Buckets and models

This page describes the day-to-day workflow for getting a 3D model into MyCompany so that it can be shown on a Project, Bill of Materials, or Manufacturing order. Setup of credentials is covered separately on the Setup page.

The standalone Autodesk page lives at Master data → Autodesk. The page has three areas:

• a Bucket selector at the top;
• a Model list (with the upload / transform actions) and, beside it, the Viewables list of the selected model;
• a details pane with the element tree and the 3D viewer.

Buckets

A bucket is an Autodesk Platform Services storage container. All your source files (Revit, IFC, DWG, NWD, …) live inside one or more buckets.

warning

Bucket keys are globally unique across all of APS, not just your tenant. If you try to create a bucket called models or test, you will likely get a 409 Conflict — Bucket already exists because someone else somewhere on APS already owns that key. Use a tenant-specific prefix such as mycompany-prod-models.

Create a bucket

Buckets are managed on the Objects tab of the integrations form (the standalone Master data → Autodesk page only lets you pick an existing bucket).

1. Open the integrations form and switch to the Objects tab.
2. Click + to add a new bucket row (this only creates a local record in MyCompany).
3. Fill in:
   • Key — the globally unique name (lowercase, 3–128 chars, only a-z 0-9 _ - .);
   • Policy — how long APS keeps the source file:
     • transient — 24 hours (use for one-off translations);
     • temporary — 30 days;
     • persistent — kept indefinitely (use for production data).
4. Click Create — this is what actually creates the bucket in APS. The action does not display the APS response; if the request fails, an error is shown. To confirm the bucket exists, use Get buckets.

List existing buckets

Click Get buckets (on the same Objects tab). The button calls APS and opens the response (a JSON file) — handy when you want to confirm what is currently provisioned in your APS application. It does not fill the local bucket table: local rows and APS buckets are maintained separately.

Delete a bucket

On the Objects tab there are two identically named Delete controls: the Delete button inside the grid row calls APS and removes the bucket together with everything inside it — this is irreversible; the Delete button on the toolbar removes only the local row and does not touch APS.

Models

A model is one source file uploaded into a bucket. Each model row tracks the file name (key), the binary, the URN APS assigned, and the current translation status.

Load a model (pick a file)

1. Select a bucket from the Bucket selector.
2. Click Load model.
3. Pick a file from your computer (Revit .rvt, IFC .ifc, AutoCAD .dwg, Navisworks .nwd, etc.).
4. A new model row appears with the file attached. The file is not yet uploaded to APS — it is only on the MyCompany side.

You can use Open at any time to download the source file back from MyCompany.

The Delete action on a model row removes only the local MyCompany record — it does not delete the already uploaded object from the APS bucket.

Put — upload to APS

Click Put on the model row. MyCompany then:

1. Asks APS for signed S3 upload URLs (one per chunk; large files are split into 50 MB chunks);
2. Uploads each chunk directly to S3;
3. Calls APS to finalize the upload.

When the action completes, the URN field is populated. The file now lives inside APS and can be translated.

note

Files up to ~10 GB are supported. The upload uses APS's modern signed S3 approach, so the size is limited only by APS's per-bucket policy and your network.

Transform — translate to SVF2

Pick a Conversion method (see below) and click Transform. APS starts translating the source file to SVF2 (the format the viewer reads).

Translation is asynchronous — the action returns immediately. Click Get status every now and then to refresh the manifest. While the job is running:

• Transform status is inprogress (or one of pending, running);
• Transform progress is a percentage / phase label.

When Transform status = success, the model is ready to view.

Conversion method

Used only for IFC sources (other formats ignore this field):

• v4 — current Autodesk recommendation; matches the engine Autodesk Docs uses for new projects.
• v3 — previous IFC engine; still supported.
• modern — older but widely used.
• legacy — older still; in maintenance mode.

Leave it blank to fall back to the platform default (modern). For new IFC content prefer v4.

Viewables

A viewable is one renderable scene inside a translated model — a 3D view, a 2D sheet, etc. One Revit file can produce many viewables.

After translation succeeds:

1. Select the model.
2. Click Get on the toolbar of the Viewables list next to the models.

MyCompany pulls the list of viewables from APS and shows their Name, Role (3d, 2d, …) and GUID. Pick the viewable whose elements and properties you want to work with — the 3D scene itself always shows the model's default view.

Elements and properties

Once a viewable is selected, you can extract its object tree (elements) and per-element metadata (properties).

Get elements

Click Get on the Elements toolbar. MyCompany asks APS for the object tree of the selected viewable, parses it into a hierarchy, and shows it on the left. Each element has:

• a numeric ID (the APS objectid);
• a Name (e.g. Wall — Generic 200mm);
• a parent / child relationship that mirrors the source file's hierarchy.

Selecting an element in the tree highlights the corresponding geometry in the 3D viewer (and vice-versa). The matching uses element external IDs, which are loaded together with the properties — so run Properties (below) once for the viewable to make the tree ↔ scene selection work. The same linkage then works on the Item / Project / BoM / Manufacturing order forms once you have linked the model.

Get properties

Click Properties on the Elements toolbar. MyCompany pulls the full property set for every element of the selected viewable and stores it. Properties are grouped into categories (Identity Data, Constraints, Materials, …); open an element (edit it) to inspect its property list.

Fetching properties replaces the stored property set of the whole model: Properties first clears the previously loaded values and then imports those of the currently selected viewable. After switching to another viewable, run Properties again.

note

Properties calls can take a while for large models. The first call after a translation may return an empty payload while APS is still preparing the data — wait a minute and click again.

Linking to an Item

To make a model show up on an item's Autodesk tab:

1. Open the standalone Master data → Autodesk page.
2. Select the model.
3. Set its Item field to the item you want.

Linking to an item is the most powerful option: in addition to appearing on the item form itself, the same model is automatically surfaced on every BoM and manufacturing order for that item — without setting a separate BoM or order link. See Viewer in forms → On an item.

Linking to a Project

To make a model show up on a project's Autodesk tab:

1. Open the standalone Master data → Autodesk page.
2. Select the model.
3. Set its Project field to the project you want.

The 3D viewer will appear on the project form for any user with Autodesk enabled on their profile — see Viewer in forms → On a project for what the user actually sees.

Linking to a BoM

Set the Bill of Materials field on the model when you want the model to be tied to one specific BoM (rather than every BoM that uses the same item). One model can be linked to a project, a BoM, and an item simultaneously, but each form uses its own links: the project form shows models linked to the project, the item form — models linked to the item, a BoM — models linked to the BoM itself or to its item, and a manufacturing order — models linked to its BoM or its item. The result on the form is described in Viewer in forms → On a Bill of Materials.

When a manufacturing order is opened, MyCompany automatically picks up the model linked to the order's BoM or to the order's item — there is no separate "Manufacturing order" link to set. See Viewer in forms → On a manufacturing order.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
401 Unauthorized — Token is not provided (AUTH-010)	Credentials missing or wrong.	Re-paste Key / Secret. Confirm the APS application has the right APIs enabled.
409 Conflict — Bucket already exists	The bucket key is taken globally on APS.	Pick a more unique key (prefix with your tenant).
Translation never finishes	Source file too complex or unsupported.	Click Get status — the form shows the manifest's overall status and progress (Transform status / Transform progress). For the detailed APS error an administrator has to check the manifest via the APS API.
Empty Viewables / Elements	Translation succeeded but the call landed before APS finished preparing the metadata.	Wait 30–60 seconds, click Get again.
Viewer shows a black canvas	The user's APS access token has expired and was not refreshed.	Reload the form.
Form has no Autodesk tab	The current user has Autodesk disabled on their profile.	See Setup.
Autodesk tab is empty (no model to pick)	Nothing is linked to the object yet, or translation has not finished.	Link a model and wait until Transform status = success.