About Working on a Data Shortcut Project in Forma Data Management

This topic covers key points about working on a data shortcut project in Forma Data Management.

For information about creating a data shortcut project in Forma Data Management, see To Create a Data Shortcut Project in Forma Data Management.

For information about setting up a data shortcut project in Forma Data Management, see About Setting Up a Civil 3D Data Shortcut Project in Forma Data Management.

Connecting to an existing project as an invited user

After you are invited to an Forma Data Management project, you will receive a Welcome email with a link to the project. You must log in to the project to accept the invitation. To accept the invitation, click Go to Your Project. You will be asked to sign into Forma Data Management if you are not already signed in.

You will need to be added to the Document Management service of Forma Data Management. Other Forma Data Management project requirements may require access to other services like Design Collaboration, Model Coordination, Field Management, and so on, to leverage these tools with Civil 3D data.
You won't be able to see your project from Civil 3D until the project is initiated in Forma Data Management.
Once you see that the folder’s Plans and Project Files have been created on the web, Civil 3D will be able to access the folder.

Verify that Desktop Connector is running

Before you can use Forma Data Management with Civil 3D, be sure Desktop Connector is running. When Desktop Connector is running, a small icon will appear in your Windows system tray: .

When Autodesk Desktop Connector is installed, it will add itself to your Windows startup programs. That means it should launch automatically when you start Windows.

If you need to launch Desktop Connector manually, go to the Windows start menu Autodesk Autodesk Desktop Connector.

For more information about Desktop Connector, see About Autodesk Desktop Connector.

Civil 3D Start tab

In Civil 3D, examine the Start tab. It looks different after Civil 3D 2020.2 to accommodate Forma Data Management design workflows.

Click Forma Data Management on the far left of the screen.

Select your project and double-click on the Project Files folder.

Note: Whenever possible, it is recommended not to rename the Project Files folder. If you need to do so, do it on the Forma Data Management website, making sure that no one is working in the project and all documents from the individual machines are in "Synced" status in Desktop Connector.

For more information, see About the Civil 3D Start tab.

Opening files

Users can open a Civil 3D file through the Start tab, or by opening the file through the application menu.

After selecting a file, it may take a few moments to open. Desktop Connector is communicating with Forma Data Management to verify the version you are opening is up-to-date and not locked by another user. The file and any required references will be downloaded on demand.

Note: Do not double-click a DWG file to open it from the local Forma Data Management folder.

Once the drawing is opened inside Civil 3D, work can commence on the drawing as normal.

Saving to the cloud

Be patient on first-time saves to the cloud. When saving a file to the cloud for the first time, it will take time for it to sync and propagate to all other users. If you click Save again too soon, you will receive a message indicating that the file is write protected.

File locking

When a user opens a drawing, it is locked to other users. Forma Data Management does not enable the ability for multiple users to edit a file at once. The file will appear locked if it is in the process of being synced to Forma Data Management.

To gain access to a file that is locked by another user, you can ask the owner of the lock to close and unlock the file. To override someone's lock, you need Folder Control permission. For more information, see Folder Permissions.

For more information about file locking, see About Locking Documents Stored in Forma Data Management.

Versioning and syncing

A new version is created in Forma Data Management when a file is saved.

When saving and closing a file, the file may remain locked temporarily until the changes have finished uploading to Forma Data Management. From Civil 3D 2022.0 onwards, this behaviour can be changed using the CloudCollabModifiedOption system variable. For more information, see CloudCollabModifiedOption System Variable.

Note: To ensure that documents remain locked in Forma Data Management until your changes have finished uploading, set the CloudCollabModifiedOption system variable to 0.

Accessing and Working in the Data Shortcut Project

Project team members who are collaborating on the project can use the following steps to access and work in the project.

In Civil 3D, use the Set Working Folder command to set the working folder to match the working folder in Forma Data Management that was specified when the data shortcut project was created.
Use the Set Data Shortcuts Project Folder command to select the data shortcut project.
Create data shortcuts in the project.
Create data shortcut references from the data shortcuts.
Upload files to Forma Data Management that you plan on making references to and make xrefs to those files.
To update the data shortcut list in the Prospector tree, right-click the collection and select Refresh.

Syncing modifications to data shortcuts

Generally, using the Refresh command on the data shortcut item in the Prospector tree will write all changes to disc and execute a full sync, both uploading local changes and downloading other users' changes. When the Refresh command has finished, the sync has also finished.

In addition, creating or modifying data shortcuts will modify the files on disc immediately, and Desktop Connector will automatically upload those changes shortly thereafter, even without using the Refresh command. However, changes to the folder structure of data shortcuts will be written to disk (and subsequently synced) only on refresh, switching projects or closing Civil 3D.

Currently, there is no safety mechanism, such as locking, to ensure that multiple users are not modifying data shortcuts concurrently. Changes to the data shortcut folder structure may be lost since they are not synced automatically.

Note: Use the Refresh command before and after making changes to the folder structure to minimise the risk of losing changes.

File references: Data shortcuts, external references and beyond

The biggest change in the day-to-day workflow for users is remembering to upload and then attach files intended for use as references. In this context, a reference refers to any file outside of the host DWG. This could be images, other DWG files, Navisworks projects, Recap Point clouds, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and text files.

Upload intended references to Forma Data Management first, and then attach them.

Attaching external references

Upload the references to Forma Data Management using Desktop Connector.
Connect using Relative path whenever possible.
Browse to the Desktop Connector folder to link references.