Project browser

Commands

DATAEXTRACTION, BIMSECTIONUPDATE, BIMSECTIONOPEN

The project browser panel

You can find the BIM Project Browser panel on the left-hand side of the screen.
Note: If the BIM Project Browser doesn't display in the panel, right-click in the panel and select Panels > BIM Project Browser

Create a BIM project

To create a BIM project, you must select the model drawing and then:

  1. Click the Create Project button in the BIM Project Browser.

    During the project creation, some files are automatically generated in the project folder, such as a sheetset file (.dst), a database file (.bsyslib), a new subfolder for the sheet templates and a default sheet template (.dwt).

    All external references files of the master are included in the project.

  2. Info tab of the BIM Project Browser panel is opened:

    Other drawings could be added to the project by simply saving them in the same folder and then Add to Project.

  3. A Project Database is created. The Project Database dialog box opens by pressing the three points on the right side of the field.

    Make sure all drawings are connected to the same project database, that means all models are referred to the same single definition of materials, compositions, profiles, story and building.

    For more information about project database, launch BIMPROJECTINFO command that opens the BIM Project Info dialog box.

  4. A Project Sheetset file is generated.
  5. (Optional) Set the Project info

    Type a name in the Project Name field (the default project name is the name of the parent folder).

    Select a Company Logo file from the Select a Company Logo dialog box that opens when click on the picture field.

    Select a Project Logo file from the Select a Project Logo dialog box that opens when click on the picture field.

    Sheetset Custom Properties and Sheet Custom Properties will appear in the title blocks of a different sheets.

Editing a project

Click on the Menu button (). A context menu displays:
  • Refresh: Refreshes the Project Browser to match changes in the model.
  • Project Database: Opens the Project Database dialog box.
  • Sheetset Setup: Opens the Sheetset Setup dialog box.
  • Auto Background Updating: Calculates section results automatically (without interrupting user workflow).

Sheetset setup

Sheetset: Shows the path of the sheetset file.

Template: Shows the path of the current template. Click Browse () to change the template.

Layout: Selects on which layout (different paper sizes) the section results will be generated.

  1. The Viewports tab lists all sheets with their papersize, orientation, viewportscale, section name and type and model file name.
  2. The Sections tab lists all sections. For each section with an empty Current Destination field, a viewport and sheet view are generated.
  3. Click Sheets tab to preview each sheet (within the selected layout).
    Note: When the viewport is larger than the layout, it is displayed in red.
  4. Click the Configuration tab. Double-click to change the properties. Under Sheets Folder you can change the name of the folder where the sheets will be stored.
  5. Click Create Sheets. An overview of the project displays and the sheets are generated.

    Note: The drawings with an orange fill circle icon are out of date or not yet generated. Right-click on them and select Update Now or Update in Background to match changes in the models included in the project.

Creating schedules

See the Schedules article for more information about Schedules.

Working in the project browser

Right-click an item in the BIM Project Browser to display a context menu.

Sheet:

  • Sheet Properties…: opens the Sheet Properties dialog box that allows you to show and modify the properties of a sheet.
  • Open sheet: opens the sheet.
  • Remove sheet: Removes the sheet.
  • Update now: updates the sheet views.
  • Update in Background: updates the sheet views in background.

Sheet view:

  • View Properties…: opens the Sheet View Properties dialog box that allows you to modify the properties of a sheet view.
  • Display View: displays the corresponding result and zooms in on its viewport.
  • Remove View/Result: removes the sheet view and corresponding result.
  • Update Now: updates the sheet view.
  • Update in Background: updates the sheet view in background.

Subset:

  • Subset Properties…: opens the Subset Properties dialog box that allows you to modify the properties of a subset.
  • Rename: renames the subset.
  • Remove Subset: removes the subset (only possible when it doesn't contain any sheets/subsets).

Sections and views

  • Select Section Entity: Selects the section entity in the project model drawing.
  • Rename: Renames the section entity.
  • Display Section Result: Displays the section result in the corresponding sheet and zooms in on its viewport. If not already open, the drawing is opened.
  • Update Now: Recalculates the section result.
  • Update in Background: Recalculates the section result in background, without interrupting user workflow.
  • Generate on current sheet: Generates the section result on the currently active sheet.

Schedule:

  • Generate on current sheet: generates a schedule on current sheet.
  • Edit: opens the Wizard Page dialog box that allows you to edit the schedule.
  • Rename: renames the schedule.
  • Duplicate: creates a duplicate of the schedule.
  • Delete: removes the schedule.