Chapter 6: Tools

6.1 Import and Export
4G:PLM provides powerful capabilities to import and export data. The import and export functions operate with text files that have defined field names and separators. For example, you can use comma-separated values for easy interoperability with programs like Microsoft Excel.
Import and export by default work with certain staging directories. You can change these defaults by going to the 4G:PLM “Admin” menu and selecting “Working Directory



Important note on privileges: you can only export objects that you have the right to discover and read. You can only import objects if you have the right to create them or – for object updates – modify them. You cannot import data that would overwrite any released objects.

6.1.1 Export
The Export function can be found in the “Tools” menu:



The process for importing data is very similar for all object types. This document illustrates the process for a few typical cases.
Importing or exporting Users, Groups, Roles, Lifecycles, Classes, Dictionaries and Configurations are administrative tasks and are not covered in this document (although they function in an analogous way to other object types).

As an example, if you select “Export Part”, the following dialog opens:
In this dialog, you can start by choosing “Search”. This opens a search dialog:




You can invoke the “Search” function multiple times to build an export set with whatever parts you want:



You can optionally click on the “Fields” button next to “Mapping” to configure which fields are outputs and what they are called in the output file. In the following example, you can rename the “Lifecyclephase” field to “LC Phase”:



You can configure the separator for the file by clicking on “Separator”:




By clicking on the “Save” button, you can select a folder and indicate the name of the output file:



The resultant file can be opened with any text editor:

 

6.1.2 Import
The Import function allows you to load data into 4G:PLM. The same formats are supported that are output by the Export function.
Tip: to understand the import format easily, try exporting some objects first. You can use the export file as a template for the import file you want to create.
The Import function can be found in the “Tools” menu:



Selecting “Import Part” brings up the following dialog:



By clicking on the “” button, you can select the import file. Other options, such as the “Fields” dialog are similar to those in the export function. When you have selected the file, you will see a preview of the items that will be imported, along with error messages if any.

The “Mode” option is important: if you select “Overwrite”, then 4G:PLM attempts to create new objects for each line in the import file. If you select “Update”, it only creates new objects if the imported object does not exist; if it exists, it attempts to update the object with the attribute values found in the import file.

6.1.3 Compare Item Revision
4G:PLM allows you to compare the attributes of two item revisions, as well as the bill of materials. To run the wizard, go to “Tools” menu and select “Compare Item Revision”. A dialog will appear:



You can search in this dialog by the item numbers. The “Revision” column lists all revisions of each item. Select one and click “Select”.
The ”Revision” drop-downs on the left and the right halves of the dialog allow you to change the revisions you are comparing. The result is a graphical comparison of the attributes and BOMs of the two revisions.