Comparing the Properties of Objects

You can compare the metadata of two or more objects loaded in Compare.

Notes:
  • In Compare, filters are considered as the object the filter is created on, with the filter applied. Consequently, the properties displayed for filters correspond to the properties of this object.
  • If characteristics are attached to objects, they are displayed and compared in the properties panel. For more information, see Engineering BOM and Product Specification Management: Working with Product Data: Characteristic Management.

    If the characteristics are not displayed, from the Compare section of the action bar, click Customize Properties Table Rows .

This task shows you how to:

See Also
Comparing the Structure of Objects
Comparing the Geometry of Objects

Compare the Properties of Two Objects

You can compare the properties of two objects loaded in Compare, alongside a structure comparison and a geometry comparison of these objects.

If you load two unrelated objects in Compare, nothing is selected, and the properties panel is not available.

Before you begin:
  1. Load two objects in Compare. For more information, see Loading Objects in Compare.
  2. Select an object, either in the structure comparison, or in the 3D viewer if it is in select mode.
    Notes:
    • The properties panel is only available when you select one object.
    • If you selected the Show attached documents and Show other available relations in Compare preferences, you can also select a relation in the corresponding section of the structure comparison to compare its properties. For more information, see Choosing Preferences.

    • If you select a child object in a structure in tree view, the Properties tab displays the properties of the child object (the reference) and the Instance tab displays the properties of its usage in the structure (the instance).

      The Instance tab is not available when you select an object in the structure in list view, or when you select an object in the Other Related Objects section.

  1. To display the properties panel, from the action bar, click Toggle Properties Table .

    Tips: You can also:
    • Click the arrow at the upper right of the second panel to expand or collapse it.
    • Select the Show Properties Table in Compare preferences. For more information, see Choosing Preferences.

    The properties that are identical between the two objects are displayed on a single line. When a property is different between the two objects, it is displayed on two lines with the color code of the object next to each of them:
    • for the left object.
    • for the right object.
    Tip: You can export the result of the properties comparison into a CSV file with the Export command.
  2. Optional: To only display the properties that are different between the two objects, select the Show Differences Only option.
  3. To choose the properties displayed in the properties panel:
    1. From the Compare section of the action bar, click Customize Properties Table Rows .
    2. In the Select Attributes to Display dialog box, select or clear the properties of the objects.

      You can select the properties to display in the Properties tab and in the Instance tab in the corresponding sections.

      Tip: Select the Show All Properties option to display all the properties of the object.

    3. Optional: Click Reset to display the default properties of the object.
    4. Click Save.

      Important: The properties you selected are persistent after closing the widget.

Compare the Properties of More Than Two Root Objects

You can compare the properties of up to five objects loaded in Compare.

When you compare more than two objects, only the properties comparison is available. The structure comparison and the 3D viewer are hidden and cannot be displayed.

Load a first object in Compare, and then load the other objects at the same time.

For more information, see Loading Objects in Compare.

The first object you load is the object the other ones are compared to. If you do not want to choose the object to compare to, you can load all the objects at the same time.

Note: If a comparison is already loaded in Compare and you drag additional objects into the widget, the current comparison is discarded and replaced with a properties comparison of these objects.

The properties tables of the objects are displayed horizontally. If the value of a property differs from the first object, it is displayed in red. If the values are identical, they are displayed in black.