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About Connectability

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Connection Manager

Overview

Using Procore's upcoming Connection Manager tool, you can connect your project to projects in other Procore company accounts.

When projects are connected, project information is easily shared with collaborators working on your project. This eliminates silos and ensures that project information is kept in sync across Procore accounts. Some of the key benefits include:

  • Automatically sharing data with collaborators.
  • Eliminating the need for collaborators to perform duplicative data entry in their own Procore account.
  • Retaining data in each company's account for record keeping and reporting.

Initially, you will be able to share Drawings from an 'upstream' project where drawings originate and a 'downstream' project where data is copied. In the future, you will be able to share information from other Procore tools such as RFIs, Submittals and more.

How it Works

There is an 'upstream' project where data originates and a 'downstream' project where data is copied.

A user in the downstream project, who is also a collaborator in the upstream project, can use their project's Connection Manager tool to connect the two projects. 

The upstream account can choose to automatically approve connections or require review to manually accept a downstream project's request to connect.

You can configure the email notification distribution list in each project's Connection Manager settings for who is notified about new connections, disconnections and connection requests (if review is required). See Connection Manager: Configure Advanced Settings.

Connection Manager Admins on either the upstream and downstream projects can disconnect projects at any time. When projects are disconnected, all connected data will remain available in the downstream account but no new information will be copied from the upstream account.

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.

How does it work?

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Project connections are always initiated by the downstream company.

The connection depends on the upstream company's approval preference. If review is not required, the projects will be automatically connected. If review is required, a connection request will be sent to the upstream company to review and manually approve or reject.

As the upstream project uploads and publishes drawings, those drawings are copied to the downstream project. The drawings are copied in an unpublished state for the downstream project to review and publish in their project.

After the drawings are published in the downstream company's project, users with access to the downstream project's drawings tool can view the connected drawings that originated from the upstream company's project

Connection Manager

  • A connection can only be made between projects in different Procore company accounts. 
  • Only the downstream company account can initiate a connection with an upstream account's project. 
  • An upstream project can support connections with multiple downstream projects. For example, multiple subcontractor companies (downstream projects) can connect to a single main contractor (upstream project) and receive drawings.
  • A downstream project can only connect to one upstream project.
  • 'Admins' of the Connection Manager tool at either the upstream or downstream project can disconnect projects at any time.
  • Current capabilities limit a downstream project from reconnecting to an upstream project as well as connecting to any new upstream project if you disconnect. This is a 1:1 termination and does not impact any other downstream accounts connected to the project.

Drawings

Limitations

  • Projects with more than 10,000 drawing revisions can not be connected.
  • A project connection can only be made between different Procore company accounts.
  • Project connections can only be initiated by the downstream project.
  • A downstream project can only connect to one upstream project. However, note that an upstream project can support multiple downstream connections.
  • A downstream project in a connection cannot act as an upstream project in a different connection.
  • Markups from the upstream project’s drawings are not copied to the downstream project.
  • Custom fields are not included when copied from the upstream project.
  • Connections can only be made with ‘active’ projects. Inactive projects are not supported.
  • GovCloud accounts will not be able to participate in a project connection.
  • Drawings only sync one-way from an upstream project to a downstream project. It is not possible for the downstream project to upload drawings to a connected drawing set.
  • If projects are disconnected, they cannot be reconnected. 
  • If projects are disconnected, the downstream project can not connect to a new upstream project.

Connection Manager

Key features include the ability to:

 

Configure Connection Approval Settings

In the Company level Admin tool, you can choose how you want to approve connections. See Configure Project Connection Settings.

You can choose to automatically approve connections or require review to manually accept or decline a downstream project's request to connect. Depending on the number of projects you have, manually approving connections can be a large administrative task and slow down work at the project level.

Because the permissions are comparable to how upstream accounts are currently allowing collaborators to access project information, we recommend marking the box to allow connections without Admin review. The upstream account is always notified about new connections regardless of the connection approval preference and can disconnect the projects if needed.

Initiate project connections from the project in the downstream company account

Using the Connection Manager tool, users of a project at the downstream account can initiate a connection with a project in the upstream account. After the user selects which project to connect, the connection will either be automatically approved or will require manual review and approval, based on the upstream account's settings. See Initiate a Request to Connect Projects.

Manually review and approve connections (if review is required)

If the upstream account has opted to review and manually approve each connection, Connection Manager Admins on the distribution list for the Connection Manager tool will receive an email letting them know about a new request. From the Connection Manager tool, Admins can approve or reject a request to connect. See Approve or Reject Project Connection Request

Notify users of new connections, disconnections and connection requests (if review required)

By default, users with 'Admin' level permissions on the Connection Manager tool are notified of new connections, disconnections and connection requests (if required). You can configure the email notification distribution list in each project's Connection Manager settings. See Connection Manager: Configure Advanced Settings.

Drawings

Key features include the ability to:

 

Automatically copy published drawings from the upstream project to the downstream project

After a successful connection, published drawings will automatically be copied to the downstream project. Any subsequent drawings or revisions published in the upstream account will be automatically copied over to the downstream project going forward. See Publish Drawings.

Publish drawings in the downstream project for your users to access

Connected drawings are automatically copied over to the downstream project in an unpublished state. This allows downstream Drawing Admins to first review the connected drawings before publishing them in their downstream project for your users to see. See Publish Drawings.

Connection Manager

Common Questions

WHAT PROJECTS CAN BE CONNECTED? 

Projects in different Procore company accounts can be connected. The names of the project do not need to match.

Currently, a downstream project can only connect to one upstream project. A downstream can NOT connect to other upstream or downstream projects. However, an upstream project can support multiple downstream projects.

Example

If a Main Contractor is the upstream company they can have multiple downstream projects belonging to their subcontractors.

However, if a subcontractor works with another subcontractor, they cannot serve as the upstream project and connect with another downstream project.

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION MANAGER? 

Connection Manager is a Project level tool within Procore where project connections can be initiated and managed.

WHO CAN INITIATE A PROJECT CONNECTION? 

A connection can only be initiated by a downstream project. 

WHO IS NOTIFIED about Connections?  

By default, anyone with current 'Admin' permission to the Connection Manager tool and added to that project's Directory will receive a notification. If you want different users to be notified, you can configure the email notification distribution list in each project's Connection Manager settings. See Connection Manager: Configure Advanced Settings.

The following matrix describes notification behaviour and configuration options:

Notification Event
Which company receives a notification?
Which users receive a notification?
Where are the settings for this notification configured?
How can this notification be configured?
Connection Requested Upstream Users with Admin level permissions to the project's Connection Manager tool.

*Note: Excludes Company Admin users unless they are members of the Project Directory.		 Connection Manager > Configuration Settings Can be limited to only selected Connection Manager Admin users. Company Admins can be added.
Connection Request Rejected Downstream Users with Admin level permissions to the project's Connection Manager tool.

*Note: Excludes Company Admin users unless they are members of the Project Directory.		 Connection Manager > Configuration Settings Can be limited to only selected Connection Manager Admin users. Company Admins can be added.
Connection Created Both Upstream and Downstream Users with Admin level permissions to the project's Connection Manager tool.

*Note: Excludes Company Admin users unless they are members of the Project Directory.		 Connection Manager > Configuration Settings Can be limited to only selected Connection Manager Admin users. Company Admins can be added.
Initial Sync Complete Downstream All users with Admin level permissions on the project's Drawings tool. Drawings Tool > Configuration Settings Can be limited to only selected Drawings Tool Admin users. 
New Drawings Published in Upstream Account Downstream All users with Admin level permissions on the project's Drawings tool. Drawings Tool > Configuration Settings Can be limited to only selected Drawings Tool Admin users. 
Drawings Deleted in Upstream Account Downstream All users with Admin level permissions on the project's Drawings tool. Drawings Tool > Configuration Settings Can be limited to only selected Drawings Tool Admin users. 
Connection Disabled Both Upstream and Downstream Users with Admin level permissions to the project's Connection Manager tool.

*Note: Excludes Company Admin users unless they are members of the Project Directory.		 Connection Manager > Configuration Settings Can be limited to only selected Connection Manager Admin users. Company Admins can be added.

WHO CAN TERMINATE A PROJECT CONNECTION?   

Either the upstream project and downstream project can disconnect at any time. Current capabilities limit a downstream project from reconnecting to an upstream project as well as connecting to any new upstream project if you disconnect. See Disconnect a Connected Project.

Is a connection impacted if the user who created the connection is removed from my Directory?

No. Once the connection is created, the permissions of the downstream user in the upstream project are not related to the connection status. If an upstream company wants to stop the connection, they can disconnect the projects in the Connection Manager tool. See Disconnect Connected Projects.

Drawings

Both Upstream and Downstream Accounts

Upstream Accounts

Downstream Accounts

 

Both Upstream and Downstream Accounts

What Drawing Information is Copied to the downstream Project?

Here is some of the information that is copied:

  • Drawings, without markup
  • Drawing number, title and obsolete status
  • Drawing area name and description
  • Drawing discipline name and position
  • Drawing date and received date
  • Revision number and status
  • Drawing set date and name
 Note
  • Custom fields are not included in the metadata copy from the upstream project to the downstream project.
  • Connect drawing metadata can not be modified by the downstream project.

Is markup supported?

Markups made in upstream drawings are not copied to the drawings in the downstream project. However, as the downstream project, you can add additional markup to the connected drawings. These markups will remain in your project and will not be copied or published back to the upstream project. Markups added by the downstream project on a connected drawing are retained when a new version of the drawing is added by the upstream project.

What happens when the upstream Project deletes a Drawing or Drawing Area?

If the upstream project deletes a drawing, the deleted drawing will be removed from the Drawings log page in the downstream company. Drawing areas will remain but without the deleted drawing. Drawing Admins in the downstream project can view deleted drawings in the 'Deleted Drawing Revisions' report in the downstream project’s Drawings tool.

Upstream Accounts

Can I choose which Drawings & Drawing Areas get Copied to the downstream Project?

No. All published drawings and drawing areas in the project are copied and kept in sync with the upstream project. This is a limitation of the Beta.

What Drawing Information is Copied to the downstream Project?

Here is some of the information that is copied:

  • Drawings, without markup
  • Drawing number, title and obsolete status
  • Drawing area name and description
  • Drawing discipline name and position
  • Drawing date and received date
  • Revision number and status
  • Drawing set date and name
 Note
No custom data is copied from the upstream project to the downstream project.

Downstream Accounts

How Long Does it Take For Drawings to Copy?

Copying drawings to the downstream project can take up to one hour. You will receive an email notification once the drawings have been successfully copied and are ready to review and publish.

Can I review connected drawings and Revisions before publishing them in my project for my team to access?

Yes, when drawings and revisions are copied to your downstream project, they are an unpublished state. A user with ‘Admin’ permissions on the Drawings tool can review the drawings before publishing them to your team. 

Who is notified when drawings are copied?

You can select who is notified when unpublished drawings are copied and ready to be reviewed and published to your project. Notifications are managed in the Settings of the Drawings tool. See Configure Advanced Settings: Drawings.

Can I distinguish between my drawings and connected drawings?

Yes. You will see a connected icon indicating which drawings have been copied from the upstream project. 

Will my site team be able to see connected drawings on the Procore mobile app?

Yes. The mobile app shows the connected drawings and will have the connected icon to distinguish them. 

Can I add Drawings to a Connected Drawing Area?

No, you cannot add your drawings to a connected Drawing Area. However, you may add your own Drawing Areas and drawings to any 'unconnected' Drawing Area in your account. These will not sync to the upstream project.

Can I delete connected drawings from a downstream project?

No. At this time connected drawings can't be deleted from a downstream project.

Connection Manager

Here are additional resources for Connectability and the Connection Manager:

User Permissions

See what user permissions are required to use the Connection Manager tool.

Drawings

Here are additional resources for Connectability for Drawings:

Beta Feedback

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.