Number 114763

Type TPI
Created Date 14-May-2002
Last Updated 05-Jul-2005
Title Use of config.pro Parameters "cleanup_layout_dependencies" and
"cleanup_drawing_dependencies" to Remove Ghost Objects (References) From Layouts and
Drawings in Pro/INTRALINK Workspace
Details Additional Information

Description
-----------------
Pro/ENGINEER 2001, Datecodes 2002180 and later, has two new config.pro parameters that
cleanup invalid or outdated dependencies contained within drawings and layouts during retrieval
from a Pro/INTRALINK Workspace. Missing dependencies appear as "ghost" objects in the
Workspace after importing or saving from Pro/ENGINEER 2001 Datecode 2002060 or later.

Some of the missing "ghost" dependencies may be valid ones that were not created in
Pro/INTRALINK during a previous #Save from several datecodes of Pro/ENGINEER 2001 and
2000i2. See Tans 113544 and 113993 for details regarding this Pro/ENGINEER issue. When a
parent object such as a drawing or layout was saved from these specific datecodes into a
Workspace, the hidden (internal) dependencies were not created in the Pro/INTRALINK
dependency list. The list of commonly used Pro/ENGINEER features that utilize hidden internal
dependencies includes, but is not limited to: drawing cosmetic references, layout-driven
parameter references, copy geom features, cutout features, merge features, inheritance features,
component replace/restructure and interchange groups.

If the internal dependency was missing from the dependency list of the object in Pro/INTRALINK,
it could invalidated by renaming, deleting or copying the dependent object in Pro/INTRALINK.
During retrieval of a parent object into Pro/ENGINEER, Pro/INTRALINK passes on information
regarding dependencies which were renamed, copied or deleted in the Commonspace. Since
some dependencies were missing during the previous Save from Pro/ENGINEER, Pro/INTRALINK
could not pass the information during retrieval. Pro/ENGINEER will try to locate the dependency
by its "old" name listed in the parent object file prior to its last checkin. The most visible result of
this issue in Pro/ENGINEER is a drawing cosmetic reference with asterisks "***" in place of a
value, though the other features listed in the previous paragraph are also affected.

In order to validate the dependencies and fix drawings and layouts saved from these specific
datecodes of Pro/ENGINEER, previously hidden dependencies may now be made visible in the
Workspace during a Save from release 2001, datecode 2002060 or later. The internal
dependencies appear as ghosts when there is no corresponding object name reference in the
Workspace. The only way to restore complete confidence in the Pro/INTRALINK Rename and
Copy functions is to validate the set of hidden dependencies for the drawings and layouts saved
from Pro/ENGINEER 2001 2002060+.

The reason why there may be additional invalid ghost objects to clean up for a drawing is that
Pro/ENGINEER cannot automatically differentiate between hidden dependencies that are still in
use and ones that the user intended to remove permanently. For example, once a drawing
cosmetic feature is applied to an object in a drawing, there will be a hidden dependency to the
object even if the cosmetic feature is deleted. Therefore a complex or frequently revised drawing
may contain many old, hidden dependencies for deleted cosmetics or views that will be listed in
the Workspace as ghost objects when using Pro/ENGINEER 2001 2002060+.

The reason why there may be additional invalid ghost objects to clean up for a layout is that
some of the information used to parametrically update certain features in an object declared to
the layout is contained in the layout itself rather than the object file. When this information
exists, the layout will have a hidden dependency to the object. If the layout is checked out from
one Commonspace and exported locally either alone or with an incomplete set of the objects
declared to it, and then sent to another site and imported, ghost objects are created for the
missing objects. This is because Pro/ENGINEER 2001 2002060+ will try to validate all the hidden
dependencies which were not copied with the layout. The new Commonspace may not have all
the dependencies. Once the layout and a a complete set of hidden dependencies is established in
a Commonspace, there will be no further ghost objects created as long as it remains in that
Commonspace. If the layout is to be shared back and forth repeatedly between two or more
Commonspaces, all the objects declared to it must also be shared in order to avoid having to deal
with dependency cleanup.
Therefore, since there may be extra ghost objects created during save of the drawing or layout
for hidden dependencies that are no longer in use, there is a need for the new cleanup options.
The cleanup option should only have to be used once per drawing or layout in order to remove
any remaining hidden dependencies after validating those that are still in use. Once the correct
set of hidden dependencies are saved with the drawing or layout, any subsequent modification or
rename of the parent or child object(s) will be correctly applied by Pro/INTRALINK and
Pro/ENGINEER, and no further ghost objects will be created.

Resolution
-----------------
These options should only to be used in order to clean up dependencies which are known to be
invalid. DO NOT ENABLE THESE OPTIONS BY DEFAULT. Many dependencies which initially appear
as ghost objects may be valid and should not be removed. If the cleanup options are applied
indiscriminately, it is possible to remove dependencies which were used in the drawing or layout.
After cleanup of a valid dependency, a drawing cosmetic reference may have asterisks '***' in
place of the value(s), or an external reference parameter may not update correctly when the
layout parameter is changed.

Retrieval performance is significantly decreased when the cleanup options are enabled.
Pro/ENGINEER will automatically search the Commonspace for each missing object during the
retrieval. This is a secondary reason to not have these options set to Yes by default.

For drawings and layouts, there are two ways to repair an invalid dependency, or ghost object, in
the Workspace. (Note that this procedure is simplified in Pro/INTRALINK 3.2, see TPI 116730):

(I) Locate the dependent object in the Commonspace or in a local directory and bring it into the
Workspace. If the dependent was renamed, rename it back to its original name and regenerate
the drawing or layout in Pro/ENGINEER, then save the drawing or layout to the Workspace.
Afterwards, the object may be renamed again in Pro/INTRALINK.

(II) If the object cannot be located, the reference must be cleaned up using the new config.pro
options:
1) Checkout the drawing or layout, along with all valid references, to a Workspace as either local
copies or links.
2) Start Pro/ENGINEER linked to the Workspace.
3) Select #Utilities/#Options to open the config.pro settings.
4) Enter "cleanup_drawing_dependencies" or "cleanup_layout_dependencies" and set the value
to "yes". Select #Ok to apply the change and close the window.

NOTE: The config.pro option "open_simplified_rep_by_default" must be set to "no" in order for a
drawing cleanup to work correctly. It may be set back to "yes" after the drawing has been
retrieved and saved.

5) Select #File/#Open and select the drawing or layout for retrieval from the Workspace.
During retrieval, Pro/ENGINEER will search both the Workspace and Commonspace for any of the
objects referenced within the drawing. Any references found in the Commonspace will be checked
out and retrieved into session automatically. For references that are not found, an information
window is given with the following message:
"WARNING: Pro/ENGINEER will delete any non-required/legacy <drawing or layout> references
that are not found in the Workspace. In order to maintain any of the references listed below,
erase the <drawing or layout> from session or exit Pro/ENGINEER without saving the <drawing
or layout>: <object name>.
<list>"
6) Select #File/#Save to save the drawing or layout back to the Workspace. At this point, no
ghost objects will be referenced by the drawing or layout. Note: there may be additional objects
in the Workspace that were checked out of the Commonspace during the cleanup procedure.

Note: There are no similar config.pro options for parts and assemblies because they utilize
internal dependencies for data sharing features. See TPI 120933 for information regarding a
Pro/INTRALINK enhancement that controls ghost object generation from all Pro/ENGINEER object
types.

Note 2: These options do not work in a standalone Pro/ENGINEER session. In order to make
them function with the Workgroup Manager for Pro/ENGINEER, set the environment variable
EPM_MODE = 1 prior to starting Pro/ENGINEER.