Documents

Documents (Handover Documentation)

This is where you attach the paperwork that travels with your product: manuals, datasheets, certificates, test reports, installation guides. In the digital twin this becomes the Handover Documentation, so a customer opening your file gets the documents alongside the data.

Documents work differently from the other sections. The others are forms you fill in on the product. Documents are real files that you often reuse across many products, so the app gives them their own home, the Document Library, and then lets you attach them where they belong.

The main document must be a PDF. PDF/A is the recommended archival format under the standard, and the app checks the file really is a PDF, not just named .pdf. You may also attach the same document in other formats, such as Word or CAD. Those may be any file type, but each must be the same content as the PDF, not a different document. The app limits each file to 100 MB.

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The one idea to get right: owned versus shared

Every document is either shared or owned. This is the whole model, and it is the easiest thing to get wrong.

Shared documents live in the library and can be attached to many products at once. Fix a typo once and every product that uses it sees the change. Use shared for anything generic:

• a safety datasheet for a whole product family
• a general operating manual
• a company certificate

Owned documents belong to exactly one product, or one single unit. Nobody else can attach them. Use owned for anything specific:

• a test report for one serial number
• a calibration certificate for one unit
• a document that only makes sense for this one product

If you remember nothing else: shared is reused, owned is one-off. You can turn an owned document into a shared one later, from the library, if you find you need it in more than one place.

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The three places documents live

Place	What you do there	Guide
Document Library	Upload files, group them into sets, apply a set to many products, see where each file is used.	Document Library
A product	Attach a shared document from the library, or upload an owned document that belongs to this product.	Product Type
A single unit	See the documents inherited from the product, and add documents that belong to one serial number only.	Product Instances

A unit inherits every document attached to its product, then adds its own on top. You never re-attach the manual to each unit.

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What you fill in when you upload

The same upload form is used everywhere, whether you upload in the library, on a product, or on a unit. Only the button changes: it reads Upload to Library, Upload to Type or Upload to Instance depending on where you started, so you always know where the file is going.

A document is more than the file. The details below are what turn a loose PDF into a proper handover document that a customer's system can understand. Fields marked with a star are required. Several accept more than one language, though one is enough.

The file

Choose the PDF. It must be a PDF, up to 100 MB. PDF/A is recommended because it is the format meant for long-term archiving.

You can also use Add other formats to attach the same document in other file types, for example a Word or CAD version. Unlike the main file these do not have to be PDFs. Each must be the same content as the PDF, just in a different format, and each is limited to 100 MB. They share the one set of details below.

Document version

Field		What to enter	Example
Title	*	A human readable name for the document.	Installation Manual
Sub-Title		A second line if you need it.	Chapter 3, Electrical Installation
Description	*	A short summary of what the document contains.	Wiring and power-up steps
Keywords		Words a search might use, comma separated.	installation, safety, maintenance
Language(s)		The language or languages the document is written in. Pick one or more from English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese.	English
Version Number	*	The document's own version. Defaults to 1.0.	2.1
Status		Released for a final document, or In Review for a draft. Defaults to Released.	Released
Status Set Date		When that status was set. Defaults to today.	today

Organisation

Who issued the document. The app fills these in from your manufacturer details, so normally you leave them. Edit them only if this document came from someone else.

Field		What to enter
Organisation Name	*	The issuing organisation.
Official Name	*	Its full legal name, if that differs.

Document classification

This says what kind of document it is, chosen from a standard so a customer's system recognises it.

Field		What to enter
Classification System	*	The scheme the class comes from: VDI 2770 Blatt 1:2020, IEC 61355-1:2008, IEC/IEEE 82079-1:2019 or ECLASS.

If you pick VDI 2770, you then pick a Document Class from a fixed list, for example operating instructions or certificate. The class name fills in for you and cannot be edited, because the standard fixes it.

For the other systems you type the class yourself:

Field		What to enter	Example
Class ID	*	The class code.	03-02
Class Name	*	What that code means.	Operating Manual

VDI 2770 is the easiest choice for most manufacturers, because you just pick from the list and the codes are filled in correctly.

Document identifier

A unique reference for this document. Both fields are filled in for you and can be changed.

Field		What to enter	Example
Document ID	*	The document's number. The app generates one, so replace it only if you run your own numbering.	DOC-2026-001
Domain ID	*	A namespace that keeps your IDs unique, built from your website or company name.	urn:yourcompany.com:docs

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Attaching documents to a product or a unit

Once a document exists, you attach it where it belongs.

• On a product, open the Handover documentation section. Add from Library attaches a shared document, and Upload Document creates a new owned one for that product. See Product Type.
• On a single unit, you see the documents inherited from the product plus an area for documents that belong to just that serial number, such as its test report. See Product Instances.

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Tips

• Default to shared. Most documents apply to a whole product or family. Make a document owned only when it truly belongs to one product or one unit.
• Use VDI 2770 for classification unless you have a reason not to. You pick from a list and the codes come out right.
• Keep status honest. Leave a document as In Review until it really is final, then set it to Released.
• Let the app fill the organisation and identifier fields. They are correct by default, so only touch them when this document came from elsewhere.

For technical users

Documents populate the Handover Documentation submodel (IDTA 02004-2-0). Each document becomes a Document SubmodelElementCollection carrying a DocumentId (Domain ID plus Value ID), one DocumentClassification (VDI 2770, IEC 61355-1, IEC/IEEE 82079-1 or ECLASS) and a DocumentVersion holding the title, sub-title, description, keywords, language, version, status, status date, organisation names and the digital file.

The spec requires at least one DigitalFile per DocumentVersion. VDI 2770 prescribes PDF/A for the archival copy, which is why the app forces the main file to be a PDF and recommends PDF/A. The spec also permits several DigitalFiles of different MIME types, each of which must represent the same content in full. That is what the extra-format uploads are, attached as additional DigitalFiles sharing the metadata. The 100 MB per file cap is an app limit, not a spec limit.

Title, description, keywords, sub-title and class name are MultiLanguageProperty values. Owned versus shared is an ownership type on the document, not on the product. A shared document is referenced by many products; an owned document is bound to one. Instance level and type level documents are merged into a single Handover Documentation submodel in the exported file.