How to Perform a Mass Change in Windchill

Learn how to execute a mass change in PTC Windchill PLM, including creating an ECR and ECN, revising objects, and updating multiple BOMs simultaneously.

July 6, 2026 By Evinia Ryckoort

This guide walks you through the process of performing a mass change in Windchill. It covers creating a Change Request, adding affected objects, generating an ERP Change Notice, updating the bill of materials for multiple objects simultaneously using the Perform Mass Change function, and finalizing the change tasks.

This guide is intended for engineering change administrators, technical change managers, or PLM administrators responsible for executing structural and process updates to multiple parts or BOMs simultaneously within PTC Windchill.

Create a New Change Request

Step #1: Open the Actions menu from your existing context. — Open the **Actions** menu from your existing context.

Step #2: Select New Change Request. — Select **New Change Request**.

Request Type	Description
Production Change Request	Used for changes affecting active manufacturing and assembly processes.
Quality Change Request	Used to address defects, non-conformances, or compliance issues.
R&D Change Request	Used for design modifications during the engineering and development phases.

Step #3: Set the change request type from the options above (e.g., Production Change Request). — Set the change request type from the options above (e.g., **Production Change Request**).

Enter a brief description for your mass change in the Proposed Solution field.

Step #5: Set the Request Priority to High. — Set the **Request Priority** to **High**.

Step #6: Scroll down to the Involved Departments section and indicate which departments are involved by selecting Yes or No for each. — Scroll down to the **Involved Departments** section and indicate which departments are involved by selecting **Yes** or No for each.

Add Affected Objects

Step #9: Type or paste the part numbers you want to include in the change request. — Type or paste the part numbers you want to include in the change request.

Step #10: Click Search to locate the items. — Click **Search** to locate the items.

Step #11: Select the appropriate versions of the objects from the results and click OK. — Select the appropriate versions of the objects from the results and click OK.

Step #12: Click Next through the remaining steps. — Click **Next** through the remaining steps.

Step #13: Click Finish. — Click **Finish**.

Step #14: Click Submit Now when prompted. — Click **Submit Now** when prompted.

Create the ERP Change Notice

Step #15: On your newly created Change Request page, open the Actions menu. — On your newly created Change Request page, open the **Actions** menu.

Step #16: Select New Change Notice. — Select **New Change Notice**.

Step #17: Change the notice type to ERP Change Notice. — Change the notice type to **ERP Change Notice**.

Step #18: Fill in the required metadata, including the Send To field. — Fill in the required metadata, including the **Send To** field.

Step #19: Proceed to the Define Implementation Plan step to configure your change tasks. — Proceed to the **Define Implementation Plan** step to configure your change tasks.

Assign the task to the appropriate team member.

Revise Objects and Set Release Target

Step #22: Under the Affected Objects section of your change task, click the Add Affected Objects (plus) icon. — Under the Affected Objects section of your change task, click the **Add Affected Objects** (plus) icon.

Search for the affected parts, using wildcards if necessary.

Step #24: Click Search. — Click **Search**.

Step #25: Check the boxes for the objects you want to update and click OK. — Check the boxes for the objects you want to update and click OK.

Step #26: Select the objects in your task list and click the Revise button to bump their revisions. — Select the objects in your task list and click the **Revise** button to bump their revisions.

Step #27: Review the revision settings and click OK. — Review the revision settings and click OK.

You must check the box next to the objects in the table before clicking Set Release Target. If no items are selected, Windchill will present an error.

Target State	Description
Prototype	Used for early-stage development and physical testing before official production.
PreReleased	Indicates the object is near finalization but still pending ultimate manufacturing approval.
Released	The final state indicating the object is fully approved for production and distribution.
Canceled	Aborts the item's lifecycle, removing it from active use or consideration.

Step #28: With the resulting objects selected, click Set Release Target. — With the resulting objects selected, click **Set Release Target**.

Step #29: Change the target state from the dropdown menu based on the options above. — Change the target state from the dropdown menu based on the options above.

Perform the Mass Change

Mass Change is an irreversible batch operation. Ensure you have correctly identified the current and replacement part numbers before proceeding.

Step #31: From the Resulting Objects toolbar, click the Perform mass change icon. — From the Resulting Objects toolbar, click the **Perform mass change** icon.

In the Current Part Number field, enter the part number you want to replace.

In the Replacement Part Number field, enter the new part number.

Step #35: Review the preview of the updated parts, and click Finish. — Review the preview of the updated parts, and click **Finish**.

Check In the Changes

Step #36: Right-click one of the affected objects in the list. — Right-click one of the affected objects in the list.

Step #37: Select Check In from the context menu. — Select **Check In** from the context menu.

Enter a relevant comment explaining your updates (e.g., "new chassis replaced in structure").

Complete the Workflow Task

Step #40: Navigate to your user's task list and open the Submit Change Notice task for your ECN. — Navigate to your user's task list and open the **Submit Change Notice** task for your ECN.

Step #41: Click Complete Task to finalize the workflow and dispatch the changes. — Click **Complete Task** to finalize the workflow and dispatch the changes.

Q: What is a Mass Change in Windchill?

A: A Mass Change is an operation that allows you to replace, insert, or remove a specific part or document across multiple Bills of Materials (BOMs) or structures simultaneously, rather than updating each one individually.

Q: Why are my items not updating when I try to set the release target?

A: You must first select the checkboxes for the specific objects in the Resulting Objects table before clicking Set Release Target. If no items are selected, Windchill will throw a "No object selected to process" warning.

Q: Do I need to create a Change Request before an ERP Change Notice?

A: It depends on your organization's workflow, but typically, a Change Request is created first to document the problem and proposed solution. The ERP Change Notice is then generated from the request to carry out the actual structural modifications.

Q: How do I assign a release target to my revised parts?

A: Select the revised items in the Resulting Objects table, click the Set Release Target icon in the toolbar, select your desired state (e.g., Released or PreReleased) from the dropdown, and click OK.

Term	Definition
Windchill PLM	A Product Lifecycle Management software by PTC used to manage product data, BOMs, and engineering processes.
Change Notice (ECN)	A formal document in PLM authorizing and recording the execution of a change to a product or system.
Change Request (ECR)	A documented request to modify a product, process, or system, usually preceding a Change Notice.
Mass Change	An automated action to find and replace, add, or remove a component across multiple assemblies in a single operation.
Resulting Objects	The parts or documents produced or modified as the output of a change task.
Affected Objects	The existing, released versions of parts or documents that are targeted for modification during a change process.
Release Target	The lifecycle state that an object will automatically transition to once the change notice is approved and closed.