Configuring a Viewer Template in SAP Integrated Product Development

Importing CAD data into SAP Integrated Product Development Visualization is only one part of the desire for most customers. Once it’s imported, customers want to be able to connect the 3D data with their business data and visualize the business data based on the 3D data. This enables new capabilities for engineering, purchasing, or maintenance. Creating custom Viewing templates and combining them with data sources allows users to create no-code applications which merge the 3D data with the business data in a brand-new method.

Templates are edited and maintained using the Manage Template tile. Different templates can be used for different visualization types, like 2D, 3D, or ECAD models. This is logical, as different features in a template pertain to different visualization types. For instance, you would not orbit a 2D image around in the viewport.

To create a new Viewer Template, in the upper-right corner, choose Add. Provide a unique Name along with what kind of content it is to be used for, and whether it allows for Standard or Analytics viewing.

The next step is to select a viewable that you can use to set up the template. You’ll want to have a visualization uploaded into SAP Integrated Product Development Visualization and configured with the required metadata to support the data sources that will be used in the template.

Once you have selected a visualization, the customization process can start. This is where you decide which options are enabled in toolbars or right-click menus.

One of the easiest customizations is to navigate to a URL based on the selected object. To set this up, select the Viewport panel and create a new Context Menu. Specify a Name and in the Action field, select Navigate to URL. When specifying the URL, placing a name inside { and } will define a variable. For example, `https://www.google.com/search?q={material}` opens a material property definition.

Select Node Metadata in the first drop-down, specify a metadata Category and metadata Tag that contains the value that is passed to the URL.

Another customization that is quite powerful is adding additional properties panels which show additional data like back-end business data. To enable this, select the Properties Panel section and create a new panel. Specify a name and a data source. Then specify something like Node Metadata and a metadata Category and Tag that contains the required metadata value for the data source you specified.

Then, go back to the main menu and select Viewport. Create a new Context Menu and specify a Name and set the Action to Show Properties Panel and select the properties panel created above.

Now, select a node with the required metadata. Right-click and choose the menu option that you just created. The Properties Panel opens and loads the data, based on the metadata field and data source.

Info Cards work in similar ways to Properties panels but are more configurable and allow for easier links between the selected object and business data or additional visualizations. To turn on Info Cards, enable the feature and select which Info Cards are available in this template.

The last step when creating a template is to publish it so users can see it and choose the template when they try to view the correct types of visualizations.

In the lower-right corner, choose Publish. This publishes the template, but it must be assigned to the correct visualization types. In the upper-right corner, select the template and choose Assign.

The easiest option is to use the Use for All Visualizations option. However, it’s possible to assign a specific metadata Category/Key/Value combination that allows the visualization to only be available for those specific ones.

Once the visualization has been assigned, select a visualization that contains the required information, so the template can be configured correctly. Choose the ... button. Choose View Using... and select the template.

This opens the visualization using that template. The features that you specified should be available.