This topic is contained in the PDXpert help file: select Contents from the application's Help menu.
Document types
Purpose
Classifies documents according to their usage, and defines their rules and custom properties.
Where used
Documents
Data fields
General tab
- Name
- This is the complete name for the document type ("DocType").
- Abbreviation
- The abbreviation used as the display name in lists and reports to save space.
- Description
- This describes the DocType and its function.
- Markup will accept documents
- When this checkbox is marked, documents can be added to the document's structure.
- File attachments are accepted
- When this checkbox is marked, files can be added to the document's Files tab.
- If any files have previously been attached to documents, and this checkbox is cleared for a document type, then the Files tab will be hidden on documents of that type and users will no longer have access to those files. To restore visibility and access, this checkbox must be marked.
- Active: users can select
- Default member of collection
- Permanent member of collection
- For a description of these checkboxes, see the Collections reference > Common properties & attributes help topic.
Attributes tab
- Display selection for an additional person #1
- This checkbox allows trustees to identify an additional person for the current document type. For example, you may want users to identify the author of the document. If this checkbox is cleared, then the additional person #1 combobox will not be shown on the document window.
- Person #1 role label
- This textbox allows you to label the additional person's function. For example, you may want to use Authored by as the label on the document window.
- Display selection for an additional person #2
- This checkbox allows trustees to identify an additional person for the current document type. For example, you may want the editor or user of the document identified. If this checkbox is cleared, then the additional person #2 combobox will not be shown on the document window.
- Person #2 role label
- This textbox allows you to label the additional person's function. For example, you may want to use Validated by as the label on the document window.
- Identifier sequence
- This combobox permits you to select an identifier (document number) sequence for the current type. Depending upon your document number process, you can choose a single number sequence for all DocTypes, or you can designate a separate sequence just for specifications, another for procedures, etc.
- The selections for this are created and managed in the Sequences: Identifier collection.
- Document numbers should carry no significance or "intelligence". Document types, sheet size, product family, or other characteristics are not appropriate attributes for encoding in the document number. For more information, see ASME Y14.100.
- Use a single identifier sequence for all document types.
- User cannot edit assigned number
- When this checkbox is marked, a new part identifier cannot be modified after it's been assigned. When this checkbox is cleared, the creator/trustee can (a) manually enter an identifier and/or (b) request a new identifier string and edit it after it has been assigned by the system.
- Document title template
- When a new document is first created, its Document name (title) field will automatically be loaded with this text value, which the user can then edit. Defining a useful document name template enhances consistency, which makes items easier to locate.
- Default lifecycle phase
- The selected Item Lifecycle Phase collection member will be assigned as a new document is created.
- Revision must be unique
- When this is marked, PDXpert will indicate a rule violation if there is more than one revision of a document with the same revision identifier. Users must update the revision to be unique for all revisions of the document.
- Initial revision sequence
- This permits you to specify the revision format for the current document type.
- The selections for this are created and managed in the Sequences: Revision collection.
- Subsequent revision sequence
- If your process distinguishes between pre-production and production revisions, this permits you to specify a production revision format for the current DocType. Documents with a lifecycle of "Production" (i.e., relative maturity value is 0) or greater will then be assigned revisions using the subsequent revision sequence format. If you choose to have only one revision format for the current DocType, you should leave this field empty.
- Using a subsequent revision sequence can confuse vendors and new employees (is the first production revision "01" or "AA"?), as well as force unnecessary changes (why expend resources to edit a document from revision "03" to "AA" if there's no change to the data?). Rely on the document's lifecycle phase to specify when it's ready for production.
- User cannot edit assigned revision
- This checkbox allows you to determine whether users may modify a system-assigned revision, or whether the assignment is permanent.
- You should always allow users to edit revisions to items owned by partner organizations, since the part record revision is not controlled within PDXpert.
- Document has version
- When this checkbox is marked, the version attribute will be displayed on the document window and on reports. When this checkbox is cleared, the version attribute will be hidden.
- Documents only have revisions, not versions. However, if the current document type is closely associated with an electronic file type (such as a Software document type), then you may want to enable the version field for the document type.
Custom tab
You can define custom attributes (or "properties" or "extensions") to the system-supplied attributes for each DocType. When a new document is created, any custom attributes will appear on the document's Custom tab. For a complete description, see the Collections reference > Custom attributes topic.
Setup suggestions
Although there are many recognized methods for classifying documents, the values you enter are more a matter of preference than requirement.
Users should have a clear idea of what each document type does, and how it's used. To this end, and to prevent unproductive hair-splitting, it's probably best to keep the number of DocTypes well under 30, and ideally fewer than 10.
Several references offer valuable guidance on defining appropriate DocTypes. Relevant information can be found in ASME Y14.24 "Types and Applications of Engineering Drawings". The outdated MIL-STD-100A is a free and useful list of engineering document types and uses (although far too detailed to adopt without careful pruning).
Be sure to make the abbreviations meaningful, since they are used extensively throughout the program. A good rule of thumb is to remove all lowercase vowels (aeiou) from the name, and then condense further if necessary: e.g., "System Interface" becomes "Sys Intrfc".
2019
Help topics describe the most current PDXpert PLM software release, and may differ from earlier releases.
