When managing documents in BIMcollab, you can create placeholders to reserve a place for documents that are not yet ready to be uploaded.
A placeholder contains the document's metadata, without an actual file. This allows you to prepare your document structure and collaborate on documents before the files become available.
Once a document is ready, you can upload it directly to the existing placeholder without having to create a new document entry.
⚠️ Note: Not all features are available on all Tiers. To check if it’s included in your subscription, review the Tier comparison list or contact your admin. If a feature isn’t available, you may need to upgrade your tier.
Create a placeholder
Placeholders can be created in one of two ways: adding individual placeholders manually or using an Upload List to generate multiple placeholders.
⚠️ Attention: Placeholders can't be added in the default upload method; they can only be added when the Advanced upload method is enabled.
Create placeholders manually
To add a document placeholder, first navigate to the project (phase) you want to add it to.
From the Documents tab, click on the Add to project (phase) button in the top right corner, then select Create Placeholder. You do not need to add a file at this stage.
A new placeholder will be added to the Drafts tab.
Select the placeholder to enter its metadata in the panel on the right. You can select multiple placeholders to edit their metadata simultaneously. Complete the required metadata fields, indicated by an asterisk (*). If the project has a Document Naming Convention applied, the document name will be automatically created from the added metadata.
Click on the Save button at the top of the page once you are done.
The placeholder is now created and can be identified by the dashed rectangle icon next to its name.
Any information regarding the Document Date, Version Date, Version number, Version description, or Status will remain unfilled until a document is actually uploaded.
Create multiple placeholders using an Upload list
An Upload List allows you to create multiple placeholders at once using document metadata prepared in an Excel spreadsheet. This is particularly useful when setting up a project with a large number of planned documents.
To create an Upload list, you first need to download the Excel template file, which is available here. Open the template and enter the document metadata for each placeholder you want to create.
⚠️ Attention: When creating the upload list, the metadata fields related to the latest version should be left blank for placeholders, since this information cannot be predicted in advance. All of the light blue columns should be left blank. These will be added when the actual models are uploaded.
To import an upload list:
From the Documents tab, click on the Add to project (phase) button in the top right corner, then select Upload list.
Choose the upload list file you have created, and click the Upload button.
Review the import results and any notifications.
Click Go to drafts button to view the newly created placeholders in the Drafts tab.
To review and share placeholders:
If needed, click on the placeholder (or select multiple to multi-edit) to edit metadata in the right menu.
Once the metadata is set, select the placeholder(s) and click on the Share icon to add the placeholder to the Shared folder in the Document list.
📝 Note:
It is possible to add To do items such as notes, questions or tasks to placeholders before any document version is uploaded. This way, the document contents can be discussed before it is even created.
To learn more about to use To do's to communicate on your documents, refer to this article: To do's tab
Upload Documents to existing Placeholders
Once your document files are ready, you can upload them to the placeholders you previously created. Just like creating the placeholders themselves, you can also add documents to them either manually or by using an upload list.
⚠️ Attention: To be able to upload a document to the placeholder, the placeholder must first be moved from Drafts to the Shared folder, by sharing the document, as explained in the previous section.
Manually add a document to a placeholder
From the Documents list, select the placeholder you would like to upload a document to.
Go to the versions (1) tab and click on the Add version (2) button.
The document name is already filled in based on the placeholder's existing metadata.
Complete the required information marked with an asterisk *:Upload the file (1)
Specify a version number (2)
Add version date (3)
Specify a status (4)
Once all the required information is complete, click on the Upload (5) button.
The Documents created page summarises all the documents that have been created. This includes their version numbers as well as if they are associated with any workflows.
Click Continue to return to the Documents page.
The document file is now associated with the existing placeholder. The placeholder becomes a regular document with an uploaded version in your document list.
Add multiple documents to placeholders using an upload list
You can use an Upload List to upload multiple document files to their existing placeholders in a single operation.
Edit the existing Upload List Excel spreadsheet and add the missing information for the blue cells: File Name, Document Date and Version Details. Save the Excel file.
❗ Warning: For file name, this should exactly match the file name of the document and include the file type extension (Eg .pdf).
2. In BIMcollab, navigate to the project (phase) where your placeholders are located and click on the Add to button, then select Upload list.
3. Drag and drop, or browse to select the file(s) together with the upload list to be uploaded.
4. Click the Upload button. Review the information and any notifications. Click on the Go to drafts button to view the imported documents.
5. In the Drafts tab, review the uploaded documents and their metadata. If needed, select individual documents or multiple documents to update their metadata in the right-hand panel.
6. Once the metadata is set, select the document(s) and click on the Share icon to share the documents to the Shared folder.
The uploaded files are now available as document versions associated with their existing placeholders in the shared document list.
