This week’s topic: Workflow

Here are some highlights of Workflow features supported in Windchill:

Arbortext Content Manager supports standard workflows as well as sophisticated capabilities for routing change information to the correct process participants. Arbortext Content Manager provides tools to support the creation of processes that are unique or dictated by industry-specific standards.

Because document components share common security properties, permissions and workflows vary based on the version and lifecycle of the document. Content changes are tracked and traceable to the individual user who initiated them

Powerful configuration and workflow management capabilities enable users to choose whether to manage each component individually or manage entire documents with a single workflow.

The ability to “burst” Arbortext-authored documents into document components within Windchill, which enables configuration and lifecycle management, including check in, check out, revise, promote, and workflow capabilities, at both the component and document “assembly” level.

The ability to implement workflow-driven process automation to speed document review and approval, optimize change management, and deliver audience-specific publications in the appropriate format

Today, we’re answering some of the more common and general questions about Workflow support in Arbortext Content Manager. As always, if you have a question that we haven’t answered or if you want more details, remember to send us your questions or add them to the comments!

Question: GUI for Workflow

Does ACM have a graphical representation of the workflow?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Automating output production

Can you automate the generation of deliverables by using a workflow?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Translated content workflows

Can translated content be integrated into the workflow process?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Creating outputs

Can a writer produce his or her own deliverables, including language-specific deliverables?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Updating workflows

Can you update workflows on the fly?

Answer:

There is an “Instance of a Workflow” and a “Template of a Workflow”. Changing the Template does not change any Instances currently running.

Question: Changing completed workflows

If content is being processed through a workflow that has changed and the change affects a process that has already been completed, does the process remain unchanged?

Answer:

It depends on what you’ve specified should happen in this case

Question: Changing in-process workflows

On the other hand, if the content has not yet reached that point in the process, does the contents then get processed using the new workflow automatically?

Answer:

It depends on what you’ve specified should happen at any point in the workflow (each case)

This week’s topic: OOTB Automation in Arbortext

We’re purposefully scoping this subject down for this post. We’re answering questions about what automation features come OOTB in Arbortext. If we didn’t limit this discussion, we could easily write 1000+ pages.

Arbortext ships a mountain of documentation and sample files that the foundation for programming Arbortext. There are 3 manuals that ship with Arbortext — Customizer’s Guide, Programmer’s Reference, and Arbortext Command Language Guide. Each manual is about 250 pages long. (If you launch the Help Center and expand the “Programming” “book”, you’ll see both the HTML and PDF versions of all three manuals.)

Arbortext Advanced Print Publisher (APP) can run totally lights-out for years and years. Many, many customers are using it in this configuration today, completely automating their publishing activity for magazine-quality print output.

Arbortext Content Manager (ACM) provides numerous mechanisms for automating business processes with their workflow engine.

Our Arbortext Monster Garage web series is all about automating, configuring, adapting Arbortext to your environment.

It’s a big topic, but today, we’re going to look at a little slice: We’re answering some of the more common and general questions about out-of-the-box automation in Arbortext. As always, if you have a question that we haven’t answered or if you want more details, remember to send us your questions or add them to the comments!

Question: Background processing

Can you generate a PDF file or an online help system in the background?

Answer:

Yes.

Arbortext Publishing Engine supports both queuing and publishing rules (for multiple publishing requests via 1 click). Publishing rules were part of the latest version, released earlier this year.

Question: Batch Processing

Do you support batch processing to multiple outputs from a single command?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Automatic check-in

Are published documents (deliverables/outputs) automatically checked into the repository?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Association to source

Can outputs be automatically associated with source documents through metadata?

Answer:

Yes, this is OOTB/default behavior in ACM.

Question: Metadata support

Is metadata for contributing documents (files) automatically assigned to published output for check-in?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Delivery targets

Are publication directories (both internal and external) automatically populated?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Publish via Workflow

Does the CMS (publishing system) support automated publishing (batch mode without operator support) that can be triggered by an author request, workflow event, or end-user request?

Answer:

Yes

This week’s topic: Source Control Managment

SCM, Source Control Management, is a big topic. To date, the best article I’ve ever read on branching strategy is an article by Perforce. Today, we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about all the features SCM supported in Arbortext Content Manager (ACM) (aka Windchill).

PTC uses Windchill internally for software configuration management for all software and documentation. Multiple versions exist simultaneously (5.4 is under active development at the same time 5.3 is). Documentation is associated with the software build so that it can automatically be built dynamically.

Today, we’re answering some of the more common and general questions about SCM in Arbortext Content Manager (ACM). As always, if you have a question that we haven’t answered or if you want more details, remember to send us your questions or add them to the comments!

Question: Modification model

Can multiple writers edit the same XML file (topic) at a time?

Answer:

Only one user can check out the content for editing. Other users can see the content but ACM  eliminates the problems caused when multiple users overwrite each others work.

Question: Branching and version management

Does ACM support branching in version management?

Answer:

Yes.

Question: Simultaneous branching

Can ACM support multiple concurrent versions of the same component that must exist simultanously (branching)?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Complex Versioning

Can ACM support complex versioning without automatically switching from version 1 to version 2 whenever you check a topic in?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Versioning Components

Can you version a commented document or component?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Configurations, Baselines

Can you label all content that has been included in a released publication? In other words, can you publish the same configuration of the publication as necessary and also provide an audit trail making it easy to determine the configuration of a particular publication (traceability)?

Answer:

Yes.

If you’re interested in traceability, you’ll want to stay tuned for our discussion on Auditing in Arbortext Content Manager coming soon.