BIM 360 / Autodesk Desktop Connector/ AutoCAD file usage

[audiocycle]

I assume most of us are working from home so I thought I would share what I found out this week to lessen the frustration while working with BIM 360 / Autodesk Desktop Connector / AutoCAD Fabrication CADmep files.

To collaborate in the cloud with AutoCAD and BIM360 (Autodesk Desktop Connector) it is ESSENTIAL that all the files be contained within the PARENT folder and not subfolders.

My MOP (Method of Procedure) is to transfer ALL files to be utilized in AutoCAD into a temp folder on my Hard Drive and to collect/re-path all the XREF files to that temp folder. Once the collect/re-path exercise is complete, then drag/drop the files one at a time to the BIM 360 (Desktop Connector) folder and allow Desktop Connector to automatically pull the associated XREF files as it interprets.

Watch this short 3:21-minute video to help understand the proper procedure.

https://youtu.be/Q8e4zf4m7as

[Darren Young]

So, why the single folder?  I beta tested some of the Connector Workflows along with the BIM360 File Locking utility for AutoCAD and have not had any issues.

A few options for repathing....

1) Reference Manager utility
2) Open each file and manually repath
3) Script/automation and use the XREF command from Lisp to convert them (only works for Xrefs, not Images)
4) Temporarily load into Autodesk Vault as that process converts paths to relative, you can then pull them out and move them to the desktop connector.
5) ...everything else I'm forgetting...