Data Exchange Enhancements and Changes

Summary

The following enhancements and changes have been made as part of the 2025.1 update:

  • When exporting referenced assets and delivering a ZIP file using any format that requires mapping, such as Excel or Generic JSON, the Execution Report is streamlined to no longer include each zipped asset file name. Now, the report lists the total number of assets, the total time spent creating the zipped file, and the total size of the zipped file. The functionality is available in the Export Manager and OIEPs. Refer to the Referenced Assets in ZIP file topic in the Digital Assets documentation.

  • A schedule is no longer required for the REST Direct receiver and cleaning up background processes is now handled via automatic deletion of BGP data. Refer to the REST Direct Receiver topic in the Data Exchange documentation and the Managing BGP Data topic in the System Setup documentation.

  • The 'Transformation by XSLT' pre-processor can be used to generate MD5 values, for example to produce unique identifiers. Refer to the IIEP - Configure Transformation by XSLT Pre-processor topic or the OIEP - Post-processor - Transformation by XSLT topic, both in the Data Exchange documentation.

  • Performance is improved for large Excel Smartsheet exports from the Web UI to eliminate system crashes. Now, by default, sorting is disabled for all exports and a 200 limit is imposed for attributes (columns). When exported from the Web UI or Instrument, if necessary, the data is split into multiple export files with 10,000 products in each file; when exported from the workbench, file splits are not supported, but a limit of 15,000 products is imposed. Refer to the Sorting Smartsheets in Web UI topic in the Web User Interfaces documentation and the Additional Information About Smartsheets topic in the Data Exchange documentation. Contact Stibo Systems support for assistance in changing these new defaults.

  • The localization features in our PDX Onboarding Channels have been extended with support for language specific attribute group names, category names, and units of measure. Refer to the Handling STEP Dimension-Varying Data in PDX Onboarding Channel topic in the Product Data Exchange section of the Data Integration documentation.

These enhancements and changes have been made as part of the 2025.1 update and are described in the Details section that follows:

  • The STEPXML options in the Export Manager and OIEP Output Template are now extended to align with the XSD.

  • AutoCare reference data importers now support JSON file format.

  • The latest AutoCare update restructures brand data, with the Brand Importer and associated workflow supporting the new model.

  • Support extended for BMEcat 2005.2 import, export, and version selection.

  • FORDER tag support to define block and aspect order for ECLASS Advanced is now available.

Details

STEPXML options are expanded

The STEPXML format parameter options in the Export Manager and OIEP Output Template are extended to align with the XSD.

Parameters that previously allowed Yes or No, now allow the following selections:

(Existing configurations saved with 'Yes' selected now display with the 'All' option.)

  • Include Attribute Transformations: None, All

  • Include Collection Definitions: None, All, Selected

  • Include Contexts: None, All

  • Include eCatalogs: None, All

  • Include Event Queues: None, All

  • Include Key Definitions: None, All

  • Include Match Codes: None, Selected, All (While the 'None' option is not part of the XSD, it allows no match codes to be exported.)

  • Include Tags: None, None, All

Parameters that previously allowed None, Minimum, or All, now allow:

  • Include Export Configurations: None, Selected, Minimum, All

  • Include Import Configurations: None, Selected, Minimum, All

  • Include Transformation Lookup Tables: None, Selected, Minimum, All

The Include Status Flags parameter previously allowed None, Selected, or All; and now allows None, Selected, All, or Referenced.

The Include Bulk Update Configurations parameter previously allowed No, Minimum, or Yes; and now allows None, Selected, Minimum, or All. While the 'None' option is not part of the XSD, it allows no bulk update configurations to be exported.

For details on STEPXML parameters available in Export Manager and OIEPs, refer to the STEPXML Outbound Parameters topic in the Data Exchange documentation.

JSON file import support for AutoCare

AutoCare plans to discontinue support for ASCII format downloads by the end of 2025 and has introduced JSON file support.

To ensure continuity, the AutoCare reference data importer in the PMDM for Automotive solution now also supports JSON file imports. This update enables users to work with AutoCare reference data without modifying existing workflows.

No changes to the current configuration are required to start using JSON-formatted files, and they can be used interchangeably with ASCII files.

AutoCare Brand Importer now supports the updated brand model

The latest AutoCare update has changed how brands are structured in AutoCare files. The AutoCare Brand Importer now supports this new model. The Validation and Conversion states in the AutoCare Brand Import workflow have been updated accordingly.

Key Features:

  • Brands are now assigned under BrandParent, replacing the previous Brand Owner hierarchy.

  • The Brand object type now includes BrandParent as a parent object type, alongside the existing Brand Owner.

Action Required:

  • Existing Implementations: Run AutoCare Easy Setup → Configure AutoCare Data Model to apply these changes.

  • New Implementations: New users will see brands directly under BrandParent when running Easy Setup for the first time.

Cleaning up obsolete BrandOwners from the system is recommended. Users should clean up old BrandOwners and verify that all brands are correctly rebinded to their BrandParents.

BMEcat 2005.1 - output compliance with BMEcat 2005.2

This release extends support for importing and exporting ECLASS Advanced files in the BMEcat 2005.2 format. A new 'Output Type' parameter has been added to the Select Format step in the 'BMEcat 2005.1' Export Manager, allowing users to select the desired BMEcat output file version.

For more information, refer to the topic Exporting in BMEcat 2005.1 Format in the Solution Enablement: ECLASS Advanced documentation

FORDER Support in ECLASS Advanced Editor

This release introduces support for the FORDER tag in the ECLASS Advanced Editor screen, allowing users to define the display order of blocks and aspects when working with ECLASS Advanced objects. Users can manually adjust the order of elements using Grip Dots icon without needing to modify the FORDER attribute directly. This enhancement improves product descriptions by ensuring a structured and logical presentation of data.

For more information, refer to the topic ECLASS Advanced Editor Screen in the Web User Interfaces documentation.