Accesses BIM 360 Docs and Autodesk Construction Cloud to upload, download, or delete files and folders or list file/folder information.
Typical Uses
- Manage files on BIM 360 Docs and Autodesk Construction Cloud by uploading, downloading, and deleting files and folders.
- Transfer a file's contents into or out of an attribute in FME.
- Retrieve file and folder names, paths, and other information from BIM 360 Docs and Autodesk Construction Cloud to use elsewhere in a workspace.
How does it work?
The AutodeskBIM360DocsConnector uses your Autodesk account credentials (either via a previously defined FME web connection, or by setting up a new FME web connection right from the transformer) to access the file storage service.
Depending on your choice of actions, it will upload or download files, folders, and attributes; list information from the service; or delete items from the service. On Upload and List actions, links and file/folder information are added to the output features as attributes.
Authentication
The AutodeskBIM360DocsConnector uses an oauth web service defined FME web connection. It is recommended to create a new web connection using the Autodesk BIM 360 Docs (safe.autodesk-bim360docs) web service. It is also recommended to replace the included FME Forge app client with your own Forge application by updating the client id and secret in Autodesk BIM 360 Docs (safe.autodesk-bim360docs). At minimum, the Forge app must have access to the BIM 360 and Data Management APIs.
It is also required to add the chosen Forge App as a custom integration on the BIM 360 Hub page. A hub admin can do this by logging in and going to Account Admin > Settings > Custom Integrations > Add Custom Integration and entering the client ID of the connected Forge App. For the included FME Forge app, this is visible by examining the Autodesk BIM 360 Docs (safe.autodesk-bim360docs) web connection settings.
See also: How to create a BIM 360 Document Management Web Connection
Usage Notes
- This transformer cannot be used to directly move or copy files between different BIM 360 Docs or Autodesk Construction Cloud locations. However, multiple AutodeskBIM360DocsConnectors can be used to accomplish this, by downloading files/folders and re-uploading them to a new location.
Configuration
Input Ports
Input
This transformer accepts any feature.
Output Ports
Output
The output of this transformer will vary depending on the action performed.
- A Delete action will output the incoming feature.
- A Download action will output the incoming feature and can save to either a file, folder, or attribute.
- A List action will output a new feature for each file/folder found in the path specified. Each of these new features will have attributes listing various pieces of information about the object.
- After an Upload action, selected information about the file will be available as attributes.
Initiator
The incoming feature is output through this port.
<Rejected>
Features that cause the operation to fail are output through this port. An fme_rejection_code attribute, having the value ERROR_DURING_PROCESSING, will be added, along with a more descriptive fme_rejection_message attribute which contains more specific details as to the reason for the failure.
Note: If a feature comes in to the AutodeskBIM360DocsConnector already having a value for fme_rejection_code, this value will be removed.
Rejected Feature Handling: can be set to either terminate the translation or continue running when it encounters a rejected feature. This setting is available both as a default FME option and as a workspace parameter.
Parameters
Authentication
| Account |
To create a BIM 360 Docs connection, click the Account drop-down box and select Add Web Connection. It is recommended to use the BIM 360 Docs Web Service. The connection can then be managed via Tools > FME Options > Web Connections. |
Request
| Action |
The type of operation to perform. Choices include:
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||
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Retry on Failure |
If enabled, checks if the response has a Retry-After header specifying how long to wait and adheres to that when available. Otherwise it retries after 1 second, and doubles the wait time for each consecutive retry.
|
The remaining parameters available depend on the value of the Action parameter. Parameters for each Action are detailed below.
Parameters - Delete Action
Delete Options
|
Hub |
The ID of the BIM 360 Hub. You may browse for the correct Hub. |
|
Project |
The Project of interest within the hub. A hub can contain many projects, which can be browsed. The browser will show all projects that the authenticated user is authorized to view. |
|
Item |
The ID of a file or folder on BIM 360 Docs to delete, which can be browsed for. BIM 360 prohibits deleting the root directory of a project, as well as the top-level “Plans” and “Project Files” folders. |
Parameters - Download Action
Download Options
|
Hub |
The ID of the BIM 360 Hub. You may browse for the correct Hub. |
|
Project |
The Project of interest within the hub. A hub can contain many projects, which can be browsed. The browser will show all projects that the authenticated user is authorized to view. |
|
Item |
The ID of a file or folder on BIM 360 Docs to download, which can be browsed for. |
Destination
| Download as |
Select whether to store the downloaded data in a file, folder, or attribute.
|
| Download to Attribute |
Specify the attribute that will store the contents of the downloaded file. Valid for Download as Attribute only. |
| Response Body Encoding |
For Download as Attribute, you can specify a character set encoding to ensure the output is in a human-readable form. If Auto Detect from HTTP Header is specified but there is no encoding in the Content-Type metadata associated with the data, the output will be returned as raw bytes. |
| Download to Folder | Specify the path to the folder that will store the downloaded file. Valid for Download as File or Folder. |
| If File Exists |
Specify what to do if the file already exists locally. Valid for Download as File or Folder.
|
| Include Subfolders | Choose whether to download subfolders of the BIM 360 Docs source or not. Valid for Download as Folder only. |
Output Attributes
The selected attributes will be added to the output feature.
|
_download_path |
Path of the downloaded object on the local file system. This attribute will not be added for Download as Attribute. |
Note: Viewable files in the Plans directory are not supported for download.
Parameters - List Action
List Options
|
Hub |
The ID of the BIM 360 Hub. You may browse for the correct Hub. |
|
Project |
The Project of interest within the hub. A hub can contain many projects, which can be browsed. The browser will show all projects that the authenticated user is authorized to view. |
|
Folder |
The ID of a folder on BIM 360 Docs to list, which can be browsed for. |
|
Include Subfolders |
If set to Yes, then subfolders are recursively traversed, and their contents are included in the result. |
Output Attributes
|
_name |
Name of the file or folder. |
|
_id |
Item id of the file or folder. |
|
_full_path |
Full path of the file or folder, from the root of the project. |
|
_project |
The Project ID of the file or folder. |
|
_extension |
The extension of the file. |
|
_hub |
The Hub ID of the file or folder. |
|
_source_file_name |
If the file is a viewable under the Plans directory (an automatically extracted Revit view, for example) this will be the name of the source file it was extracted from. |
|
_file_or_folder |
Whether the item is a file or a folder. |
|
_version_number |
The version number of the file. |
|
_created |
Date and time when the file was created. |
|
_created_by |
Name of user who created the file or folder. |
|
_last_modified |
Date and time when the file was last modified. |
|
_last_modified_by |
Name of user who last modified the file or folder. |
Parameters - Upload Action
Data Source
|
Upload |
The type of data to be uploaded.
When working with large objects, File is a better choice than Attribute as the data will be streamed directly from disk and not require that the object be stored entirely in memory on a feature. When wanting to upload content from a folder, it is better to upload as a folder instead of setting a fixed path and sending multiple features into the connector to upload as a file. |
|
File to Upload |
The file to be uploaded to BIM 360 Docs if Upload is set to File. |
|
Folder to Upload |
The folder to be uploaded to BIM 360 Docs if Upload is set to Folder. |
|
Include Subfolders |
Choose whether to upload subfolders of the Folder to Upload or not. |
|
Attribute to Upload as File |
The data to be uploaded, supplied from an attribute if Upload is set to Attribute. |
Upload Options
|
Hub |
The ID of the BIM 360 Hub. You may browse for the correct Hub. |
|
Project |
The Project of interest within the hub. A hub can contain many projects, which can be browsed. The browser will show all projects that the authenticated user is authorized to view. |
| Upload with File Name | The name of the file created from the data supplied in Attribute to Upload as File. The name must include a filename extension (for example, .dwg, .rvt, .pdf). |
|
If File Exists |
Specify what to do if the file already exists on BIM 360 Docs.
|
Note: Files uploaded to BIM 360 Docs are processed before being published and so will not be immediately viewable after uploading. There are also restrictions on what file types may be uploaded, which can be found here.
Output Attributes
|
_name |
Name of the file or folder. |
|
_id |
Item id of the file or folder. |
|
_full_path |
Full path of the file or folder, from the root of the project. |
|
_project |
The Project ID of the file or folder. |
|
_extension |
The extension of the file. |
|
_hub |
The Hub ID of the file or folder. |
|
_file_or_folder |
Whether the item is a file or a folder. |
|
_version_number |
The version number of the file. |
|
_created |
Date and time when the file was created. |
|
_created_by |
Name of user who created the file or folder. |
|
_last_modified |
Date and time when the file was last modified. |
|
_last_modified_by |
Name of user who last modified the file or folder. |
Editing Transformer Parameters
Using a set of menu options, transformer parameters can be assigned by referencing other elements in the workspace. More advanced functions, such as an advanced editor and an arithmetic editor, are also available in some transformers. To access a menu of these options, click 
beside the applicable parameter. For more information, see Transformer Parameter Menu Options.
Defining Values
There are several ways to define a value for use in a Transformer. The simplest is to simply type in a value or string, which can include functions of various types such as attribute references, math and string functions, and workspace parameters. There are a number of tools and shortcuts that can assist in constructing values, generally available from the drop-down context menu adjacent to the value field.
How to Set Parameter Values
Using the Text Editor
The Text Editor provides a convenient way to construct text strings (including regular expressions) from various data sources, such as attributes, parameters, and constants, where the result is used directly inside a parameter.
Using the Arithmetic Editor
The Arithmetic Editor provides a convenient way to construct math expressions from various data sources, such as attributes, parameters, and feature functions, where the result is used directly inside a parameter.
Conditional Values
Set values depending on one or more test conditions that either pass or fail.
Parameter Condition Definition Dialog
Content
Expressions and strings can include a number of functions, characters, parameters, and more.
When setting values - whether entered directly in a parameter or constructed using one of the editors - strings and expressions containing String, Math, Date/Time or FME Feature Functions will have those functions evaluated. Therefore, the names of these functions (in the form @<function_name>) should not be used as literal string values.
Content Types
| These functions manipulate and format strings. | |
|
Special Characters |
A set of control characters is available in the Text Editor. |
| Math functions are available in both editors. | |
| Date/Time Functions | Date and time functions are available in the Text Editor. |
| These operators are available in the Arithmetic Editor. | |
| These return primarily feature-specific values. | |
| FME and workspace-specific parameters may be used. | |
| Creating and Modifying User Parameters | Create your own editable parameters. |
Dialog Options - Tables
Transformers with table-style parameters have additional tools for populating and manipulating values.
Table Tools
|
Row Reordering
|
Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:
|
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Cut, Copy, and Paste
|
Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:
Cut, copy, and paste may be used within a transformer, or between transformers. |
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Filter
|
Start typing a string, and the matrix will only display rows matching those characters. Searches all columns. This only affects the display of attributes within the transformer - it does not alter which attributes are output. |
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Import
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Import populates the table with a set of new attributes read from a dataset. Specific application varies between transformers. |
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Reset/Refresh
|
Generally resets the table to its initial state, and may provide additional options to remove invalid entries. Behavior varies between transformers. |
Note: Not all tools are available in all transformers.
Reference
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Processing Behavior |
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Feature Holding |
No |
| Dependencies | BIM 360 Account, recommended to have a Forge App with access to the BIM 360 API and the Data Management API |
| Aliases | AutodeskConstructionCloudConnector |
| History | Released FME 2020.2 |
FME Community
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Search for all results about the AutodeskBIM360DocsConnector on the FME Community.
Examples may contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver and/or the Open Government Licence – Canada.