Trimble Connect User Forum

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

Hi Alex,

This is already possible to insert a .pdf in Trimble Connect. You just need to upload it the same way you upload an .ifc. If it is not at the correct location, you can move it directly in Trimble Connect.

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

+1 

We can already add the PDF in the model but managing it is a bit hard. 

Moving/rotating it in TC is alright yet it's like a guess game. It might be better to be able to align the pdf with selected surface. 

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

Not seeing this anywhere in documentation. There doesn't seem to be any way to add a PDF to a model in TC. Please provide a source or demonstration.

+1 

We can already add the PDF in the model but managing it is a bit hard. 

Moving/rotating it in TC is alright yet it's like a guess game. It might be better to be able to align the pdf with selected surface. 

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

The documentation officially says is not possible to add 2D documents to a 3D view (Web's user Manual).
I was looking for this function too.

I think the most promising way is to go through Revit, which can shows overlay plans at the right level and position, and export them alongside with IFC.
In TC should appear also in 3D and you may control visibility through layers.
At least is what's happening with DWG overlays, I have to check with PDFs.

It's not the same thing as having a managed document with all the features in place, but for sharing annotations and plans against the model may be enough.

Anyway, the competition is moving forward and I don't see any major improvement in TC in the past years...

Worse, they are pulling out some, like DWG editing, and never releasing beta features that are sitting there for years...
I'm asking myself what's the future for this product.

Not seeing this anywhere in documentation. There doesn't seem to be any way to add a PDF to a model in TC. Please provide a source or demonstration.

+1 

We can already add the PDF in the model but managing it is a bit hard. 

Moving/rotating it in TC is alright yet it's like a guess game. It might be better to be able to align the pdf with selected surface. 

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

The documentation officially says is not possible to add 2D documents to a 3D view (Web's user Manual).
I was looking for this function too.

I think the most promising way is to go through Revit, which can shows overlay plans at the right level and position, and export them alongside with IFC.
In TC should appear also in 3D and you may control visibility through layers.
At least is what's happening with DWG overlays, I have to check with PDFs.

It's not the same thing as having a managed document with all the features in place, but for sharing annotations and plans against the model may be enough.

Anyway, the competition is moving forward and I don't see any major improvement in TC in the past years...

Worse, they are pulling out some, like DWG editing, and never releasing beta features that are sitting there for years...
I'm asking myself what's the future for this product.

Not seeing this anywhere in documentation. There doesn't seem to be any way to add a PDF to a model in TC. Please provide a source or demonstration.

+1 

We can already add the PDF in the model but managing it is a bit hard. 

Moving/rotating it in TC is alright yet it's like a guess game. It might be better to be able to align the pdf with selected surface. 

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.

+1 here, that's an important and missing feature in TC.

Dalux BIM Viewer does it for free, but it would be way more convenient to have this tool in TC.

The documentation officially says is not possible to add 2D documents to a 3D view (Web's user Manual).
I was looking for this function too.

I think the most promising way is to go through Revit, which can shows overlay plans at the right level and position, and export them alongside with IFC.
In TC should appear also in 3D and you may control visibility through layers.
At least is what's happening with DWG overlays, I have to check with PDFs.

It's not the same thing as having a managed document with all the features in place, but for sharing annotations and plans against the model may be enough.

Anyway, the competition is moving forward and I don't see any major improvement in TC in the past years...

Worse, they are pulling out some, like DWG editing, and never releasing beta features that are sitting there for years...
I'm asking myself what's the future for this product.

Not seeing this anywhere in documentation. There doesn't seem to be any way to add a PDF to a model in TC. Please provide a source or demonstration.

+1 

We can already add the PDF in the model but managing it is a bit hard. 

Moving/rotating it in TC is alright yet it's like a guess game. It might be better to be able to align the pdf with selected surface. 

Enabling the use of PDFs directly on model (similar to Tekla Structures) would advance estimodeling as a practice and increase usage of Connect in many firms. Seeing everything picked up in direct, immediate context of the contract drawings is essential for serious estimation processes.