SAP ECTR connector - Classification management

[arkaitzeu]

Dear community,

We have implemented C# code on ECTR connector, capable of creating/reading/managing ECTR documents (SWA, SWP, etc.). Everything OK thanks to SAP wiki 'ECTR connector' documentation.

But no idea of how to manage characteristics (017) in ECTR DTypes: no way to add characteristics when creating the DIR, no way to read them from a manually ECTR documents with many populated characteristics.

Which is the syntax to use? How can we deal with characteristics when creating (PlmCreateDocumentsRequest()) or reading documents?

We have tried managing attributes, figuring out from ECTR trace logs... but we only see the shared attributes with CAD tool (SW, in our case). Example from WIki, but this does not write/read classification tab.

drawingMetaInfoCad.getAttributes().addAttribute(PlmAttributeNames.DOCUMENT_DESCR, "Drawing for PLM cube" ); drawingMetaInfoCad.getAttributes().addAttribute(PlmAttributeNames.DOCUMENT_DTYPE, "DRWV" ); // DType

Thank you all

[DM-kiko]

Hi,

Did you use the attributes to sap.xml an attributes-from-sap.xml?

In this files you can define what classifications need to be updated.

Regards,

anny

[arkaitzeu]

We are integrating Driveworks (SolidWorks configurator) with ECTR, so the outcome of DW (3D files and attributes in DW database - not in file properties) are automatically updated into ECTR, managing ECTR connector.

Basically, the idea is to manage all ECTR process in the background... as if someone was importing files and fulfilling all characteristics values in classification tab, before releasing it.

Right now, the picture is that we generate whole all ASM trees with all the DIR-s generated and basic, text and atributtes information properly filled in. I mean: create DIRs, fill in information, create BoD-s and update SW internal references... all OK. But no way to externally fill in classification tab with ECTR connector.

We believe that CallEmbeddedProcess(conn, "customer.proc.Wrapper", xmlstring) function could be a possibility (source: https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/PLM/How+to+use+the+ECTR-Connector+with+VB.NET+-+Sample+code), but no idea of how to fill it.

The only documentation reference found is the wiki.

We will check Java connector and RfcExecutor, that seem to be quite straighforwad solutions to the problem.

Thank you.

[former_member709126]

May be you can describe more detailed what are you trying to achieve.

ECTR connector was not supposed to be "general purpose" CAD <-> SAP Connector like e.g. JCo, it was developed for special needs of CAD integrations to connect to ECTR Frontend in first place, to support certain scenarios.

As last possibility for general logic where ECTR Frontend is (nearly) not involved, there is RfcExecutor to perform any call to Backend.

PlmConnector::rfcExecutor()

[arkaitzeu]

Thank you both for fast reply. It s a real alternative the one you propose but not for high volume of them.

The point is that we use attributes from/to sap files to share some characteristics between CAD 3D files and SAP documents, but not all: descriptions, geometric values (length, volume, etc.) and main ones, relevants in CAD management. But there are many more to manage.

The reasons are that our catalogue of characteristics is over 1.000 characteristics and each document may have from 50 to 100 characteristics (so the size of CAD file and complexity of management increases). Therefore, each ECTR document is assgined a 017 class, and values populated in it (based on an automatic BADI custom-made logic), depending on the nature of the component.

In ECTR windows, managing classes and reading/filling them is pretty easy, but we do not find any way to replicate it in C# code. We are starting to consider managing them directly with SAP RFC (/DSCSAG/ functions).

But there must be a technical syntax to interact directly with ECTR connector.

Thank you.

[arkaitzeu]

If no technical alternatives, solutions may be:

1. Attributes to SAP (the one you consider): in our case, definition of over 1.000 mapping rules and filling all values in the swasm or swprt file without characteristics values proposal... that later on when checking-in may be inconsistent, etc.

Is there a way that those properties, being defined in attribute_to_sap, are defined in a different file (not the 3D CAD file) or a database?

I haven´t seen anything about and engineers claim for a catalougue of possible values for each characteristic.

2. Direct interaction with SAP backend (DMS functions) as addition to C# ECTR connector code.

3. Others?

Than you.

[former_member709126]

Exactly, for reading classification you need to deal with attributes-from-sap.xml - there you have to specify how to map CLS from SAP to CAD Attributes, and to set classification in SAP from CAD Attributes in createDocuments you have to use attributes-to-sap.xml