Work with Watch Groups

The Design Collaboration module automatically checks all project data for changes when it is uploaded and published to Document Management. Changes detected include any additions, modifications, or deletions compared to previous versions.

The watch groups feature in Changes allows you to select specific models or items and save them as watch groups. Team members can then navigate to these watch groups to quickly and easily explore and understand the design changes most relevant to them.

Add items to a watch group

To add items or models to watch groups:

1. In Design Collaboration, click Changes.

   Either an instructional page for first-time use, or a list of existing watch groups for the project is displayed.

2. Click the New watch group button. A list of the project teams is displayed on the left, and the corresponding models on the right.

3. Select the relevant team, and then select the models you want to watch for changes.

4. Click Next.

5. Use the dialog box to select the items you want to watch. You can select the whole model, or use the search box or expand the model tree to find specific items:

   

   Tip: Use the viewer window and toolbar to explore the model and look at the items or areas you want to watch for changes. Click the item names or select the checkboxes to highlight items in the viewer.

6. Click Next.

7. Enter a name to create the watch group.

8. Click Save.

9. If there are changes for the items you added to the watch group, the changes are displayed in a tree structure in the Changes list:

   

   Note: There may be no changes to view, for example if your team has not consumed the latest package containing a new model version, or if your work-in-progress model hasn't been shared, or is the same version as the shared model. In this case, the Change visualization interface is not displayed.

10. Use the search box and filters in the Change visualization interface to refine the changes shown in the Changes list.

11. Click a change in the tree to view more information about the change in the right panel:

    

    1. At the bottom of the panel, use the buttons to toggle between the selected versions, and visualize the change in the model.
    2. Click the close icon to close the panel.

12. Click the Close icon to close the viewer.

View watch groups

You can view any watch group created by teams you are a member of.

1. In Design Collaboration, click Changes.

   A list of existing watch groups is displayed in the Changes dashboard.

2. Use the Changes dashboard to review the watch groups:

   

   The number icon indicates the number of new changes for the watch group. Expand a watch groupto view the models and items included, and to see the number of changes for those models or items.

3. Click a watch group name to open the Watch group dialog.

   Note: Watch groups that contain no changes are not available for selection. Hover over the information icon in the Changes column to see more details about why there are no changes to view.

4. Use the dialog to select which models or documents you want to compare for changes in that watch group.

5. Use the drop-down lists to select which versions of the model or document you want to compare.

6. Click Show changes.

7. Use the Change visualization interface to search, filter, and review the changes.

8. Click a change in the Changes list to display additional details about the change in the right panel.

9. Click the Close icon to close the viewer and return to the Changes dashboard.

Edit watch groups

You can only rename and delete watch groups that you created.

1. In Design Collaboration, click Changes.

2. Hover over a watch group name in the Changes dashboard, and click the Pencil icon to rename it.

3. Click the More menu next to a watch group name to edit or delete a watch group:

   1. Click Edit to change the models or items included in the watch group:

      1. Click Change models and use the dialog box to add or remove models.
      2. Click Next.
      3. Use the Edit watch group items dialog box to change the selection of items included in the watch group.
      4. Click Save.

      

   2. Click Delete to delete the watch group.

   Tip: When viewing a watch group in the viewer, you can also hover over a watch group name in the Change visualisation panel and use the More menu to rename or delete watch groups.