Using the Project Browser

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 save the model drawing and then:

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

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

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

  2. The Info tab of the BIM Project Browser panel is opened:
  3. A Project Database is created. The Project Database dialog box opens by pressing the Browse button () on the right side of the Project Database 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.

    Note: For more information about the project database, launch BIMPROJECTINFO command that opens the BIM Project Info dialog box.
  4. The Project Sheetset field shows the used sheetset. You can open the drop-down menu to select another Sheetset that is located in the project folder.
  5. Sheet Template Layout shows the path of the current template. Click the Browse button () to change the template.
  6. (Optional) Set the Project info in the Project Control section:

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

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

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

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

Refresh the project

Click on the Refresh button (). The BIM Project Browser is refreshed to match the changes in the model.

Create Sheets

Go to the Sections and views tab of the BIM Project Browser panel and right click a section. Select Create Sheets to open the Create Sheets dialog box.

  1. The Viewports tab lists all sheets that will be created with their sheet name, layout, view name, view scale, typed plan, section name and type and model file name.
  2. The Settings tab lists the settings of the sheets that will be created. The naming of the sheets can be changed in the Categories tab section. The margins of the sheets can be set in the Margins tab section. You can also toggle One section per sheet on and off to allow multiple sections per sheet.
  3. A preview of the created sheet is shown on the right side of the dialog box. Click hide preview to toggle the preview off.
    Note: When the viewport is larger than the layout, the preview is displayed in red.
  4. Click Create to create the sheets. The sheets are then visible in the Sheets tab of the BIM Project Browser panel.

Edit Sheets

Go to the Sheets tab of the Project Browser panel and right-click a sheet/sheet view. Select Edit Sheet to open the Edit Sheets dialog box.

  1. The Viewports tab lists all sheet views of the selected sheet. You can edit the scale and select a typed plan for the selected sheet view.
    Note: A sheet's views position on the layout cannot be changed in the Edit Sheets dialog box. To do that, go to the Sheets tab and double-click the sheet's name to open the sheet's drawing.
  2. A preview of the sheet is shown on the right side of the dialog box. Click the Hide preview button to toggle the preview off. When a sheet view size is larger than the sheet's layout, the layout preview is displayed in red. In this case you can adjust the view scale to fit the layout.
    Note: The layout size of an existing sheet cannot be changed from the Edit Sheets dialog box. To have a different layout size, you need to create a new sheet with the desired size.
  3. Click Done to save the changes.

Auto Background Updating

Go to the Sheets tab in the Project Browser. At the bottom you can toggle Auto background updating option On or Off. When enabled, section results are calculated automatically without interrupting the user workflow.

Note: In the Sheets tab of the Project Browser panel, 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.
Note: The drawings with a red fill circle icon have an error. This occurs when the section is deleted or not stored at the correct location.
Note: When you hover over a sheet that is out of date, the last update time of the sheet and the last time the model was saved are displayed on a tooltip.

Creating a BOM (Bill of Materials)

In the BIM Project Browser panel, go to the Files tab and click the Add button. Select New BOM option to create a new Bill of Materials or Import BOM option to add an existing one. The BOM files are listed in the Schedules folder.

Note: The BIM Project Browser panel supports the old schedules workflow. You can add DXD files manually to the Schedules folder. When a DXD file is present in the Schedules folder, its context menu displays the same options as for a BOM file. All context menu options are listed in the BIM Project Browser panel related article.

To place a BOM on an opened sheet, go to the Files tab tree and find the BOM file in the Schedules folder. Drag-and-drop it from here on the sheet's Paperspace. This generates a table with a datalink to the BOM file.

To edit a BOM file, use the BMBOMTEMPLATEEDIT command and update the corresponding placed schedule(s) using the DATALINKUPDATE command.

Note: For more information about creating and editing a BOM, see the BMBOMTEMPLATEEDIT command and BOM Manager panel articles.