Command Purpose

Refresh Reads information from the database and updates the information displayed in the
workspace area

Refresh Refreshes the information displayed in the workspace area.

Window

Named Allows you to view, upload, or download the name references of a selected dataset
Reference

Properties Allows you to view, update, or print the properties of a selected data object.

Tools Menu
Command Purpose

Check-In/ Reserve exclusive access to one or more objects and/or their attachments by locking the
Out objects in the database upon checkout. You restore access to the objects using check-in. Only
your administrator is allowed to circumvent the security that these menu commands
provide.

Address List Allows you to create and manage address lists for Teamcenter users, groups, and external
Internet addresses.

Window Menu
Command Purpose

Open This command is not used by default. If enabled at your site, this command allows you to
Perspective open alternate collections of view panes.

Show View Allows you to open alternate views.

Save Saves a rearranged perspective with the current name, or creates a new perspective by
Perspective saving the new arrangement of views with a new name
As

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 Restore Restores a rearranged perspective to the default view arrangement
Perspective

Close This command is not used by default. If enabled at your site, this command allows you to
Perspective close an alternate perspective.

Preferences Use the Window à Preferences menu command to display the standard Eclipse Preferences
dialog box, where you can set Relation Browser preferences, Teamcenter preferences for
search and view network presentation, and Web browser preferences

Toolbar Displays or hides the toolbar. A check mark indicates that the toolbar is displayed under the
menu bar.

Navigation Displays or hides the navigation pane. A check mark indicates that the navigation pane is
Pane displayed

Full Screen Alternates between full-screen display and adjustable-window display

Please feel free to provide links to references such as Teamcenter Manuals/Guides for detailed
information related to a particular topic. If someone would like to dive deep in a particular topic he/she
can use the additional links provided

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Teamcenter Data Model
In this section we will study the data model of important business objects in My Teamcenter and how
they are stored in the database.

Objects & Relations

Item, Item Revision and its Master Forms

Business Object Business Object Database Storage Class

BusinessObject -

POM_object POM_object
POM Object
POM_application_object POM_application_object

WorkspaceObject WorkspaceObject

POM Application Item Item

Item Master Form

ItemRevision ItemRevision
WorkspaceObject
ItemRevision Master Form

Item Item Revision Form

Item Master Item Revison Master

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 Document, Document Revision and its Master Forms

Business Object Database Storage Class

WorkspaceObject
Document Document

Document Master Form

DocumentRevision DocumentRevision

DocumentRevision Master Form

Item Item Revision Form

Document Document Revision Document Master Document Revision Master

Dataset
Business Object Database Storage Class
WorkspaceObject
Dataset Dataset

MSExcelX Dataset

UGMODEL Dataset
Dataset
PDF Dataset

MSExcelX UGMODEL PDF

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Folder
Business Object Database Storage Class
WorkspaceObject
Folder Folder

Fnd0HomeFolder Folder

Mail Folder Folder

Folder
User_Inbox User_Inbox

Envelope Envelope

Fnd0HomeFoldere Mail Folder User_Inbox Envelope

Commonly used Relations’ Information

Relation Name Relation Parent Primary Secondary Object Purpose
Object

IMAN_master_form ImanRelation Item Form Automatically create when

master form created

IMAN_master_form ImanRelation ItemRevision Form Automatically create when

master form created

TC_Attaches ImanRelation ItemRevision Dataset Whenever dataset is

attached to Item Revision

IMAN_manifestation ImanRelation ItemRevision UGMASTER Created automatically when

Item created from NX

IMAN_UG_altrep ImanRelation ItemRevision UGALTREP Created automatically when

Item created from NX

IMAN_specification ImanRelation ItemRevision ItemRevision Typically used when

Document Revision is
related to Item Revision

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Important Attributes
Attribute Name Business Objects Purpose
Available On

Item Id Item and it’s children Used to uniquely identify the business object in
Teamcenter

Name Workspace Object and it’s Used to capture the name with which the
children business object is identified in your organization

Type Workspace Object and it’s Gives information as regards what type of
children business object it is. This can be a good
information to filter / sort business objects of
similar type

Revision Item Revision and its Gives information about the revision level of the
children business object.

Sequence Id Item Revision and its Gives information about the sequence level of
children the business object. Sequences are typically
created when a business undergoes a check-out
and check-in cycle.

Sequence Limit Item Revision and its Gives information about the maximum number
children of sequences that will be stored at any given
point of time for the business object

Item Item Revision and its Gives information about the Item business object
children for the give revision object. This a link attribute
and on clicking the link one can view the Item
object

Version Number Workspace Object and it’s Gives information about the version level of the
children dataset. Versions are typically created when a
dataset undergoes a check-out and check-in
cycle.

Version Limit Workspace Object and it’s Gives information about the maximum number
children of versions that will be stored at any given point
of time for the dataset

Date Created POM Application Object Gives information about the date and time when
and it’s children this business object was created

Checked-Out Workspace Object and it’s Gives information about whether the business

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 Attribute Name Business Objects Purpose
Available On

children object is currently checked out (or edited)

Checked-Out By Workspace Object and it’s Gives information about the TC User who has
children checked out (or editing) this business object. This
is a link attribute which provides link to the user
object

Checked-Out Date Workspace Object and it’s Gives information about the date and time when
children this business object has been checked out.

Owning User POM Application Object This attribute gives information about the user
and it’s children who created this object. Since the attribute
actually provides a link to the TC user object one
can get more user details by clicking on that link

Owning Group POM Application Object This attribute gives information about the TC
and it’s children Group to which the user who created this object
belongs to. Since the attribute actually provides a
link to the TC user object one can get more user
details by clicking on that link

Last Modified Date POM Application Object Gives information about the date and time when
and it’s children this business object was last modified

Last Modifying User POM Application Object This attribute gives information about the TC
and it’s children User who last modified this business object. Since
the attribute actually provides a link to the TC
user object one can get more user details by
clicking on that link

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Preferences
Preference Name Purpose

AE_dataset_default_keep_limit Determines the number of old dataset versions to store in the

database. When this number is exceeded, the oldest dataset
version is deleted

Mail_OSMail_Activated Determines whether operating system e-mail can be sent

from Teamcenter. When enabled, users can send OS e-mail by
clicking Send To à Envelope

Revision_Name_Based_On_ItemRevision Specifies whether revision names displayed in the rich client

Revise dialog box are based on item revision names or item
names.

Typically we provide the same name for Item and its Revision,
hence we would not be able to make out the difference. Try
changing the names for Item and Revision and see how this
preference affects the display

TC_Auto_Checkout Enables or suppresses automatic implicit check out of non-NX

datasets. Implicit check out automatically prevents users from
gaining write access to a non-NX dataset if another user has
opened it.

TC_Enable_Implicit_CO Determines whether implicit checkout, save, and checkin is

enabled in the Properties dialog box, form dialog boxes, the
Viewer view, and the Summary view.

TC_Enable_legacy_create Determines if either the legacy or the generic dialog box is

displayed for the Create command. If no value is specified,
the new generic dialog box is displayed by default.

TC_Enable_LegacySaveAs Specifies whether the legacy Save As dialog box is displayed

for all types in the rich client.

TC_suppress_Edit_Latest_Menu Enables or suppresses the Edit Latest command in the rich

client. This menu command updates all version-0 datasets to
reference the latest saved version in the database.

TCDefaultKeepLimit Determines the number of sequences the system maintains

as an item revision is checked in and out of the database. At
logon, the system automatically removes

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 Preference Name Purpose

the oldest sequence when the limit specified with this

preference is reached

WhereReferencePOMPref Specifies whether all instances and classes found in the

database that contain references to a specified instance are
displayed in the Impact Analysis view

WHERE_REFERENCED_RELATIONS_FILTER Specifies custom relations displayed in the Where Referenced

Options relation list. Added relations are not displayed in the
Paste Special, Paste dialog box and are not defined as child
relations.

Please refer the pdf named, “preferences_environment_variables_reference.pdf” to understand in

details each of the above preference variables and any additional ones

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Commonly Encountered Configuration Scenarios
Scenario 1 – Business Objects
Functional Requirement
A design engineer working in Engine department wants to manage the engine assembly and its different
components as business objects in Teamcenter.

Teamcenter Configuration
Using the OOTB Item business object the design engineer can create business object for engine
assembly and component in Teamcenter. The steps given below showcase how it can be done

1. Select the folder in which you want to create an Item. It our case select ‘Engine Business
Objects’ folder Go to File à New à Item.

Figure 9: New Item

2. You can either have the Item Id as auto assigned or provide the one as per your organizations
standards. In this case we will use ‘Auto Assign’
3. In the Name field provide details of how this business object is identified functionally. In our
case it’s an ‘Engine Assembly’, so we will use the same name.

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 Figure 10 : New Item Create Dialog

4. Press ‘Finish’ to create the Item and verify that the ‘Engine Assembly’ is created under ‘Engine
Business Objects’.

Figure 11 : Engine Assembly Business Object

5. You can similarly create the other components of this assembly. The screen shot below shows
the different components and the engine assembly collated under ‘Engine Business Objects’
folder.

Figure 12 : Engine Assembly Components

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Scenario 2 – Documents
Functional Requirement
An employee working in the Technical Publication department wants to manage the different types of
publication documents in Teamcenter

Teamcenter Configuration
Using the OOTB Document business object the employee in the Publication department can create
business object for managing publication documents in Teamcenter. The steps given below showcase
how it can be done

1. Select the ‘Technical Publication Documents’ and Go to File à New à Item.

Figure 13 : Create New Tech Publication

2. Select Document and press next .You can either have the Document Id as auto assigned or
provide the one as per your organizations standards. In this case we will use ‘Auto Assign’
3. In the Name field provide details of how this business object is identified. In our case it’s an
‘Engine Service Manual’, so we will use the same name.

Figure 14 : Document Create Dialog

4. Press ‘Finish’ to create the Document

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 Figure 15 : Engine Service Manual

5. You can similarly create the other documents needed for Technical publication. The screen shot
below shows the different documents collated under ‘Technical Publication Documents’ folder.

Figure 16 : Other Tech Pub Documents

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Scenario 3 – Datasets
Functional Requirement
An employee working in the Planning department wants to move all the pdf files from his local machine
to a managed environment

Teamcenter Configuration
Using the OOTB Dataset business object the employee in the Planning department can create business
object for managing pdf files in Teamcenter. The steps given below showcase how it can be done

1. Select the folder in which you want to create the dataset and Go to File à New à Dataset
2. Select the type of file you want to manage in Teamcenter. In our case we have selected PDF.

Figure 17 : Dataset Create Dialog

3. Provide a name for the file that you want to manage as Teamcenter business object. In our case
it is ‘Gear Box Servicing Manual’.

Figure 18 : Gearbox name and type of file

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 4. Browse the physical PDF file that needs to be managed in Teamcenter

Figure 19 : Browse the physical file to manage

5. Press ‘Finish’ to create the dataset and import the physical file.

Figure 20 : Dataset created

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Scenario 4 – Where Referenced
Functional Requirement
A specification document used as the basis for design and development of different models of a gear
box is getting changed to match the new requirements of a new powerful engine. The design engineer
wants to evaluate the impact of these changes in the specification on the existing gear box models and
hence wants to find the different gear box models built using this specification document.

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s Impact Analysis View, the engineer would be able to find the different gear box
models which are built on or refer the specification document. The steps given below showcase how it
can be done

1. Select the specification document and select the ‘Impact Analysis’ View

Figure 21 : Specification Doc for Where Referenced

2. Select the ‘Where Referenced’ option and double click on the Specification Document business
object
3. The Viewer displays the different gear box assemblies that reference this Specification
Document

Figure 22 : Where Referenced Items

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Scenario 5 – Where Used
Functional Requirement
An automobile company wishes to change the old ‘Electronic Control Units (ECU)’ fitted in its cars with
the new ECU developed using the latest technology. However it wants to replace these units only in
premium segment models and hence the design team wants to understand the impact of this new ECU
on the housing assemblies where it is fitted.

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s Impact Analysis View, the design team would be able to find the different housing
assemblies that use the old ECU and they can further traverse the tree to identify only those housing
assemblies that are fitted in premium segment cars. The steps given below showcase how it can be done

1. Select the old ECU Item and select the ‘Impact Analysis’ View

Figure 23 : ECU Item for Where Used

2. Select the ‘Where Used’ option and ‘Single Level’ and double click on the ECU Item.
3. This will show you all the different Housing assemblies that use the old ECU.

Figure 24 : Where Used Single Level

4. Now select ‘Multi Level’ and it will show the all the models where the Housing and hence the old
ECU is used

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 Figure 25 : Where Used Multi Level

5. From those models one can easily identify the premium segment models and mark the
corresponding housing assemblies that would have to be changed if the new ECU is to be used.

Scenario 6 – Item Revisions

Functional Requirement
A designer has designed a new bracket and wants to capture changes to this bracket under a different
business object than the one used for the older design. However he wants these different objects
related to each other, such that if he searches for his bracket he always finds all the different business
objects created for the bracket

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s revisioning mechanism the designer can easily manage the old and new designs of
the same bracket as 2 separate business objects. He just has to revise the ‘Item Revision’ created for the
old design and a new business object would be created against which he can manage drawings and
other business data specific to the new bracket design. Also whenever he searches for the ‘Item’ for the
bracket he would get both the old and new design revisions collated under it. The steps given below
showcase how it can be done

1. Search Item for the bracket business object.

Figure 26 : Item to be revised

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 2. Select the Item Revision and do a File à Revise

Figure 27 : Revise Option

3. Press finish on the dialog shown to create a new Item Revision, which can be used to add the
business data specific to the new design.

Figure 28 : Revise Dialog

Figure 29 : All Revisions Collated under Item

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Scenario 7 – Check-in and Check-out
Functional Requirement
2 employees working with the IT Maintenance and Support department have been assigned the task to
monitor the parts successfully transferred from Teamcenter to SAP. One of the employee works in 1st
shift and the other in the 2nd shift. Each one of them has to review the SAP logs and update a text file
with number of Teamcenter objects transferred to SAP during his shift. Both record their observations in
separate files and later share it with the department head.

The department head wants both of them to use the same file instead of 2 different files and manage
that file in Teamcenter, with the additional facility that if one person is modifying the file other should
not be allowed to change edit the file.

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s dataset business object one can easily manage the Teamcenter to SAP Part transfer
file in Teamcenter. Also Teamcenter provides the OOTB functionality of Checkin / Checkout which sets a
lock on the file if someone is changing it to disallow 2 people modifying the file at the same time. The
steps given below showcase how it can be done

1. Create a dataset using File à New à Dataset

2. Select the type of file you want to manage in Teamcenter. In our case we have selected Text file.
3. Provide a name for the file that you want to manage as Teamcenter business object
4. Browse the physical text file that needs to be managed in Teamcenter

Figure 30 : Create Dataset for Check-in/Check-out

5. Press ‘Finish’ to create the dataset and import the physical file.
6. Now every time an employee wants to record his observations he just has to search the dataset
and double click it to edit the associated physical file.

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 Figure 31 : Editing the Datatset Physical File

7. No other employee would be able to modify the file at the same time, until the earlier employee
has finished his modifications and checked in the file to Teamcenter vault

Figure 32 : Editing not allowed if Checked-Out by other user

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Scenario 8 – Dataset Versions
Functional Requirement
Referring to the above scenario, the department head also wants another facility. Every time the text
file is changed a new copy of the file should be created and new edit changes should be put in the new
file, keeping the old copy as is.

Also he wants a way to control the maximum number of old copies that can be kept

Teamcenter Configuration
Teamcenter as a part of its standard methodology for managing business objects maintains a copy of the
business object before it is made available for changes. The same would be used in this case and a copy
of the ‘Teamcenter to SAP Part Transfer’ dataset and its physical file would be maintained before it is
edited. In case of Dataset business object each copy is called a Version, whereas in case of other
business objects such as Items, Item Revisions, Document and Document Revision it is called as
Sequence.

Teamcenter also provides a way to configure the number of versions (or old copies) that one would like
to keep and this is managed by setting the value against the preference,
‘AE_dataset_default_keep_limit’

1. Checkout the dataset created in the earlier scenario and edit the physical file associated with it.
Check in the dataset once you are done with the changes.
2. Select the dataset and do a File à Open With
3. This will show you a list of the different versions of the dataset. Selecting anyone specific will
show the content specific to that version

Figure 33 : Viewing Different Dataset Versions

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 4. Set the limit of the versions or copies to be maintained to 3 by changing the preference value of
AE_dataset_default_keep_limit to 3.
5. Now do a check in and check out 3 – 4 times and you could see that in the ‘Open With’ option
the oldest version is deleted and no more seen.

Figure 34 : Auto removal of older version on reaching the set limit

Scenario 9 – Cleanup unwanted older versions

Functional Requirement
In the above scenario the department head would like to have a facility to keep only the latest copy and
remove all the old copies if he is satisfied with the work of the employees.

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s ‘Purge’ tool one can easily cleanup all the older versions of datasets or older
sequences of other business object, thus removing unwanted data.

Another tool named as ‘Make Immune’ helps one retain some of the older sequences when the ‘Purge’
tool is used. However this is only available for business objects such as Item and Item Revisions and not
for Datasets.

1. Select the dataset created in the earlier scenario and do a Edit à Purge

Figure 35 : Purge Option

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 2. Now when you do an ‘Open With’ for this dataset you would only see the latest version of the
dataset. All the previous versions have been deleted.

Figure 36 : Only Latest Version - After Purge Action

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Scenario 10 – Organize Using Folders
Functional Requirement
One of employees from the Planning department has created many documents for different functions
and wants to organize the documents he needs most often according to the different functions.

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s Folder, one can easily organize his/her data as logical groups of business objects or
as per the requirement of one’s daily work. So the employee from Planning department can actually
create a folder per function and keep the documents in respective folders.

By default, one would get the ‘Home’ and ‘New Stuff’ folders. ‘Home’ folder as the name suggests is the
starting point or home location for any user. By default all the business objects (Items, Item Revisions,
Documents, and Datasets) that one creates are collated under the ‘Home’ folder, unless one has
selected any other folder to collate these. ‘New Stuff’ is another OOTB folder which can be used to
collate all the newly created business objects. The steps given below showcase how this user
requirement can be addressed.

1. Create folders specific to every function. Go to File à New à Folder

Figure 37 : Create Folder Option

2. Enter Folder Name and click on Finish

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 Figure 38 : Create Folder Dialog

3. In our case we have created the folders namely, Design, Manufacturing, Purchase and Planning

Figure 39 : Different Folders as per functions

4. Now we can put the documents specific to each function in its respective folder.

Figure 40 : Documents organized under Folders

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Scenario 11 – Rename Item and Item Revision
Functional Requirement
For one of the newly created Items for Fuel Filters the designer inadvertently provided a wrong name
and id. He now wants to change both the id and the name.

Teamcenter Configuration
1. Select the Item for Fuel Filters and do a Tools à Edit Properties

Figure 41 : Item Id and Name before Rename

Figure 42 : Edit Properties Option

2. Change the Item Id and Name as per the requirement

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 Figure 43 : Change Item Id

Figure 44 : Change Item Name

3. Changing the Item Id on the Item automatically changes the Id on the Item Revision. The Name
however remains the same and hence we will have to manually change that for Item Revision

Figure 45 : Change Item Revision Id and Name

4. As seen from the screen shot below, although the Id and Name have changed for the Item an
Item Revision they are still the old ones for the Master forms.

Figure 46 : Item Id and Name Changed after Rename

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 5. Use the same process as followed for Item and Item Revision to update the attributes for Master
Forms.

Figure 47 : Id and Name Changed for Form

Scenario 12 – Using Forms

Functional Requirement
An auto company as a part of its processes for managing engineering data records all the material
specific information for a part in a separate form called as Material Information Form. In Teamcenter
also they want a similar facility where if someone creates a Part (Item), then a Material Form can be
attached to it.

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s Form business object one can easily address the above requirement. The ‘Form’
business object has the same functional purpose in Teamcenter as paper-based forms used in industry.
For this requirement an OOTB Material Form is not readily available and hence we would be taking the
help of Teamcenter’s configuration tool BMIDE to create this form and make it available in My
Teamcenter.

However since BMIDE is not in the scope of this training material the following steps assume that the
Material Information Form has already been configured using BMIDE and is available for use.

1. Select the Part (in our case it has been mapped to Item business object) for which you want to
attach the Material Information Form and do a File à New à Form

Figure 48 : Form Option

2. Select the Material Information Form and provide the material specification information
requested in the form

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 Figure 49 : Material Information Form

3. Press Finish and the form in now available under the Part as per the requirement.

Figure 50 : Material Form Attached to Gasket Part

Scenario 13 – Export to Excel

Functional Requirement
Engineer A from prototype testing department has collected all the Item Revisions that have failed
during testing under one of Teamcenter's folder. However while doing some other work he
inadvertently also added some other documents and datasets to this folder. He wants to share only the
list of failure Item Revisions with his boss and that too in an excel format.

Teamcenter Configuration
Teamcenter provides the functionality to export business object specific information in either excel,
word or csv format. The steps below use this very capability to address the requirement of Engineer A.

1. Select the folder under which the Engineer has collated all the failure Item Revisions and view it
in ‘Details’ view.

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 Figure 51 : Business Objects of different Types

2. To filter the unwanted documents and datasets filter the business objects based on Type and
select ‘Item Revisions’

Figure 52 : Filter Button in Details View

Figure 53 : Filter Criteria

3. Add / Remove columns depending on the information that he wants to share with his boss. Also
you can arrange the columns in a particular order.

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 Figure 54 : Required Columns Added

4. Now select all the Item Revisions and do an export to Excel.

Figure 55 : Export to Excel Option

5. Excel output obtained is as seen in the screen shot below

Figure 56 : Excel Output

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Scenario 14 – Deep Copy
Functional Requirement
A newly designed bracket has successfully completed the prototype testing and is ready to be used as a
design standard for other brackets. The bracket is represented as an Item Revision in Teamcenter and
has a specification document and test results document attached to it.

An engineer who wants to use this bracket as a template for his bracket design wants to copy only the
specification document from it. He doesn’t want the test results document.

Teamcenter Configuration
Teamcenter provides the ‘Save As’ tool for business objects so that one can easily create a copy of the
business object. We will perform the following steps to fulfill the engineer’s requirement.

1. Select the Item for the newly designed bracket and do a File à Save As

Figure 57 : Save As Option

2. Teamcenter shows a dialog to capture the id and name for the new Item

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 Figure 58 : Information of the new Business Object

3. After Teamcenter shows the dialog which provides the options for choosing what can be carried
forward onto the new Item from the previous Item.

Figure 59 : Deep Copy Selections

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 4. For the specification document select ‘Copy As Reference’

Figure 60 : Specification Doc - Copy as Reference

5. For the test results document select ‘No Copy’

Figure 61 : Test Results Doc - No Copy

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 6. For the dataset containing the UG Model select ‘Copy Object’

Figure 62 : UG Model - Copy as Object

Scenario 15 – Delete an Item

Functional Requirement
An engineer working in the transmission department had earlier created 2 new parts for the gear box
assembly. However lately the company has decide not to introduce any new changes to transmission
and hence the department head has told the engineer to remove these parts from Teamcenter

Teamcenter Configuration
Using Teamcenter’s delete functionality the engineer would be able to delete the Items created for the
2 new parts.

1. Select the 2 new Items created for the gear box

Figure 63 : Items to be deleted

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 2. Use the Edit à Delete

Figure 64 : Delete Option

3. A confirmation dialog box would be shown, press OK to confirm

Figure 65 : Delete Confirmation

4. The Items are now deleted from Teamcenter and hence cannot be seen below the
Manufacturing Folder

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Appendix
Terms Used
OOTB
The term ‘Out of the box’ (OOTB) represents the standard functionality of the product, for which one
doesn’t have to do any special customization.

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