Creating a Branch

You can create a new branch within a revision family, copying the content from the object you select.

You may need to create branches to study an alternative design, for example. Starting a new design involves creating the required objects. Using a previous design as a starting point facilitates the process of creating a new design.

While revisions are derivations of the same object, a branch is a new object with a new identification.

Note: The enterprise item number, if any, is reset. For more information, see Engineering Release User's Guide: Managing Engineering Items: Specifying Enterprise Item Numbers for Engineering Items.

Before you begin:

Select one or several objects you want to create a branch from, and click New Branch . Depending on the app, this command might be available from the action bar, a context menu, or from the context menu of the Revision Explorer.

The New Branch dialog box appears. If you selected several objects, it displays the list of selected objects and all the required content automatically added to the scope, with their type, revision ID, and maturity state.

Important:
  • Select all connected objects together to duplicate the connections and move them to the new objects. Otherwise, the new objects will remain connected to the initial object. For more information, see Relation Management.
  • If the object you select is a structure, only its aggregated representations are added to the selection and will be part of the new branch. Reusable representations and other children are not taken into account if you do not select them.

    Only 3D shapes are displayed in the dialog box. Other aggregated representations are not displayed, but they are also taken into account.

See Also
About Revisions, Branches, and Duplicates

Context: The following diagram shows examples of branches:

  • 1: The revision family, containing all the revisions and branches of the initial object.
  • 2: The initial P1 branch.
  • 3: Derivative P2, P3, P4, and P5 branches. The P2 and P3 branches might represent alternative studies, the P4 branch represents another version of the object, and the P5 branch might represent a fix of the P4 branch.

  1. Optional: In the Revision field, enter the revision ID to be assigned to the new revision.

    This field cannot be edited for all object types. When this field can be edited, if you leave it blank, a default value is automatically computed.

  2. Optional: If you selected only one object, to specify a title for the new branch, enter it in the Title box. If you selected several objects, to add a prefix to the title of the new branches, enter it in the Add prefix box.
  3. Optional: Enter a comment for the new branch in the Revision Comment box.
  4. Optional: From the Credentials list, select the credentials (collaborative space, organization, and access role) to assign to the new branch.

    Notes:
    • If you belong to only one organization, the organization is not displayed in the list of credentials.
    • By default, the credentials selected in the app's preferences are used, if they are valid for the operation. Otherwise, any of your valid credentials is used.

      If you select other credentials, they are used for this operation only and do not modify your preferences.

      If you do not have any valid credentials, the dialog box is disabled.

  5. Click Branch.
    The new branch is created.

    If you selected large data and the operation requires a prolonged amount of time to complete, a message appears. The operation continues in the background, and a notification appears in the 3DNotification Center when it is completed, if Collaborative Lifecycle notifications are activated. For more information, see Customizing 3DNotifications.