The Library holds every design file in the project, and the Design References taken out of them. A file is the source; what the apps show is the reference.
- Search - finds a source file by name.
- Format and Unmounted - show one format only; show only files whose references are not mounted anywhere yet.
- Add New - upload files, or bring them in from Autodesk; see below.
- Status - Ready once the file is processed; only a Ready file can give Design References.
- Mount and Design Refs - where the file's references are mounted, and how many it has, or Awaiting extraction.
Upload design files
- Choose + Add New.
- Choose Upload to pick files from your computer; the dialog takes several at once, and each becomes its own Library entry. Or connect a project from Autodesk Forma (formerly ACC) or from BIM 360. Procore and Box are listed as coming soon.
- Wait for the file's Status to read Ready.
Supported formats, as the Format filter groups them: BIM files from Revit, Navisworks and SketchUp (and IFC), drawings as DWG or PDF, and raster images as PNG, JPEG or TIFF. DXF is not supported; convert it to DWG first.
Add New - Upload from your computer, or connect from Autodesk Forma (formerly ACC) or BIM 360. Procore and Box are coming.
A file has to be ready first
A file's Status goes Uploading > Processing (models and CAD are converted, images tiled) > Ready. A PDF is ready as soon as it lands. A failed upload stays in the list as Upload Failed, with a reason and Retry or Remove. Nothing can be extracted from a file until it is Ready.
Reading the list
| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Status | Uploading, Processing, Ready or Upload Failed |
| Updated | When the file last changed |
| Source | How the file arrived: Direct upload, or the platform it came from |
| Ver | Its version |
| Mount | Unmounted until its references are placed, then how many nodes they are on |
| Design Refs | Awaiting extraction until you take something out of it, then how many DRs it has |
Above the list are a search box, a Format filter, and a chip counting what is still unmounted: the quickest list of loose ends.
A file's details
Select a file to open its panel. Properties shows when it was updated, its size and its status; Open in Editor opens it in its editor.
- The selected file - its row: Ready, uploaded Aug 27, its references mounted to 2 nodes.
- File Info - when it was updated, its size and its status.
- Open in Editor - opens the file in its editor, where references are extracted and aligned.
Design Ref tab
Design Ref lists what has been taken out of the file. Each reference shows the frame it was aligned in, its status, and an Activate switch. Its pencil renames it, the grid icon opens its mount dialog, and its menu holds the rest.
- The drawing taken from it - 06 - SECOND FLOOR PLAN: aligned in BCS, Aligned, and Activated.
- Rename, Mount, More - the pencil renames the reference, the grid icon opens its mount dialog, and the menu holds the rest.
The file's menu
| Entry | What it does |
|---|---|
| Apply alignment to others | Copies this file's reference alignment to other references; see Align Design References. |
| Extract DRs... | Takes more pages or sheets out of the file. |
| Delete source file | Removes the file and every reference taken from it, with their mounts. Anchors survive. |
Source file menu - Apply alignment to others, Extract DRs, and Delete source file.
Extract Design References
Uploading a file does not create content. Extraction is its own step, and you choose what comes out.
- Open the file from the Library. Its editor opens.
- On the left, open the Source tab. It shows the file's own structure: for a PDF, its pages, each with a count of the DRs taken from it.
- Select a page and use its +. The new drawing appears under the page, in Draft.
- Switch to the DRs tab to see everything extracted so far. That is where you go to align it.
One PDF page gives one drawing, so a nine-page plan set gives nine. A BIM file always gives exactly one 3D BIM, with its views, rooms and levels inside it; to bring in a second model, upload a second file.
- Source tab - the file's own structure: for a PDF, its pages.
- Select a page, then + - creates a Drawing reference from it.
- A page and its + - each page can give one drawing.
- The drawing taken from that page - new references start in Draft.
- Anchors on the canvas - named points that alignment can be measured against.
When a design file changes
Upload the new version (or let the Autodesk connection fetch it). It is recorded against the same source file, and every earlier version is kept. Nothing downstream changes on its own: your references keep showing the version they came from until you open the editor, choose the newer version in its Source section and apply it.
Applying keeps the alignment, the Activated status, the mounts and every Publish switch; anchors from the file are matched and updated. You can go back to an earlier version the same way.