Managing branch chains

You can organize branches in a hierarchical way. A branch definition may itself configure 100% content of the structure, or work together with related branch definitions in the chain to configure the full content. A branch definition chain is an ordered set of branch definitions that may configure the structure, with the contents of the later branch definitions having precedence over earlier branch definitions. For example, a pen assembly has four components and participates in a branch chain, where branch 1 is used by branch 2 and branch 2 is used by branch 3. The results is as follows. Pen assembly item Pen assembly item revision Branch 1 Branch 2 Branch 3 Body Body;A x Body;B x Body;C x Cartridge Cartridge;A x Cartridge;B x Point Point;A x Point;B x Point;C Label Label;A x (x indicates the revision is part of the branch definition.) When managing branch chains, you can: Create or add to a branch chain. You can link branch definitions to form a hierarchical chain. Any number of branch definitions can be chained in a hierarchical (tree) structure. You can insert a branch definition at any place in a chain. A branch definition is added or inserted into another branch definition by copying it and then pasting it with a Branch Relation relation. After successful addition of a branch definition, the start date on the BranchRelation relation is set to the creation date of relation. The branch definition is effective in the target branch definition from the start date onward or until the end date if one is specified. By default, a secondary branch cannot have more than one primary branch, but you can manually override this behavior to allow the multiple parents for a branch. Multiple parents must be siblings in a hierarchy. Obsolete a branch definition from a branch chain. To obsolete a branch definition from a branch chain, set an end date on the BranchRelation relation. The branch definition is then effective in from the start date to end date. Item revisions under an obsolete branch definition are not considered during structure configuration evaluation whether the canceled branch is implicitly or explicitly specified in the revision rule. Browse branch chains. You can browse the branch definitions used by a specified branch definition. Such branch definitions are listed in a pseudofolder under the branch definition. Break an existing branch chain You can break a branch chain, for example, to reorganize it by adding or removing branches using cut and paste commands. The effective branch that configured in an item revision is identified in the How Configured BOM line property.