In BIMcollab, documents can be associated with supplementary information through various means. Understanding the distinctions between these associations ensures effective document management and information retrieval within your projects.
1. Attachments
Purpose: Files directly uploaded and stored with a specific document version. They are static and preserved as part of the document's history.
Location: Accessible via the Attachments tab within the document details page.
How to Add:
Navigate to the Attachments section in the document details.
Click on Add Attachment to Current Version to upload files directly to the current version.
To add attachments to a different version, open that specific version from the Versions tab, then proceed to add attachments within its details page after editing
Alternatively, attachments can be added using an upload list. By specifying attachment filenames in the designated column of the upload list Excel template, and uploading it alongside the main documents, attachments will be automatically associated with their respective document versions.
2. Linked Documents
Purpose: References to other documents within the project. They maintain a dynamic relationship, reflecting updates made to the linked document.
Location: Accessible via the Links tab within the document details page.
How to Add:
Navigate to the Links section in the document details.
Click on Edit Links to establish new associations or remove existing ones.
Note: Editing links only affects the "Linked To" section. To modify the "Linked By" section, adjust the link settings from the other document involved.
3. External References and External Links
Purpose of External References : Connections between the entire document and an external resource not stored within BIMcollab. Useful when the external resource is relevant to all versions of the document.
Purpose of External Links: Version-specific references to external resources. Beneficial when different versions of a document relate to different external materials.
Note: You can add URLs as external resources or paths to internal offline servers.
Location: Accessible via the Document section within the document details page.
How to add an External Reference:
Navigate to the Document details> Document section> External References among all the metadata of a document
Click on Add to insert an external resource.
How to add an External link:
Open the specific document version from the Versions tab.
Edit the document details of the version and insert the external link.
Note: While both attachments and linked documents associate additional information with a primary document, they serve different purposes. Attachments are static files preserved with a specific document version, whereas linked documents maintain dynamic relationships within the project. External references and external links, on the other hand, connect documents to resources outside BIMcollab, with external references applying to the entire document and external links being version-specific.
Understanding these distinctions ensures proper document management and information retrieval within your projects.