Filtering Data

The following tasks show you how to filter data. When you apply a filter on a structure, the root node is always present in the result, whether or not it respects the filter criteria. In addition, the root NavRep could be replaced by the default NavRep.

Important: Before you start a filter command, you must select a node and, from the Navigation section of the action bar, click Set as Active Level .

This task shows you how to:

Filter Content Using Explicit Selection

This task shows you how to filter content using an explicit selection. Only the branches containing objects that were explicitly selected appear after you apply the filter.

  1. In the Navigation section of the action bar, click Filter .
    The Filter dialog box appears.

    Note: The filter categories that appear depend on the content source connector you are using.

  2. Click Apply Filter from Selection.
    A list area appears. By default, when no objects are in the list, the filter is applied to the entire tree (from Root).
  3. To add an object to the selection, in the tree or in the 3D, select the object and then select Add (or vice versa, first select Add and then select the object).

    Recommendation: Add less than 50 objects to the selection.

    The object is added to the list.
  4. To remove an object from the selection in the list, the tree, or in the 3D, select the object and then select Remove. You can also select Remove and then select the object.
    The object is removed from the list.
    Important:
    • The Explicit Selection capability is not available for the following types:
      • Project Space
      • Workspace Vault
      • Team Workspace
    • Only branches containing objects that were explicitly selected are kept after the filter is applied.
    • Only children matching the filter criteria will be displayed.
    • In a selected branch (a selected node implies selection of the branch extending from the root to the node), if no children match the filter criteria, then only the branch will be displayed.
    • The Expand All option will only impact children of the selected nodes:
      • If Expand All is not activated, then you will only see the branches extending to the selected nodes.
      • If Expand All is activated, then it will be applied to the content under each selected node.
    Tips:
    • Multiselection is available in the tree, in the 3D, and in the list.
    • You can use available selection commands with Explicit Selection.
    • A context menu for objects in the list enables you to: Reframe On, Make Visible, or Remove the selected objects.

Filter Content Using Explicit Remove

This task shows you how to filter content using an explicit remove. Branches containing objects that were explicitly removed will not appear after the filter is applied.

  1. In the Navigation section of the action bar, click Filter .
    The Filter dialog box appears.

    Note: The filter categories that appear depend on the content source connector you are using.

  2. Click Remove selection.
    A list area appears with associated Add and Remove buttons.
  3. To add an object to the selection, in the tree or in the 3D, select the object and then select Add (or vice versa, first select Add and then select the object).

    Recommendation: Add less than 50 objects to the selection.

    The object is added to the list.
  4. To remove an object from the selection, in the list, in the tree, or in the 3D, select the object and then select Remove (or vice versa, first select Remove and then select the object).
  5. At the top of the dialog box, select the remove mode:
    • Version change sensitive (default mode): Only the minor of the selection will be removed. When a new version (minor or major) will be created, it will reappear in the session.
    • Minor version change insensitive: The major of the selection will be removed. When a new minor will be created, it won’t reappear in the session. When a new major will be created, it will reappear in the session.

Important: The Explicit Remove capability is not available for the following types:
  • Project Space
  • Workspace Vault
  • Team Workspace
Tips:
  • Multi-selection is available in the tree, in the 3D and in the list.
  • You can use available selection commands with the Remove Selection command.
  • A context menu for objects in the list enables you to: Reframe On, Make Visible or Remove the selected objects.
Notes:
  • Remove selection is an explicit selection and cannot be applied to another structure.
  • A given path cannot be selected for both explicit keep (Apply filter from selection) and explicit remove (Remove selection).

Filter Content Using an Attribute Filter

This task shows you how to filter the content in your session using an Attribute filter.

For an Attribute filter, multiple criteria can be activated. You also have the option to automatically expand the entire structure after having applied the filter or to apply the filter without any expansion of the root.

  1. In the Navigation section of the action bar, click Filter .
    The Filter dialog box appears.

    Note: The filter categories that appear depend on the content source connector you are using. See Functionality Availability.

  2. In the Attributes section, click either Perforating or Iterative, then click New or right-click Attributes and select New criteria on attribute.
    The Attributes Filter dialog box appears.
    Important:
    • Perforating: Filtering is done bottom-up. All branches are examined. If any node respects the criteria, then the entire branch is taken. If stop at last node option is specified, then the branch will be expanded only to the last node meeting the criteria.
    • Iterative: Filtering is done top-down. It continues along the branch, and as soon as the criteria are not respected, it stops. The Iterative criteria option is not available on Representations, instances, or references.
    • Both: The tree is first filtered top-down using the Iterative criteria, then the resulting tree is filtered bottom-up using the Perforating criteria.
  3. Define an attribute filter criteria on an object type, for example Object type "Physical Part" containing Part Number "axle".
    Important: If you want the filtered results to include those objects in which the specified string is found somewhere after the beginning of the object name, then you must add the wildcard * in front of the specified string and wildcard * at the end of the specified string. for example *axle*.
  4. Click OK to confirm.
    The defined attribute filter criteria is displayed in the Filter tree.
  5. Click New again and define a second attribute filter criteria on a different object type, for example on object type Physical Representation.
  6. Click OK to confirm.
  7. Click the Representation Name Like axle criteria and click Activate/Deactivate .
    The criteria is now marked as deactivated .
  8. Click the Representation DS subcategory and click Delete Criteria .
    All criteria for the subcategory are deleted. The Representation DS subcategory is removed also because it no longer contains any entries.
    Important:
    • Multiple criteria can be activated. When there are multiple criteria, you will have the option of using the AND operator or the OR operator between the active criteria.
    • The Not Like criteria works as follows:
      • It is always connected to other criteria with the AND operator.
      • The Not Like criteria supersedes other criteria. Elements matching the Not Like criteria will be removed, even if they match other criteria.
      • Nodes under a node that has been filtered out by a Not Like criteria will also be filtered out.
      • The expand strategies expand entire branch, stop at last node, and not perforating have no effect on Not Like application.
    • All nodes will be displayed for object types for which filter criteria are not specified.
    • When criteria are specified for References and Representations, the criteria for Representations are applied only if there are representations under a Reference. If there are none, the Reference is kept.
    Note:
    • It is possible to define Combined Criteria on Attribute criteria for which the second criteria, if matched, will result in the display of the matched objects if they are found in the level immediately below the matched objects of the first criteria. Right-click an attribute and select New criteria on attribute.
    • When you apply filter after deactivating the filter criteria and try to open filter panel, deactivated filter criteria is not displayed.

Tip: If you use a Combined Criteria and you want objects directly under the root that respond to the criteria to be included in the result, then you must be sure that the root will also match the criteria.
Important: If you use Expert Expressions, you must be very careful about the syntax. The following examples illustrate expressions that give different results in certain complex use cases. It is recommended that you use as many parentheses as necessary to make an expression conform as precisely as possible to your intent:
  • Example No.1
    • Potentially Problematic Expression: `Representation DS`."Major Version" <> "1" AND `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3851" AND (`Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*385" OR `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3853" )
    • Recommended Expression: `Representation DS`."Major Version" <> "1" AND (`Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3851" AND (`Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*385" OR `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3853" ))
  • Example No.2
    • Potentially Problematic Expression: `Representation DS`."Major Version" <> "1" AND `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3851" OR `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*385" AND `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3853"
    • Recommended Expression: `Representation DS`."Major Version" <> "1" AND (`Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3851" OR `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*385") AND `Representation DS`."Representation Name" Like "*3853"
Important: For an ENOVIAvpm Connector, if you specify the name of an object located below the root as a criterion, then only the root will be shown in the resulting filtered Product Structure. No lower-level objects matching the selected criteria will be visible.

Filter Content Using a Volume Filter

This task shows you how to filter the content in your session using a volume filter.

  1. Click Filter .
    The Filter dialog box appears.

    Note: The filter categories that appear depend on the content source connector you are using.

    Important: The default unit of measure for Volume filters is millimeter.
  2. Click Volume and click New 3D Search Volume .
    The 3D Search interface appears. The following 3D Search tools are available to define the filter:
    • Proximity Query.
    • Bounding Box Query.
    • Sphere Query.
    • Zone Query.

    For more information, see Volumic Search, Searching Using Volumic Search.

    Important: When zooming on large data, the zoom could block due to imprecisions caused by the data size. Bypass: Click the middle mouse button on the target and zoom again.
  3. Define the selection using the chosen 3D Search tool and click Validate .
    The filter will be defined and will be displayed in the Filter dialog box.
    Tip: For Proximity and Zone filters, the instance name of the selected object will be displayed after the volume type.
  4. To edit the volume filter, click Edit .
    You return to the 3D Search interface in the context of the previously defined selection. You can:
    • redefine the selection using the same tool or change tools (Click Cancel to remove the active tool and then select another tool) and define a new selection
    • click Validate to confirm the new selection
    • if, at any time you decide that you want to keep the previous filter definition, click Cancel and then Exit Query and you will return to the Filter dialog box.
  5. To combine several volume filters (for example, combine filters Proximity1 OR Sphere1 OR Box1 to create a union of three filters), follow step 2 to create a filter and click Combine (instead of clicking Validate).

    The filter will be defined and you will then be able to begin defining the next filter of the combined filter. You can combine as many filters as you want. When you have defined the last filter, click Validate .

    Important:
    • A combined filter is limited to the OR operator.
    • When you move the mouse over geometry in the 3D area, data is not highlighted and data titles are not displayed.
    • Geometry is not updated on mouse move. It is updated with other view transformation commands, for example zoom and rotate.
    Warning: The more filters you have in a combined filter, the longer the response time will be. Applying a filter combination of 10 volumes will be approximately like applying 10 filters composed of one volume each, one after the other.
    Tip: A new preference enables you to activate/deactivate the preview function when using the Proximity volume type. By default the preview is deactivated. For more information, see the Accessing and Configuring Preferences > Filter, Activate the Offset Volume Filter preview.
    Note: When you click New 3D Proximity Volume option from the contextual menu of volume node in the filter panel, the following options are available in the Proximity definition panel:
    • Clearance (mm): You can enter the clearance value in this option. By default, the value 100 is shown.
    • Volume Mode: The following modes are available in the Volume Mode.
      • Partly in: Elements that intersect with the defined volume.
      • Fully out: Elements that do not intersect with the volume.

        By default, Partly in is selected.

Filter Content Using a Configuration Filter

This task shows you how to filter the content in your session using a Configuration filter.

For a Configuration filter, only one criterion can be activated. You also have the option to automatically expand the entire structure after having applied the filter or to apply the filter without any expansion of the root.

  1. In the Navigation section of the action bar, click Filter .
    The Filter dialog box appears. The previously selected configuration will be indicated as the applied filter. You can modify the applied configuration.

    Note: The filter categories that appear depend on the content source connector you are using. See Functionality Availability.

  2. Click Configuration and click New .
    The Choose Product Configuration dialog box appears.
  3. Enter a search criteria and click Search.
    The configurations that match the criteria are displayed.
    Tips:
    • The Advanced Search enables you to define added search criteria (see Advanced Search).
    • The Last Used button enables you to choose the most recently used configuration filter.
    • The Search on the root object only enables you to restrict the search for configuration filters to the root object.
  4. Select a configuration and click OK.
    The selected configuration will now be the activated configuration.
    Note: For Configuration filters, only one criterion can be activated.

When you try to explore a configured part, you will be immediately asked to select a configuration before the part is opened in a Navigation app. In the Filter dialog box, the previously selected configuration will be indicated. You can choose to apply a different configuration from among those defined. See Navigating on Data, Exploring a Part Having Multiple Associated Configurations.

Filter Content Using Engineering Deactivation Filter

An Engineering Deactivation filter enables you to view the structure with activated instances only and filter out deactivated instances. You also have the option to automatically expand the entire structure after having applied the filter or to apply the filter without any expansion of the root.

  1. In the Product Finder app, click Filter .
    The Filter dialog box appears.
  2. Select Engineering and click New... . The Activated instances only node appears.
    • To disable an Engineering Filter, you must first remove or disable all applied Configuration Filters.
    • An Engineering Filter is always applied in Product Structure Design.

Overload a Minor Revision

You can overload a minor revision. By default, the minor revision proposed in the product structure is the Best So Far (BSF) minor version.

  1. In the Filter dialog box, select the Minor Overload filter type.
  2. In the tree or in the 3D, select a Reference object.
    Note: Multiple reference objects can be selected.
  3. In the Filter dialog box, click Add.
    If multiple minor revisions of this reference are available, they are displayed in a Choose Minor Overload dialog box. If there is only one existing version, it will be displayed directly in the Minor Overload section.
    Note: You can also activate the Add button first and then select the reference objects to be added to the list.
  4. Select the minor revision you want to use.
    When you apply the filter, the selected minor revisions will be used instead of the Best So Far minor revisions. If you eventually save the Filter as a Persistent Filter, any time you open the Persistent Filter, the overloaded minor revisions will be used instead of the BSF minor versions and the list of Minor Overload will display the entire set of overloaded minors defined in the filtered product structure. For more information about versioning, see Social and Collaborative | Product Development – Model Based | Collaborative Lifecycle | Creating Revisions and Evolutions | About Revising.
    Important:
    • When you overload an instance with a specific minor revision, all other instances of that object in the product structure will also be overloaded with the same minor revision.
  5. To remove minor overloads from the list, select the reference objects (in the list, in the tree or in the 3D) and click Remove.
    The minor overloads are removed accordingly.
    Note: You can also activate the Remove button first and then select the reference objects to be removed from the list.

Apply a Filter

This task shows you how to apply a filter.

  1. At the top of the dialog box, select the Expand option:
    • No Expand - The structure will be collapsed.
    • Expand All - The entire filtered tree will be expanded and the corresponding objects will be visible.
    • Keep Expand State - The expand state prior to the filter application will be restored. Note: This option carries a performance cost.
    Important: When selecting the No Expand option, the filter is applied but not executed. It will be executed the next time you expand the structure. During this expand, the geometry is removed and recomputed using the strategy specified in the Preferences. If the strategy specified is "Nothing but simplified geometry on local leaves", then no geometry will be displayed for the children that are not local leaves (representation).
  2. For an Attribute Filter, if you've defined Perforating criteria, select:
    • Stop at last node to expand only to the last node meeting the filter criteria/
    • Expand entire branch to expand the entire branch of any branch containing an object meeting the filter criteria.
    • Not perforating to search along a branch only until the first node that does not match the criteria. The branch will extend only to the node preceding the first node that does not match the criteria.
    Important:
    • When you use the Expand entire branch filter mode, for all nodes meeting the specified filter criteria, all of their descendants will be kept in the result. (This also applies to the root, in which case the entire structure will be kept.) If this is not the result you want, then you should consider using the Stop at last node filter mode.
    • Attribute and selection filters are not applied if you use Expand instead of using Expand All (volume and configuration filters are applied when you use Expand). However, if you open the structure in an Authoring app, the current attribute filter will be applied to the entire structure.
    • The initial defaults for the Expand All option and the Stop at last node / Expand entire branch option can be set by your administrator. However, you can always choose to change the values of these options and the values at the end of your session will be saved and used as the defaults for your next session.
  3. To activate the expand accelerator mode, from the Navigation section of the action bar, click Activate Expand Accelerator.
    The expand accelerator is activated and the message is displayed in the Filter dialog box as Expand accelerator mode is ON.
  4. To deactivate the expand accelerator mode, from the Navigation section of the action bar, click Activate Expand Accelerator.
    The expand accelerator is deactivated and the message is displayed in the Filter dialog box as Expand accelerator mode is OFF.
    Note: The expand accelerator mode is used when you create a persistent filter and that is used while explore, edit, or apply the same filter. For more information, see Create a Persistent Filter.
  5. Click Apply Filter to apply the final filter.
    The filter is applied accordingly, taking into account all activated filter criteria. (The AND operator is applied between filter categories.)
    Important: If you want the search result to include those objects in which the specified string is also somewhere in the middle of the object name, then you must add the wildcard * in front of the specified string.
    Note: For the 3D XML connector, only the Expand entire branch option is available.
    Note:
    • If you completely deactivate a filter (no criteria) and then apply the filter with no criteria defined, all nodes of the tree will contain a '.' instead of a '-', thereby indicating that the branch potentially contains other subbranches in addition to those displayed.)
    • When you apply filter after deactivating the filter criteria and try to open filter panel, deactivated filter criteria is not displayed.

Remove a Filter

This task shows you how to remove a filter.

Right-click the filtered object and select Remove Filter.
The filter that had been applied to the object is removed.
Note: After the removal of a filter, some nodes of the tree could contain a '.' instead of a '-', thereby indicating that the branch potentially contains other subbranches in addition to those displayed.