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Version: 7.0

Viewer in forms

This page explains how end users interact with the 3D model from inside MyCompany. Setup of credentials is on the Setup page; the upload and translation flow is on Buckets and models.

Prerequisites​

Before the viewer becomes visible on any form:

  1. The administrator has connected MyCompany to APS — see Setup.
  2. A model has been uploaded, translated to SVF2, and reached Transform status = success — see Buckets and models.
  3. The model has been linked to the project / BoM you intend to open.
  4. Your user profile has the Autodesk flag enabled. Open Edit profile, tick Autodesk, save, and reload the page.

If the Autodesk tab still does not appear after the page reload, no model is linked to the object you opened — link one on the standalone Master Data → Autodesk page.

On a project​

  1. Open a project from Projects → Operations → Projects.
  2. Switch to the Autodesk tab in the project's details area.

The tab is laid out in two rows:

  • Top row — two PANEL selectors:
    • Model — picks among all ready models linked to this project. If only one model is linked, it is selected automatically.
    • Viewable — picks among the viewables of the selected model.
  • Bottom row — split horizontally:
    • Element tree on the left — hierarchical list of objects in the selected viewable;
    • 3D viewer on the right — Autodesk's APS Viewer rendering the SVF2.

Picking and isolating elements​

  • Click an element in the tree → the viewer highlights and zooms to that element.
  • Click an element directly in the 3D scene → the tree expands to that element and selects it.

What if I have multiple models on one project?​

The Model selector lets you switch between them. Linking is many-to-one (many models → one project), so a project that combines architecture + structure + MEP can keep all three models linked and switch on demand. The link itself is set on the standalone Autodesk page — see Linking to a Project.

On an item​

  1. Open Master Data → Items — see Items for the underlying article.
  2. Pick an item and open it.
  3. Switch to the Autodesk tab.

This is the most useful linkage for catalogue / product-design work: link a model to an item once and it shows up on:

The link itself is set on the standalone Autodesk page — see Linking to an Item.

On a Bill of Materials​

  1. Open Manufacturing → Operations → Bills of Materials — see Bills of Materials for the underlying article.
  2. Pick a BoM and open it.
  3. Switch to the Autodesk tab.

The layout matches the project form: Model selector on top, Viewable selector beside it, element tree on the left, 3D viewer on the right. The Model selector lists models linked either directly to this BoM (via the Bill of Materials field on the model) or to the BoM's item (via the Item field on the model). See Linking to a BoM and Linking to an Item for how to set up either link.

Use case​

Link the model that contains the assembly to the BoM (or to the BoM's item), then component lines on the BoM and elements in the model can be cross-referenced visually — useful for engineering reviews and for checking that the BoM matches what the design actually requires.

On a manufacturing order​

  1. Open Manufacturing → Operations → Manufacturing orders — see Manufacturing orders for the underlying article.
  2. Pick an order and open it.
  3. Switch to the Autodesk tab.

The viewer picks up models that are linked either to the BoM the order is built against or to the order's item. So a model appears here if any of the following is true:

  • the model has its Bill of Materials field set to the order's BoM — see Linking to a BoM;
  • the model has its Item field set to the order's item — see Linking to an Item.

In practice the Item link is the cleanest path for catalogue items that get manufactured repeatedly: link once, every order for that item shows the model.

What the viewer can do​

The embedded viewer is the standard Autodesk APS Viewer (v7), so:

  • Orbit / pan / zoom with the mouse and scroll wheel.
  • Section box — slice the model with a clipping plane.
  • Properties panel — opens APS's own panel with full metadata for the selected element.
  • Measure — distance, angle, area between two picks.
  • Walk / first-person mode for buildings.
  • Settings — change background, ambient occlusion, lighting, etc.

These are Autodesk's tools, not MyCompany's — their availability depends on the viewer version Autodesk currently publishes. The MyCompany layer adds:

  • The Element tree linked bidirectionally to the 3D scene.
  • The Model / Viewable selectors filtered to what is relevant to the form you are on.
  • The element selection event (clicking an element in the viewer expands and selects the corresponding row in the MyCompany element tree, so other modules built on top of Autodesk.Element can react).

Performance tips​

  • Use SVF2, not SVF. The integration translates with output.formats.type = svf2; do not change this. SVF2 is dramatically faster on large models.
  • Keep one viewable open at a time. Switching the viewable selector reloads the scene from APS, which can take a few seconds on a slow link.
  • Large IFC? Use Conversion method = v4 for new IFC content (see Buckets and models).
  • Caching. APS caches the SVF2 derivatives at the URN level — once a model is translated, the viewer load is fast for everyone, regardless of who looks at it first.

Permissions and what users see​

Whether a user sees the Autodesk tab on a form depends on:

  1. Their own profile flag (Autodesk ticked on Edit profile).
  2. Whether a relevant model is linked.
  3. Whether the model finished translating successfully.

The tab does not depend on whether the user can edit the project / BoM / order — read-only users see the same viewer. They cannot change which model is linked unless they have edit rights on the standalone Autodesk page.