SIEMENS

Teamcenter 12.3

Getting Started with

Teamcenter
PLM00002 • 12.3
Contents

Start with PLM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Teamcenter introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Product designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Working with product designs . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Check out and check in product designs ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Product documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Working with product documents . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Open documents using search . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Save changes to documents . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Product structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Working with product structure . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
View latest working structure . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
View a design for an assembly . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Business process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Participating in business processes . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Complete your assigned work . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Delegate your assignments . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Managing change processes . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11

Explore the platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Clients and integrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Active Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Teamcenter rich client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Configure the Active Workspace home page ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Configure Teamcenter using preferences . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Beyond getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Expand your knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Extend the business support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Teamcenter installation and administration support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Tips for using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

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Chapter 1: Start with PLM

Teamcenter introduction
Teamcenter is a virtual gateway to your company’s product information connecting all who need to
collaborate with product and process knowledge. Teamcenter enables you to digitally manage your
product and manufacturing data in the context of the product life cycle.
Start by managing and sharing product designs, documents, BOMs, and data in Teamcenter. Use
standardized workflows and change processes to streamline efficiency throughout your organization.

Product data control Product document Product structure Process control

control control

Note
Many of the examples in this collection of topics use the Teamcenter Active Workspace
user interface. You can also use other Teamcenter clients such as the rich client and
Client for Office.

Product designs

Working with product designs

You locate, open, interrogate, and mark up engineering designs
created by multiple CAD, CAM, and CAE systems.

Powered by the industry-standard JT file format, Teamcenter lifecycle visualization provides your
entire organization with the ability to view design data typically stored in CAD-data formats. This lets
you explore and validate product innovations and issues in a collaborative environment.

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When deployed in a Teamcenter environment, the data is always current and up-to-date. Support
for PLM XML also provides a lightweight, extensible mechanism for sharing product data with other
Siemens Digital Industries Software products and supported third-party applications.

Check out and check in product designs

Checkout and checkin basics

You can check items into and out of Teamcenter, reserving exclusive access and preventing the data
from being modified by other users.

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• The Checkout option locks an item in Teamcenter, so that only you can modify it, but it still
allows others to view the item.

• The Checkin option releases the lock, allowing other users to access the item.

Check out a design

Before making a change to your design, you must first check it out. This locks the item and prevents
others from making a change at the same time.
1. Select the item you want to update.

2. Click Edit → Checkout .

In the Work area, the object displays a Checked-Out property set to Y.

Now you are ready to open the item and make changes.

Check in a design
After you make a change to your design, you must check it in. This unlocks the item and allows others
to check it out and make changes.
1. Select the item you want to check in.

2. Click Edit → Checkin .

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The Checked-Out property is updated.

Product documents

Working with product documents

Product documents support all aspects of a product from product
documentation, product planning, and testing results.
You can manage Teamcenter documents in real time through
Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Using the Microsoft work environment allows more people throughout
the extended enterprise, including partners and suppliers, to
participate in product life cycle processes.

A custom Teamcenter tab appears on the ribbon in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In Outlook, each
open message contains the Teamcenter tab on the ribbon. You manage Teamcenter documents in
Microsoft Office.

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Note
In addition to Microsoft Office files, you can open and work in many different file types. For
example, you can work with Adobe Acrobat PDF files from the Teamcenter rich client or
Active Workspace.

Open documents using search

Using this method, you can open any Microsoft Office file from any of the Office applications. For
example, if you are running Word, you can open a file in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook.

1. From the Office application Teamcenter tab, choose Navigation and View→Search .

2. In the Advanced Search dialog box, select Dataset for the query type and type the values for
the fields in the query form to filter your search.

3. Click Find to search.

4. From the results list, right-click the Office file and choose Open and Check-out File to check
out and edit the file.
The document associated to the Office file is opened in an Office application window with the
appropriate access.

Save changes to documents

Do not use the Microsoft Office save command to save to Teamcenter. This only saves the file locally.
To save and check in your updates, use the Teamcenter Save command.

1. With the file open for editing, click Save on the Teamcenter tab.
A status message displays a progress indicator.

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2. When a confirmation message asks if you want to check in the file, click Yes.
The check mark is removed from the right of the file name.

Product structures

Working with product structure

Teamcenter enables you to define a single generic product structure
from which an entire range of product variants can be derived.
You can use variant conditions, constraints, and revision rules to
configure your product structure.

• Variant conditions enable you to define the components that can be configured to create specific
product variants.

• Constraints enable you to reduce the number of variants that your platform can support on a
temporary or permanent basis. In addition, option compatibility constraints can be used to specify
that certain combinations of option values are not offered.

• Revision rules enable you to manage changes to the structure resulting from new revisions of
subassemblies and components. For example, you can define revision rules that configure the
structure based on a specific effective date or based on the release status of the components.

A company offers personal computers by enabling customers to choose:

• 8 processor options

• 2 audio options

• 4 memory options

In this scenario, the company has 1,536 possible product variations and you can use classic or
modular variants to avoid the need to create 1,536 individual product structures. An example of a
variant condition would be the configuration of a Pentium 4 as a fast processor and Celeron as a
standard processor. An example of a hard constraint would be the company's decision not to offer a
premium audio system on any of its low-end PCs.

View latest working structure

Find and view the proper configuration on your product structure before making structure changes.
1. Click the current revision rule displayed in the header and select the Latest working revision rule.

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2. Select and open the assembly, and then click the Tree with Summary to show the content
of the structure.

View a design for an assembly

Find, open, and view a spindle motor assembly, and then rotate the model to see different aspects.
1. Type motor in the search box and click Search .

2. In the search results, select the Spindle Motor Assembly, and click Open .

The Spindle Motor Assembly page lists the components and displays information and tabs.

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Note
If you have Teamcenter lifecycle visualization or other visualization-capable clients
configured for your system, you can open the assembly in those applications.

Click Open > Open in Visualization.

Business process
Participating in business processes
Workflow is the automation of business processes to accomplish an
objective.
A workflow process is initiated by a user by submitting an item to
the workflow.
Workflow tasks, such as approvals (signoffs), reviews, and
assignments to complete work, are assigned to users.

In a simple workflow, as shown in the following diagram, the start step leads to an work assignment
task. The work assignment task leads to a review task that returns to the work assignment task if the
work is not approved. When the work is approved, it is released and then progresses to a finish step.

All tasks in a workflow are automatically sent to the inbox of the responsible participant.

Complete your assigned work

Complete an assignment task

An assignment task, also called a Do task , provides instructions to complete your work. This
example assumes you are using Active Workspace.
1. Click the Inbox tile on the home page.

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The Inbox page is displayed with the My Tasks selected.

2. Click the Do task you want to perform.

The work area displays the Overview tab with properties of the task, including a brief description
and a list of attached objects.

3. Click the Workflow tab to see all the steps in the process.

4. Click Perform Task .

The Perform Task pane is displayed.

5. (Optional) Add comments.

Comments are saved automatically without requiring completion of the task.

6. After you complete the task instructions, click Complete at the bottom of the Perform Task pane.

Complete a signoff task

You can approve, reject, or comment on a signoff task in your inbox.

1. Click the Inbox tile on the home page.

2. Click the My Tasks tab.

3. Click the signoff task .

The work area displays the properties of the task, including a brief description and a list of
attached objects.

4. Click the Workflow tab to see all the steps in the process.

5. Click the Overview tab.

6. Click Perform Task .

7. Follow the instructions to review items.

8. (Optional) Enter comments.

9. Click Approve or Reject.

The signoff task is removed from your inbox.

Note
If you find issues with the review and reject the item, the item returns to the previous
task for more work.

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Delegate your assignments

Forward your assignment

You can set up the automatic reassignment of any tasks that you receive during a set period of time
to another user. For example, you can assign any tasks you receive while on vacation to another
member of your team.

1. In the bottom left corner, click Profile .

2. On the primary toolbar, click Share → Forward Tasks (Out of Office) .

3. Use the Start Date and End Date boxes to specify the length of time for the delegation.
The work area displays the properties of the task, including a brief description and a list of
attached objects.

4. Click Add , and in the New Recipient box, type the name of the user to whom you want to
forward your tasks.

5. Select the user from the list and click Add.

Your forward delegation appears in the Forward Tasks (Out of Office) area of your profile page.

Tip
The Out of Office value is set to True or False depending on whether the forward
delegation is currently in effect. For example, it is False if you set the forward
delegation for a future date.

Assign your work to another user

You can reassign any task that has not already been started.

1. Click the Inbox tile on the home page.

2. Click the My Tasks tab.

3. Click a task.

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The work area displays the properties of the task, including a brief description and a list of
attached objects.

4. Click Reassign Task .

5. Select a new user from the list.

6. In the Comments box, type any comments. For example, add comments explaining why you are
reassigning the task.

7. Click Reassign.

The task no longer appears in your task list.

Managing change processes

Introduction to change management

Teamcenter provides you with the ability to identify, approve, sequence, and validate product
enhancements throughout a product’s entire lifecycle.
The basic business process can be divided into four phases for managing changes. You can
configure the business process for your company’s needs.

Many participants are involved in identifying, managing, and resolving a change incident, including
requestors, analysts, and the different review boards. The industry-independent best practices of
CMII are the foundation of the change management business process.

What is a change?

Three main types of change objects implement the key elements of Change Manager.

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A problem report (PR) contains the data that defines the problem, the enterprise change request
(ECR) contains the analysis of the impact of the problem, and the engineering change notice (ECN)
contains the data for the implementation of the solution.
Anyone who uses Teamcenter can create a PR to identify and formally track an issue with your product
information. Others who are involved in the change process can review and confirm the problem and
provide input into what business objects must be updated to resolve the issue. Members of a change
review or change implementation board can review and approve or disapprove the changes.

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Chapter 2: Explore the platform

Clients and integrations

Teamcenter provides a variety of clients and integrations to meet the needs of your organization
and users. These two clients get you started.

Active Workspace A web client that brings a broad set of Teamcenter functionality to a wide range
of browsers and mobile devices with a browser that supports HTML5 and
CSS3. The client features a simplified interface that is highly configurable to
an industry, group, role, or individual user.

• The user experience revolves around the tasks and data most relevant to
user needs and interaction.

• Functionality is brought to the user in a way that supports informed

decision making and the ability to carry out work assignments for the
user’s industry and role.

• Data is presented in terms that users recognize and easily understand.

• The new search experience unlocks the data you have access to and
makes finding data fast and convenient.

• Interaction supports traditional mouse-driven computers or the touch

display found on Windows 8 devices, iPads, and Android OS tablets.

Teamcenter rich A platform-independent client implementation (Java application) for users

client who interact frequently with Teamcenter, runs on client hosts, and serves as
a gateway to your company's product information. Though targeted for use
by all users, the rich client works well for both power users and application
administrators who:

• Manage the design and configuration of product data.

• Create and maintain processes and process structures.

• Configure and maintain Teamcenter.

Active Workspace
Active Workspace features a simplified interface that is highly configurable to an industry, group,
role, or individual user.

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Note
Your home page may look different than the example. In addition, when Active Workspace
is embedded in another application, some functionality may not be available. For example,
when Active Workspace is embedded in the Teamcenter rich client, the Sign out button is
removed.

Active Workspace is a minimal-install web client that brings a broad set of Teamcenter functionality to
a wide range of browsers and mobile devices. Active Workspace benefits include:
• Requires minimal installation.

• Requires no plug-in, such as ActiveX or Java.

• Leverages the capabilities of a browser to provide a highly interactive client, including 3D

visualization without any client installation.

• Runs on virtually any device with a browser that supports HTML5 and CSS3.

• Performs well even with high latency connections or massive amounts of data.

Teamcenter rich client

Teamcenter rich client features a rich product interface that presents both product management
capabilities as well as application administration configurability in one platform. The complexity
and robustness of the capabilities available make this interface more suitable to power users and
application administrators.
The rich client interface has a standard menu bar and toolbar with options that vary depending
on the currently active application perspective. You can place the cursor over a rich client toolbar
button to display a tooltip description.

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1 Back and Forward The Back and Forward buttons allow you to move between loaded
buttons Teamcenter applications. The small arrows next to the buttons let you
select from the list of currently loaded applications.
2 Application banner The application banner shows the name of the active application and
lists the current user and role. You can double-click the user and role
to display the User Settings dialog box in which you can change your
current role if multiple roles are available to your user.
3 Search box The Search box provides predefined quick searches using dataset,
item ID, item name, keyword search, and advanced search features.
4 Navigation pane The navigation pane provides quick access to the data you use most.
In addition to finding, organizing, and accessing your data, you can
configure the display of the Teamcenter perspective buttons in the
navigation pane to display only those perspectives that you use
regularly to perform your tasks.

Click the reorder button above the Search box to display the
Navigation Section Ordering dialog box that lets you hide sections
or change the order of sections in the navigation pane.

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5 Application pane The application pane displays the application perspectives that are
open in your Teamcenter session. By default, the Getting Started
application perspective displays a single Getting Started view.

Note
Application perspectives are composed of views that can
be moved elsewhere in the Teamcenter window or can
be dragged to the desktop. Such detached views remain
connected to Teamcenter and continue to function in
concert with other views.

6 Getting Started Provides access to the Getting Started application.

application button
7 Application buttons
8 Application button
bar
9 Clipboard button
Application buttons provide access to your most frequently used
Teamcenter application perspectives.
The application button bar provides access to Teamcenter application
buttons that do not fit in the application button area of the navigation
pane.
The clipboard button displays the Clipboard Contents dialog box,
which contains references to objects that have been cut or copied
from your workspace. The total number of objects on the clipboard is
displayed to the right of the symbol.

Configure the Active Workspace home page

There are many ways to configure the user interface. Here are a few ways you can give the Active
Workspace home page the look you want.

Resize a tile

You can make the tiles larger or smaller to accomondate the number of tiles on your home page.
1. Right-click the tile, or press and hold the tile on a touch device, until you see additional controls
on the corners of the tile.

2. Click the arrow button in the lower-right corner of the tile you want to resize.

3. To save your changes, click in a blank area on the home page.

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Pin an object to the home page

You can pin object tiles and saved searches to your home page.
1. Select an object from a page such as your favorites or search results.

2. On the toolbar, click Manage → Pin to Home.

The object appears as a tile on your home page.

Unpin a tile from the home page

Note
Be careful which tiles you unpin. Most home page tiles require you to use the rich client
to recover the tile.

1. Right-click the tile, or press and hold the tile on a touch device, until you see additional controls
on the corners of the tile.

2. Click the Unpin button in the upper right corner of the tile.

Rearrange tiles

You can drag tiles from one location to another, and create new groupings of tiles.

Note
To select a tile to be moved, right-click with the mouse, or press and hold on touch devices.

To move a tile from one group to another:

1. Select a tile.

2. Drag it to the new group and position near an existing tile, until you see the outline indicating
the new tile position.

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To move a tile and create a new group:

1. Select a tile.

2. Drag it to an area between existing groups until you see the vertical bar indicating the the new
group position.

The tile is displayed in the new group.

Configure Teamcenter using preferences

You can control Teamcenter behavior and display using options and preferences.
• Teamcenter provides thousands of preferences that you can use to configure the product to
your specific needs.

• End users and administrators can configure many aspects of a session, such as the checkout
directory and how often Teamcenter checks for new system mail. Preferences can apply to the
entire site, a specific user, a group, or a role.

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Expand your knowledge

Based on your role and interests, explore these four areas of Teamcenter.

Getting Started with Client for Office Getting Started with Workflow Viewer
Mechatronics Process Product Structure
Management Content Management Change Manager
Structure Manager
Embedded Software Issue Manager
Solutions Multi-Structure
Manager Schedule Manager
Wiring Harness Design Dimensional Planning
Tools Integration Product Configurator
and Validation Tutorial
Smart Discovery and Relation Browser
4th Generation Design
Classification
Getting Started with
Product Visualization
Working with 2D
Images
Working with 3D
Models
ECAD Quick Tour
Using the ECAD Viewer
Simulation Process
Management

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Extend the business support

Investigate these five areas of Teamcenter.

Getting Started As-Built Manager Manufacturing Vendor Teamcenter

with Systems Process Planner Management Automotive
Engineering Service Execution Edition
Part Planner
Systems Service Manager Using Consumer
Engineering Resource Packaged Goods
Service Planner Manager
Service Scheduler Resource Using Aerospace
and Defense on
Browser Rich Client
Managing
Materials

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Teamcenter installation and administration support

Here are some resources to help you get started.

Server installation for: System Administration Application Getting Started with

Windows, UNIX/Linux Administration Customization
Environment Variables
Client installation for: Reference Security Administration Rich Client
Windows, Linux Customization
Utilities Reference Access Manager
Teamcenter Upgrade Server Customization
Configure your Organization
Teamcenter business data model in Teamcenter Services
Environment Manager BMIDE Project and Program
Help Workflow Designer
Query Builder
Web Application Document
Deployment Report Builder
Management
Dispatcher Server Installing and
Configuring Dispatcher Classification Admin
Installation
Teamcenter Subscription
Security Services Administration
Installation/CustomizationLocalization
Validation Manager

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Chapter 4: Tips for using Help

• To show or hide the table of contents, click Show/Hide topics to the left of Home .

• To build complex search queries and see search tips, click Advanced Search.

• You can right-click any link, and select Open in new tab or Open in new window.

• Use your browser bookmark to save the location of a topic.

• Share a topic by copying the http address and sending it to a colleague.

• To send us feedback on the active Help page, click at the bottom of the page and
type your feedback.

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Siemens Industry Software

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About Siemens Digital Industries Software

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transformation to enable a digital enterprise where
engineering, manufacturing, and electronics design meet
tomorrow. Our solutions help companies of all sizes create
and leverage digital twins that provide organizations with © 2019 Siemens. A list of relevant trademarks can
new insights, opportunities, and levels of automation be found here. All other trademarks belong to their
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