Procedures

A Procedure in StepWorks is a step-by-step guide for assembly, maintenance, or troubleshooting tasks. Procedures can include:

• Steps: Individual actions.
• Linked Parts & Assemblies: To visually guide users.
• States & Animations: To show dynamic changes.
• Supporting Media: Such as images or videos.
• Store Links: For example, to purchase replacement parts.

StepWorks offers two methods to create Procedures:

1. Generate: Automatically generate steps from provided documentation.
2. Create: Add each step yourself by typing or recording your voice.

Procedure Types

When creating a new procedure, you can choose from the following types:

• Assembly
• Usage
• Maintenance
• Disassembly
• Quality Control

These types help organize your documentation and clarify the procedure’s purpose.

Visibility Settings

Each procedure can be made visible to one or both of the following audiences:

• Public: Visible to anyone with the link.
• Private: Accessible to authenticated users in your organization.

To learn more about managing viewers, see the Organization section.

Language Support

Procedures in StepWorks support multiple languages.

• When creating a new procedure, you must choose a creation language. This is the language you will author the procedure in.
• After the procedure is created, you can add additional viewing languages.
• Translations will be automatically generated, but you can manually review and edit them for accuracy.

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Creating a Procedure

You can create a procedure manually by entering each step yourself. This gives you full control over the structure and content of the scenario.

How to Create a Manual Procedure

1. Open the product and click + New Procedure.
2. Enter the Procedure Name.
3. Choose the Procedure Type (Assembly, Maintenance, etc.).
4. Select the Language you want to create in.
5. Choose Create.
6. Use the step editor to add and organize steps.

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Recording Steps

Instead of manually inputting each step, you can use Recording mode to build procedures interactively.

How Recording Works

1. Select the Microphone to start recording.
2. Interact with the 3D model to perform actions (e.g., move parts, set states).
3. Dictate step descriptions.
4. When finished, click the Microphone again to turn off recording mode.
5. StepWorks will automatically generate steps based on your interactions.

You can then review and refine each step before publishing. See Add/Edit steps for more information.

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Generating a Procedure

If your product has documentation uploaded (PDF, TXT, or DOCX), StepWorks can analyze it and generate a draft procedure for you.

How to Generate a Procedure

1. Open the product and click + New Procedure.
2. Enter the Procedure Name.
3. Choose the Procedure Type (Assembly, Maintenance, etc.).
4. Select the Language you want to create in.
5. Choose Generate.
6. StepWorks will analyze your documentation and create steps by matching content with the Product Twin’s parts (using reference names).
7. Review the generated steps in the editor.

You can then add/edit steps as needed.

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Add/Edit Steps

Whether you’ve created steps manually, recorded them, or used auto-generation, you can always revise and improve your procedure.

Editing a Step

• Click an existing step to open it in the editor.
• Update the Step Title and Description.
• Assign Parts to the step and set their State (e.g., Hidden, Disassembled, Open).
• Add Animations to show movement or transformation.
• Set Camera Viewpoint to define the default view angle for the step.
• Add Media such as images for external context (e.g., tools, packaging, physical posture).
• Use the preview button to test the step’s appearance and behavior.

You can reorder steps at any time by dragging and dropping the step. Or, delete unnecessary ones by clicking on the trash icon.

Publishing a Procedure

Once you're satisfied with a procedure, you must publish it to make it accessible to viewers. Publishing activates the procedure and adds it to your product’s Table of Contents page.

Visibility Options

When publishing, you can choose one or both of the following visibility settings:

• Public: Anyone with the link can access the procedure.
• Private: Authenticated users in your organization can access the procedure.

Note: You can enable both visibility modes at the same time.

Why Enable Both?

Some scenarios benefit from dual availability. For example:

A Usage procedure shared publicly with customers may also need to be referenced internally by an aftersales support representative. If both public and private access are enabled, the rep can view the same procedure without logging out of their authenticated session — saving time and avoiding confusion.

Table of Contents Page

As soon as the first procedure is published for a product, a Table of Contents (TOC) page is automatically generated. This page displays all published procedures for that product:

• Public Viewers will see only procedures published publicly.
• Private Viewers will see both public and private procedures (if authenticated).

Each time a new procedure is published, it will automatically appear in the TOC for that product.

How to Publish

You have two publishing options:

1. Quick Publish
   • From the procedure editor, select Publishing
   • Choose desired visibility (Public, Private, or both) via a modal.
   • Click Save.

The procedure is published immediately using your default publishing settings and you will receive:

• A shareable link to the procedure
• A QR code that viewers can scan to access the procedure directly

2. Customize Settings via Publishing Settings
   • Access the full Publishing Settings page to configure visibility, viewer experience, reporting, and branding in detail.