About Explore with Manufacturing Finder

The Explore with Manufacturing Finder command allows you to explore a PPR object (product, manufactured item, resource, system, or operation).

This page discusses:

See Also
Exploring with Manufacturing Finder

Principle of Use

The Explore with Manufacturing Finder command allows you to explore a PPR object (product, manufactured item, resource, system, or operation).

A PPR object can be opened from search results, standard Explore, or when Relations Navigator or PPR Smart Completion is used.

When a PPR object is opened:

  • When there is no navigation tab opened, a new one is created and the selected object is added to it, directly under a fake node corresponding to its type. A product is added under the Product fake node, a manufactured item under the Manufactured Item fake node, and so on.
  • When there is already a navigation tab opened and Relations Navigator or PPR Smart Completion is used, if a direct or indirect parent of the selected object is already opened in the navigation tab the selected object is added under the parent.

    Otherwise, the selected object is added directly under the fake node corresponding to its type as in the first case above.

Notes:
  • The Explore with Manufacturing Finder command is available for a product configuration filter. In this case, the corresponding filtered object is added in the PPR tree. A filter symbol appears on the node to indicate that the object is displayed with filtering considerations
  • In the search results, the Explore with Manufacturing Finder command is available on EBOM parts. The part under the current Product fake node is explored.
  • When a resource is expanded in the tree, any parameters that are defined on the resource are shown as nodes under the resource.

Exploring Multiple Navigation Tabs

When at least one navigation tab is already open, you can use the Explore with Manufacturing Finder command from any location (for example, from search results, any navigation tab, Explore Parent, Relations Navigator) to open another target navigation tab.

By default, the Explore in PPR dialog box appears when you run the Explore with Manufacturing Finder command. To hide it, select the Do not display Explore in Manufacturing Finder dialog box anymore option in Me > Preferences > App Preferences > Social and Collaborative > Global Design Management > Manufacturing Finder > Explore.

If you select the Existing tab option, you must select in the displayed list the tab where the selected object is to be displayed.

If you select the New tab option, the selected object opens in a new navigation tab.

The Show the Explore in PPR dialog box next time option avoids displaying the Explore in PPR dialog box at the next Explore with Manufacturing Finder command execution. In that case, the last option used is executed directly.

If the last option used was Existing tab, the selected object is opened in the last current navigation tab.

PPR Context with Multi-roots

For a PPR Context with multiple roots of the same type under it, the roots are simply explored as roots, one by one under the appropriate fake node.

In previous releases, parent/child relationships between these roots were sought. Now, to improve performance, no check is done and the roots are simply explored as roots, one by one under the appropriate fake node. This behavior is available when the PPR Context is explored in a new window.

Exploring Two References in the Same PPR Tab

You can explore two references in the same PPR tab.

If you use Explore with Manufacturing Finder to explore a first reference object, and you want to explore another reference object in the same PPR tab, the Explore within Context of Existing Roots option must be selected in Me > Preferences > App Preferences > Social and Collaborative > Global Design Management > Manufacturing Finder > Explore.

Special Cases

A number of special cases of Explore with Manufacturing Finder behavior are described in this section.

Case 1

When an object is to be added to the navigation tab under a given node, a check is done on the objects that have already been added under this same node to determine if one of them is a direct or indirect parent of the selected object. If so, the selected object is added directly or indirectly under its parent. If the selected object is multi-instantiated, all the instances located under this parent are opened.

Case 2

When the selected object is a parent of one of the objects that have already been added to the navigation tab, it is added directly under the fake node corresponding to its type and its child is expanded under it.

Case 3

If an instance is selected, the parent reference is explored in PPR. Cases 1 and 2 apply to this parent reference.

Case 4

Explore with Manufacturing Finder on an operation explores it under its first parent system: an operation cannot be opened in an authoring tab without a system above it.