Autodesk

UNLOCK YOUR FILES IN AUTODESK WITH ODRIVE

Your company has files in Autodesk. You want to give your users efficient and reliable desktop sync so they can work directly out of Mac Finder or Windows Explorer. You may also want to backup, move or replicate these files into a different storage that a different team uses. Or perhaps you need to be able to easily share some of these files with other stakeholders, sometimes external to the company. Odrive can help you do these things and more, allowing you to enjoy increased productivity, efficiency, and value from your existing Autodesk investment.

CORE BENEFITS FOR AUTODESK USERS

• Desktop sync for Mac, Windows, and Linux (command-line).
  • Files and folders are presented as placeholder cloud files initially that don't take up any disk space.
  • Content is only downloaded on demand when you access the file for the first time, saving you disk space and bandwidth.
  • Changes made while offline automatically sync to Autodesk once you're back online.
  • Manage your disk space by returning files back to placeholders when you are finished working on the them.
  • Advanced functionality when working with complex files such as cross-linked BIM files.
• File sharing options allow you to flexibly share files and folders with people inside and outside of your company.
  • Use secure weblinks with an optional password and expiration date to conveniently transfer files to anyone.
  • Share storage collaboratively with other Odrive users by inviting them to Odrive Spaces backed by your Autodesk storage.
• Multicloud sync access so you can access your other storage (e.g. SharePoint, Google Drive, and more) to your desktop.
• Other specialized solutions exist as well if you need to move or replicate files between Autodesk and a file servers or other storage system such as SharePoint, Procore, or Google Drive. Let different teams use their natural preferred storage of choice.

GETTING STARTED

Sign in using your Autodesk credentials

You can choose the sign-in provider that you want to use to sign in to Odrive. For simplicity, you can even just use your Autodesk credentials.

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Do I have to choose Autodesk as my sign-in provider?

No. Your authentication provider is separate from whatever storage you link to odrive. You can sign up using Facebook credentials, for example, and then link your Autodesk storage separately later on. However, if your company's Autodesk admin is rolling out Odrive to your company, they may require that you sign in using Autodesk, so it may be useful to check in with them first.

Also, users signing up with Autodesk credentials will receive a 30-day free Premium trial instead of the normal 7-day trial that most other users receive.

You can change your sign-in provider any time from your user profile settings page, so your decision isn't a permanent choice.

See the FAQ question below or contact us at [email protected] if you have additional questions about your sign-in provider choice.

Link your storage accounts

If you chose to sign in using Autodesk, you will see that we have linked your Autodesk storage already (we automatically link the storage associated with the sign-in provider you selected). You can also link any other storage sources that you want to access through odrive.

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Can I link multiple Autodesk accounts?

Yes, you can link multiple accounts from the same provider. Many users like that they can connect their work and personal Google Drive accounts as well. There's no limit on how many storage accounts you can link, including Autodesk accounts.

Add the odrive application to your Autodesk account

Autodesk requires that 3rd party apps are explicitly added to your Autodesk account before they can be used to access your account data. To do this you will need an Autodesk admin to add the odrive app from Account Administration under the “Apps” tab.

Download and install the desktop sync app

Once you're finished adding storage, you can click on the links shown below in your odrive home to download the desktop client.

CONTENT ORGANIZATION

After installing the desktop sync client and signing in, you'll be able to access your documents from your Autodesk Construction Cloud / BIM 360 projects. The folder structure in your odrive folder follows this layout:

autodesk_storage_link_name/account_name/project_name/For the Field
autodesk_storage_link_name/account_name/project_name/Project Files

In the example below, the storage link name is the default name, Autodesk. The account name is odrive Sandbox and the project that we are looking at is called Sample Project.

EXPLORE ODRIVE FEATURES

Here's a list of recommended features to try. There are links to the general usage guide within the list so you can get more information about each item if the brief explanation is not enough.

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Take advantage of your free 30-day trial of Premium

When you sign up for Odrive with your Autodesk credentials, you are automatically enrolled in a 30-day free trial of Premium features (if you use a different sign-in provider, your trial may only last 7 days). We recommend that you start trying the features below since they represent capabilities that other Autodesk users find valuable. But you should also consider trying out any of the other Premium features that you find interesting before your trial expires.

Recommended features to try:

• Sync: try playing with how odrive placeholder sync works. You can see that initially everything appears as a placeholder cloud filethat doesn't take up any disk space. You can also watch our Essentials Video instead.
  • Double-click on a placeholder cloud folder to browse into it. See how it expands into a normal folder and shows you the contents inside (more placeholder cloud files).
  • Double-click to download-and-open a placeholder cloud file. See how a placeholder cloud file is downloaded on demand into a normal file when you try to access it.
  • Right-click on the file and select "Sync" if you want to download it without opening it. You can also right-click on folders to Sync their contents if you want to have a lot of files downloaded for offline use later.
  • You can also try other operations such as renaming files and folders, updating files, etc. until you are satisfied with how sync works.
    • Deleting files is a little different since Odrive maintains a trash list which waits until you empty trash before syncing local deletes up to the cloud.
• (Premium) Unsync: right-click on a normal (downloaded, not placeholder) file or normal folder to try the Unsync option. When you're finished working with a file, you can Unsync the file to revert it back to a placeholder file and reclaim your local disk space. An Unsync Video is available to watch for an overview of how Unsync works.
• Share files and folders with weblinks: conveniently send files with anyone, even outsiders that aren't in your Autodesk account. You can add an optional password and expiration date.
• Share storage with Spaces: share any folder on any storage with outsiders or people on your team more collaboratively. Anyone you invite can sign up for Odrive from the invite email if they aren't already users. Once they accept your invitation, they will see your Space just like any other linked storage accounts they have in their odrive folder. If they download and install the desktop client, they can get sync access to your Space as well.
• Multicloud access. link any other storage you use to get unified access to all your storage under one login.

The usage guide also has a convenient list of other Free and Premium capabilities you may find interesting. You can explore that list to see if there are other things that odrive can do for you.

UPGRADING

Use of Odrive Premium in a business environment requires a Business Subscription. A Business Subscription is also required for upgrading to Premium while using a business-centric integration such as Autodesk. Please contact [email protected] in order to have a discussion about your needs.

Business Subscriptions start at $15/month per user, but alternative discounted plans (such as site-wide licenses for all of your company's Autodesk users) may exist depending on the size of your deployment and specific needs. Your sales representative can provide additional details and options. Please contact us--we'd love to hear from you!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

At any time during your evaluation of odrive, you can get help by sending us an email at [email protected] or by leaving us a note on the user forum. These are the quickest ways to get help.

Other useful information:

• Instructional videos on the essentials of Odrive, setting up some of our premium features, and more.
• The main usage guide documentation for general users exploring Odrive.
• Documentation on the specific Features of Odrive.
• More detailed step-by-step information from our user manual documentation
• Visit our company blog for more about where we're going and what's on our minds.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do I need an Odrive Premium subscription to access my Autodesk storage?

No. You can link your Autodesk storage (and any other storage) to Odrive with a free account. You only need Premium to utilize any of the Premium universal storage features that Odrive unlocks for any linked storage.

Are there any reasons why I shouldn't pick Autodesk for my sign-in provider?

Your authentication provider is separate from whatever storage you link to Odrive.

For convenience, we link any associated storage from the sign-in provider you pick (so we would connect your Google Drive storage if you sign up using your Google user). But you could remove this link or link other Google Drive accounts at your leisure.

So the choice of sign-in provider is up to you. You can sign up using Facebook credentials, for example, and then link your Autodesk storage separately later on.

Your Autodesk admin may wish for you to create your user account using your Autodesk credentials, however, especially if they are paying for Premium for you. So please talk to your Autodesk admin if you are unsure.

Note that if you lose the ability to log in to Autodesk, you won't be able to sign in to your odrive anymore. So if you left your company and your company disabled your Autodesk account, you'll have problems signing in to odrive again in the future (rather than just losing access to the storage link if you had chosen a different sign-in provider).

Other than that, you should just choose the most convenient way of signing in for you. It's perfectly normal and convenient to sign up using your Autodesk account. Plus, you'll receive a special 30-day free trial of Premium upon sign-up rather than the normal 7-day free trial.

What Autodesk permissions are used when I access my own storage through Odrive?

Each time you try to link Autodesk storage, you have to specify what Autodesk user you are using to connect with. The backend storage permissions (Autodesk storage permissions) of the user account used to link to Autodesk will dictate the permissions that are enforced by the Autodesk API when you make changes within that storage link in odrive.

This is independent of what sign-in provider you chose to use. Your sign-in provider and the storage accounts you have linked are separate and decoupled.

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Example

Let's say you signed up with Autodesk User A as your sign-in credentials. We automatically link Autodesk User A's storage for convenience, but you can always delete this link if you don't want it.

Next, you choose to link another Autodesk account using Autodesk User B's credentials. Even though you sign in to Odrive using Autodesk User A, you always have Procore User B's permissions when you access your storage under Autodesk User B's storage folder in Odrive.

It is the storage credentials that dictate the level of permission that is enforced by the backend storage provider, Autodek.

What Autodesk permissions are obeyed when I share files from Autodesk via Odrive?

Weblinks:
Files and folders shared using weblinks are by nature read-only. Weblinks to distribute content to anyone, but recipients cannot make changes to your files.

NOTE: Sharing with Odrive weblinks is separate from sharing using Autodesk links to files and folders.

Spaces:
When you share files with Odrive Spaces, their access is constrained by the same backend storage permissions that your storage account (the one you used when you created the link) has.

By sharing through Odrive, you are effectively authorizing them to access your storage as you. However, you maintain control over the sharing relationship in the sense that you can always delete the weblink or revoke a space membership. Also, you never had to tell them your storage account credentials, so this is a convenient way to share while keeping credentials confidential.

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Example (Odrive Spaces)

If my user has View permissions to a folder within Project A that I choose to share using an Odrive Space, the other space members will only gain View access to the files there. They will be unable to make changes since the user that shared access with them does not have permission to make changes to the folder either.

If I had Edit access to the folder, then those that I shared my space with would be able to upload changes to files.

The permission level of the Autodesk user account that was used to link the underlying storage is the permission level that is obeyed for all space members when creating a space against that storage.

Is version history and audit information preserved?

Yes, when file changes are made through Odrive to Autodesk, version history and audit information are maintained in the Autodesk backend like normal (just as if you made your change through the Autodesk web client).

To recover a prior version, you'll need to use the Autodesk web client interface. Go to the corresponding file in your Project Files view and select the version number to bring up the version history. From there, you will be able to download a specific version.