Lesson 1 · A tour of the screens

The PLM menu, the part list, the part form, the blue guide box, the counters and the PLM Guide.

Goal of this lessonTo move around the PLM screens without getting lost: the menu, the part list, the part form and the PLM Guide.

Open the PLM app from the app menu. The top bar holds seven menus, each leading to one kind of data. The map below is drawn from this database's real menu.

Map of the PLM menuPLMComponentsSearch on Engineering PartsDocumentsSearch on DocumentsSearch on Document RelationsSearch on Checked-Out DocumentsSearch on Backup Data SetComponent RelationsSearch on Normal Bill of MaterialsSearch on Engineering Bill of MaterialsSearch on Spare Bill of MaterialsChangesChange RequestsChange OrdersBaselinesRevision EffectivityElectronicsElectronic componentsApproved manufacturer listECAD documentsImport electronic BOMConfigurationPLM AccessMaterials · Finishings · TreatmentsDescriptions · SettingsMCP API KeysPLM Guide
Drawn from this database's real menu. Only a PLM administrator sees the Configuration menu.

Step by step

  1. Read the part list

    The Components menu lists the engineering parts. The default Latest filter hides obsolete and under-modify revisions: the list keeps the version of each part in use today.

    The PLM part list12345
    1. The PLM menus: Components, Documents, Component Relations, Changes, Electronics, Configuration, PLM Guide.
    2. The part number (engineering code) column.
    3. Engineering state: the colour tells the state (green Released, blue Confirmed, black Draft).
    4. The Latest filter: hides obsolete and under-modify revisions.
    5. View switcher: list and kanban (cards).

  2. Open a part and read the blue box

    Every part form has a blue guide box at the top. It says which state the part is in, what that state allows and what comes next. The part below is a draft: the box tells you to press Confirm Component once the design is complete.

    The form of a draft part12345
    1. The blue guide box: the state, its meaning and the next step.
    2. Status bar: Draft → Confirmed → Released.
    3. Confirm Component: pressed when the design is complete; the part becomes Confirmed.
    4. Part number and revision.
    5. Counters (smart buttons): documents, BoMs, change requests and orders; the ones that do not fit are under More.

  3. Open the PLM Guide

    The PLM Guide is the short guide inside the app: the words, the life cycle, the change process, the CAD tools, Cowork and good practice. It uses the same words as this course and is the quickest place to look something up at the screen.

    The PLM Guide screen123
    1. Sections: What a PLM is for, The words, Life of a part, Changing a part, CAD tools, Ask Cowork, Good practice.
    2. The chosen section's text.
    3. Where to start: straight to parts, documents, requests and orders.
Caution: the Latest filter hides things
If you look for an old revision or the under-modify version of a part and it is not in the list, remove the Latest filter from the search bar. The record is not deleted, only hidden.

Mini case: the first day

Who
Elif Aydın, quality engineer, opening the PLM for the first time.
Question
“What state is the PW-BRK-80 bracket in, and who is working on it?”
Path
Components → open the bracket → blue box: Under Modify, open changes ECR-2026-0002 and ECO-2026-0001.

Check yourself

You cannot see an old revision of a part in the list. Why?
The default Latest filter hides obsolete and under-modify revisions; remove the filter.
Which three things does the blue guide box tell you?
The part's state, what that state means (what it allows) and the next step; also any open changes.
Why might you not see the Configuration menu?
Configuration is shown to PLM administrators only (Lesson 7).