Archicad 18 Training Series Vol.5

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Using Teamwork

ArchiCAD Training Series

Vol. 5


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Credits

ArchiCAD Training Series Vol. 52

Visit the GRAPHISOFT website athttp://www.graphisoft.comfor local distributor andproduct availability information.


Using Teamwork

(International Metric Version)

Copyright 2014 by GRAPHISOFT, all rights reserved. Reproduction, paraphrasing ortranslation without express prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

Trademarks

ArchiCADis a registered trademark of GRAPHISOFT. All other trademarks are the propertyof their respective holders.

Credits

We used the following ArchiCAD projects in most of the training exercises:Microsoft Office Complex in GRAPHISOFT Park, Budapest

Architect: Lukacs and Vikar Architects, Hungary
http://www.graphisoft.com/http://www.graphisoft.com/


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Contents


CONTENTS

Introduction ___________________________________________ 6

The Teamwork Concept______________________________________ 8

Part 1 Setting Up Teamwork ___________________________12

Chapter 1 Installing the BIM Server _________________________ 12

Chapter 2 Managing the BIM Server ________________________ 31

Managing the BIM Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Managing the BIM Server Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Chapter 3 Defining Roles __________________________________ 43

Chapter 4 Managing Users ________________________________ 52

Chapter 5 Sharing the Project______________________________ 63Sharing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Managing the Shared Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Part 2 Working in Teamwork ___________________________80

Chapter 1 Joining the Teamwork Project_____________________ 80

Architect 1 Joining the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Architect 2 Joining the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Chapter 2 Reserving Workspaces ___________________________ 92

Reserving Elements by Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Reserving Elements by Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Creating New Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
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Contents


Chapter 3 Sending and Receiving Changes _________________ 107

Sending the Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Sending and Receiving the Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Receiving the Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Offline Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Working Offline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Releasing Selected Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Releasing All Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Chapter 4 Instant Team Communication ____________________ 123

Simple Text Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Element Based Messages Ask for Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Element Based Messages Requesting Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Element Based Messages Assigning Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Task Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Chapter 5 Reserving Other Project Data ____________________ 159

Reserving Element Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Working with Views and Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Chapter 6 Adding a BIMcloud/BIM Server Library ____________ 186

Uploading the Library to the BIM Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Adding a BIM Server Library to the project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Chapter 7 Editing and creating Library Parts ________________ 198

Editing an Existing Library Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Creating a New Library Part and Adding it to a BIMcloud/BIM Server

Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209


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Contents


Chapter 8 Using the Backup Function ______________________ 221

Manually Backing up the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221Rolling Back the Project to a Backup Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228


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Introduction


Introduction

Welcome to the ArchiCAD Training Series!

This Guide is part of the ArchiCAD Training Series, which currently includes the followingmaterials:

Vol. 1, The ArchiCAD BIM Concept

Vol. 2, Basic ArchiCAD

Vol. 3, Intermediate ArchiCAD

Vol. 4, Advanced ArchiCAD Vol. 5, Using Teamwork

You are now reading Vol. 5, Using Teamwork a comprehensive hands-on training to familiarizeyou with the TeamWork and BIM Server functions of ArchiCAD. This guide is meant for advancedArchiCAD users and students. We strongly recommend that you complete Training Series Vol. 1-4before starting with this one.

This training guide consists of two main parts:

Part 1: Setting up Teamwork explains how to install and set up the BIM server and how toshare an ArchiCAD project for Teamwork.

Part 2: Working in Teamwork describes how to use Teamwork to work on the shared projectwithin a small architectural team.

Part 1is intended for users who will actually work on the BIM Server and be responsible formaintaining a smooth workflow within the Teamwork environment, or who will be responsible

for Teamwork training, e.g.:

BIM Managers

GRAPHISOFT Partners

Trainers

Part 2is intended for all ArchiCAD users having at least a basic ArchiCAD knowledge. (Wesuggest that they complete, at minimum, the ArchiCAD Basic Training Guide). Part 2 can also be

completed without Part 1, if the BIM Server Manager installation and Teamwork project setup arealready complete.


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Introduction


Contents of this guide

Training guide e-book:The PDF guide includes detailed explanation of every step, with severalscreenshots.

ArchiCAD project file:The pre-set training file will help your learning process. Pre-set projectviews help you to navigate between different steps thus you can focus on the core knowledge.

Movie clips:Narrated movie clips are available on the YouTube channel for GRAPHISOFTArchiCAD (www.youtube.com/user/Archicad) providing step-by-step instructions for each stepof the training guide. The ArchiCAD YouTube Channel can also be accessed from the Help menuof ArchiCAD. Enter the name of this Training Guide in the search field to locate the related videos.

You must have ArchiCAD 18 or later version installed on your computer to use this guide. This e-book and the movie clips were made with the English language version of ArchiCAD. For yourconveniance we recommend you to download and use the same version for practicing.

If you do not have ArchiCAD yet, please visit myarchicad.comto obtain a free ArchiCAD installer:

If you are a student, a teacher or a representative of a school, register and download a fullyfunctional Education Version of ArchiCAD for Students and Teachers.

If you are a professional architect, register and download a fully functional 30-day trial version

of ArchiCAD. Projects saved with this TRIAL version can be automatically upgraded to FULLversions upon purchase of a commercial license.

Please contact your local distributor for purchasing commercial ArchiCAD licenses:www.graphisoft.com/info/where_to_buy

How to use this training material?

Install the required ArchiCAD version

Open the PDF Guide

Open the related movie clips from the GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD Youtube Channel

Follow the instructions given in the PDF guide and the videos

We hope you will find this training useful and wish you success with your future ArchiCADprojects!

Good Luck!

The GRAPHISOFT Team

I d i
http://www.youtube.com/user/Archicadhttp://myarchicad.com/http://www.graphisoft.com/info/where_to_buyhttp://www.graphisoft.com/info/where_to_buyhttp://www.youtube.com/user/Archicadhttp://myarchicad.com/


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Introduction


The Teamwork ConceptThe Teamwork concept introduced in ArchiCAD 13 is a revolutionary concept, enabling

collaboration among members of an architectural team and their consultants/clients.It is a radically different approach from the Teamwork concept implemented in previous versionsof ArchiCAD (up to version 12), and also from collaboration solutions available in other BIMapplications.

In this section, we give you a brief overview of the concept. In the chapters which follow, we willwork with the various features of the latest version of Teamwork.

In Teamwork, several people can work on the same project simultaneously. The Teamwork

solution handles all aspects of this collaborative work. For example, Teamwork can be configuredto allow only a particular user to modify a given element; enable users to update their versions ofthe project file with modifications made by others; and allow them to easily communicate witheach other in the context of the project.

A Teamwork project is created by sharing a Solo ArchiCAD project as a Teamwork project. Whensuch a project is shared, users must be defined. It is also possible to create a new project as aTeamwork project from the start.

Users are those people who can access and work on the shared Teamwork project. The list ofusers is maintained in a database. These users then log into the shared Teamwork project usingtheir own User name and Password. This functions much like a web-based e-mail application.

Each user is assigned a role. Roles are access rights that specify what a user is allowed to do in theproject file: e.g. which kinds of elements the user can create, and which kinds of modifications he/she can carry out.

Thus, for each Teamwork project, you have to first share a project, then define Users and Roles.In this new Teamwork solution, both users and roles are defined globally. This means that usersand roles do not have to be defined and set for each project separately. Instead, they are definedonce and can be used in any project thereafter. For example, if you have a Project Architect who isentitled to work on and modify any detail of any project in the architectural office, then youwould create a User name for this person, and assign them the role of Lead Architect. The LeadArchitect role, by default, provides access rights to change anything in a project.

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Introduction


This Teamwork solution is a client-server solution. For a computer to be able to function as a BIMServer, the BIM Server application must be started.

Any computer can be a BIM Server. You can start the BIM Server on the local machine on which

you are running ArchiCAD. Any machine you run ArchiCAD on is a client machine, since ArchiCADis the client application. If you start the BIM Server on the local machine on which ArchiCAD isalso running, then that computer is the server and the client at the same time.

It is also possible to start the BIM Server on a dedicated server machine in your office. Manyarchitectural offices have a file server. The BIM Server can be started on this machine andArchiCAD copies running on other machines in the office can connect to this machine throughthe Local Area Network (LAN). In a large architectural office, it is advisable to separate the BIM

Server and the file server machines.A third option is to connect to the BIM Server through the Internet. This way, an architectural firmwith offices in different locations, cities, or even continents can have people from around theworld connect through the Internet to a shared Teamwork project. This enables true globalcollaboration. If one job is in its final phase and there are not enough employees in the localoffice, other employees from other offices can also work on the project. Or, if offices are indifferent time zones, arrangements can be made allowing the project to be worked on aroundthe clock so it can be delivered by deadline. The Internet solution makes all these things feasible.

Roles are flexible in that they can be changed or overridden on the project level. Thus the LeadArchitect Role may mean full access as default, but with slightly more restricted access on aspecific project.

Since all these things are defined and maintained globally for the whole architectural office, itprovides flexible and central management of all Teamwork projects.

A database server application is started on any machine that we designate as the BIM Server. This

will store the shared Teamwork project file. Running copies of ArchiCAD will communicate withthis database server application as clients, much like a web server scenario. The BIM Server can beaccessed through the Internet, thus enabling true global architectural collaboration.

Due to its design, Teamwork offers much better performance than other solutions. A so-calledDifference Tracker Engine runs on both the server and the client side. Its purpose is to track thechanges to the project File. When a user sends the changes from his/her computer back to thedatabase file, only the difference between the two versions of the project file will be sent over the

network (whether a Local Area Network or the Internet).

Introduction


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Introduction


This dramatically reduces the size of data packages that travel across the network. In all othercurrent solutions, the entire shared project File has to be sent through the network. With largerfiles, this can slow down the network and can also result in one member waiting for another (tofinish sending changes to and receiving from the shared project File) for as much as severalminutes. In contrast, Teamwork sends only the changes, making such performance bottlenecks athing of the past. The only time the whole project needs to travel over the network is when it isinitially shared and when users download their initial local copies of the project to their localmachines.

Data safety is also greatly enhanced in this version of Teamwork. Its database server technology,in use for many years, represents a very mature and safe solution. All project data are stored in thedatabase. The full project data are also available to any client computer immediately after

Sending & Receiving changes. Additionally, backup copies are created either automatically, atregular, pre-set intervals, or manually, at the Project Administrators discretion.

The Teamwork workflow has also been rethought and enhanced with the idea that any globalarchitectural office should be able to use the Teamwork solution, no matter where their officesand most qualified employees are located. Any person defined as a user can join the sharedTeamwork project file from any location in the world through the Internet.

Reservation happens on the element level on an as-needed basis. You can reserve elements

individually. Furthermore, when you are finished making modifications to reserved elements, youcan release their reservations individually, or for all of them at once.

Graphical feedback helps to easily identify which elements are reserved by which user. This isdone by color coding: for example, all elements reserved by one user are shown in red, while allunreserved elements are shown in blue.

Non-element data can also be reserved on demand. For example, if you want to modify ProjectPreferences, you can simply reserve its dialog box, make the modifications, then release thereservation.

Instant Messaging is also built into Teamwork. This enables users to communicate with eachother within ArchiCAD, even if they are not physically located near each other. When users workon the same project area, they can request elements from each other using the InstantMessaging system, or they can grant elements using the same.

Introduction


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Introduction


Any user can work on the project in either Online Mode (meaning a live connection betweentheir computer and the server) or in Offline Mode (meaning no such live connection exists). Thestate of the project is stored on the users computer in a Local Cache Folder. When he/she isOffline, he/she cannot reserve/release elements or send/receive changes. However, as soon asthe live link to the server is reestablished, the user can do these things again. Otherwise, there isno difference in the user experience, whether Online or Offline.

The BIM Server offers various useful administrative tools. The BIM Server Managers ServerActivities page enables the Server Administrator to monitor CPU and memory load, whichindicate whether the current BIM Server computer is becoming overloaded. In such a case, theAdministrator can set up additional BIM Server machines as needed.

The BIM Server is a modular application, meaning that a single server program can include v13,v14, v15, v16, v17 and v18 modules, each of which handles projects that were shared with thecorresponding ArchiCAD version. All ArchiCAD 13-18 Teamwork projects can be shared at thesame time. Teamwork projects started in an earlier version do not need to be migrated to v18 tobe able to use the BIM Server. However, it is advisable to limit the number of Teamwork modulesto 2.

If a firm is running several BIM Servers, in one or more offices, all data located on these BIMServers can be kept in synch, since it is possible to export and import all Project/User/Role/

Library-related data to and from any of the BIM Servers.

Now that youve read this short overview, lets start using the new ArchiCAD Teamwork solutionto see its capabilities demonstrated in real-life situations.

Part 1 Setting Up Teamwork


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Chapter 1 Installing the BIM ServerIn this chapter, you will learn how to install and configure the GRAPHISOFT BIM Server on yourcomputer, to provide a safe and solid Teamwork environment for all members of the extendeddesign team. Please note that you need to set up and configure the BIM Server only once; thenyou will be ready to share as many projects as you wish!

Now lets start installing the BIM Server:

1 Download the BIM Server 18 installer from myarchicad.comor launch it from the installationDVD.

2 Run the BIM Server Installer application by clicking the BIM Server Installericon.

The installation application starts.

http://www.myarchicad.com/http://www.myarchicad.com/


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3 Click the Nextbutton in the installer.

4 Select the I accept radio button to accept the license agreement and click Nextto continue.



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5 After setting the desired folders, click Nextto continue.

6 Click the Installbutton on the summary page to start the actual installation.



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g p


The installation is completed and the following dialog appears. Click Finishand configure theBIM Server Manager and BIM Server Module settings.

You will be asked to specify several necessary settings in the upcoming dialog boxes. Firstly youneed to give the BIM Server a name by which you will be able to identify it (this becomesimportant when there are several BIM Servers running in one office). You also have to configure apassword for the Master Administrator, port numbers and data folders for the Server Managerand the Server Module.



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7 The Configure BIM Server Managerdialog displays your local computers name by default asthe name of the newly configured server. Leave it like this then type twice the selectedmasteradmin password (for instance 12345 to remember it easily). Define the folder for BIMServer Manager Dataand click Next.

The Configure BIM Server Moduledialog allows you to select the folders where all the sharedTeamwork projects and BIM Server libraries will be stored.

The Project Data Foldershould not be used for other externally linked non-teamwork files, suchas drawings from non-teamworked plns, dwgs, jpgs and so on - only for Teamwork projects that

will be handled by the BIM Server itself. By default the location for the Projects folder is asubfolder of the BIM Server software folder. For the sake of this Training Guide we will use thisone. It is advisable though to use a dedicated placement for your Teamwork files outside theApplications folder.

We will also use now the default place for Library Data, which is the Attachments subfolder ofBIM Server software folder. You will be able to modify these settings later if you want by openingthe Reconfigure v18 Module application from the default application folder.



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8 Click Startnow to start BIM Server with the configured parameters.



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9 BIM Server will start in a new browser window providing the remained three steps to finalizeconfiguration. Press Startto do so.



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10 First log in as a Master Administrator with the password you created before (12345) thenpress Continue.

On the next page you need to create the first user. This user will be the Server Administrator. TheServer Administrator manages the BIM Server: he/she has the right to create new projects on theserver and create new users or roles, or modify/delete existing ones.

In this case, we will have a person who is the Lead Architect in our architectural team and will also

be the Server Administrator. Lets create this Administrator Account.



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11 Fill out the fields in the dialog box as detailed below. For the password write 12345 in order toeasily remember it. The e-mail address you specify here will be used by ArchiCAD to send yourpassword to in case you forget it. However, as long as you have access to the computer thathosts the BIM Server, you can change the password or create a new administrative account

within the BIM Server Manager.

Hint:Make sure to correctly type uppercase and lowercase characters since the

Username and Password are case-sensitive.



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12 As a third and final step you need to fill out the SMTP parameters of the mail server. Pleasecheck the instructions of the mail service provider on how to set up the mail server, otherwiseskip this step for this training. When ready press Continue.



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13 The BIM Server is now configured and the system needs to be restarted. Log out and do so.

14 After restarting launch the BIM Server again by clicking on its shortcut icon on theDesktop or started from the Application folder.



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Then in the browser window log in as a user with full access, in our example as LeadArchitect.

As logged in as LeadArchitect you have the ability to set different things: you can share projects,manage user accesses and roles, set server libraries and modules.



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15 As a next step you are asked to activate your BIM Server with your GRAPHISOFT ID. PressActivatebutton to start the process. If you happen not to have an ID, a link will be providedon the next page where you can get one.



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16 Press Continueto start the activation process. If you have not passed ID registration yet, youcan follow the link What is GRAPHISOFT ID? to complete it now.Return to this window when finished.



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17 Provide the e-mail address you registered your ID with before. Type your password as well andclickSign in.



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18 Press Activateto complete the activation.



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19 As the activation is finished you can start your BIM Server.



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20 BIM Server is running and ready for use.



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In this Chapter you have seen

How simple it is to install the GRAPHISOFT BIM Server.

The GRAPHISOFT BIM Server configured in just a few steps during the installation process.

The GRAPHISOFT BIM Server set to automatically start up after system restart, with no needfor any manual input from the Administrator.



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Chapter 2 Managing the BIM ServerIn this chapter you will discover how the BIM Server can be managed either locally from theserver machine or remotely from a different machine within the office via the LAN, or even via the

Internet. Being able to access and manage the BIM Server remotely provides great flexibility forBIM managers to set up Teamwork projects and to manage users and access rights fromanywhere around the world.

You can control the BIM Server from any computer or devices like tablets or mobile phonesthrough your web browser with the required rights to the server. On the web interface of the BIMServer Manager you have full control over how the BIM Server Module is configured, as well asthe Server Manager functionalities, with which you can configure the shared projects, users, roles,

libraries and even monitor server activity.

Managing the BIM Server

On the server machine where the GRAPHISOFT BIM Server has been installed, open theapplication to manage BIM Server. Lets see how it works:

Open BIM Server Managerby clicking on the shortcut on your desktop or selected from the

Application folder (Program Files in Windows systems). The panel allows you to share projects,create users, set roles for them, control the server libraries and monitor the server operation.



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1 Click Modulesfirst to explore its content.



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The starting panel of Modules by default shows the general activity of the server. It is quite emptynow but later it will be full of very important entries showing all actions done by users: joining,leaving, sending changes, etc. Besides these this is the place where you will be able to handle themanual and automatic backup files later when you will already have one or more project shared

on your BIM Server. We will learn more about these options in Part 2, Chapter 8 of this tutorial.



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2 Select BIM Server Manager modulenow from the menu on the left. Firstly you will see twokinds of basic information under the title: the version numberand the statusif the server iscurrently running or stopped. Besides these the main panel shows configured but editableparameters. You can modify the name of the BIM Server. If you later do so users will need to

leave the already shared project and rejoin to be able to work on the Teamwork Project again.Changing the e-mail preferencesyou will be able to configure the SMTP settings throughwhich users will be able to modify their passwords. While in the Custom user fieldssectionyou can set extra categories like telephone or Skype contacts, location etc. that you or theusers themselves can fill later as additional information.



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3 Click now V18 Moduleon the left side panel. This will provide you more detailedinformation about the state of the server like number of projects and users, available projectand library space etc. You can stop or restart the server here from the left-side menu or fromthe main panel.



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Hint:The Settings opened from the Serverss name in the header will also bring youto the BIM Server Manager setting panel (Step 2 in this Chapter).

Hint: It is paramount that the BIM Server and the client ArchiCAD versions are of the

same Build Number so that they can communicate with each other. You can alwayscheck the Build Number of the BIM Server via the above described way and theBuild Number of ArchiCAD client version via Help menu/About ArchiCAD...command.



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The Build Number is highlighted with a red rectangle in the image below.

Lets have a look at the other functions of the manager like Projects, Users, Roles and Libraries.


l k b d b b k h


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4 Click Homeon breadcrumbs to go back to the main screen.

5 For now close the browser window of the BIM Server Manager and go to Applications/

GRAPHISOFT/BIM Server folder(in Windows operational system Program Files/GRAAPHISOFT/BIM Server). Among the icon of BIM Server Manager you can find here thethumbnails of two applications which you can use to reconfigure the previous settings:Reconfigure v18 Moduleand Reconfigure v18 Manager.


L t h l k t th M d l fi ti fi t P j t D t F ld d Lib D t F ld


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Lets have a look at the Module configuration first. Project Data Folderand Library Data Foldercan be changed or other port can be set with the help of the Find available portcommandavailable from the roll-down list besides the port number.


Lets have a look at the BIM Server Manager configurations now You can change the


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Lets have a look at the BIM Server Manager configurations now. You can change themasteradmin password, set other port or you can change the place of BIM Server Manager DataFolderhere.

Up to now you have seen, in brief, the main functions of the BIM Server Manager on the localmachine. Now lets see how to access the BIM Server remotely, from a different machine.


Managing the BIM Server Remotely


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Managing the BIM Server Remotely

BIM Server Manager is a zero deployment tool: you can start the web browser with the ServerManager on any computer, enter the address of the BIMcloud/BIM Server that contains the port

number and log in with your credentials. This solution does not even require a desktop computeror a laptop: any tablets or mobile phones with the Internet access can utilize this interface, on ascreen display adjusted to the devices parameters. The only requirement is the networkconnection between the client and the server machine. This can be either LAN (Local AreaNetwork), a public licence server or VPN (Virtual Private Network). As address the default access is127.0.01, but you also have to define the port. In our case the complete address looks like this:127.0.0.1:1228.




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How simply and easily the BIM Server can be managed on the server machine.

The BIM Server can be controlled remotely from anywhere around the world via the Internet,

providing BIM Managers great flexibility to access the servers and manage the sharedprojects, user accounts and access rights.


Chapter 3 Defining Roles


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Chapter 3 Defining RolesIn this Chapter, you will learn how Teamwork roles can be defined in the BIM Server Manager.

Roles define what users are allowed to do in a Teamwork project. A role is a set of access rightswhich enable a user to create, delete or modify and manage particular element types or datatypes.

Only Server Administrators are allowed to create or modify roles in the BIM Server Manager. Oncea role has been defined, users can be assigned a particular role with which they will be able tojoin a shared Teamwork project.

Lets see how roles can be defined in the BIM Server Manager:

1 Start BIM Server and click Rolesin the top menu.

When the BIM Server was installed, a number of default roles were automatically created whichare visible in the Roles panel. By default, the Lead Architectrole has access to and the right tomodify any parts of the project file. The Architectrole has many access rights, but does not have


project management-related ones, such as deleting/modifying attributes, setting libraries, etc.


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p j g , g y g , g ,The Draftsmanhas even fewer rights to make modifications in the project, while the Viewerhasno rights to do anything in the Project except to view it.

2 Use Create roleand Importoptions from Roles menu to create a new role or to import an

existing one from another BIM Server through the BIMRoles file format.

These commands can also be accessed by pressing the + buttonin the row of Roles.


3 If an existing role is selected you can duplicate it to create a modification of it or to export it in


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yBIMroles file format so that it can be used with another BIM Server. Naturally you can alsodelete it. With the help of the tick tag you can select multiple roles for deletion or export.

You will not need to create a new role this time. However, the Architect role needs some fine-

tuning, so lets open the Role Settingsdialog box and see how to edit existing roles. For thepurpose of this training, lets change some of the access rights of the Architect role.


4 Lets hide the left side menu and collapse all Permissioncategories first to be able to focus


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more on this special role and to get a better overview.


5 The gray tick sings mean that the role Architect has partial rights within that category whileh bl k h h h h l h f ll


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the black ones mean that within that category this role has full access. An empty spacewithout any tick in that row means that the role does not have any rights as part of thatspecial category.


6 Lets take back all Attribute Access Rightsfrom users with an Architect role. For this purposeli k Edit f P i i d h k th h l t


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click Editfor Permissions and uncheck the whole category.


7 Now expand ArchiCAD - External Content parent category and uncheck the Library part Delete/modify access right row of it


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Delete/modifyaccess right row of it.


8 Also expand ArchiCAD - Navigatorparent category and uncheck the Views and folders Delete/modify access right These access rights should only be available for the Lead


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Delete/modifyaccess right. These access rights should only be available for the LeadArchitect role. To make the modifications active press Save.

Now that you have made the necessary changes to the roles, we can continue with setting up theuser accounts for the users who will play a part during this training session.


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Chapter 4 Managing Users


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In this Chapter, you will discover how the user accounts can be added and managed for thearchitectural team that will work on the Teamwork project.

Server Administrators can set up user accounts in the Users panel of the BIM Server Manager. Foreach User account, a role must be selected that will determine his/her access rights within ashared Teamwork project. It is also possible to assign a different role to a user for a specificproject, should the architectural workflow within the office require this.

This training guide involves three different users who will work together on a shared Teamworkproject: the lead architect (Lead Architect) and two architects (Architect 1 and Architect 2). Letsset up user accounts for them:

1 Press Homeon breadcrumbs, then select Usersfrom the top menu.


2 As you can see, the Lead Architect user account has already been added during theinstallation process of the BIM Server. Lets check its user settings by clicking on the Lead


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p g y gArchitects row on the left side menu.

The Lead Architect is by default a Server Administrator but no roles have been assigned to himyet. All the other values are filled out as you entered them during the installation process.

Hint:The Colortag shows the users default color within the teamwork project.When reserved elements are displayed by color-coding in ArchiCAD, this color willbe used to display elements belonging to this users workspace, as you will see inPart 2 of this training guide. These default colors may be customized in eachArchiCAD instance.


3 Press Editfor Personal settings, then click on the little blue square in the Color row and selecta green color for the Lead Architects user color. Press anywhere outside the color picker to


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close it.


4 As a result of the previous action the color has been changed. Lets set now the Default roleof the user to Lead Architectto finalize the settings. When finished press Save.


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Now lets set up the two other accounts for Architect 1 and Architect 2:

5 Click on + in the Users main menu and select Create user command from the small pop-up


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5 Click on +in the Users main menu and select Create usercommand from the small pop uplist.


6 In the appearing lightbox pop up window provide the following information: the full name ofthe new user and a password twice. The first new user will be Architect 1, while the passwordh ld b th t b il b d lik 12345


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should be one that can be easily remembered, like 12345.


7 Back on the main panel you still need to provide compulsorily a Login name (Architect1) andan e-mail address, which does not have to be a live one, however it must meet the requiredcharacteristics in its syntax (Certainly in a real life situation one would enter a working email


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characteristics in its syntax. (Certainly in a real life situation one would enter a working emailaddress here.) Besides this lets set a yellowcolor for Architect 1 and Architectrole as defaultone. Management role has to be left as Not setas we do not want to give any project or serveradministrator rights to him/her.


Hint:As a default, each new user which is created is Enablede.g.: can join anyshared Teamwork project on the server. In case a user is not meant to work onTeamwork projects for a while (e g : the design has reached a stage where interns


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Teamwork projects for a while (e.g.: the design has reached a stage where internsare not allowed to work on it anymore), he/she can be made Disabledon the userspage. Then the disabled user will not have access to any shared projects on theserver. Once the workflow has progressed to a state where the user is allowed againto work on Teamwork projects, he can be Enabled again by the ServerAdministrator.


8 Create another user for Architect 2and fill out the details as shown below, with redas usercolor:


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Server Administratorshave the following rights in all of the projects on the server:

Share projects from a client ArchiCAD.

Access and modify all Teamwork Project Settings from a client ArchiCAD.

Manage the libraries (e.g. upload, delete, update) on the BIM Server.

Force a user to leave the project. In addition to all of the Project Administrator rights listedabove,Server Administratorshave full access to the BIM Server Manager and all of its controle.g.:

- Add Users to the server

- Create Roles and define Access Rights

- Manage Projects on this server (e.g. export, create, delete)


9 Now you have created the three users who will be part of the teamwork you can continuenow to share the project you will be working on in the following chapters.


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How the Server Administrator can easily set up Users accounts for all users.


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Each user is assigned an editable user color that will help show what elements are reserved by

him/her while working on a shared Teamwork project. The ability to assign Project Administrator and Server Administrator rights separately to any

users provides great flexibility for BIM managers.


Chapter 5 Sharing the ProjectIn this Chapter you will share the project in other words, you will configure the project for


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p y p j , y g p jsimultaneous work in the ArchiCAD Teamwork environment. This way, multiple users can work onthe same project simultaneously in complete harmony.

In the second part of this Chapter, you will also discover how a shared project can be furthermanaged via the BIM Server Manager. Users and roles can be fine-tuned on a project level,allowing BIM managers great flexibility in dividing up work and responsibilities within the designteam.

Sharing the Project

Before we start sharing the project, lets have an overview of the building you will be working onthroughout this training guide: the Microsoft Headquarters building, built in GRAPHISOFT Park inBudapest, Hungary in 2007, designed by Lukacs and Vikar Architects(http://www.lukacsesvikar.hu). The office complex is divided into two buildings connected bybridges, with a gross floor area of around 11 500 sqm. The design won the well-respectedHungarian ProArchitectura Award in 2009.

Lets open the solo ArchiCAD project and share it for the ArchiCAD Teamwork environment.


1 Open the Teamwork Training.plafile in ArchiCAD. Choose Read elements directly fromarchive when prompted.
http://www.lukacsesvikar.hu/http://www.lukacsesvikar.hu/


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2 Select the Sharemenu item from the Teamwork menu.


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3 For the first time Teamwork is being used on your ArchiCAD client, a logindialog will pop upwhere you have to type in the address of that particular BIM Server on which you want toshare your project. You will need to have and provide an administrator user nameandpasswordcombination as well. Copy the url address of the of the newly-created BIM ServerHomes browser window and paste it into the Addressfield. This URL contains the Managerapplications port number besides the default 127.0.0.1 address. The complete address look

like 127.0.0.1:1228 in our case. For identification use the Lead Architects access:LeadArchitectas username and 12345as password.


A new dialog window appears after pressing Log in. This one already contains LeadArchitect asuser and the name of our server. Later on when you want to share a new project in the sameArchiCAD client the login dialog will not appear anymore, just the Share Teamwork Project one

ith th li t f ll i l d d ti f h i


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with the list of all previously used server and user names as options for sharing.

By pressing the Create Folder / Manage Foldersbutton we could create a project folder for ourto-be-shared Teamwork project. The folder system helps to keep the list of teamwork files clearand easily searchable. Offices can decide what kind of order they prefer, if they want to organize

their files by date, building projects or categories when sorting different teamwork files into theirfolder structure. We will not create however any folder for this project as part of this training.

Lets check however the Librariesoption. Linked Libraries are uploaded to the BIM Server as partof project sharing. You can modify this setting if you want by choosing Dont Useoption instead.


Later at a new sharing process when the same linked library is already uploaded, the defaultoption will be Link to this previously uploaded BIM Server library.


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If the Open Project Settings after Sharecheckbox was marked you could be immediatelyredirected to BIM Server Managers Project Setting page. For now lets not use this option andalso try to avoid to automatically join the teamwork project by pressing Share without Joinreached from the roll-down menu of the main Share button


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reached from the roll-down menu of the main Sharebutton.

Now the project is being shared and uploaded to the BIM Server.


Managing the Shared Project

Lets find out how the shared project can be further managed via the BIM Server Manager.

h d h f h


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1 Open the BIM Server Manager and choose Projectsfrom the upper menu.


On the main Project Settings page Server Administrators can importexisting Teamwork projectsfrom a file or another BIM Server. The other important command is Create Folderwhich helpsadministrators in organizing the list of teamwork files shared on the server.


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2 Click on the newly-added Teamwork Trainingmenu item now. The main Settings page of theproject gives you the ability to rename it and as part of all further pages of the Settings menuadditional managing operations can be carried out. Delete, Move, Exportand Duplicatecommands helps the administrator to assemble and keep the required set of teamwork files


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p p qorganized.


Besides these commands Accessibilityis a special option that allows the administrator totemporarily lock all users out from accessing particular Teamwork projects. If the project is locked,it means that users can keep working on the project, but will not be able to send or receiveproject data to or from the BIM Server.


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3 Click on the next menu item called Backupson the upper menu. This page allows you todisplay and manage project backups: both automatically scheduled and manual ones. Youcan configure how often ArchiCAD will create backups of the Teamwork project here.BIMproject and PLN backup possibilities will be able to be set separately as it will be shown


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later in Part 2, Chapter 8 of this training manual.


4 Lets switch now to the next menu item. Activitiespage lets you view, filter and even export(in a text file) all project activities (Join/Leave, Share, Load, Comments, Send and Receive,Release of Project Data and Backups) of the shared Teamwork project. You can monitor thelatest actions that were made in connection with the Teamwork Project showing the exact

i i i i h i d fil i h d h i f i Thi j l i f l f


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activities with required file size, the user and the time of action.This project log is useful for

providing a snapshot of project progress within a given time frame: for example, to checkwhether all users really did send in their changes.


The last upper menu item of Projects is Access. It lets you control the users who have access tothis project. In addition, you can use this panel to edit the project-specific role of a selected useror to create a customized role for this project only. By default, Everyonecan access the project:Everyone is a special Group user, which includes every user defined on the BIM Server. Members

f E h t d ith th i d f lt l


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of Everyone have access granted with their default roles.


5 You can add individual users to this project from the BIM Servers user list. To select a user youhave to start typing their names in the top text area of the Access page. It is suggested toswitch to Summarize by usersview instead of Compact view so that the list of availableusers is provided. It is enough to just start typing the name, the automatic filtering option willmake the selection process very easy


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make the selection process very easy.

Note:If users access is granted when they are part of a group, they can only beforced to leave projects, and can re-join later. In this case the access rights of thegroup members are handled together. To be able to revoke individual users fromprojects, you have to add them manually in the first place.


6 Even if you keep Everyone as user, you can add some of the user names individually to assignthem a project specific role that is not their default role. It can be useful if a users role isdifferent for a specific project than his/her usual role. For example, here Architect 2 could beadded and a different role (e.g.: Draftsman) selected for him, so that Architect 2 could work onthis project as a Draftsman only However lets not change the users and their roles for this


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this project as a Draftsman only. However, let s not change the users and their roles for this

project; let Everyone join with their default roles. Do not finalize the assignation process,instead of pressing Save click on xto step back from the granting procedure and cancelselection at the same time.


7 Using breadcrumbs go to Librariespage to see which menu items have been uploaded to theBIM Server.


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8 This Teamwork Training project used the Teamwork Training.pla archive library, which hasbeen uploaded to the BIM Server. You will discover later how to manage BIM Server Libraries,in Part 2, Chapter 6 of this training manual.

9 Close the BIM Server Manager and also close the Teamwork Training.pla ArchiCAD project.

You have now shared the project and seen how the BIM Server Manager can help in monitoringand managing the Teamwork environment. You are now ready to discover in detail how users canwork simultaneously and seamlessly on the shared project.



How Project Administrators can easily share an ArchiCAD solo project via any client ArchiCADversion.

How shared Teamwork projects can be further managed by Server Administrators using the


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How shared Teamwork projects can be further managed by Server Administrators using the

BIM Server Manager.

The sophisticated tools provided for Server Administrators in the BIM Server Manager tomonitor BIM Server performance.

Part 2 Working in Teamwork



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Chapter 1 Joining the Teamwork ProjectIn this chapter you will discover how to join a shared Teamwork project and start to work.After having joined the project, users will typically remain joined in for the full period of time theyare working on the project. When they finish their work for the day, they can send the changesthey have made to the BIM Server and also receive the changes contributed by the other usersand close ArchiCAD. The next day, when they would like to continue working, they can simplyopen the project. The BIM Server will ensure that each user will work on an up-to-date version of

the Teamwork project. The coordination is done automatically: the users need only send andreceive the changes from time to time.

Typically, users will leave a Teamwork project when they no longer wish to work on it. Once theyhave left the project, their reservations are abandoned and their local copies on their remotemachines are deleted. The only time a user must leave a project despite the fact that he/sheintends to continue working in it is if his/her role and related access rights have changed:changes will take effect only after users leave and then re-join the project.


Architect 1 Joining the Project

Lets see how Architect 1 can join the project:

1 Launch ArchiCAD. Choose the Open a Projectand the Browse for a Teamwork Projectoptions in the Start dialog box and click Browse


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options in the Start dialog box and click Browse...


2 The Open/Join Teamwork Project dialog appears, where the BIM server is already selectedand you are logged in as Lead Architect. Select the Log in as a different User...menu item inorder to join the project as Architect 1 instead.


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3 The Login dialog box opens. In this window you can select the BIM Server you would like toconnect to; you must also identify yourself. All the BIM Servers which are currently on-line andaccessible will be listed in this dialog box. You can select the BIM Server name you set up inChapter 1 of Part 1 of this manual. Write Architect1in the User name field, then type thepassword (12345) into the Password field. Finally, click Log in.


4 The Open/Join Teamwork Project dialog box appears: here you can select from the sharedTeamwork projects you are authorized to join. Select the Teamwork Trainingproject, thenclickJoin.


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5 The following window appears explaining that you have just joined a Teamwork project. ClickOKto join the project.


6 The project opens.


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Architect 2 Joining the ProjectLets see another way to join the project for Architect 2. Ideally you would like to join the projectfor Architect 2 from a different computer so that you could have the best feedback on how usersexperience each others contribution in a Teamwork environment. If you cannot utilize anothermachine for this purpose, you can launch a new instance of ArchiCAD from the same machineand have two open ArchiCADs running at the same time: one for Architect 1 and the other forArchitect 2. To more easily differentiate which ArchiCAD instance you are currently working in, we

suggest you change the background color of the ArchiCAD project to match the user color.

Therefore, before joining Architect 2 to the Teamwork project, lets change the background colorof the floor plans to yellow, the user color of Architect 1.


1 Open the Teamwork Palettefrom the Teamwork menu. This will showArchitect 1 as a joined user in the Users panel. The user color is alsovisible beside the photo placeholder.


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2 Choose the Grids & Backgroundmenu item from View/Grid & Editing Plane Optionsmenu.


3 Choose a light yellow color for the Background.


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4 Save the project locally by clicking on the File/Savemenu item.

Now lets have Architect 2 join the Teamwork project via the Teamwork menu:


5 From the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 1, click the Project/Join Teamwork Projectcommand from the Teamworkmenu.


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6 In the upcoming dialog box, check the Launch new instance of ArchiCADoption. (This stepis only needed if you join with Architect 2 from the same computer.) To select another user tojoin the project, choose the Log in as a different User...option from the pop-up menu byclicking on current users name to the right of the BIM Server name.


7 Fill in the details for Architect 2, then press Log in.


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8 Select the Teamwork Trainingproject for Architect 2, then clickJoin.

9 As with Architect 1, the Teamwork project will be opened for Architect 2, but now in a new

instance of ArchiCAD.


10 Select a light red background color for the project of Architect 2.


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11 Click Savefor the project of Architect 2.


Hint:To specify the folder in which to save your local copy of the Teamwork project,select the Local Data folder in the Local Data Options dialog opened from the pathTeamwork/Project/Local Data Manager/Options. In the same dialog, you can set

ArchiCAD to issue data cleanup reminders for local data of a certain age, by checking the RunLocal Data cleanupoption and specifying the number of days. Please note that ArchiCAD

will run faster if virus checking and indexing are disabled for the Local Data folder and its


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will run faster if virus checking and indexing are disabled for the Local Data folder and itssubfolders.



How simple and straightforward it is for users to join a shared Teamwork project.

All the currently running BIM Servers are always visible in the Open/join Teamwork projectdialog.

To streamline the joining process only those shared Teamwork projects are shown which the


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To streamline the joining process, only those shared Teamwork projects are shown which thecurrent user is authorized to join.

To help the identification of currently open projects in ArchiCAD, the server name and thename of the currently joined user are always shown in the title bar of the floor plan windows.


Chapter 2 Reserving WorkspacesIn this chapter you will see how easy it is to reserve the elements you would like to work on andhow other users currently working on the same Teamwork project receive instant feedback aboutyour reservation.

To avoid more than one user reserving the same element at the same time GRAPHISOFT BIM


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To avoid more than one user reserving the same element at the same time, GRAPHISOFT BIMServer tracks element reservation instantly and notifies other users about reservation changesright away. Therefore everyone in the project team is always informed about who is working onwhat part of the project, thus avoiding design mistakes based on miscommunication about whois doing what.

You will also experience how ArchiCAD helps the communication of workspaces within theproject team by providing easy to apply color schemes for workspace representation.

Finally you will learn about the different ways of how you can reserve elements for editing. Thesemethods support several workflow patterns, which can be applicable for architectural offices andprojects different in sizes and complexities.


Reserving Elements by Selection

To be able to edit any part of a shared project, you must first select the parts you would like towork on and make them part of your workspace. To do this, simply select the required elementsand reserve them with a single click. You and the other users will receive instant feedback about

the changes in element ownership.


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g pLets suppose the task of Architect 1 is to finalize the restroom layout. Lets select a wall of thecentral restroom, reserve it and see what options are available to help visualize whose workspacethe selected item is in:

1 In the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 1, open the Chapter 2.01view in the TeamworkTraining folder in the Navigator View Map.

2 Select a wall segment and wait for the Info Tag to appear. You can see the first line of the InfoTag is Free for Reservation, indicating that the element is free to be reserved.


3 Click the Reservecommand from the Teamwork palette to reserve the wallsegment.

4 Switch to the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 2 and activate the same view inthe Navigator.


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5 Select the Show Reservation by Usersfrom Colored workspaces field of Teamworks paletteWorkspace panel.


6 Notice how the wall segment that has just been reserved by Architect 1 is changed to the usercolor of Architect 1, while the rest of the elements on the floor plan are colored in blueshowing that they are free to be reserved.


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7 Activate the Chapter 2.02perspective view in the Teamwork Training folder in Navigator -View Map to see the reservation in the 3D window.


8 Switch back to the ground floor plan and select the wall segment. In the first line of theappearing Info Tag, you can see which user has reserved the element.


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Hint:The Colored Workspacesfield on the Workspace panel of the TeamworkPalette provides different options for displaying the reservations, so that it is easy toidentify them:

- All with Original Color:All elements are displayed with the colors that were set in theirrespective Settings Dialogs.

- Gray out unowned Workspace:Elements you have reserved are displayed with theiroriginal colors; all other elements with a light gray color.

- Highlight my reservation:This option displays all elements not reserved by you with alight gray color, but will display your reserved elements in red.

- Show Reservation by Users:non-reserved elements are in blue (this as well as otherworkspace colors - see picture below - can be modified in the Work Environment Dialog).All elements reserved by a user are displayed with that users color (assigned in theTeamwork Palette).

- Own Elements / free elements / Others workspace.


- Requested by me / from me / other elements.


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As you can see, any selected element can be reserved with just a single click. The reservationcommand can also be executed from the context menu:


As well as from the Teamwork menu:


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Reserving Elements by CriteriaTo select multiple elements for reservation which are in several different project views, you canset up selection criteria based on any element parameters and even specify the views of theproject from which you would like to reserve them. (This can be easier than selecting eachelement separately in the various views.)

Lets select the internal partitions from all the stories in one step:

1 Switch back to the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 1.2 Open the Reserve Elementsdialog box from the Teamwork menu, or from the Teamwork

palette from the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 1.


3 In the Project Regionpart of the dialog box add the 1st, 2ndand 3rdfloors so that thereservation of elements is extended to these floors of the project as well.


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4 In the Criteriapart of the dialog box, add the following two criteria to select all the walls fromthe layer called Interior Partition:

Element type is to be Wall;

Layer is to be Interior Partition.

Note:The Criteria part of the Reserve Elements dialog box works similarly to theFind and Select dialog box. The criteria sets you create in either of these dialogsautomatically appear in the other dialog box as well.


5 Click Reserve Elementsto carry out the reservation. Set Colored workspaces to ShowReservation by Usersthe same way as we did with Architect 2 previously. See how thereserved walls change color on the floor plan.


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6 Activate Chapter 2.03perspective view from the Teamwork Training folder in Navigator -View Map to see the extent of the reservation in the 3D window. The reserved elements areshown with the color of Architect 1, while the unreserved elements are shown in blue.


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7 Click the My Workspaceto show an overview of your reserved elements.


Creating New Elements

To create new elements, you do not need to reserve a workspace in advance. Every new elementyou create will automatically become part of your workspace. However, these new elements willonly be available for the other users if you send your changes to the server and they also receive

them.Lets finalize the internal layout of the toilet block and see how the newly created elements will


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y ybecome part of your workspace.

1 Go back to the Chapter 2.01view.

2 Activate the Pick Up Parametersbutton in the standard toolbar.

3 Click on an internal partition of the toilet block with the pipette cursor to transfer itsparameters into the Wall Default Settings dialog, thus ensuring that you will create the sametype of wall next time you start drawing a wall.


4 Draw a vertical wall segment as shown in the picture.


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Hint:You can use the Special Snap Points feature fromthe toolbar to help place the wall segment. Select theHalfand the Between Intersection Pointsoptions

from the pop-up menu. Now place the wall segment in the exactmidpoint of the horizontal wall segment with the help of thesnap point.


5 To place doors for the toilet cubicles, lets pick up the parameter of another door by Alt-clickingon a corner point of an existing cubicle door.

Make sure the center geometry method is selected for the door.

Now you can place it at the exact midpoint of the wall segments with the help of

the snap point.


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6 In the same way, you can place the toilet objects into the cubicles, just make sureyou Alt-clickthe toilet object in the hotspot in the middle of its back (to pick up itsparameters and place it with the same hotspot by which you Alt-clicked theobject).


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7 Save the project with the File/Savecommand.

You can see that the wall segment, the doors and the toilets have been created with the usercolor of Architect 1. They have automatically become part of the workspace of Architect 1.



How fast and easily users can access Teamwork projects simultaneously.

How flexible it is to reserve elements for editing.

For creating new elements there is no need to make reservations.

There is no need to set up static reservations in advance.


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You can simply reserve elements on the fly as you work on the project.

How the colored workspace schemes help communication within the project team.


Chapter 3 Sending and Receiving ChangesIn this Chapter, you will learn the difference between saving your project and sending andreceiving.

To save the work that you have done so far, you can simply use the File/Save command. However,

this Save command will not automatically upload the changes you have made to the centrallyshared Teamwork project on the BIM Server. It will merely save your local copy of the file to your

t i T k d t b f t ( P t 1 Ch t 1 f hi t f L l D t O ti t


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computer in a Teamwork database format (see Part 1, Chapter 1 for hints for Local Data Options tolearn where the local Teamwork copies are kept on your hard drive).

When your work has progressed to a point at which you wish to share it with other users, applythe Send Changescommand. Doing so will upload the changes you made to the BIM Server. Toupdate your project with the contributions of the other users, apply the Receive Changes

command. You can do both in one step, with the Send & Receivecommand.The difference between savingand sendingand receivingmeans that users can decide whichpart of their work they would like to share with others (sending and receiving), while alsoensuring that the project on their computer is securely saved (saving).

At the end of the chapter, you will also find out what it means to be off-line, when you are part ofthe Teamwork project but not working on it, or to work offline when there is no live networkconnection to the BIM Server.

Finally, you will see how simple it is to release the elements you no longer wish to work on.


Sending the Changes

Lets share with the other users the design work Architect 1 made to the washroom in theprevious Chapter. To do this, we must send the changes to the BIM Server.

1 Open the view called Chapter 3.01from Navigator View Map in the project of Architect 1.


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2 Click the arrow buttonto the right of the Send & Receive command on the Teamworkpalette.


3 Click Send Changes. (You can reach the same commands from the Teamwork menu.)


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4 The following warning message may appear, informing you that after the Send Changescommand, ArchiCAD will also create a backup copy in a PLN version. To read more about the

backup option, please refer to Chapter 8 of Part 2 of this manual.

Click Continue.

As you can see, it took less than a second to send the changes to the BIM Server, due to the lownetwork traffic generated by ArchiCAD Teamworks DELTA-Server technology. This technologyensures that only the changes are sent through the network and processed by the BIM Server,facilitating the sharing of large projects by architectural teams of any size.


Sending and Receiving the Changes

Lets switch to the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 2. The task of Architect 2 is to create thefurniture layout of the building, so lets place some dining tables and chairs into the centralkitchen area.

1 Switch to the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 2. Activate the Chapter 3.01view in Navigator View Map.


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2 Bring up the Favorites palettefrom the Window/Palettes menu and double click the Dining

Tablefavorite. Place two dining tables with chairs into the kitchen area.

3 Notice that the tables are in red, the user color of Architect 2.


4 To see the changes that were carried out by other users, as well as to share your design inputwith them, lets carry out the Send & Receivecommand.


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5 The changes done by Architect 1 were received instantly and are now visible in yellow on thescreen.


Receiving the Changes

Certainly it is also possible in ArchiCAD Teamwork to only receive the changes without sendingyours. Lets see an example for this as well by switching to the workspace of Architect 1 andreceiving the changes that have just been carried out by Architect 2.

1 Switch back to the ArchiCAD instance of Architect 1 and apply the Receive Changescommand.


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2 Notice that the two dining tables with chairs have appeared on the floor plan instantly andare displayed in red, showing that they are reserved by Architect 2.


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1 Check the Work Offlinepop-up menu in the Teamwork palette and see how the menus in theWorkspace panel have been grayed out.


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2 Check out the menu to be online again.

3 Save the project.


Releasing Selected Elements

Use the Release command on any currently reserved element and the element will be releasedinstantly. It is recommended to regularly release those elements that you no longer wish to workon. This way you can maintain a flexible workflow in the architectural office.

Lets see an example of how to release selected elements.1 In the ArchiCAD project of Architect 2, select one of the Dining Table objects.


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2 Click the Releasebutton of the Workspace panel of the Teamwork palette to release the

selected element.


3 You can see how the floor plan representation of the object changes from red to blue,showing the element is no longer reserved by any users.


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4 Select the other Dining Table object, then click with the rightmouse button beside it on the floor plan to bring up thecontext menu. Select the Release Selected Elementscommand from the context menu.

5 You can see the other Dining Table object has also been released.

Naturally you can select more than one element and apply the Release Selected Elementscommand to them. The command can also be reached under the Teamwork menu.


Releasing All Elements

With single click of the Release Allcommand, all your previously released elements will bereleased in seconds, allowing the other users to work on them straightaway, without having toreceive the changes.

1 In the other ArchiCAD instance, open the Teamwork project of Architect 1. In the Open pop-up menu, you will have the recently opened projects listed. The Teamwork projects have aspecial icon and the server name and user name is also listed in brackets.


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2 Before letting you work, the server may ask you to receive the recent modifications of theteamwork project.


3 The floor plan window opens with the reservations shown by user color.


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4 Click the My Workspacebutton on the Teamwork palette for an overview of the reservedelements.


5 Click the Release Allbutton of the Teamwork palette or alternatively the Release Allbuttonon the My Workspace panel.


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6 The following warning message appears informing you that before releasing the reservedelements you have to send the changes you have previously made. Click the Send & Release

Allbutton to continue.


7 Click the My Workspacebutton on the Teamwork palette to check that you have no elementswithin your workspace.


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Hint:You can set a preference that your reservation be released automatically eachtime you close the Teamwork project. This option can be very useful to avoidaccidentally holding on to model elements while you are joined in but not working

on the project. The following picture shows you the relevant setting in ArchiCADs WorkEnvironment dialog box.


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In what flexible ways ArchiCAD Teamwork supports the architectural workflow by the fine-tuned sending and receiving methods.

There is virtually no waiting time at synchronization due to the low network traffic generatedby ArchiCAD Teamworks DELTA-Server technology: only the changes are sent through thenetwork and processed by the server or clients.

Teams of any size can collaborate due to fast Send & Receive operations.

Project information and user statuses are always kept up to date between all the users


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Project information and user statuses are always kept up-to-date between all the users.

How ArchiCAD Teamwork supports offline work methods: in case of network failure, users cancontinue their work and save the project locally. Once the network connection isreestablished, they can again send and receive changes to and from the BIM Server.

How easy it is to release the elements that you do not wish to edit any longer.


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2 Join the project in the name of the Lead Architect.


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3 Select a light green background for the plan view for easier identification.


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4 Select Architect 2 from the Users list of the Teamwork palette.

Then click

Archicad 18 Training Series Vol.5

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