BIMcollab is a model-based document and asset management platform designed to store, manage, and share building and infrastructure data. It facilitates collaboration and stakeholder involvement through Digital Twin technology, driving BIM adoption in projects.
Document Management is an optional module added to your BIMcollab space. Once subscribed, document management features are available immediately for users who are assigned a BIMcollab Twin license.
💡 Tip: Do you prefer more hands-on learning? Go to our BIMcollab Academy and enroll in the Working with Document Management course - coming soon!
Access your space
Before you can start working with documents, the administrator of your space will first invite you as a user.
You can use the link in the invitation email to navigate to your space and create a password for your Space Account.
BIMcollab Top Ribbon
The top ribbon offers quick access to BIMcollab functionalities. For Document management, here's what you need to know about each tab:
1. My projects
We can open “My projects” by clicking the name of your space. By hovering on the three lines to the left, a vertical directory opens, with an overview of all projects you are participating in. BIMcollab has a spatial structure for Document Management that starts with 'Locations'. Locations also contain elements like plots, buildings, and storeys. 'Projects' are then established within these locations and organized by the account Administrator into 'Phases' that reflect the project’s stages.
This vertical window conveniently displays locations, projects, and phases for easy document access and navigation.
2. Dashboard
The Dashboard for documents is accessible from the toggle in the top right of the Dashboard page. It provides a starting point for all of the latest information and activities within your project documents.
The overview of your project data depends on which level of the project structure you've selected. You can see an overview either at the Location level, Project level or Project Phase level.
From here, you will be able to see an overview of the various critical communication items that exist in your project, including: Questions (A), Tasks (B), Audit Tasks (C) and Reviews (D). You also have an overview of the latest Document activity (E) in your project, including information such as Document number, Description, Document Date, Version Date, Version Number, Status, and who added the document.
3. Model
Models that are uploaded in the 'Documents' section of a BIMcollab project phase, can be shared so they can be viewed in the BIMcollab Model WebViewer. Once a document is shared with the WebViewer you will be able to see it in the Model tab. The BIMcollab WebViewer includes three main panels which can be easily hidden or revealed based on your requirements: Navigation panel (A), Property panel (B), and Issues panel (C).
You can learn more about the features of BIMcollab Model WebViewer in this article: Quick Start Guide BIMcollab Model WebViewer
4. Documents
To access the BIMcollab document management window within the BIMcollab Space, simply navigate to the 'Documents' tab. The Document tab includes 4 main sections:
A. Menu : Select and view document categories
B. Filters: Customize and save search filters, and share them with your team.
C. Document Search: Quickly find documents using custom filters and search fields.
D. Document List: View a comprehensive list of documents with key details like status, version, and author.
You can learn more about the document tab here: Documents module
5. To do's
The "To do's" tab captures document related communication within BIMcollab. All project communication items are documented and accessible to project stakeholders from this tab. A transparent workflow is fundamental in a project, as communication transparency ensures everyone has insight into ongoing discussions and tasks.
The "To do's" tab is divided into three sections: Menu (A) where various communication items like questions, tasks, and notes are available; My Items (B) which lets you filter To-do items to find those relevant to you or your company; "Status, Label, Comments, Type (C)" where additional fields appear based on the selected communication type, allowing for further filtering. Read about the To do's tab in this article: To do's module
6. Settings
In this section, users can view the project settings of the general BIMcollab environment, including the General, Document Management, and Issue Management modules. Settings related to managing project documents can be found under the "Document Management" section. This area displays settings such as workflows, work package codes, document naming conventions, and document upload settings, which are applied to current phase or project. However, only users in a project leader role (on a project level), or users with needed permissions (on a phase level), have permission to modify these settings.
7. Administrator portal
This Gear icon is only visible to the space admins and it grants them access to administrative functions.
After clicking the Gear icon, the top ribbon changes from dark blue to red, entering the administrator portal. Read this article to get started as a BIMcollab administrator: Get Started with Document Management for Admins
8. Help Center
The question mark icon opens a world of resources. Explore the Help Center to enhance your understanding of BIMcollab best practices.
9. Account settings
The avatar icon serves as a visual representation of each user's account. The dropdown menu associated with the avatar provides access to "My account", ''Messages", "Change password" and the "Log out" button for ending the session.
"My account" allows users to manage their personal information, check their role and rights, adjust their user language, upload an avatar and activate Two-factor authentication.
Essential Features to Get You Started
This section will help you understand how to effectively manage and communicate about your project documents, as well as work with 3D models using the BIMcollab Model WebViewer.
Viewing, downloading and uploading documents
Uploading
Under the "Documents" tab at the top right of the screen is the button for adding (1) documents to a project. The path in the navigation menu (2) determines the space, location, project or project phase where the documents will be placed. Thus, it will be necessary to navigate to the right place before documents can be placed. For example, if documents are to be placed in different phases, they must be split up and uploaded to their respective phase.
To upload documents, after clicking on the Add button, you can drag and drop files or use the "Choose files". Click "Upload" to submit your files. In the next steps you should add metadata to each document to finalize the upload. Information for uploaded files can be filled in manually or automatically through a special upload list (Excel file).
Viewing
In the BIMcollab, users can efficiently manage and preview documents such as images, PDFs, and DWG files directly within the application. Navigate to the "Documents tab" and access the Documents overview and Look for the view icon next to the respective file types.
Click on the icon to display the document preview. To learn more refer to this article: Preview, annotate, and collaborate on documents in BIMcollab
Looking for a specific document? Learn more about search and filtering features in this article: Customizing columns in a document list and using filters
Downloading
In the document overview, you can click on the download button next to the name of the document. The document will be saved in the "Downloads" folder of your device.
If you want to download multiple files at the same time, select them from the overview page and choose the download settings from the download menu. Downloading multiple documents is only available at phase level within the spatial structure.
Learn more about downloading documents here: Download documents
Communicate with your team about documents
Effective communication about documents is crucial for project success in the BIMcollab. Here’s how you can streamline your interactions:
Questions: Raise questions about general items or specific documents directly within BIMcollab. Once the responsible party provides a response, you can approve or reject it based on its adequacy.
Tasks: Assign action items to specific team members, such as requests to update information or adjust project elements. Once completed, the responsible party can mark the task as done, allowing you to review and approve their response.
Notes: Use notes to add general remarks or observations that don’t require action. Notes are shared with the team through the 'Informed' field, ensuring everyone stays updated.
You can create communication items (questions, notes, or tasks) in two ways within BIMcollab:
1. General Communication: Created in the To do's tab of the relevant project for broader discussions.
2. Item-Specific Communication: Added and attached directly to a specific document or element for more precise feedback and tracking.
Learn how to add these items from this article: Adding communication
Notifications: Receive automatic notifications when new items are added or updated. These notifications appear in your overview if you are listed as a recipient, keeping you informed of important changes.
Audit Tasks and Reviews: Workflows automate project approval processes for documents, turning various tasks into automated sequences. While only space administrators can set up and edit workflows, regular users interact with them by fulfilling the created tasks. Audit Round creates multiple audit tasks for stakeholders to provide feedback within a set deadline. The outcome determines the next step in the workflow. Review Task assigns tasks to users who will approve or reject a document. The workflow progresses when the first responsible person completes the task.
Revisions: Assign documents for revision and track their status. When a document is put under revision, it is effectively "frozen," ensuring that all changes are captured and managed systematically. You can learn more about Revisions here.
Working with models
The BIMcollab Model WebViewer allows you to view and interact with IFC files within your project. Follow these steps to make the most of its features:
Access the WebViewer: Go to the "Model" tab in your BIMcollab Space project to open the WebViewer.
Navigation Panel: Use this panel to open models, tag them and navigate through them. You can view and explore various model components under "Objects."
Property Panel: This panel displays the properties of selected models or objects, providing detailed information as you interact with the model.
Add models to the WebViewer: Models that are uploaded in the "Documents" section of a BIMcollab project phase, can be shared so they can be viewed in the BIMcollab Model WebViewer.
Once a document is shared with the WebViewer you will be able to see it in the navigation panel.