Markups and Design workflow
Markups are great tools for a collaborative design workflow. The goal is to provide feedback data (metadata) on the design document that will make the knowledge transfer easier between the participating teams. Different members of a design team can exchange, debate, and incorporate ideas faster and easier. Communicating the requests, notices and queries in the form of markups will clear ambiguity and result in a streamlined workflow. By using markups the design reviewer can easily convey what words and a static picture cannot always describe. This is where the markups can boost the design workflow.
Some of the salient features of the markups, in a think3 application based design workflow could be summarized as follows:
- Transfer of only the relevant (feedback) information (as a small file), hence avoiding large file transfers (that also includes the model data)
- Faster communication of design intent to other design professionals/peers
- Improved communication of design intent between non-design professionals/management
- Reduced review times and faster review incorporations
- Collaborative design workflow
Note
The imported markups make sense only if they are opened along with the model/drawing (on which these markups are based on) in the think3 applications. Only then the markups will find the actual position to attach them on the model/drawing. It is also important that the original model/drawing on which the *.mkp file is based on, should remain unchanged. |
A specific workflow should be followed for creating and using the markups.
- The model (*.e3) or drawing (*.e2) file is made available for review.
- The review process starts with inserting the markup in the model/drawing file by using the Insert
Markup commands. Once the markups are inserted, they get listed as
Visual Bookmarks.
- Now the markups have to exported into a *.mkp file using the Export command. The same command is also used to export visual bookmarks to the *.vbk files, hence the correct output file format should be selected during this process.
- The *.mkp file is sent back to the designer who is suppose to incorporate the review suggestions. Note that there is no need to send back the parent model/drawing file on which the markups were created (if the designer already has it).
- The designer opens the parent model/drawing file that was initially sent for the review. The markups are now imported into it by importing the *.mkp file using the Import Visual Bookmark/Markup command. The same command is also used to import visual bookmarks; hence the correct file format should be selected during this process.
- The markups are now superimposed over the existing model/drawing and convey the reviewer's intent to the designer.
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