Considerations for Managing Attachments in Items and Change Orders

Attachments are handled differently in Product Information Management and Product Development work areas.

Here's what you should keep in mind if you're creating and managing attachments in both Product Information Management and Product Development.

Product Information Management	Product Development
Supports item-level and item revision-level attachments.	Supports only item revision-level attachments.
Item and item revision-level attachments can be edited through the item, but not through a commercial change order.	After an item is released, item revision attachments can only be edited by redlining through a change order.
Item revision attachments don't flow to the next revision.	Item revision attachments flow automatically to the next revision, unless deleted.
Item images are stored and shared as item-level attachments.	Item images are stored and shared as item-level attachments.

Note: When you add an attachment to an item in Product Development, it will be visible on the item in Product Information Management only if the item is in a higher lifecycle status than Design. Note that the attachment appears in Product Information Management as an item revision-level attachment, not as an item-level attachment.

Best Practices

Here are some best practices for managing attachments:

• Use item-level attachments to associate unstructured content and additional details with an item. These attachments aren't revision-specific; they apply to all revisions of an item.

• Given that these item-level attachments aren't change controlled, always use the actions available on the Attachments panel from the Product Information Management work area to manage changes to these attachments.

• Always add attachments to a change order using the +Add button on its Attachments tab to ensure proper association and auditing. Avoid adding attachments directly from notifications.