User Guide: Connectability for Drawings

Connectability for Drawings enables separate Procore customers to connect their projects so that drawings can be copied and kept in sync with the upstream project. The connection is one-way and copies published drawings from an upstream source project to a downstream connected project. 

Learn more about connectability in Procore.

Why connect projects?

When projects are connected, drawings are easily shared with collaborators working on your project. This eliminates silos and reduces duplicate data entry. Some of the key benefits include:

• Automatically sharing published drawings with downstream collaborators.
• Eliminating the need for downstream collaborators to download drawings and re-upload them into their own projects for their teams to access.
• Downstream collaborators are automatically notified when new drawings or revisions are published in the upstream account, and are available to review and publish.
• Drawings titles and metadata are kept in sync with the upstream account, ensuring a single source of truth and reducing the likelihood of potential mistakes.
• Connected data is retained in the downstream company's account for record keeping and reporting.

Downstream permissions requirements to connect projects are comparable to how upstream accounts currently allow collaborators to access drawing information. The upstream account is always notified about new connections and can disconnect projects if needed.

1. Navigate to the Company level Admin tool.
2. Under 'Tool Settings,' click Connection Manager.
3. To automatically approve connections, mark the checkbox to 'Allow users with existing access to the Drawings tool to connect their project without Admin approval. (Recommended)'.
   OR
   Clear the checkmark to require a connection request be sent for review before manually accepting or rejecting a project's request to connect.
4. Click Save.

When projects are connected, any published drawings in your upstream project are automatically copied to the downstream project. Just follow the standard steps in your project to:

1. Upload Drawings
2. Review and Confirm Drawings
3. Publish Drawings

1. Navigate to the project's Connection Manager tool.
2. Click Connect Upstream.
3. Select the upstream company and project, then click Next.
4. Review the considerations, then click Next.
5. Click Connect to initiate the project connection.

If the upstream company has chosen to automatically approve connections, the connection will be approved and your projects will be automatically connected. If the upstream company has chosen to require review to manually accept or reject connections, a request will be sent to the upstream company for review.

After the drawings are copied from the upstream project, they will have an "unpublished" status until they are published by the downstream project.

1. Navigate to the Drawings tool.

2. Select the Drawing Sets tab.

3. Select the drawings you want to publish:

   • Option 1. To publish multiple drawings sets in bulk:

     1. Mark the checkboxes next to each drawing set that contains new drawings you want to publish, or mark the root checkbox to select all drawing sets.

     2. Click one of the following options:

        • Click Publish and Distribute to publish the drawings and send a notification to drawings log subscribers. See Who receives a notification for updates in the Drawing tool?

        • Click Publish to publish the drawings without sending a notification to drawings log subscribers.
          
          

   • Option 2. To publish all drawings in a single drawing set:

     1. Click View next to the drawing set that contains the new drawings.

     2. Click the Publish drop-down menu in the banner above the list and select one of the following options:

        • Click Publish and Distribute to publish the drawings and send a notification to drawings log subscribers. See Who receives a notification for updates in the Drawing tool?

        • Click Publish to publish the drawings without sending a notification to drawings log subscribers.
          
          

   • Option 3. To publish some drawings in a single drawing set:

     1. Click View next to the drawing set that contains the new drawings.

     2. Mark the checkboxes next to each drawing or division of drawings that you want to publish, or mark the root checkbox to select all drawings.

     3. Click one of the following options:

        • Click Publish and Distribute Selected to publish the drawings and send a notification to drawings log subscribers. See Who receives a notification for updates in the Drawing tool?

        • Click Publish Selected to publish the drawings without sending a notification to drawings log subscribers.
          
          

Published connected drawings will be available to users with 'Read Only' level permissions or higher to the Drawings tool.

Thank you for using the Connectability for Drawings beta. Please provide feedback through the Share Feedback button in the Connection Manager tool, and via the surveys sent by Procore.