Manage Attachments in Items and Change Orders

The Attachments side tab on an item displays a list of documents or graphics or other files that have been attached to the item. The application tracks changes to attachment file attributes such as name and description.

Attachments on items are subject to change control. You must create a change order to authorize and approve modifications to attachments. Also, you can't modify an attachment on a released item without a new change order.

You can download item attachments for either first or all structure levels by using the Download action on an item page.

Here's what you need to know before you download attachments:

• You can download the following attachment types: text, URL, and file. The application manages special characters and duplicate file names in the attachment title.

• The content of a text attachment is stored in a text file, and the file name is composed of the text attachment title with the suffix .txt.

• If the title information is unavailable or the title contains special characters, then the file name is composed as TEXT.txt.

• To distinguish multiple instances of the same file name, the application adds a number (#) to the file name. For example, TEXT.txt, TEXT(1).txt, TEXT(2).txt.

• A similar behavior is available for attachments of type URL. However, the standard file name is URL.txt.

• To distinguish multiple instances of the file name of type DOC, the application adds a number (#). For example, FILE.doc, FILE(1).doc, FILE(2).doc.

  Note: If the download for an item attachment fails, you can use the application severity and Enterprise Scheduler Service logs to identify attachments with missing file extensions, the file path, and the associated components.

Attachment Redlines

The modifications to item attachments are called redlines. Redline information for an item is captured in its Attachments page. The Redline Summary panel displays the attachment modifications. Attachment modifications are counted in Change Operations.

Change Order Attachments

An attachment on a change order is a document that further explains something about the change order.

You can select Download Attachments from the Actions menu of a change and choose from the following options to specify which attachments you want to include.

• From Affected Objects you can download:
  • Redlined: Includes only the redlined (added, created, or modified) attachments of affected objects
  • All: Includes all attachments of affected objects
  • None: Excludes attachments of affected objects
• From AML you can download
  • Redlined (default option): Includes only redlined (added, created, or modified) manufacturer part attachments
  • All: Includes all the manufacturer part attachments
  • None: Excludes manufacturer part attachments

  If you select None for both affected objects and AML, the Submit button is disabled.

The Download Attachments action also appears in the change history.

Actions on Attachments in a Change Order

Once the item holds an attachment, the Attachment page actions include:

• Check In

• Check Out

• Cancel Checkout

To associate files with items, use the Add icon + or Actions > Add.

If you select a listed attachment, the Delete icon X and Actions > Delete are enabled.

If you find the attachments Add icon + or Actions > Add is disabled, possible reasons are: the item has another, later revision; or, the item is currently on a change order.