Configuring AutoCAD document property synchronization

Similar to attribute synchronization, TeamWork can synchronize vault properties with the document properties of AutoCAD files: Title, Subject, Author, Keywords, Comments, and so on.

To configure document property synchronization:

1. In Configurator, expand Environment in the configuration tree and select Application Link Settings. The settings for each link appear in property pages in the right pane.
2. Click the AutoCAD tab. The AutoCAD link’s settings page appears in the right pane.
3. Click the Edit button to modify the settings.

Tip    To export the settings file to your computer, click the Export button. This can be useful if you would rather edit the file in your favorite text editor. You can then copy your changes to the Clipboard and paste them into Configurator.

4. Locate the section of the file that begins with [Settings] and locate the DocumentPropertiesSummary setting. If the setting does not exist, you can create it. The value of this setting is the name of a section in the file that specifies the document properties that you want to synchronize, as in the following example:

DocumentPropertiesSummary=MySummarySection

5. Locate the section of the file specified by DocumentPropertiesSummary surrounded by square brackets, for example, [MySummarySection]. If the section does not yet exist, create it. You can type comments in the file by beginning each line with a semicolon (;). Use the default sections in the file as examples.
6. On consecutive lines in the section, list the document property names that you want to synchronize, one line per property. For each property, specify the vault property set and property name to which you want it synchronized.

Tip    You can find the names of property sets and properties on the Properties page of each document type, as described in Creating and editing document types.

Also specify a flag if the property should be read-only (RO) or write-only (WO). Use the default lines in the file as examples. By default, document properties are read/write. Use the following format for each line:

<DocumentPropertyName>=<PropertySet.PropertyName>,<Flag>

The following example maps the document property Title to the TeamWork property Title such that the document property is written from TeamWork and not vice versa:

Title=Custom.Title, RO 

Note    Although TeamWork internal properties can be synchronized to document properties, you should never attempt to update internal properties or else errors can occur. Flag all attributes linked to TeamWork internal properties as write-only (WO). Only write to TeamWork properties in the Custom property set.

7. Click OK to save your changes.
8. Test the link thoroughly by synchronizing each document property. You can do this by changing the TeamWork property values for a drawing in the vault and document property values in the same drawing and confirming that the synchronization occurs that way that you expect. You can manually synchronize properties with the TeamWork client applications as described in the BlueCielo TeamWork User’s Guide.