The Migration Toolkit: DMT & BUT
Kitty introduced a workflow designed to solve the two biggest migration headaches: slow upload speeds and broken file references.
1. Drawing Integrity & Migration for Docs (DMT)Purpose: This tool scans your local project before you upload it. It identifies missing references, broken links, and data integrity issues that would cause "chaos" once in the cloud.
The Output: It generates a relationship JSON file. This file acts as a map, telling the cloud exactly how every drawing and reference (XREFs, DREFs) connects to one another.
Performance: Version 3 is a massive upgrade—reportedly up to 74x faster than previous versions for large projects.
Purpose: While Desktop Connector (DC) often struggles or fails with projects over 100GB, BUT is built for speed and stability.
Modes of Operation:
Upload with References: Uses the JSON from the DMT to ensure all file relationships stay intact.
Simple Upload: A faster method for when you don't need to preserve specific reference structures.
Pro-Tips & Lessons Learned
The "Golden Window": Kitty emphasized that you should use the JSON file immediately after exporting it from the DMT. If someone changes the folder structure or file names locally after the JSON is made, the upload will likely fail or have broken links.
ProjectWise Migration: Users shared that migrating from ProjectWise is particularly difficult because of how it handles folder IDs. The Reference Manager (the standalone AutoCAD tool) is still a favorite for remapping these paths before the final push to Form a.
DC vs. BUT: If your project is small (under 1GB), using the upload feature directly in the DMT (which uses Desktop Connector) is fine. For anything larger, the Bulk Upload Tool is a "game changer."
Community Q&A Highlights
The "Manage Portal" Struggle: A significant portion of the meeting was spent discussing the difficulty of accessing these tools in large corporate environments. Users noted that "Global IT" often locks down the Autodesk Manage portal, making it hard for BIM managers to get the latest installers without opening up permissions for thousands of employees.
Feature Request: There was a strong suggestion to integrate the old-school Reference Manager (which checks for support files like SHX, CTB, and PC3) into the modern Drawing Migration Tool to provide a "one-stop shop" for project health.
Gil Cordle
Digital Design Manager | Technology Consultant | Autodesk Expert Elite | AUGI Board of Directors | CITE User Group Leader
@GilCordle on LinkedIn | @GilCordle on X | @GilCordle on YouTube
