When using the Advanced upload document setting, adding metadata is required before documents can be uploaded. This gives you more control over document information and ensures consistency across the project.
💡 Tip: The upload setting can be selected in the Project Settings, as described in this article. The alternative is the default upload setting, where adding metadata is optional.
Before you start
User permissions
To upload documents, you need a:
A BIMcollab license.
The appropriate user team role for uploading at the project level.
The appropriate Workgroup role permissions for uploading at the project phase level.
⚠️ Attention:
If you do not have the right permissions, the Add button won't be visible.
To edit metadata, you need Edit permission for the documents you select. Without it, the Edit button stays disabled.
Select the correct Location, Project, or Phase
New documents are always added to the currently selected project or project phase (2), as shown in the navigation menu. Make sure you are adding documents (1) to the correct project (phase).
Upload documents
Before being shared, Documents you add are added as drafts until their metadata is complete. These will be visible in the Draft tab, where you can edit one by one or multiple at a time, and choose which ones to share.
📝 Note: Files in the Draft tab are visible only to you. Other project members cannot access them until you share them.
You can add documents in two ways:
1.Drag and drop
Drag and drop files into the upload area.
2. Use the Add button
Clicking the Add to project/project phase button lets you choose how you want to add your files:
Upload to drafts: Manually select files from your computer you want to add.
Upload list: Upload your files together with an upload list. An upload list lets you predefine document metadata and populate it in one step. See Upload list.
Create a placeholder: Select it to create an information template for a file that has not been uploaded yet. See Document placeholders.
Connect to other platform: Select the platform you want to retrieve your files from. See Connecting Autodesk Forma with Document Management.
Review your Drafts
Once added, your documents appear in the Drafts tab. Selecting one or more documents displays a toolbar with the available actions.
You can perform the following actions on your draft documents:
Action | How |
Edit (A) | Add or update document metadata. |
Share (B) | Make draft documents available in the shared document list. |
Discard (C) | Delete the draft documents. |
Search (D) | Find specific documents in the Drafts list. |
Columns (E) | Customize displayed columns. |
📝 Note: When a Document Number Convention is active, and your file does not comply with it, the draft shows the filename and Untitled document as the document name. Add the required metadata as explained in the next step, to generate a valid document name.
Adding metadata to drafts
Before sharing your files, you must complete all required metadata fields. You can add metadata to individual documents or to multiple documents at once.
Add metadata to an individual document
Select the document you want to edit, and the metadata panel opens on the right-hand side. Certain metadata fields are marked as mandatory with a red asterisk (*).
📝 Note: For a detailed explanation of what each metadata type is in BIMcollab, you can refer to this article: Document metadata types and usage.
Required metadata fields include the information listed below.
At the document level:
Document name
Depending on the upload method and whether a Document number convention (DNC) is active, BIMcollab can determine the name from the file name, or manually entered metadata. When a DNC is active, the document name is generated according to the naming convention once all required metadata is provided. For more information, see Document Name.Document date
Author
Description 1
Discipline
Document type
At the version level:
Version number
To add a new version to an existing document, the document name must match exactly. Only then will the new upload be connected to the previous versions. If the document name is already known on BIMcollab, the information will be filled in.Version date
Status
Add metadata to multiple documents
You can add or update metadata for multiple documents at once using either multi-select or an Upload List.
Edit multiple drafts using multi-select
Multi-select allows you to apply the same metadata values to several draft documents at once. This is particularly useful when multiple documents share the same metadata.
In the Drafts tab, use the check boxes to select the documents you want to edit, and click Edit to open the metadata panel.
Add metadata using an Upload List
An Upload List allows you to add metadata to multiple documents using an Excel spreadsheet, without having to edit each document manually.
For detailed instructions on preparing and using an Excel Upload list, see Upload lists.
Share your drafts
Once all required metadata has been completed, you can share your documents with your project team.
Select the document(s), and click the share button.
Error message
After clicking the share button, an error icon may appear next to a document if certain restrictions prevent it from being shared.
This can happen for the following reasons:
Missing metadata: One or more required metadata fields are incomplete. Fill in the missing information before sharing the document.
Insufficient permissions: You do not have permission to edit one or more selected documents.
Mixed document levels: Your selection includes both project and project phase documents, which cannot be edited together.
Frozen documents: One or more selected documents are frozen and cannot be edited.
Notifications
Once you click Share, a window with a Notification option pops up.
This is an accompanying message when documents are uploaded, addressed to selected users in BIMcollab. This notification is saved as a message, and an email is sent immediately after posting.
After sharing, the document is moved to the Shared folder, where all team members with appropriate permissions can view the document and start collaborating on it.
