Importing hybrid documents

Importing hybrid documents is almost as easy as importing non-hybrid documents. The configuration of a hybrid document type does most of the work, that is, determining which document should be the main hybrid part and which documents should be subordinate parts.

Before you begin

Consult a system administrator for the names, associated file types, and purposes of hybrid document types defined in your vaults. You will need to know which document type to assign to the imported documents depending on the file types of the documents.

To import the parts of a hybrid document:

1. Drag and drop all of the files that you want to join as a hybrid document from Windows Explorer into the folder in the Explorer view where you want the hybrid document to reside.
2. If only one document type is configured for the file types that you are importing, that document type is assigned to the main part of the hybrid document. If more than one document type is configured for the file types that you are importing, a dialog box appears in which you can select from among the document types. The dialog may reappear for each file you are importing. If you do not select the same document type for all of the files you are importing, the files will not be joined into a single hybrid document.
3. If the document type that you are assigning to the files is configured to display property pages during import, they will appear next. Complete the property pages the same as if you were creating a new non-hybrid document.
4. If the files that you are importing share the same file name but have different file extensions, for example, 12345678.dwg and 12345678.cal, the files are automatically joined as a single hybrid document. The file type defined in the document type as the main part of a hybrid document will determine which file becomes the main part of the hybrid document and which files become subordinate parts.
5. If the files you are importing do not share the same file name, the files import as separate documents assigned the document types that you selected in step 2. Select the document that you want to become a subordinate part of the hybrid document and drag and drop it onto the file that you want to become the main part of the hybrid document. Select Attach as Hybrid Part from the shortcut menu that appears.

Note    The main part of the hybrid document must be in a workflow for the Attach as Hybrid Part command to be enabled. Depending on the configuration of the vault, newly imported documents may not be in a Quick Change (default) workflow. Start a workflow, if necessary, before joining the documents.

The complete hybrid document should now appear similar to the following figure, with the subordinate part documents attached to the main part of the hybrid document.

All properties of the main part of the hybrid document apply to the subordinate part documents as well. All commands executed on the main part of the hybrid document will also be applied to the subordinate part documents.