Answers to some of the most frequently asked questions related to Connected Support Files.
Frequently Asked Questions covered in this topic:
For other questions, try Autodesk Assistant in the product or Autodesk support.
Connected Support Files, also known as Project-aware Support Files, allow all members of an Autodesk project stored in Forma Data Management to utilize the same support files when opening a drawing file with AutoCAD desktop or web. For more information on and the benefits of the Connected Support Files feature, see About Connected Support Files.
Forma Data Management (formerly Autodesk Docs) allows you to organize your files for use throughout a project's lifecycle. Project administrators are primarily responsible for setting up and managing projects, while members can be assigned to collaborate with many different users on a project. For more information on and the benefits of Forma Data Management, see About Forma Data Management.
Connected support files are only available for drawings stored on Forma Data Management and organized within a project. Once you have created an Autodesk project in Forma Data Management and uploaded your drawings to the project, you can then configure the project to use the Connected Support Files feature. Autodesk projects and connected support files can only be configured by members with an access level of Project Administrator.
For information on setting up the Connected Support Files feature for an Autodesk project, see To Set Up an Autodesk Project to Use Connected Support Files.
Not all members of an Autodesk project can make changes to a project's connected support files. Only members of a project with an access level of Project Administrator in Forma Data Management can make changes to the paths under the Project Settings node on the Files tab of the Options dialog box. However, all users can add additional support paths to the My Settings node on the Files tab; these path settings can be for personal or project-neutral support files.
For information on setting the paths to support files of an Autodesk project, see To Set the Paths for Connected Support Files of an Autodesk Project.
As a member of an Autodesk project with an access level of Project Administrator in Forma Data Management, you can remove the use of the Connected Support Files feature from a project. When connected support files for a project are initially configured, a folder named .autodesk.support is created in the root folder of a configured Autodesk project. Deleting this folder removes the use of connected support files from a project. Once the use of connected support files has been removed, the drawings of the Autodesk project revert back to utilizing the path settings of the current AutoCAD user profile.
While it is possible to manually edit the JSON file that stores the settings for connected support files of an Autodesk project outside of AutoCAD, it is strongly recommended not to do this. Manually editing the JSON file could result in the file becoming invalid and unreadable by AutoCAD. You should only use documented processes in the Options dialog box on the desktop or the Configurations dialog box in AutoCAD web.
If the JSON file does become invalid, you can revert the file to a previous working version stored in Forma Data Management.
For information on setting the paths to support files of an Autodesk project, see To Set the Paths for Connected Support Files of an Autodesk Project.