Allow document management rather than file management

[Anonymous]

BIM360 Docs is a file management system, not a document management tool. A document is more a database entry with an ID, a title, description, code and other attributes and is a container for several files (native, PDF, appendix, control form). 

An example is given below: a document is a database entry with metadata and files are associated to this database entry.

As a consequence, metadata are associated to a document, not a file. And a workflow is triggered against a document, not a file.

Your idea of sets is almost what we need, if we can send them in a workflow and if we’re able to create attributes against each set. Remains the fact that we’d also be happy to use sets for the purpose they’ve been designed for (a bid package, a handover dossier etc.), so I don’t know if we use sets for each « document », we’ll be able to use them to build other sets.

This request is a change of paradigm in the application and not sure can be met through this tool. 

[Chad-Smith]

I stumbled across this old idea as I was trying to search for some related ISO 19650 info.

@Anonymous I completely agree with your assessment. B360 & ACC are missing the Document Management System (DMS) aspect of construction delivery. This is where competing products such as Aconex excel by creating an environment where documents are unique, and with workflows that are metadata driven.

I too wrote an idea to express these limitations of Autodesk Docs.

Docs (ACC/B360) - Change from folder storage/structure to metadata storage/structure

It's also why B360 Plans and ACC Docs folders are not the best place to store drawings. Drawings whether they be during design or construction stages are highly controlled documents and their absolute uniqueness is critical to instilling confidence with team members that they are viewing the correct document. Neither B360 Plans or ACC Docs folders currently provide that level of confidence when it's too easy to create duplicates.

ACC Build Sheets is a very good step in the right direction for a DMS. But it suffers the problem that it is only in Build. This means that the design stage issued drawings miss out on a DMS-like environment.

That is why I also have this other idea to suggest that Build Sheets is integrated into Autodesk Docs so that the design stage of the project can take advantage of document uniqueness.

ACC Docs // Integrate Build Sheets