SYNCHRO Construction Solution - Starting a new project that will use iModel Connections

When starting a new 4D project, you must decide whether the 3D models will be imported via the 3D importers in SYNCHRO 4D Pro or whether the models will be bridged into the iModel using the iModel Connections workflow. For help deciding which workflow to use, see this topic

If you have decided to work with the iModel Connections:

Go to Administation>iModel Importer and select New
Enter the project Name
Check the box to Set up this iModel for scheduling service. This will prepare the iModel to be opened from SYNCHRO 4D Pro and set up a scheduling repository for collaborative workflows.
Choose the SYNCHRO Pro Version. This is the version of SYNCHRO 4D Pro (or OpenViewer or Scheduler) that will be used to open the project. All users who need to access the project from 4D Pro must have the same version installed.
Do NOT upload an .sp file – if you upload an .sp file, you will not be able to use the iModel Connections
Select Create.
After the iModel is created, you will see that it is marked Primary and 4D. Primary marks the first iModel created. 4D marks the iModel where Set up this iModel for scheduling service is enabled and is the iModel that will be opened by SYNCHRO 4D Pro

NOTE: While a SYNCHRO Control project supports multiple iModels, only one iModel at a time can be set up for scheduling service. If you need to create a new 4D iModel for any reason, this would become the new 4D iModel and the previous iModel would no longer be accessible by 4D Pro. See this topic for more details about replacing the 4D iModel if needed

NOTE: if your company is an existing ProjectWise user, you may skip steps 7 and 8
Navigate to the Documents section of SYNCHRO Control. Open the folder where you would like to store the model files (e.g. 01 – Design Documents)
Upload your 3D model files to this folder by selecting New>Upload or using drag and drop to add one or more files
NOTE: For *.vue files - .mdb2 should be in the same location with the .vue with and use the same name.
In Administration>iModel importer, click the … button on the iModel and choose Connections
Select Create Connection
You will be prompted to indicate where the model files are stored. Unless, your company is an existing ProjectWise user, you should select the first option since this is a cloud storage and collaboration tool for file sharing which is contained within SYNCHRO Control.

NOTE: If you have models from multiple file types (e.g. DGN and RVT), create a separate connection for each file type.
This will display the folder structure which has been defined in the Documents section of SYNCHRO Control. Navigate to the folder that contains your models
Select only the composite models – all reference files will be processed automatically. Select Next
Select the file that contains the desired geographic coordinate system for the project and press Next, or press Skip to use the first found geocoordinate system for the entire iModel. For more details about geolocation in iModels, see this article
Select the Connector type from the drop-down based on the model source program and select Next
Enter a name for the Connection to identify it later and decide how frequently you would like the model to be synchronized to the iModel. Automatic synchronization will make sure that the latest version of the file in the data source selected in step 10 (e.g. the Documents folder in SYNCHRO Control via ProjectWise 365) is included in the iModel that will be opened by SYNCHRO 4D Pro. You may set Schedule to Never if you wish to update the iModel manually when a model update is available.
Select Create
After the connection is created, the model files are not yet synchronized to the iModel. To do this the first time, click on the … button on the right and choose Synchronize
You will see the Status
If the project contains additional file types, you will need to set up additional connections. To do this, select the project name in the navigation breadcrumbs (or select Connections from the iModel menu in SYNCHRO Control>Administration>iModel
From there, press New and repeat steps 10-18
When the Last sync status shows Succeeded (this may take a few hours depending on the size of the model), return to SYNCHRO Control to complete the setup.
In Administration>iModel Importer, the status will be displayed
When the blue status bar stops moving and Synced is shown under the iModel name with a timestamp, then it is ready to be opened in SYNCHRO 4D Pro