Contents
Models | Issues | Inspections | Cost | Packages
Models, Issues, Inspections, and Cost all have new or enhanced functionality that will help you collaborate with other orgs and users, and save you time on every-day tasks.
Sometimes you have models that you want to view together, but when you open them in the viewer they don't have shared coordinates, so are misaligned. It's a bit like looking at a 3D image without 3D glasses. Well, that's how it used to be before we added the Edit Model Placemen [1]t functionality. As a model stack's admin, you can use the Placement functionality to modify the alignment and rotation for all the models. This view can then be used by everyone in the project team.
To do this, open the Settings window and select the Model Placement tab. From here you can open the Edit Model Placement window using the pencil icon. Here you can update both the model's coordinates and rotation.
We've added the ability to raise a process using mail, and to track this mail directly from an issue. This means you can create processes such as RFIs without leaving the Issues screen. The activity and history of all the mail you send is shown in the Related processes panel in the issue's Details panel, and each mail also includes a link back to Issues.
To do this, open Issues and select the appropriate one from the list. Then scroll down to the Related process panel. Click Add mail to open a mail. Once the mail's been sent, you can see some of its details, such as process type, subject and date sent, under Related processes.
Here you can see the details of an RFI process in the Related processes panel.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could view an issue's clashes more clearly in the viewer? From this release you can change how you see an issue by toggling the viewpoint [2] between solid, transparent and wireframe modes. This means you can turn wire frame mode on or off to get a better view of the context of the clash. To use toggle mode, click on the eye icon in the Model viewpoint panel.
If you've ever wanted to export your design issue data, you can now do so using the new Export to Excel [3] functionality. This creates a spreadsheet containing data such as Status, Issue Type, Created and Assigned details, and Comments. It also shows who the report was created by and when.
All you have to do is open Issues, then select Reports/Export to Excel. The downloads are pretty rapid, but can take a few minutes if you're exporting a lot of data.
An example of a design issue data report in Excel.
From this release you can not only view issue pins on a drawing’s thumbnail in the Issue screen, but you can also open the drawing by clicking the thumbnail image. From here you can zoom in to see the pin's precise location, as well as see information such as the document's number, title, revision and version number at the top of the drawing.
An example of a drawing showing the issue’s details and pin location.
If you're using project fields, you can now specify that they have to be completed by making them mandatory.
If you're a Project Administrator, you can now choose to set one or more project fields as mandatory, for one or more Issue types. If you specify a project field as mandatory for an Issue type, this is enforced across the web, legacy Field application and new mobile interfaces.
To do this, select Mandatory in Field/Settings/Issue Types/Edit Fields.
From there you can select the Mandatory tick box.
If you're a Quality or Safety manager you'll probably find it useful to be able to edit inspections, either on-site or in the office. From this release you can do so by adding issues, photos or comments to checklists via the desktop.
In this release we've introduced the Attachments tab on the Contracts page. Use this to link to mail and documents directly from Aconex, and to upload your locally held files, to the contracts selected. When you do this, the attachments that are saved can only be seen by your organization.
To attach or link files, select the Attachment tab, then click on the Plus icon. This has three options: Mail link, Document link and File. The first two are used to attach files from within Aconex. The third option is used to attach files from your computer or network using drag and drop. Once attached, you can see them in the grid. Their file types - for example PDF, PNG and Word - are shown in the File column.
An example of an attached file’s details in the Attach File window.
If you're collaborating with users in other organizations on Contract Change and Payment Application drafts, you can share any existing attached/private files with them when the other org shares the Contract Change or Payment Application. Before this release, you could only select the Share option when you were uploading the file to the Contract Change or Payment Application.
Do you remember the time when you created a contract without intending to collaborate with a downstream organization - and then had to spend time and effort recreating it so that you could share it? Well, now we've made it possible to do this with existing contracts using the new Share functionality. When you use this, contracts - even ones with payment applications and/or contract changes - can be shared with a downstream org.
All you have to do is select the contract in the grid and click the Share button. In the Share Contract window, choose a downstream organization and contact and select Share.
How much time would you save if you could create a single contract change from multiple change events in one go? Prior to this release, you had to create contract changes for multiple change events one at a time.
Now all you have to do is find a contract's change event items, select the ones you want to include, then click Create Contract Changes. That's it, done.
You may need to edit a project field – but what happens if the field is used by a Package Type - and how do you know? Easy, because when you start editing a field you'll see a warning notification. This shows a list of all the Package Types that will be affected by your changes. Simple.
The release dates in this cycle are as follows, note this information is accurate at the time of publishing and is subject to change.
| AU 1: TBC | HK 1: 03/07 | KSA 1: 12/07 | MEA: 12/07 | AU 2: 10/07 |
| UK 1: 15/07 | CN 1: 11/07 | US 1: 14/07 | ALD: 12/07 | US 2: 11/07 |
Links
[1] https://help.aconex.com/aconex/our-main-application/using-aconex/using-models/models-explore/editing-models-placement
[2] https://help.aconex.com/aconex/our-main-application/using-aconex/using-models/models-coordination/working-design-issues
[3] https://help.aconex.com/aconex/our-main-application/using-aconex/using-models/models-coordination/exporting-design-issues-excel