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Share and synchronize content between cloud-based Civil 3D projects by creating an automated bridge.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
8 min.
Transcript
00:03
If you have multiple Civil 3D projects in the cloud, you can copy and synchronize content from one project to another,
00:10
even if it resides in a different account.
00:13
If you are a member of both projects and have appropriate folder permissions,
00:18
you can create a synchronized, or automated, bridge that copies files between the host and receiving projects.
00:25
Once this connection is established, the bridge keeps both instances up to date unless you pause or delete the connection.
00:33
For this example, consider the scenario of a large project with each phase set up as its own project.
00:41
Phase 2 needs to reference several DWG files representing Lot Geometry, Topography, and Utilities from Phase 1,
00:50
but because Phase 1 is still underway, there could be more changes to this content.
00:56
In this case, a new folder will be created in Phase 2 and the files will be replicated using an automated bridge.
01:04
Xrefs and data shortcuts can then be created in Phase 2, and updates in Phase 1 will automatically sync to Phase 2.
01:12
Begin in your web browser with two ACC tabs open—one open to the Project Files of your sending project,
01:20
and one for the receiving project.
01:23
Here, the Zurich Phase 1 and Zurich Phase 2 projects are open.
01:28
In Phase 1, expand CAD Files and select Base Files to access the DWG files that you want to access in Phase 2.
01:38
Because automated bridges apply at the folder level, return to the CAD Files folder, then select the Base Files folder.
01:46
In the More menu, select Share.
01:50
In the Share dialog, select Another project, and then select Automatically sync updates to target project.
01:59
This option is available because a folder was selected.
02:04
Add a Title—in this case, “Ph1-Share”—and select Zurich Phase 2 for the Target project.
02:12
Click in the Target folder field, and then expand Project Files to select the receiving folder.
02:19
Creating a new folder will help to keep the files separate, so in this case, switch to the Phase 2 project,
02:26
and in the CAD Files folder, add a new subfolder called “PH1”.
02:31
Now, return to Phase 1, and in the dialog, expand CAD Files.
02:37
Select the new PH1 folder, then click Select.
02:42
In the Share dialog, the selected folder appears under Selected Items.
02:48
While the automation applies to any files within this folder, if you want to apply it to subfolders,
02:54
you must click Add folders and select the folders manually.
02:58
In this case, the Base Files folder does not have subfolders, so under Documentation, the Typical subfolder is selected.
03:07
Click Add.
03:09
You now see the Typical folder under Selected items, for inclusion in the PH1 target folder.
03:16
Note that any files versioned up or added to the host folder will also be versioned up or added to the receiving folder.
03:23
Click Share to create the bridge, and a confirmation message appears.
03:30
Switch to the Phase 2 project and select the PH1 folder, where you now see both the Base Files and Typical folders.
03:38
Select Typical, and notice the arrows in the Indicators column for each file resulting from the bridge.
03:46
Place the pointer over the arrow to see the project name and the syncing direction—in this case, from Zurich Phase 1.
03:54
These same Indicators are visible for files in the Base Files folder, and once the bridge fully updates,
03:60
you will see them at the folder level as well.
04:03
Switch back to Phase 1, and after refreshing, you see similar arrow Indicators here for both the Base Files folder and the files inside.
04:13
As expected, the arrows point in the opposite direction, because they represent syncing to Zurich Phase 2.
04:21
A record is kept of all bridge transactions, which you can view by clicking Bridge, and then the Incoming tab.
04:28
Select any transaction to view its contents and navigate to the relevant folder within the project.
04:35
Back on the Incoming tab, note that the values in the Automation column are No, because no syncing has happened.
04:43
Once the contents of either folder changes and syncs, a new transaction will appear with a value of Yes.
04:51
To demonstrate, here, the Topo.dwg file is opened in Civil 3D, and a circle is added.
04:59
When the change is saved, Desktop Connector indicates that the file is uploaded.
05:04
Back in the cloud, in the Phase 1 project, you see that Topo.dwg is locked, and there is a new version, V2.
05:14
Switch to the Phase 2 project, and when you navigate to the same file, you see that the file has synced and is also versioned to V2.
05:22
In the navigation panel, click Bridge, and on the Incoming tab, a new, untitled transaction is added with Yes in the Automation column.
05:32
Select this row to see the file that was updated for that transaction.
05:38
Next, select the Bridged projects tab.
05:41
If you open this tab in the sending project, the name of the receiving project displays, and vice versa.
05:49
From here, you can click in the Admin column to view the contact information.
05:55
Back on the Bridged projects tab, select a project to view automation details,
05:60
including a link to the active automations—in this case, there are two, because there are two synced folders.
06:07
Click this link to control whether each of these automations is active or paused.
06:13
Both the sending and receiving side can pause automations.
06:18
Simply select a folder, click Pause automations, and then click Pause to confirm.
06:25
This folder now appears on the Paused Automations tab.
06:30
Switch to the Phase 1 project, open the Bridge tool, and you see that one automation is active and one is paused.
06:38
Click 1 active automation to view the active and paused folders on their respective tabs.
06:45
If you are the Admin for both projects, then you can resume the automation at any point.
06:51
Here, select Base Files, click Resume automations, and then click Resume to confirm.
06:59
Back in Phase 2, click the Bridge tool, and you can see that there are now two active automations from Phase 1.
07:07
Note, however, that if you are bridging something to another account and choose to resume,
07:12
it will not become active until the receiver also resumes the automation.
07:17
Click Done.
07:19
To delete a bridge, on the Bridged projects tab, select a project, click Delete bridge, and then click Delete bridge again.
07:28
This severs the connection, but any replicated files will remain in the target project,
07:34
as you can see here in the Base Files folder for the Phase 2 project.
07:38
Likewise, in the navigation panel, select Bridge, and then open the Incoming tab to see that the transaction records also remain.
Video transcript
00:03
If you have multiple Civil 3D projects in the cloud, you can copy and synchronize content from one project to another,
00:10
even if it resides in a different account.
00:13
If you are a member of both projects and have appropriate folder permissions,
00:18
you can create a synchronized, or automated, bridge that copies files between the host and receiving projects.
00:25
Once this connection is established, the bridge keeps both instances up to date unless you pause or delete the connection.
00:33
For this example, consider the scenario of a large project with each phase set up as its own project.
00:41
Phase 2 needs to reference several DWG files representing Lot Geometry, Topography, and Utilities from Phase 1,
00:50
but because Phase 1 is still underway, there could be more changes to this content.
00:56
In this case, a new folder will be created in Phase 2 and the files will be replicated using an automated bridge.
01:04
Xrefs and data shortcuts can then be created in Phase 2, and updates in Phase 1 will automatically sync to Phase 2.
01:12
Begin in your web browser with two ACC tabs open—one open to the Project Files of your sending project,
01:20
and one for the receiving project.
01:23
Here, the Zurich Phase 1 and Zurich Phase 2 projects are open.
01:28
In Phase 1, expand CAD Files and select Base Files to access the DWG files that you want to access in Phase 2.
01:38
Because automated bridges apply at the folder level, return to the CAD Files folder, then select the Base Files folder.
01:46
In the More menu, select Share.
01:50
In the Share dialog, select Another project, and then select Automatically sync updates to target project.
01:59
This option is available because a folder was selected.
02:04
Add a Title—in this case, “Ph1-Share”—and select Zurich Phase 2 for the Target project.
02:12
Click in the Target folder field, and then expand Project Files to select the receiving folder.
02:19
Creating a new folder will help to keep the files separate, so in this case, switch to the Phase 2 project,
02:26
and in the CAD Files folder, add a new subfolder called “PH1”.
02:31
Now, return to Phase 1, and in the dialog, expand CAD Files.
02:37
Select the new PH1 folder, then click Select.
02:42
In the Share dialog, the selected folder appears under Selected Items.
02:48
While the automation applies to any files within this folder, if you want to apply it to subfolders,
02:54
you must click Add folders and select the folders manually.
02:58
In this case, the Base Files folder does not have subfolders, so under Documentation, the Typical subfolder is selected.
03:07
Click Add.
03:09
You now see the Typical folder under Selected items, for inclusion in the PH1 target folder.
03:16
Note that any files versioned up or added to the host folder will also be versioned up or added to the receiving folder.
03:23
Click Share to create the bridge, and a confirmation message appears.
03:30
Switch to the Phase 2 project and select the PH1 folder, where you now see both the Base Files and Typical folders.
03:38
Select Typical, and notice the arrows in the Indicators column for each file resulting from the bridge.
03:46
Place the pointer over the arrow to see the project name and the syncing direction—in this case, from Zurich Phase 1.
03:54
These same Indicators are visible for files in the Base Files folder, and once the bridge fully updates,
03:60
you will see them at the folder level as well.
04:03
Switch back to Phase 1, and after refreshing, you see similar arrow Indicators here for both the Base Files folder and the files inside.
04:13
As expected, the arrows point in the opposite direction, because they represent syncing to Zurich Phase 2.
04:21
A record is kept of all bridge transactions, which you can view by clicking Bridge, and then the Incoming tab.
04:28
Select any transaction to view its contents and navigate to the relevant folder within the project.
04:35
Back on the Incoming tab, note that the values in the Automation column are No, because no syncing has happened.
04:43
Once the contents of either folder changes and syncs, a new transaction will appear with a value of Yes.
04:51
To demonstrate, here, the Topo.dwg file is opened in Civil 3D, and a circle is added.
04:59
When the change is saved, Desktop Connector indicates that the file is uploaded.
05:04
Back in the cloud, in the Phase 1 project, you see that Topo.dwg is locked, and there is a new version, V2.
05:14
Switch to the Phase 2 project, and when you navigate to the same file, you see that the file has synced and is also versioned to V2.
05:22
In the navigation panel, click Bridge, and on the Incoming tab, a new, untitled transaction is added with Yes in the Automation column.
05:32
Select this row to see the file that was updated for that transaction.
05:38
Next, select the Bridged projects tab.
05:41
If you open this tab in the sending project, the name of the receiving project displays, and vice versa.
05:49
From here, you can click in the Admin column to view the contact information.
05:55
Back on the Bridged projects tab, select a project to view automation details,
05:60
including a link to the active automations—in this case, there are two, because there are two synced folders.
06:07
Click this link to control whether each of these automations is active or paused.
06:13
Both the sending and receiving side can pause automations.
06:18
Simply select a folder, click Pause automations, and then click Pause to confirm.
06:25
This folder now appears on the Paused Automations tab.
06:30
Switch to the Phase 1 project, open the Bridge tool, and you see that one automation is active and one is paused.
06:38
Click 1 active automation to view the active and paused folders on their respective tabs.
06:45
If you are the Admin for both projects, then you can resume the automation at any point.
06:51
Here, select Base Files, click Resume automations, and then click Resume to confirm.
06:59
Back in Phase 2, click the Bridge tool, and you can see that there are now two active automations from Phase 1.
07:07
Note, however, that if you are bridging something to another account and choose to resume,
07:12
it will not become active until the receiver also resumes the automation.
07:17
Click Done.
07:19
To delete a bridge, on the Bridged projects tab, select a project, click Delete bridge, and then click Delete bridge again.
07:28
This severs the connection, but any replicated files will remain in the target project,
07:34
as you can see here in the Base Files folder for the Phase 2 project.
07:38
Likewise, in the navigation panel, select Bridge, and then open the Incoming tab to see that the transaction records also remain.
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