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BIM 360 Coordination and Navisworks Issues

We have seen a significant shift to the use of cloud-based technology, and more specifically in the construction world with BIM 360. Yet, while this shift is taking place, there is no denying the importance of maintaining desktop-based software. The good news is, these two environments are not in competition with one another, but in most circumstances intended to work together. This gives us the power and functionality of our desktop software AND the ubiquitous access to our information. We can use online based tools to further enhance our use of the information developed with our desktop applications. Whether that is in the form of instant access, team communication, or full project collaboration. For some time now this symbiotic relationship has evolved from as simple as a connection to the Autodesk Exchange inside Revit, to A360 and Collaboration for Revit (C4R), to now the BIM 360 and the multitude of connections both built into Autodesk software or installed as a plugin.

I could write pages about the different aspects available to connect information between desktop software and a cloud based platform, but this post is about one simple yet powerful feature now available between BIM 360 and Navisworks. There is now a plugin available that allows you to open your models from your BIM 360 coordination space directly in Navisworks. This will allow you to work on and see the Issues created in BIM 360, directly in Navisworks. And it works both ways, meaning it is bidirectional. You can create and manage Issues in Navisworks and those issues are available in BIM 360. All Issue activity is synchronized and coordinated between your desktop Navisworks application and the cloud-based BIM 360 project environment.

One small caveat! You do need to download and install the latest version of the BIM 360 Desktop Connector. You can then download and install BIM 360 Issues.exe (Click Here to Download). Okay, maybe another, this is only available in Navisworks 2019 service pack 1 & 2020.  Unfortunately, it’s not available for Navisworks 2021 as of this BLOG post.   

Once downloaded and installed, all you need to do is open an .NWD file you have published to a project in BIM 360. It’s that simple The Navisworks ribbon will now include a BIM 360 Issues tab where you can coordinate issues between Navisworks and BIM 360.

Oh, and by the way, this works in Navisworks Manage or Simulate. Overall, this is just one step in the direction of better and more efficient coordination and communication.

Autodesk Desktop Connector for BIM 360 Team

By: Jamie Owens

Today’s file systems range from local hard drives on our computers, servers, or cloud-based platforms like Dropbox, OneDrive, or A360 Drive.  Most of these systems have a desktop application allowing you to sync between your computer and the cloud-based system to make the storage system easier to use. 

What if you could not only share files but could view and markup your files online?  What if you had a 3D model like a Revit project that you wanted to collaborate with others that didn’t have Revit? The good news is Autodesk has a solution for that, BIM 360 Team.

Autodesk’s BIM 360 Team is a powerful tool for collaborating with team members and clients and allows us to store any file type.  Previously, it only permitted file posting through the web browser, meaning you always had to download and upload to post updates.  The Autodesk Desktop Connector lets users upload files and folders to projects through Windows Explorer (There is also a Mac version).

Figure 1: Autodesk Desktop Connector

If you are already using BIM 360 Team, then once you log-in to your hub and click on your user icon in the upper right-hand corner, you should see the Desktop Connector for BIM 360 bar.

Figure 2: Desktop Connector install link within the hub directory

Upon completing the installation process, a new directory appears in Windows Explorer. You will see any hubs to which you’re assigned, allowing you to access your project files directly within Windows Explorer.

Figure 3: BIM360 Team Hubs

New Workflows

With the Desktop Connector in BIM 360 Teams, you have the ability to:

• Quickly add folders and files to a project while working offline.
• Automate a backup process of files stored on the cloud.

Considerations

BIM 360 Team gave us a lot of leeway with folder and file names, including the use of various characters like the forward-slash (/).  Now that we are syncing to our desktops, Windows does not like some of these special characters and will give a warning to the folders/files and makes the folder/file inaccessible through the Windows Explorer.

• The Folder or Filename can be edited within BIM 360 Team and eliminate the invalid characters, making the folder or file accessible in Windows Explorer.
• To rename the Project in BIM 360 Team, you must be a Project Admin to the project.

Another consideration to keep in mind is that Windows still has a 260 character path limit.  Meaning just like when working on a physical drive or server, the file and folder name along with the number of folders deep that a file resides starts to come into play.

Saving Non-Workshared Revit Models to BIM 360

Many of us are new to using BIM 360 and unfamiliar with how to manage non-Workshared Revit models on BIM 360. I will show you a couple of ways to save and access your Revit models on BIM 360.

What is a non-Workshared Revit model?
A non-Workshared model does not have a central model to synchronize to. It is a model that only one person can access the file at a time.

I will show three ways to save a Revit non-Workshared model to BIM 360

Option 1 - Save Non-Workshared Models to BIM 360
(BIM 360 Docs or Design license needed to use this method)
Revit & Revit LT can use the “Save As > Cloud Model”
Non-Workshared model can be saved to BIM 360 using the “Save As” > “Cloud Model”

Select the Hub where your project resides. Select the Project and navigate to the folder where you want the model to be saved.

Option 2 - Convert & Save Revit Models into a Workshared Models on BIM 360
(BIM 360 Design license is needed to use this method)
“Collaborate” command is not available for Revit LT

Use the “Collaborate” or “Collaborate in Cloud” option to convert the Revit model into a Workshared model and save it to a BIM 360 Design project.

Selecting the “In BIM 360 Document Management” If this greyed out, contact your Autodesk Account Manger to grant you a BIM 360 Design license.

• You can change the name of the model before it is saved
• Select the HUB where the project is located
• Navigate to the Project & Folder where the files are to be saves

Option 3 – Convert the non–Workshared model after it has been saved to your BIM 360 project site.

After the project is open select the “Workset” command to convert a model to a Workshared model.

After confirming the following selections, your model with be converted to a Workshared model.

Finally, when opening the Revit project, you will see what type of model you will be opening.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a BIM 360 Design Trial

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Autodesk has extended customers' access to a BIM 360 Design trial until May 31, 2020.

As specified in the trial FAQ's, companies that do not already have paid BIM 360 Design licenses can have one user sign up for the trial.  He/she as the Account Admin can then invite other users to the site projects, which will give them access to the trial.

Following are the steps for a user to sign up for the trial, create BIM 360 projects, and add team members.

Signing up and activating trial

1.  Browse to  https://bim360.autodesk.com/bim-360-design-trial/

2.  Complete the form (pictured below).

3.  After submitting the form, you will receive an email inviting you to activate your BIM 360 Account.  Click on the "Activate your account" button.

4.  Upon activating the account, you will be redirected to the Account Administration page for your BIM 360 Site (example pictured below).

 

Adding Projects

1.  From the Account Admin page, select the Projects tab from the menu

2.  Click Add

3.  Fill in the required fields (marked by an *) of the Project Profile form.  Type a project name and select a project type.  These and the other fields can be edited after the project is created.

4.  Click Save & continue

5.  On the Activate Services screen, start by selecting Activate for Document Management service (required before any other service can be activated).

6.  Assign yourself as the project administrator by typing in your email address, and click Save.

7.  Repeat the same steps for Design Collaboration.

8.  Click Finish.

Add Members to Project

1.  Confirm that you are in the Project Admin module.  If you are not or unsure, click on the Module Selector button and select Project Admin.

2.  Click on the Members tab and select Add. 

3.  Enter an email address, and hit the TAB or Enter key.  Enter additional emails as needed.

4.  Once email addresses are entered, click on Select.

5.  You can leave Company and Role fields empty.  Assign each member to the services by clicking on the Ø symbol under each service to show active user icon.  (For more about adding project members, review the information here.)

6.  When finished select Add to Project.  (Users will receive an email invitation to the project once this step is complete).

Create a Team

1.  From the Project Admin page, select the Services tab

2.  Select the Design Collaboration service from the menu on the left

3.  Select Add Team

4.  Type in a name for the team, and click Add

5.  The team will be created, and the members that were added to the project will be automatically included in the team.

6.  To verify/manage the members in the team and their permission level, select the team checkbox, and select Manage team members.

Confirming Trial License of BIM 360

The user who set up the trial and individuals who were added to the project per the instructions above will be assigned a trial license of BIM 360 Design in their Autodesk Account. (Note:  invited members must click on the link in the email they receive to access the project and be assigned a trial license).

To verify that you have a trial license:

1.  Sign into your Autodesk Account at manage.autodesk.com

2.  Click on Trials on the left-hand side

3.  Verify that BIM 360 Design is listed

 

Please note that the above steps do not cover every aspect of BIM 360 account or project administration.

For more details you can review the content here: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/bim-360/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/BIM-360-Design-Getting-Started.html

 

BIM 360 Document Management File Sharing has Gone Public

One of the great features that many liked about Autodesk BIM 360 Team was that people outside of BIM 360 could be invited to a project and access files.  When Autodesk made the switch to BIM 360 Document Management as primary storage platform for all of its BIM 360 modules, this feature was lost, leaving many users with frustration in getting file access to non-subscription holders.  Some users started looking at other sources for file sharing like Dropbox, SharePoint, etc., since these other sources had the ability to share files through a link but did not require logging in.

After years of hoping, Autodesk has created the ability to create public share links within BIM 360 Document Management.  These links can be shared with non-subscription holders to download the shared files.  This opens the ability to use BIM 360 Document Management in a larger file sharing capacity in addition to the many advanced functions that BIM 360 Document Management already has to offer.

Enabling Public File Sharing:

This setting must be turned on in order to be able to create the public sharable links.

• Under the Project Admin module, select the Services Tab
• Select Document Management in the left column and select Advanced Settings
• The top setting is “Public Link for Project”, select the dot to enable the setting.

Now that the public link setting is enabled, files from the Project Files folder can be shared outside of the BIM 360 without needing a subscription license, the individual files can be shared.

Creating Public Sharable Links:

Sharing files must be located within the Project Files folder.

• Under the Document Management module, select the Folder Tab.
• Select the file(s) you would like to share publicly.
• Along the top, select the Share button.

A dialogue box will pop up with sharing options.

• Share with project members.
• Share with public.

“Share with project members” allows for sharing the files to different members within the project.  There are two different sharing methods (Email or Link). All Recipient must be part of the project already and will be required to log into the site.

• Email sharing allows for the files to be shared using one of four different methods, Names, Roles, Companies or Email address already within the project, similar to applying permissions to project folders.
• Link sharing allows for the files to be shared with a unique url link that can be sent via email through different email programs or posted somewhere for easy access.

Share with public, allows for files to be shared outside of the project to non-project team members with and without a subscription to BIM 360 Document Management.  There are two different sharing methods (Email or Link).  Either way is sharing a link to someone else.

• Email allows the sharer to send the link via email through BIM 360.
• Link allows the sharer to copy and paste the link into a different email program to share or post the link somewhere for the public to access.

When creating a Sharable Public link, the sharer can set an expiration date for the link that disables the sharing of that particular file.

With BIM 360, document version is an important function and feature of the system.  Unlike many other sharing platforms, BIM 360 has ability for the user to identify which version they would like to share when creating a Publicly sharable link.

• “Share Current version Latest” creates a sharable link that monitors the latest version of the file so that when the recipient accesses the file, they are getting the latest published or uploaded version of the file.
• “Share Current version Fixed”, creates a shareable link that is fixed on the file’s current version of when it was originally shared. This means if a new version is published or uploaded, it will not affect the version that was shared through the link.

Accessing Shared Files via Public Link:

Once a file is shared via the public link via an email through BIM 360, the recipient will get an email with a link to the file that looks similar to below, containing information on the project it came from.  If the link is shared with an outside source (Outlook), then the email will look different.

When the link is selected, the recipient is directed to a webpage to download the file.  The file can only be downloaded.

• The clock at the top, when hovered over shows the expiration date of the link.
• The version of the file is displayed along the top.

 

Utilize BIM 360 to Collaborate with your Off-site Employees On-Demand Webinar

Wondering how you might utilize and maximize the use of the platform within your own organization to collaborate effectively with your off-site employees? BIM 360 Design can connect your team and simplify workflows.

Does your company have active seats of Autodesk BIM 360 Document Management or BIM 360 Design that were used at one point in time—but not currently in use?

This webcast is geared towards assisting companies who may not necessarily be hosting BIM 360 projects, but have access to the platform to take advantage of the features for internal workflows.

 

BIM 360 – Model Sharing Workflows

Greetings all. Teresa Martin here from IMAGINiT and proud member of the Building Solutions Division.

Having delivered numerous presentations and implementations of BIM 360 Documents and Design, one question I get asked frequently is “How should I share my model in BIM 360”. The answer is, “it depends.”.

Model Sharing Workflow Options:

Currently there are 4 different workflows that you can utilize to share your model:

• Schema 1: Non-Workshared Models. In Revit, use the “Save Model to the Cloud” option available under the “Save As” option in Revit.
• Schema 2: Live Linking – Worksharing is enabled and the Central file sits in a common folder what everyone on the project can access. This includes external partner Revit models.
• Schema 3: Controlled Sharing Link from the Shared Folder. Revit models that you link in as backgrounds are in the “Shared” folder. If you link Revit models from this folder, your backgrounds will be updated automatically every time a team member creates a package through the design collaboration module.
• Schema 4: Controlled Sharing – ‘Consume’ Published Models from Packages. This is a more regimented. It enables your external partners to review changes to linked in models before updating (consuming).

Which do you use and when?

Schema 1: If you are utilizing BIM 360 to simply pass data and files to team members (both internal and external) then using Schema 1 will work quite well. This is using BIM 360 as a glorified FTP/Dropbox type of scenario. However, similarities stop there. BIM 360, unlike FTP sites or Dropbox, provide much higher security as well as versioning. This option will supersede your old FTP workflow of archiving the old model to different server folder, pushing the new model up to the FTP site and then notifying everyone that the model is there. BIM 360 will do all of that automatically and provide the ability for you to compare different versions of the models through the BIM 360 interface.

Schemas 2-4 are variations of a common theme: Workshared Models in the Cloud.

Schema 2: I would utilize Schema 2 on fast track projects where you need live, up to the minute revisions. Think of it like having everyone on the project in the same room and making changes and exchanging data as you progress. In this scenario, every time you sync with central and reload latest, you will see changes to linked in models in your local file as they develop. In other words, if you’re the structural engineer, you will see the architects changes to edge of slab conditions and structural walls as they develop.

Scheme 3: I would use Schema 3 on projects to eliminate the task of manually updating external teams’ Revit models. It is more of an automated updating of backgrounds utilizing Design Collaboration and the notion of “Packages”. In a nutshell, using this option, external users would link in your Revit model from the Shared folder. Every time you published the model and created a new “package” a copy of the model would be placed in this folder. The old model version would be versioned out and updated. When the external users reloaded the linked in files, they would see your updates.

Scheme 4: This is a more graduated approach. It lets other teams review your updates after you have created a new package and decide when they want to update your model within their environment (i..e. Consume). If you go back to the old FTP scenario, its like putting a new file on the FTP site and having external team members review it, download it and replace the old file with the new one within their work environment (inside their firewall, local server). When external team members consume your latest package, it puts the newest version of your model into their team folder under consumed. This is the folder they will link from in their local environment. Design Packages also show up on the Design Collaboration Card on the landing page in BIM 360. This notifies users of available packages for consuming. This workflow is regimented and provides transparency for all parties involved. And the virtual cherry on top is that the publishing of packages can be automated!

Wrap Up

Schemes 1 and 2 do not require BIM 360 Design Collaboration to use. All users only need a license of BIM 360 Documents. Schemes 3 and 4 do require BIM 360 Design Collaboration as this is where you set up teams, swim lanes, and create packages.

Further, each workflow is fundamentally different and should be vetted at the beginning of the project. You will need to get full agreement and sign-off from all parties involved since changing workflows mid-stream will take quite a bit of effort, especially on large projects.

For some additional insights into these workflows, you can review this Autodesk Knowledge base article:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/bim-360/getting-started/caas/simplecontent/content/understanding-revit-model-linking-bim-360-design.html

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BIM 360 Part 4: Creating a Package

A BIM 360 Design Collaboration Package is an approved version of the active Revit model that has been released for consumption (use) by other Team members.

After reviewing your documents and model the next step is to create a Package to share. You can choose to share just the model or a published “set” from Revit which can contain sheets and views.

Choose and save your selection of Sets or Models.

The next step is to click “Share”. This will then make the model(s) and documents available to the other Teams.