A work area type is similar in concept to an environment, in that they both let you create custom attributes for your organization, beyond the general properties that ProjectWise provides. The difference is that a work area type lets you define custom attributes for the work area itself, whereas an environment lets you define custom attributes for your documents.

Work area types are created in ProjectWise Administrator, and contain custom work area attributes. Once a work area type is created in ProjectWise Administrator, it can then be assigned to a work area in ProjectWise Explorer, either during work area creation, or later through the Properties tab of the Work Area Properties dialog. Once a work area type is assigned to a work area, you can enter values for those custom work area attributes on the Properties tab. Like environments, you are not required to use work area types.

To be able to change the work area type of a work area, or to edit a custom work area attribute value, the following must be true:

• the work area participant's user setting Folder > Can modify must be on
• the work area participant's user setting Work Area > Can change types and properties must be on
• the work area participant must have their Write work area/folder security permission turned on for the work area (Preview Pane > Access Control tab)

Assigning a Work Area Type to an Existing Work Area

1. Select a work area.
2. Select Folder > Properties.
3. In the Work Area Properties dialog, select the Properties tab.
4. From the Work Area Type list, select a work area type.

   If there are none listed, then that means none exist in the datasource.

   If there is already a work area type assigned and you no longer want to have any work area type assigned, select None.

5. Click OK.

Editing Work Area Property Values (custom attributes)

1. Open the Work Area Properties dialog (Folder > Properties) and select the Properties tab.

   The list displays the name and value for each custom property available in the work area type that is currently assigned to this work area. The left column displays the property names, and the right column displays the property values.

2. In the list, place your cursor in the value field of the properties you want to edit and change the value as necessary.

   If the value field is a text field, you can enter your value directly in the field. If it is a list, you can select from the list of available values. If it is a date field, the list becomes a calendar which you can scroll through to select the date needed.

   Tip: To turn off the display of a particular date, select the date field and then set the check box to the left of the date.
3. Click OK.