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CHAPTER 2 Files and File Types
Creating an Internal File Audit Trail
Inevitably, changes to designs will occur and require the master Navisworks model to be updated.
The question that arises is how to manage this process and what is the best practice for archiving the
older files. On one job, a project team was receiving updated models from their subcontractors (subs)
on a weekly basis. Originally the subs were labeling their drawings with a date in the filename. While
this allowed us to identify the latest file easily, it kept breaking the links to our NWF master file since
Navisworks was looking for the absolute path to a particular file. The workaround was to create a series
of working folders with the name of each discipline (e.g., Architect, MEP, Structural, etc.).
We asked that the subs drop the date from the naming convention on their models and provide all
updates using the same filename as the original submission. When they initially submitted their
models, we created a new folder named after their discipline and placed their file in that folder.
When the file was read into Navisworks, the generated NWC file was saved in the same file as the
original data source. As updated files were received from the subs, we renamed the working folder
with the date to designate the date it was archived. This also became the date of the current model
in the project. The new models were then saved in the discipline named working folder; thus the
links in the NWF file remained intact. When the NWF file was opened, the new models were loaded
and a new NWC file was generated and placed in the folder. Any changes such as display overrides,
viewpoints, and markups were retained and applied to the new models.
In addition to the archiving of the NWC files, we made a weekly NWD file, which was a snapshot of
the project. Since this was an archive of the project to date, we used the date in the naming conven-
tion for easy identification.
Original Data Source Files (NWC)
Master
Navisworks
Model
Archived model files from each discipline
ARCH
ARCH 8-18-10
ARCH 8-11-10
ARCH 8-4-10
ARCH 7-29-10
MEP
MEP 8-18-10
MEP 8-11-10
MEP 8-4-10
MEP 7-29-10
STRUCT
STRUCT 8-18-10
STRUCT 8-11-10
STRUCT 8-4-10
STRUCT 7-29-10
CIVIL
CIVIL 8-18-10
CIVIL 8-11-10
CIVIL 8-4-10
CIVIL 7-29-10
NWF
NWD 8-18-10
NWD 8-11-10
NWD 8-4-10
NWD 7-29-10
Archived Master
models
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