Error when creating a Change Object

What the problem looks like

From your OSLC tool (for example IBM DOORS Next, IBM EWM, or another OSLC client) you tried to create a Windchill Change Notice, Change Request or Problem Report, and the operation failed. The error displayed by your tool, or reported in the Windchill log, may look long and technical, but in practice it almost always falls into one of the three situations described below.

Read the next section to identify your situation, then follow the matching resolution.

Identify your situation

Use these cues to match what you observed to one of the three cases:

If the error message mentions… Then it is most likely… Go to
not authorized, permission denied, access denied, forbidden A permissions problem — your Windchill account is not allowed to create this kind of object in this product or library. Case A
a specific attribute name (for example name, number, complexity), required, invalid value, duplicate, already exists An invalid data problem — one of the values you submitted is missing, malformed, or already in use. Case B
folder, cabinet, was deleted or inaccessible, or none of the above — just a long technical stack trace with no clear cause A Windchill configuration problem — typically a missing Object Initialization Rule on the target product or library. This is something only your Windchill administrator can fix. Case C

Case A — You don't have the right permissions

If the error mentions that you are not authorized, your Windchill account does not have the right to create this kind of object in the target product or library. There is nothing wrong with your request itself.

What to do:

  1. Check that you are connected to Windchill with the correct user account (the OSLC tool may have memorised credentials from a different account).
  2. Confirm with your Windchill administrator that your user account belongs to a group or role that is allowed to create Change Notices, Change Requests or Problem Reports in the target product or library.
  3. If you recently changed product or library, ask your administrator to verify that your permissions also exist in the new context.

For background information, see User Rights Management.

Case B — One or more values you submitted are not valid

Windchill enforces rules on the data you submit when creating a change object: some attributes are mandatory, some have a fixed list of allowed values, and identifiers (name or number) often need to be unique. If any of these rules is broken, Windchill rejects the request.

The error message usually contains the name of the attribute concerned. Common patterns:

What to do:

  1. Re-open the creation dialog in your OSLC tool.
  2. Check every field, paying special attention to mandatory ones (often marked with an asterisk).
  3. For fields offering a list of choices, make sure you select a value rather than typing one.
  4. If you suspect a duplicate, try a slightly different name or number, or let Windchill assign one automatically.
  5. Submit again.

If the error keeps mentioning the same attribute even though it appears correctly filled in your tool, contact your Windchill administrator: the attribute may have constraints (allowed values, numbering scheme) that need to be reviewed on the Windchill side.

Case C — Windchill is not fully configured for this object type

If the error message refers to a folder, a cabinet, or a Cabinet that "was deleted or inaccessible", or if it just looks like a long technical stack trace with no clear attribute name and no permission keyword, then the problem is most likely on the Windchill server side. The most common cause is a missing or disabled Object Initialization Rule for the type of change object you are trying to create.

Object Initialization Rules tell Windchill where to store new objects (which folder), how to number them, and which default values to apply. If no rule is active for Change Notices (or Change Requests or Problem Reports) in the target product or library, Windchill cannot complete the creation, even when your request is otherwise correct and you have all the right permissions.

This issue is not something you can fix yourself as an end user. You need to ask your Windchill administrator to act.

What to send to your administrator:

What your administrator should check:

  1. In Windchill, open the Object Initialization Rules utility at the level of the product or library you tried to use, and at Organization and Site level.
  2. For each level, verify that a rule exists for the relevant object type and that its status is Enabled:
  3. If the rule is disabled, enable it. If no rule exists at any level, define one (typically at Organization or Site level so that all products and libraries inherit it).
  4. Ask the user to retry the operation.

Reporting the issue to support

If none of the three cases above clearly matches what you see, or if the resolution did not solve the problem, gather the relevant diagnostic information and contact Sodius support. The following pages explain what to collect and how: