BIM 360 Docs: Copy files from Project Files to Plans

[johan.cantryn]

When we talk about BIM models and/or DWG's, most of the time "Project Files" is used to exchange the files between the design companies.

No plans are extracted which is not important in the design phase.

Later on when we start to use contractual, approved documentation (for bidding, construction, ...) we use the "Plans" environment.

But there is no link between both environments: we cannot move/copy a file from the "Project Files" environment to the "Plans" environment.

What I want to do is, when a document reaches a specific approval status, to select it in the "Project Files" environment and to copy it to the "Plans" environment. 

[Unknown_Account59]

Agreed, we personally don't see the benefit in forcing all files to be uploaded use the OCR title block recognition workflow, and would much prefer each folder to either have this feature turned on or off like you say. 

[Anonymous]

+1 

It is very helpful future in Plans to compare rvt files version. But we can't upload files from Desktop connector to Plans.

Why this files areas so different and isolated? Want's to merge this!)

[robert.klempau]

It is also very helpful when you want to copy shared models from the project files/Shared folder to the Model coordination folder in the Plans environment where BIM360 Model Coordination runs the automatic clash tests.

[arun.sarku.wipro]

Agreed. We definitely would require a way to move the files from Project Files to Plans. Also, with the current setup, we are unable to conduct any clash check (model coordination) until the Revit Files are in Plans. Even this needs to be looked at to either enable copying b/w Project Files and Plans or to provide Model Coordination capability to work with Project Files Models.

[Oficina_BIM]

Agreed, but in our country / company, the heavy process of coordination and clash check is done in the design / development phase and the main contractor  (Internal construction department) is an active part of this phase, so we minimize as much as possible the issues delivered to the construction area.
Therefore it would also be useful to be able to use the models located in the folder "consumed" for the process of Clash detection.FLUJOBIM360 eng.JPG

[AnthonyViscusi]

Wholeheartedly agree with @arun.sarku.wipro   Answer me this Autodesk, what is the workflow to get models into the Model Coordination service without allow us to copy from Project Files to Plans.  (Ideally this would be restricted to Shared or Consumed models so WIP content isn't inadvertently copied into the Plans "official" environment).  Right now we have to download the source files to our PC and then re-upload them to the Plans area, for real?

[Anonymous]

I would love to know the answer to the questions posed above.  I'm not seeing how to get models into the Plan folders other than manual download and upload. Seems clunky!

[kdelcourtMFJ75]

I would love an answer to this. It seems nonsensical to take files into and then out of the cloud for a different service within the BIM360 environment!

[nivaldo.curcio]

Could agreed more, I would love an answer to this. OCR on/off by folder, that can solve lots of issues for us. 

[aaronwagner]

Using Desktop Connector, you can upload files from Project Files to Plans.  From within Plans, click Upload Files and then browse to your BIM 360/Project/Project Files data to "upload."  Not a complete solution, and yes it technically downloads/uploads by way of throughput caching but still saves time.  At least until a more fluid and seamless solution is provided.

[penny_yu]

Thank you very much for the ideas and clarification. This is on our radar.

Thanks,

Penny Yu

BIM 360 Document management

[brucegund]

Unfortunately, the upload from Plans using the desktop connector does not always work. It is hit and miss. This is the typical error I get. Why is it not valid? It is a workshared cloud model. I have tried with selected Published sets, not published sets. I have seen it work and then I go to update and it won't work giving the same error. 

Annotation 2020-01-02 094241.png

The Review process does not allow the copying between Project Files and Plans rendering it useless. Also the Model Coordination process is rendered useless unless you use the Revit link capabilities in a coordination model which requires someone to monitor accountable another Revit model (who?). Or unless you choose to use the Plans folders for collaboration which as I understand it is a preview or beta capability. (This works awesome by the way!) 

And finally the 2D views of Revit published models in Project Folders does not allow for hyperlinking of callouts. Plans does this.

For a firm to use Plans is a download from Project Files and an Upload to Plans.  A manual process that takes time and money to do.

Please Autodesk fix this workflow!

[Trent_Field]

@penny_yu @joan_allen Is there any movement in this space? We are actively not utilising the Plans functionality until there is a way to effectively communicate between the Project files and plans folders, this is a must have in order for BIM 360 to move into an effective CDE.

[johan.cantryn]

I also want to add that although copying project files to plans or vice versa is necessary in the current BIM 360 philosophy, I do not agree with the fact that we have two separate Plans and Project files environments.

The only difference between the two is difference in functionality: in Plans you have extraction of plans and hyperlinks.

This imposes me to divide my folder structure between the two. "WIP" and "Shared" in project files but "Published" back in "Plans" because I want to use the extraction of plans there. This provides a completely unclear structure to use and manage.

In my opinion there should be 1 project environment in which I create all my folders. I then want to configure per folder whether I want extraction of plans in it. So I want to configure the functionality that is now available in "Plans" for my folders myself.

[ewa.szeliga]

Plans folder is not available in the newest version of Desktop Connector.

This is very unconmofortable - I can't upload files to PLANS using Desktop Connector and copy files from Project Files folder to Plans folder using "Review workflow".

You can image how long it takes me to upload 300 or 500 drawings using web site not Desktop Connector...

Autodesk should make this availabile as soon as possible.