The Document Management section of the User Guide contains also the following topics:
Document Folders & Registers | Instruction Videos
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For any questions, please email our Customer Support Team at support@webuildcs.com.
Naming your plans/files
Document codes are used to uniquely identify each plan/file and allow for automated version control when superseding plans/files with newer versions.
For plans, document codes should exactly match the “drawing number’ displayed in the sheet.
Document codes for other types of files should be added in a similar (or identical) format than those of construction plans (i.e. alphanumerical codes).
To add a document code to your files, edit the filename in your file explorer and start by typing your document code, followed by a semicolon (;), then the document’s description.
For example:
See the below example of files that have been named correctly in a users device.
If your files are named correctly, document codes will automatically be captured and populated for you to save time when they are added to a document folder in your project.
Alternatively, you can use our Auto-label (OCR) tool (see related module) to scan your plans and automatically populate your document codes and other data points.
Important Note:
As requested by clients, entering a document code is optional when uploading an original file.
However, if a document code is not entered, the file will have a dash “-“ before the file name in lieu of the document code, and the Auto-label (OCR) automated version control tool will not function when superseding such files/plans with newer versions.
The dash “-“ before the file name does not affect the functionality of the file/plan, except that users will have to supersede these files/plans manually using the “Supersede File” function.
Automatically label your plans using the Auto-label (OCR) tool
Webuild uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to help users automate the capture of certain data points from your project’s plans.
Rather than type in plan numbers, document titles, revision numbers and document dates for each plan manually, the Auto-label (OCR) tool extracts each data point from all single-paged pdf files in your upload list.
Once the text has been extracted, the Auto-label (OCR) tool can populate and save each plan’s data point automatically.
Important Note:
As requested by clients, entering a document code is optional when uploading an original file.
However, if a document code is not entered, the file will have a dash “-“ before the file name in lieu of a document code, and the Auto-label (OCR) automated version control tool will not function when superseding such files/plans with newer versions.
The dash “-“ before the file name does not affect the functionality of the file/plan, except that users will have to supersede these files/plans manually using the “Supersede File” function.
To use the Auto-label (OCR) tool, follow the following steps:
Go to your project documents and select the folder you wish to add plans or files to.
Click the “ADD FILES” button and select one or more plans (in pdf format) from your device.
The Auto-label (OCR) tool can be used for one-page pdf files only. If your plan set is grouped in to one multi-paged pdf file, you can split it in to individual pages by clicking the “SPLIT” button.
The file is split into 2 pages.
Once your list of files has been uploaded, click the “AUTO-LABEL” button.
The base plan is used to show the OCR tool where to look for each data point when scanning your list of uploaded plans. By default, the first plan/page in your list will be selected as the base plan.
To change the base plan/page, click the downward arrow on the top of your screen and select another plan/page from the list.
There are four different data points you can extract from your plans using the Auto-label (OCR) tool:
– Document code (e.g. drawing number, plan number or sheet number)
– Document name (e.g. drawing title, plan title or sheet title)
– Revision number
– Document date (e.g. drawing date, plan date or sheet date)
To set the coordinates of a data point, select an option in the bottom toolbar, then click and drag over the related section of the base plan.
Note: if you have uploaded plans to a document folder before and run the Auto-label (OCR) tool, the location of the related data points will be saved.
Saved coordinates can be removed by clicking on the related buttons in the toolbar.
Once you have finished adding the coordinates of your selected data points, click the “SAVE” button located on the top-right hand side of your screen to start the scan.
Add plans / files to a folder
To add plans and files to your document folder, follow the steps below.
Note: we recommend reading “Naming your plans/files” before uploading plans to your document folders. However, plans can also be named automatically via the “Auto-label (OCR) tool”.
Go to your project documents and select the folder you wish to add plans or files to.
Drag and drop files in to the drop zone or click “ADD FILES” button and select the related files from your device.
If you would like to preview a file before saving, select the “Preview” option in the overflow menu on the right-hand side of each block.
Document codes are used to uniquely identify each plan/file and allow for automated version control when superseding plans/files with newer versions. The version of files are shown on the right-hand side of a file’s name.
If your files are named correctly (see “Naming your plans/files” module), document codes will automatically be captured and populated for you to save time. Otherwise, you can add them by using the “Auto-label (OCR) tool”, or manually by typing in to the “Code” field on the left-hand side of each uploaded file.
If you upload a new version of a file that is missing its document code and fails to be automatically matched with an existing version (if any), you can supersede a file manually by selecting “Supersede File” in the overflow menu on the right-hand side of each block.
You can type the revision number of plans/files by clicking in to the “Revision no.” field on the right-hand side of the file’s “name” field, or via the “Details” dialog.
The “Details” dialog for a specific file can be accessed by clicking the “ADD DETAILS” button located in the bottom toolbar.
Other data points you may add to files are listed below (all of which are optional). These data points can be used to filter your list of documents via the advanced search tool located in your document folders.
– In/Out
– Document type
– Revision no. (same as the one displayed in the uploaded files list)
– Document date
– Author
– Recipient
– Sent/received date
– Approved by
– Date approved
– Subject code
– Document reference no.
– Incoming reference no.
– Linked reference no.
Once details have been added to files, the grey “ADD” button will change to a blue “EDIT” button in order to distinguish between which files have more information available.
Tip: if uploaded files share identical revision numbers or other data points, you can add them to your files in bulk by clicking the “ADD DETAILS” button on the bottom toolbar.
To add a status selected files, click the “STATUS” button located on the bottom toolbar.
You can select from our pre-defined list, or add your own custom status by clicking the “ADD” button on the top-right hand side of the “Set status” dialog.
Click the notes icon button displayed on the right-hand side of your plan/file, or click the overflow button on the right-hand side of your file’s block and select “Add a note” from the menu.
Tip: You can also add a note to plans/files in bulk by selecting them and clicking the “ADD NOTEs” button, located 0n the bottom toolbar.
To save your plans and files, click the SAVE button located on the bottom toolbar.
Split a multi paged pdf file
If you upload a multi-page pdf file containing a set of plans, you can split this in to individual files in the “upload files” interface via the “Split file” tool.
To split a multi paged pdf file, follow the steps below.
Note: Markup tools are not available for multi-page pdf files.
Upload a multi-page pdf file to your document folder.
Note: For heavily detailed plan sets containing more than 30 pages, we recommend using a separate pdf splitter program.
Click the “SPLIT FILE” button to split your file in to individual pdfs.
Note: It usually takes around 10 seconds per page when splitting detailed plan sets.
After adding your document code (or plan number) and any other details to your plans/files, click the SAVE button on the bottom toolbar.
Unzip a folder
To unzip a folder, follow the steps below.
Upload a zip file to your document folder.
Click the “UNZIP” button to split your zip folder in to individual files.
To save your plans and files, click the SAVE button on the bottom toolbar.
Add a status to your plan/file
To add a status to a selected plan or file, follow the steps below.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Hover over a file and click on the checkbox to the left-hand side of the document code to reveal the bottom toolbar. Click on the “OPTIONS” button then on the “STATUS” button.
Alternatively, click on the overflow menu on the right-hand side of the document to open a new dialogue then click on “STATUS”.
Select a status for your file from the dialogue. Click on the “ADD” button on the top-right hand side of the “Set Status” dialogue.
Note: you can add a custom status by clicking on the “ADD” button on the top-right hand side of the “Set Status” dialog.
Add a custom status to your plan/file
To add a custom status to a selected plan or file, follow the steps below.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Hover over a file and click on the checkbox to the left-hand side of the document code to reveal the bottom toolbar. Click on the “OPTIONS” button then on the “STATUS” button.
Click on the “ADD” button on the top-right hand side of the “Set Status” dialogue.
Name your custom status in the “Add/Edit Status” box then click the “SAVE” button.
Select your new custom status in the “Set Status” dialogue an click the “ADD” button. This new custom status will be applied to your file and will be available for future files.
Add a note to your plan/file
To add a note to a selected plan or file, follow the steps below.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Click the notes icon button displayed on the right-hand side of your plan/file, or click the overflow button on the right-hand side of your file’s block and select “View notes” from the menu.
Tip: You can also add a note to selected plans/files in bulk by clicking the “OPTIONS” button then on the “ADD NOTE” button located in the bottom toolbar.
Click into the text field and type to add your note. After you have finished typing, click the “SAVE” button.
You can also add any related attachments by clicking on the paperclip icon and selecting files from your device.
View a plan/file
To view a specific plan or other file types, follow the steps below.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Click on a plan or file to view it via the document viewer interface.
Example: viewing a plan (i.e. a one-page pdf)
In addition to plans (i.e. one-page pdf), other file types including CAD and 3D models can also be viewed from your account. A list of our supported file types is below.
.3dm
.3ds
.a
.asm
.asm\.\d+$
.brd
.c
.catpart
.catproduct
.cgr
.collaboration
.css
.dae
.dgn
.dlv3
.doc
.docx
.dwf
.dwfx
.dwg
.dwt
.dxf
.emode
.exp
.f2d
.f3d
.fbx
.g
.gbxml
.glb
.gltf
.iam
.idw
.ifc
.ige
.iges
.igs
.ipt
.iwm
.js
.json
.jt
.m
.max
.md
.model
.mpf
.msr
.neu
.neu\.\d+$
.nwc
.nwd
.obj
.pdf
.pl
.pmlprj
.pmlprjz
.ppt
.pptx
.prt
.prt\.\d+$
.psmodel
.py
.py
.rcp
.rvt
.sab
.sat
.sch
.session
.skp
.sldasm
.sldprt
.ste
.step
.stl
.stla
.stlb
.stp
.stpz
.txt
.vue
.wire
.x_b
.x_t
.xas
.xls
.xml
.xpr
.xlsx
View an older version of a plan
To view an older version of a specific plan, follow the steps below.
Note: Only older versions of plans can be viewed via the interface. Older versions of other file types can be downloaded only but not viewed via the interface.
Go to your project documents and click on the respective folder.
Click on the plan that wish to view an older version of it via the document viewer interface.
To select a previous version of the plan, click the Version History icon button on the top-right corner of the screen, or click on the overflow button on the right-hand side of the related file’s block and select “Version History” from the menu.
Select an older version of your plan via the “Version History” dialogue.
View an older version of other file types
To view an older version of a file that is not a plan (i.e. a single paged pdf), follow the steps below.
Note: only older versions of plans can be viewed via the interface. Older versions of other file types can be downloaded only but not viewed via the interface.
Go to your project documents and click on the respective folder.
Click on the file that wish to view an older version of it.
To select a previous version of the plan, click on the overflow button on the right-hand side of the related file’s block and select “Version History” from the menu.
Click on an older version, then click the “DOWNLOAD” button to view this file on your device. You can also add notes at the bottom section of the Document Versions dialogue and click “Save”.
Markup plans
To markup a specific plan or file, follow the steps below.
Note: Markup tools are only available for plans (i.e. one page pdf documents).
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Click on a plan view it via the document viewer interface.
Select a colour from the colour palette, then select one of the markup tools to begin drawing.
Tip: Follow the directional tooltips next to your cursor to learn how to use the markup tools.
Edit a markup annotation
To edit a markup annotation, click directly on the annotation and click the “Edit” button in the popup toolbar.
After editing the annotation, click the “SAVE” button on the bottom-right hand side of the “Edit Item” dialog.
You can edit an annotations colour, border thickness, border opacity and fill opacity.
Export a plan markup
To export a plan markup, follow the steps below.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Click on a plan or to view it via the document viewer interface.
Click the export icon button on the top-right side of the screen and select how you wish to export the plan (as shown in the “Export plan” dialogue below) and click “EXPORT”, then save to your device.
Note: Files are exported in “.png” format.
Show / hide specific markups from your plan
You can show or hide specific annotations on a plan by using the markups filter. The markups filter button is located on the top-right hand side of your plan, above the “Version Picker”.
Filter icon button
To apply filters to the annotations on your plan, click the filter icon button. Annotations can be filtered by specific type, or the related contributors as shown in the Filter dialogue below.
View a plan’s markup history
All project team members and contacts with edit access to your folder have the ability to add markups to plans.
To keep track of who added, edited and deleted markups (including a date/time stamp), you can view the “Markup History” dialogue.
View the “Markup History” dialogue by clicking the overflow button on the top right-hand side of your screen and selecting “Markup History” from the menu.
Download one file/all files from a folder
To download selected plans or files from a folder, follow the steps below.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Hover over the file you want to select and click on the checkbox to the left-hand side of the document code to reveal the bottom toolbar.
Tip: You can select to download all files in the folder with one click. In the bottom LHS, there is a Checkbox that shows “1 Selected”. Click that checkbox to select all files in the folder (not only the file that you originally selected).
Click on the “OPTIONS” then on the “DOWNLOAD” buttons on the bottom toolbar to export your selected files.
When the file export has been has been prepared, click on the green “DOWNLOAD” button in the dialogue box appearing on the left-bottom corner of your screen.
Delete plans/files from a folder
To delete selected plans or files from a folder, follow the steps below.
Note: Only folder owners or contacts with “Can Edit” access can delete files from document folders.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder
Hover over a file and click on the checkbox to the left-hand side of the document code to reveal the bottom toolbar.
Tip: You can select all files in your folder by clicking on the checkbox on the left-hand side of the bottom-toolbar.
Click on the “DELETE” button on the bottom toolbar to remove your selected files.
Share selected plans/files from a folder
To share selected plans or files from a folder, follow the steps below.
Note: Sharing individual files with a contact will not give them access to other files in your document folder.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Hover over a file and click on the checkbox to the left-hand side of the document code to reveal the bottom toolbar.
Tip: You can select all files in your folder by clicking on the checkbox on the left-hand side of the bottom-toolbar.
Click on the “SHARE” button on the bottom toolbar to share your selected files.
In the “Share Files” dialogue, add one or more contacts you would like to share your selected files with by typing into the search field and selecting them from the list.
You can then add a note and click the “SHARE” button to finish sharing.
If you enter the name of a contact who is not in your Contacts folder, a new dialogue will open to allow you to enter this new contact into your Contacts folder. Complete the form then click “ADD”. The new contact will then be added to your “Share Files” dialogue.
You can then proceed to add a note and click the “SHARE” button to finish sharing.
After you share one or more plans/files, each contact that you shared the file with will receive an email notification.
Recipients can click the “DOWNLOAD DOCUMENTS” button to download all related files and folders or click “View Transmittal Details” to view the transmittal information and related files via the interface.
A record of the related transmittal is added to the “Sent transmittals” folder of your Transmittals module with all information, including a date/time stamp for download activity.
Note: Users without Webuild accounts will be able to access files online via a “guest mode” interface with limited access.
Move a plan/file to another folder
To move selected plans/files from one folder to another, follow the steps below.
Note: Only folder owners or contacts with “Can Edit” access can move files from one document folder to another.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder.
Hover over a file and click on the checkbox to the left-hand side of the document code to reveal the bottom toolbar. Select all the files you would like to move.
Tip: You can select all files in your folder by clicking on the checkbox on the left-hand side of the bottom-toolbar.
Click on the “MOVE” button on the bottom toolbar to select a destination for your selected files.
In the “Move to Folder” dialogue that opens, click on the name of the folder where you would like to move your selected files. The files will be automatically moved to the new location.
Add a revision number and other details to plans/files
The below data points can be added to plans/files in your document folders.
– In/Out
– Document type
– Revision no.
– Document date
– Author
– Recipient
– Sent/received date
– Approved by
– Date approved
– Subject code
– Document reference no.
– Incoming reference no.
– Linked reference no.
To add a revision number and other details to a file, follow the steps below.
Go to your project documents and click on a folder, then select the file or files to which you want to add details.
Click on the “OPTIONS” button then on the “ADD DETAILS” button on the bottom toolbar.
A new dialogue will open for you to add a revision number or other details.
Tip: If files share identical revision numbers or other data points, you can add them to your files in bulk by selecting them and clicking the “ADD DETAILS” button.
Add all related details and click the “SAVE” button.
Request for Information notices or RFIs are one of the most common, and unavoidable, admin processes for a construction project. It is always important for a contractor managing a project that RFIs are managed efficiently to minimise delays and cost overruns.
Construction collaboration is crucial for the success of any project. The sharing of knowledge and information among project participants is one of the fundamental components of a successful working relationship with the goal of completing the project on time, within budget and in accordance with specifications.
Construction is one of the global economy’s largest industries. It employs over 7 percent of the world’s workforce and involves an annual expenditure of around $10 trillion on related goods and services, representing 13% of global GDP. However, the construction industry has lagged behind other industries in improving its productivity.
