Autodesk Desktop Connector and Word Docs In the Cloud

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We recently published a blog on the Autodesk Desktop Connector, an application that essentially gives you a drive connection to your BIM 360 or Fusion 360 Teams right on your desktop. Following that post, I’m still kicking around the new application and seeing how things work. I decided to stretch my BIM 360 Team project folder a bit and work with some non-design software documents. I’m happy to report that things look like they are working exactly as I would hope.

I tested it out with a new blank Word document with the clever text “Hello, world.” I saved that through the browser interface directly into my cloud hosted BIM 360 Team project, like any other Windows folder.

At first, I was a little concerned since the path in the Word doc properties pointed to the temp cache folder, and I was worried I would have a repeat of the linking DWGs into a pre 2018 Revit file confusion. But after some testing, I am happy to say that concern was unfounded.

After my first save, I took a look at my file list in the BIM 360 Team page, and there indeed was my Word document (listed as a “Document”) showing up as V1. Clicking on it gives me a PDF converted file to preview, print, or download.

The big question is, would it open up the cloud file or my local cached file when I closed Word and opened it back up?

I tested both directly from the “Recent File” list as well as browsing the file through the Windows file open dialog in the BIM 360 drive and I am happy to report that both recognized that they weren’t just opening a local copy of a Word doc, but a file that was in the cloud.

Version 2 showed up with some edits!

Each time I saved in Word, my version number in the BIM 360 interface incremented, and I had access to the prior versions like any other file on BIM 360.

Overall, I’d call this test a rousing success. I’m looking forward to seeing what else we can do having a little more direct access to our cloud projects.

To get started with the Autodesk Desktop Connector, download the installer from your BIM 360 Team space, or check out the online help here.

Have a question or need assistance? Our Certified Helpdesk provides you with direct access to a full-time staff of technical experts that will help you get your software questions answered quickly and accurately. You can email us at helpdesk@caddmicrosystems.com, or call 703.924.5310.

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