During a recent customer conversation around Autodesk BIM360 implementation, a requirement for the ability to add custom properties to BIM360 DOCS files was brought to our attention. The default settings within BIM360 DOCS already include primary file-based information like Name, Description, Version, Shared status, Size, and DOCS specific information like Markups, Issues, RFI’s and Sets. In addition to controlling the visibility of any or all of these default fields, users can create their own custom attributes to add more columns of relevant information to the BIM360 DOCS view.
Custom Attributes are easy to add using the “Add Attribute” option by right-clicking on any folder in BIM360 DOCS or clicking on the ellipsis (…) icon next to the folder name. Similar to permission assignments, custom attributes that are added to a higher-level folder are automatically added to subfolders under the same project folder structure.
When creating custom attributes, you must first provide a name, then select from one of three available options (available at the time this blog was written). The Text Field option allows the user to manually enter text in the custom attribute column. The Date Picker option loads a calendar for users to manually select dates from, and the Drop-down Menu option provides a user-defined list of items to select from a drop-down style menu. This list can also be edited at any time to include more items as the project progresses.
With Version tracking in BIM360 DOCS, the current attribute value is applied to future versions of each file, however users may manually override version specific values as needed.
Currently, custom attributes are only allowed for individual files (folders do not support custom attributes at this time). When attributes are changed or edited by a project member, the Last Updated and Updated By fields will indicate the date, time and project member who made the change. Project members must have edit-level permissions to the folder in order to make changes to custom attributes. View-level members will be able to see the attribute data, but not edit the values.
In the screenshot below, a custom field for Phase with a pre-populated drop-down list for Phs 1 and Phs 2 has been added to the Civil Design location. Additionally, a user-defined column for Company was added to the main top-level Project Files directory and has been automatically added to the Civil Design sub-folder.
To find the details of what changes were applied, check the box next to the file name, then go to View File Activities from the top menu.
For step by step info on how to add custom attributes, check out this BIM360 DOCS Help file post on the Autodesk Knowledge Network:
Custom attributes do not currently appear in the Civil 3D START tab when accessing your BIM360 DOCS project files from you desktop application, however if you are a project owner looking for a way to include custom attribute data to your files being housed in BIM360 DOCS, now you know how to do it.
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