Sharing .NWF Files

[NavisGate]

We are working on a large co-location project. The team is trying to develop rules or protocols for accessing the Master .NWF Coordination File. The BIM Manager will be accessing the file to organize and update Clash Reports. All of the Subcontractor Modelers want to have the Master .NWF file open on their 2nd screen as they are building and making changes to their model so they can see how they update.

Does anyone know how .NWF files work when multiple people are accessing the same file and how Saving & Refreshing affect the file? The concern is if the BIM Manager and a Modeler have the file open at the same time, the BIM Manager does a lot of work on the Clash Report and hits Save and closes the file. The Modeler continues to work and then he/she Saves, is the file then overwritten and all the work the BIM Manager just did on the Clash Report is lost?

I have searched text on NWF files and cannot find this situation anywhere and there is no option to open a file "Read-Only". Looking for a simple set of rules to prevent this, or am I missing something about .NWF files and do not need to be concerned about this?

Thank you.

[dgorsman]

I always do clash detections in their own NWF, separate from the "common" review files. Makes it easier to manage the clash results, and gets around the questions you mentioned. We do have multiple users accessing the same NWF files and it looks like "last one out wins" as far as setttings goes. If a user is going to be doing more than simple looking around (e.g. comments, redlines, saved views) I recommend they create their own personal NWF if only to avoid problems.

[pauljordan]

As a BIM Coordinator, the official .nwf model is mine, all mine.. When a package is due and 30 minutes before the deadline, you find out that half the electrical drawings are missing or that none of the changes the piping guys did for the past two days have shown up in the model, you'll realize the importance of that statement.

The folder I keep my .nwf file in is only accessible by myself, the PM, and my HBABBU, and the last one doesn't even use Navisworks..

So, what I do and what I teach others in this line of work is to make the official .nwf file and lock it down as tight as you can. YOU run the official clash reports and save the .nwf as an .nwd with the clash reports completed. Tell your clash detection reps the .nwd file is available and they can use NavisWorks Manage to open the .nwd and they'll have access to Clash Detective to see the results.

An important step that I passed over here is that NO ONE opens the .nwd files directly from the server. I've got batch files that will start either NavisWorks Manage or Simulate (based on who needs to do what) and will open the actual model they need to work on.. The secret here is the model gets copied to THEIR computer before it opens.

That being done, the designers/drafters can work on their model in Autocad MEP or their favorite flavor of 3D software on one screen and have their .nwd open on the other. They can hide their model in the .nwd, then append the file they're actually working on into the .nwd. This allows them to save their drawing and refresh it in the model to see if it fits. (Can you say 'design clash free?") Once they're done and it's all a good fit, they save their model to a master xref folder which has the actual link to the .nwf file in there.

My .nwd files are regenerated every half hour using Task Scheduler and batch files so, if they want to see the most current version of the model, they'll have to close NWS and open it again using the same batch file. That's a bit of a hassle but, they adjust quickly..

So, to summarize... Take complete control of your .nwf files. No one is going to help you at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon when you have to completely recreate your model because someone fatfingered the entire telecom files in the model.. Been there, done that..

Assign and train members for your clash detection team, usually one from each discipline. They should be the only ones that will ask for adjudication of clashes and also the only ones to use NW Manage as it's a VERY costly program. They can make screen shots or whatever they need to relay the info to their team members to get clashes taken care of and they're also the ones that will go to the other discipline and say "Your ductwork is in my cable tray." and the other discipline will say "No, your cable tray is in my ductwork." or "We're process pipe, we don't use ductwork." But, they're the ones that handle the clashes between their team and some other team..

No one touches the real .nwd models.. They copy it from the server to their local hard drive and open it there. My advice is to automate that so they don't have to or you'll have fits.

OK, hopefully that helps get your head spinning in the right direction..

One last trick.. If someone starts annoying you about clashes just start talking about creating selection sets and rules that will ignore certain clashes.. That'll usually make them fake a cellaphone call to get away from you..