& Construction
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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing
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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
In this lesson, we’ll discuss the purpose of categorization and the benefits it provides. We’ll demonstrate how to set up categorization, including categories, subcategories and categorization attributes, and then where to find and apply them to items.
Consider whether categorization is right for your organization. Explore the functionality fully and map out the categories that would make sense for your organization. It is best that categorization is created when you are first setting up your tenant because it can then be applied to items as they are created.
In this video, we’ll discuss the purpose of categorization and demonstrate how to configure categorization.
Transcript
00:08
In this video, we'll discuss the purpose of categorization and demonstrate how to configure categorization.
00:14
So, let's take a look.
00:19
Categorization provides a useful method to add additional attributes to items without needing to apply them to all items.
00:30
In other words, unlike item attributes, categorization is only applied and visible on items that need the categorization.
00:42
They act as labels on the items that have been predefined.
00:47
They provide an additional method to search for the items using very precise criteria,
00:53
and can also be incorporated into workflows as a method to identify or check the items.
00:59
It is recommended that you plan out the sorts of categorization that would be useful at your organization,
01:07
and configure that in your tenant as soon as possible so that the categorization can be applied to items as necessary as they're being created.
01:19
For example, at our example company, instead of using the free text field in the item number to classify the different item types further,
01:30
which again can lead to errors, you could instead set up this classification using categorization.
01:36
These values can then be added or removed from items as needed should the item type change.
01:46
You begin by configuring the main categories first.
01:50
To do that, click the "Add category" button.
01:54
Type in a name for the category, then either click the check mark or press the enter key on your keyboard.
02:04
Repeat this process for as many categories as you need.
02:13
You can then configure subcategories if required.
02:19
This may help to further subclassify your items.
02:23
To do this, hover your mouse over a category and then click the "Plus" button.
02:31
This adds a new line where you can type in a name for the subcategory.
02:36
Then, again, click the check mark or press the enter key.
02:41
You can also create subcategories below subcategories if needs be.
02:47
Let's repeat this for all the additional subcategories that we would like to create.
02:57
And we'll do this for our assembly function category as well.
03:27
For each category and subcategory, you can click on each one to see its details on the right-hand side,
03:34
including any attributes that you've configured.
03:36
We'll come back to this in a moment.
03:41
Should you need to change the name of a category, click the pencil icon beside it and retype in a new name.
03:50
You can also delete a category or subcategory by clicking the delete icon as long as it has not yet been applied to any items or workflows.
04:03
For each category and subcategory, you can create categorization attributes.
04:09
This allows you to further describe and classify that category.
04:13
In our example, we've added the screw subcategory within the fastener category, but now we want to specify more information about that screw.
04:25
You can configure many different types of attributes including free text, decimal numbers, date, integer numbers, drop downs, and check boxes.
04:34
You can explore each one.
04:37
To add an attribute, click the "Create attribute" button.
04:43
Type in a name for the attribute.
04:49
Select the data type for the attribute.
04:52
Here, you can see the options I've already listed.
04:56
For our example, we'll set it to "Decimal", so there is nothing more to specify here in this window.
05:04
The end user will be able to type in a decimal value for this particular attribute.
05:09
Click the "Create" button.
05:12
Note, there is no option to set any sort of CAD mapping, which means categorization cannot be written to CAD files.
05:25
Now, you can repeat this process for any additional attributes that you may need for this category.
05:31
In our example, we also want to add another attribute called drive type.
05:37
Let's go ahead and do this.
05:44
Unlike the diameter attribute, we want to make this a drop-down list so that we limit the choices the user has to make,
05:52
and also ensures they don't make any typos when applying this particular attribute.
05:59
To create the drop-down list, type in the first value into the values field, then click "Add More".
06:08
And repeat this for as many options as you want to include in this drop-down menu.
06:33
Once you're happy with that, click the "Create" button.
06:37
There you can see the attribute that we've configured.
06:43
And now you can repeat this for any additional attributes that you need for each of your categories and subcategories.
08:21
And there we go.
08:23
Now, let's do the same for the assembly function subcategories.
08:27
As you can see, this can be a bit of a lengthy process.
08:31
But as long as you plan out ahead of time what this list should look like, it is a simple task of filling it all in,
08:37
and you only need to do it once.
09:34
And there we go.
09:35
We have configured many categories and subcategories and many of their attributes.
09:41
Remember, these can be edited at any time, and the changes are seen right away on items that already have the categorization applied.
09:49
You can also delete a category or subcategory as long as it has not yet been applied to any items or workflows.
09:57
Once they are in use, they cannot be deleted, just modified.
10:00
So, again, categorization is a useful way to classify and categorize items without having to apply it to all items.
10:10
So, let's see how this works in practice.
10:13
Here, we've got a new screw item within our standard parts library.
10:19
And at this stage, we should apply not only the main item attributes, but also the categorization as well.
10:25
You find categorization in its own tab and click the plus button.
10:30
There, you are presented with the full list of categories and subcategories.
10:38
You then apply the categorization attributes where necessary.
10:44
Click on the category, then click on the pencil icon.
10:50
Then you can begin editing the attributes as required.
11:08
Once you're finished, click the "Save" icon.
11:13
So, you can see that by having all of these, categories and attributes set up ahead of time,
11:20
you do not have to rely on using item names and descriptions, which are subject to typos, to capture all of this information.
11:31
Within the CAD plug in, anywhere you can view the item's details, you can find the categorization in this tab here.
11:40
And you can see and edit this categorization as long as the item is still in a development state.
11:48
So, again, it is good practice to apply categorization to the item in its early stages while it is still in development.
11:59
Once items have categorization applied, users can then use the advanced search in web,
12:06
or the CAD plugin to locate items using specific categorization or categorization attributes.
12:14
For example, let's set up a search to locate all screws that have the Phillips drive type categorization attribute applied.
12:30
This is how you can use categorization to your advantage to easily locate items that you may wish to reuse.
12:42
This should give you some ideas as to how you can implement categorization at your organization.
12:48
Remember, the sooner you have this in place, the sooner the end users can begin using it,
12:54
making it much easier to label, categorize, and locate items for reuse within Upchain.
00:08
In this video, we'll discuss the purpose of categorization and demonstrate how to configure categorization.
00:14
So, let's take a look.
00:19
Categorization provides a useful method to add additional attributes to items without needing to apply them to all items.
00:30
In other words, unlike item attributes, categorization is only applied and visible on items that need the categorization.
00:42
They act as labels on the items that have been predefined.
00:47
They provide an additional method to search for the items using very precise criteria,
00:53
and can also be incorporated into workflows as a method to identify or check the items.
00:59
It is recommended that you plan out the sorts of categorization that would be useful at your organization,
01:07
and configure that in your tenant as soon as possible so that the categorization can be applied to items as necessary as they're being created.
01:19
For example, at our example company, instead of using the free text field in the item number to classify the different item types further,
01:30
which again can lead to errors, you could instead set up this classification using categorization.
01:36
These values can then be added or removed from items as needed should the item type change.
01:46
You begin by configuring the main categories first.
01:50
To do that, click the "Add category" button.
01:54
Type in a name for the category, then either click the check mark or press the enter key on your keyboard.
02:04
Repeat this process for as many categories as you need.
02:13
You can then configure subcategories if required.
02:19
This may help to further subclassify your items.
02:23
To do this, hover your mouse over a category and then click the "Plus" button.
02:31
This adds a new line where you can type in a name for the subcategory.
02:36
Then, again, click the check mark or press the enter key.
02:41
You can also create subcategories below subcategories if needs be.
02:47
Let's repeat this for all the additional subcategories that we would like to create.
02:57
And we'll do this for our assembly function category as well.
03:27
For each category and subcategory, you can click on each one to see its details on the right-hand side,
03:34
including any attributes that you've configured.
03:36
We'll come back to this in a moment.
03:41
Should you need to change the name of a category, click the pencil icon beside it and retype in a new name.
03:50
You can also delete a category or subcategory by clicking the delete icon as long as it has not yet been applied to any items or workflows.
04:03
For each category and subcategory, you can create categorization attributes.
04:09
This allows you to further describe and classify that category.
04:13
In our example, we've added the screw subcategory within the fastener category, but now we want to specify more information about that screw.
04:25
You can configure many different types of attributes including free text, decimal numbers, date, integer numbers, drop downs, and check boxes.
04:34
You can explore each one.
04:37
To add an attribute, click the "Create attribute" button.
04:43
Type in a name for the attribute.
04:49
Select the data type for the attribute.
04:52
Here, you can see the options I've already listed.
04:56
For our example, we'll set it to "Decimal", so there is nothing more to specify here in this window.
05:04
The end user will be able to type in a decimal value for this particular attribute.
05:09
Click the "Create" button.
05:12
Note, there is no option to set any sort of CAD mapping, which means categorization cannot be written to CAD files.
05:25
Now, you can repeat this process for any additional attributes that you may need for this category.
05:31
In our example, we also want to add another attribute called drive type.
05:37
Let's go ahead and do this.
05:44
Unlike the diameter attribute, we want to make this a drop-down list so that we limit the choices the user has to make,
05:52
and also ensures they don't make any typos when applying this particular attribute.
05:59
To create the drop-down list, type in the first value into the values field, then click "Add More".
06:08
And repeat this for as many options as you want to include in this drop-down menu.
06:33
Once you're happy with that, click the "Create" button.
06:37
There you can see the attribute that we've configured.
06:43
And now you can repeat this for any additional attributes that you need for each of your categories and subcategories.
08:21
And there we go.
08:23
Now, let's do the same for the assembly function subcategories.
08:27
As you can see, this can be a bit of a lengthy process.
08:31
But as long as you plan out ahead of time what this list should look like, it is a simple task of filling it all in,
08:37
and you only need to do it once.
09:34
And there we go.
09:35
We have configured many categories and subcategories and many of their attributes.
09:41
Remember, these can be edited at any time, and the changes are seen right away on items that already have the categorization applied.
09:49
You can also delete a category or subcategory as long as it has not yet been applied to any items or workflows.
09:57
Once they are in use, they cannot be deleted, just modified.
10:00
So, again, categorization is a useful way to classify and categorize items without having to apply it to all items.
10:10
So, let's see how this works in practice.
10:13
Here, we've got a new screw item within our standard parts library.
10:19
And at this stage, we should apply not only the main item attributes, but also the categorization as well.
10:25
You find categorization in its own tab and click the plus button.
10:30
There, you are presented with the full list of categories and subcategories.
10:38
You then apply the categorization attributes where necessary.
10:44
Click on the category, then click on the pencil icon.
10:50
Then you can begin editing the attributes as required.
11:08
Once you're finished, click the "Save" icon.
11:13
So, you can see that by having all of these, categories and attributes set up ahead of time,
11:20
you do not have to rely on using item names and descriptions, which are subject to typos, to capture all of this information.
11:31
Within the CAD plug in, anywhere you can view the item's details, you can find the categorization in this tab here.
11:40
And you can see and edit this categorization as long as the item is still in a development state.
11:48
So, again, it is good practice to apply categorization to the item in its early stages while it is still in development.
11:59
Once items have categorization applied, users can then use the advanced search in web,
12:06
or the CAD plugin to locate items using specific categorization or categorization attributes.
12:14
For example, let's set up a search to locate all screws that have the Phillips drive type categorization attribute applied.
12:30
This is how you can use categorization to your advantage to easily locate items that you may wish to reuse.
12:42
This should give you some ideas as to how you can implement categorization at your organization.
12:48
Remember, the sooner you have this in place, the sooner the end users can begin using it,
12:54
making it much easier to label, categorize, and locate items for reuse within Upchain.