Connecting Autodesk Forma to Document Management in BIMcollab allows you to bring your project documents into one central environment.
In many projects, documents such as models, reports, and contracts are stored across different platforms. This can make it difficult to maintain an overview and ensure that everyone is working with the correct information.
With BIMcollab Document Sync, you can:
Access documents from Autodesk Forma directly in BIMcollab.
Upload and manage documents within Document Management.
Work with documents alongside issues, models, and project communication in one place.
Reduce the need to switch between platforms and lower the risk of working with outdated information.
This helps project teams stay aligned and ensures that all stakeholders have access to the same, up-to-date project information.
Requirements
Before setting up the connection, make sure you have:
Access to a BIMcollab project with a Project leader, Editor or Editor for documents role.
Access to an Autodesk Forma account and project.
Permission to connect external platforms in BIMcollab.
Permission to install apps from the Autodesk App Store.
Additionally, to upload documents from Autodesk Forma on the project Phase level, users also need to have 'Add documents (confidential) permissions' for their phase user role.
Installing BIMcollab Document Sync in Autodesk Forma
Before connecting BIMcollab, you must install the required add-on in Autodesk Forma:
Step 1: Go to the Autodesk App Store and find the BIMcollab Document Sync app.
Step 2: Click Install.
Step 3: Follow the installation steps for your Autodesk Forma account.
⚠️ Attention: The connection in BIMcollab will not work if the app is not installed in Autodesk Forma first.
Connecting Forma Data Management (Autodesk Forma) and uploading a document to BIMcollab Document Management
Step 1: Log in to your BIMcollab account and go to the Documents tab.
Step 2: Click Add to project in the top-right corner and choose Connect other platforms.
Step 3: In the dialog, find Autodesk Forma and Connect.
After starting the connection, you will need to authorize BIMcollab. You will be redirected to the Autodesk authorization screen.
Step 4: Sign in with your Autodesk account (if not already signed in).
Step 5: Review the requested permissions and click Allow to authorize the connection.
📝 Note: Authorization is required to access your Autodesk Forma projects and files.
After authorization, you can choose which project and files to share.
Step 6: In the Upload files from Autodesk Forma dialog (e.g. Upload files from Autodesk Forma), select your Autodesk account.
Step 7: Select the project and the files you want to use.
Step 8: Click Upload and share.
📝 Note: The upload progress is displayed while files are being transferred.
Verifying uploaded documents
⚠️ Attention: Availability of uploaded documents depends on the upload method.
Default method: documents appear immediately in the Documents list.
Advanced method: documents go to your personal queue and metadata needs to be added before they become available.
After uploading, confirm that the documents are available:
The file appears in the Documents list in your BIMcollab project.
Open the document details and check the Source field, or check the icon from the Document list.
The source should display Autodesk Forma.
Updating documents from Autodesk Forma
You can update documents when a new version is available:
Step 1: Select the document in the Documents list.
Step 2: Click Update in the toolbar.
BIMcollab will retrieve the latest document version from Autodesk Forma if available.
Disconnecting Autodesk Forma (optional)
To remove the connection:
Step 1: Go to the Documents tab.
Step 2: Click Add to project.
Step 3: Select Connect other platforms.
Step 4: Click Disconnect next to Autodesk Forma.
⚠️ Attention: Disconnecting removes access to Autodesk Forma for this project but does not remove the already uploaded documents.