The SDK Connector with full GUI lets you build a complete BIMcollab issue manager for your own Windows application. This article explains what the Connector is, how it works with your application, and what you need before you start developing.
💡 Tip: New to SDKs? Read API and SDK basics for beginners first.
What is the SDK Connector?
The BIMcollab SDK Connector is a C# library with a ready-made user interface that incorporates the same issue management features as the BIMcollab BCF Managers, our plug-ins for applications such as Revit and AutoCAD.
You add the Connector to a window of your application, and your users can view, create, and update BIMcollab issues without leaving your software. The Connector handles the user interface and the communication with BIMcollab. Your application only needs to connect it to the model.
With the SDK Connector, your application can:
Show the full issue list of a BIMcollab project, with filters.
Create and update issues with viewpoints, snapshots, and components.
Zoom to an issue: recreate the saved view in your model, including the camera, components, and section planes.
Import issues from your own application, for example, clash detection results.
Common things people build with it:
BIM tool plug-ins: add BIMcollab issue management to an IFC modeling, review, or viewer application.
Model checking integrations: turn clash or rule-check results into BIMcollab issues with one click.
Coordination tools: let users open an issue and see the problem directly in the model.
📝 Note: You can also use the SDK Connector together with the Connection API. For example, use the Connector for the issue interface in your Windows application, and the Connection API for tasks such as reporting or synchronization. See BIMcollab developers options overview.
How the SDK Connector works
The Connector has three parts that work together:
BIMcollab space
↕ handled by the Connector
User control (the BCF Manager interface)
↕ AppInterface: the code you write
Your application and its model
Part | What it does | Who builds it |
User control | The BCF Manager interface that you place in a window of your application. It communicates with BIMcollab. | BIMcollab ( |
AppInterface | The connection between the user control and your application. The user control calls it to perform actions in the model, such as taking a snapshot or setting the camera. | You, based on the template in the package |
Your application | Your software and its model. | You |
For example, when a user creates an issue, the user control asks the AppInterface to take a snapshot and to describe the current view. When a user opens an issue, the user control asks the AppInterface to recreate that view in the model.
📝 Note: The Connector works online only. It needs an internet connection to communicate with BIMcollab. An offline workflow with BCF files is available on request.
Requirements
Your application must:
Be able to host a user control built for .NET Framework 4.8.
Provide functions to get and set the camera position, get and set clipping planes, and get the visible and selected components in the model.
Run with the Prefer 32-bit option switched off (in Visual Studio: Project properties > Build > General).
Include the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package as a prerequisite in its installer.
After you download the package, unblock these files. Windows blocks files downloaded from the internet as a security measure:
BIMcollab.Login.CLR.dllBIMcollab.Login.Webview.dllThe license manager file
To unblock a file, right-click it, select Properties, select Unblock, and click OK.
What's in the package
Folder | Contents |
Source |
|
Redistributable | The files you distribute with your application: |
Resources | Official BIMcollab icons and images that you can use in your application. |
How to get the SDK package
To get the SDK package, apply as a BIMcollab developer and request the SDK package for your application.
App tokens and activation
Every application that uses the Connector needs an app token. The app token identifies your application when it connects to BIMcollab.
Stage | Token | Stage |
During development | The generic developer token:
| The Playground only ( |
After development | An app token for your application | All BIMcollab spaces |
How to get an app token for your application
Finish and test your integration on the Playground.
Submit your application for testing. Send an email to [email protected] with a recording of your application working with the Connector on the Playground.
After a successful test, you receive a document with your app token and other values for your application. See Getting started with the SDK Connector: implementing the AppInterface.
📝 Note: Every person who uses your application with the Connector must activate by logging in with their own BIMcollab ID. This is the same activation as for other BIMcollab applications.
Troubleshooting
Problem | Possible cause | Solution |
The user control doesn't load, or Windows shows a security error. | The downloaded files are still blocked. | Unblock the files listed under Requirements. |
The application fails to start with the user control. | Prefer 32-bit is switched on. | Switch off Prefer 32-bit under Project properties > Build > General. |
The application fails on a computer without Visual Studio. | The Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package isn't installed. | Add the package as a prerequisite in your installer. |
Users can't connect to their own BIMcollab space. | The application still uses the generic developer token. | Request an app token for your application. |