PLM Quick Reference: Searching in 3DEXPERIENCE

As mentioned in my PLM Quick Reference: Searching in PTC Windchill blog, arguably the most important topic to learn in any Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system is how to locate your product data quickly and accurately for design work, viewing, or analysis purposes. If you’re using 3DEXPERIENCE after using other PLM systems’ searching tools or just want an overview or refresher on the ways to search in 3DEXPERIENCE, below is an overview of the search tools and options to help you locate your PLM and CAD data objects in 3DEXPERIENCE. The search options shown in the image below are: 
1. Keyword/Global Search,  
2. Filter searches using 6WTags, and  
3. Advanced Search.  

Search options 4. Search in Current and 5. Saving Searches are described later in the blog.

Note: Wildcards such as * (asterisk), ? (question mark), and “” (double quotes) can be used in searches.  

1 –Keyword/Global Search (like Google search) 

Keyword /Global Search (located in the top bar) performs keyword searches on 3DX database attributes and content to which you have access. 

2 – Filter searches using 6WTags 

The 6WTags icon displays a panel for filtering the objects in the search results by their attributes (tags). The objects are grouped by the What, Where, Who, When, How and Why tags, as shown in the image below. 

3 – Advanced Search 

Advanced Search displays a panel of attributes to specify search criteria, as shown in the image below. 

Note: With Advanced Search, wildcards will not automatically be applied at the beginning or end of a string as with the Basic Keyword/Global Search. 

4 – Search in Current Tab 

Performs searches in the current 3DDashboard tab.  

5 – Saving Searches 

Once you have received the results from a search including after filtering using 6WTags, you can save the search criteria to Favorite Searches to perform the search again. To save the search criteria, select Favorite Search from the Actions menu, enter a Name and click OK, as shown in the image below.

To run a Favorite Search, select Favorite Searches from the Search menu, then select a search from the list of results, as shown in the image below. 

All the best to locating your product data in 3DEXPERIENCE quickly! 

About the Author

Product Lead – Learning Content Development<br><br>Barb's primary responsibilities include the design, development, and project management of courseware for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) products such as Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle, ENOVIA V6, and PTC Windchill. Her work also involves the development of custom training that is designed and configured to an organization’s specific environment, processes, and roles. Barb is a Professional Engineer and holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and trained in Instructional Design.

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