File manager

What the file manager is for

The BuildColab file manager is the single place where a construction team keeps its documents. Instead of e-mail attachments and shared drives, each drawing, contract and specification lives in one folder tree, with one current version and a full history. Everyone works from the same file: when a designer uploads a revised drawing, the file shows a Revised (Преработен) chip for 7 days and the people who have access get a notification.

The file manager also feeds other parts of BuildColab. You attach file manager documents to offer requests, bill of quantities (BoQ) imports start from Excel workbooks stored here, BoQ exports are saved to the project's BoQ documents (КСС документи) tab, company letterheads for exports live in the company's Letterheads (Шапки) tab, and BORO, the AI assistant, can search, read, create and organize files for you.

Company files and project files

BuildColab has two kinds of file areas. They work the same way; they differ in who they belong to and which tabs they show.

How access works

Access to files in BuildColab has two layers, and you need both.

1. The role permission File manager (Файлов мениджър) decides whether you can open the file manager at all and what kind of actions you can take there. View (Преглед) lets you browse and open; Edit (Редакция) lets you upload, create, move, copy, delete and process models. Company administrators set it per role; see Roles.
2. Per-item sharing decides which files and folders you see. Being on a project does not by itself show you its files. You see an item when you are its owner (you created or uploaded it), when someone shared it with you at Read (Четене), Comment (Коментиране) or Edit (Редакция), or when you are the company owner, who always has full access to every file of the company and of its projects.

Two rules follow from this. First, two colleagues on the same project can see different files in the same folder. Second, a new file or folder created inside a shared folder automatically gets that folder's sharing, while an item created at the top level of the file area is private to its owner until it is shared. Details are on Sharing, comments and mentions.

The typical sequence

1. Create a folder structure at the top level, for example "01 · Drawings", "02 · Contracts", "03 · Protocols", or upload a whole folder from your computer with its structure kept. See Folders, uploading and navigation.
2. Share the top-level folders with the right people, so that everything you later put inside is visible to them automatically. See Sharing, comments and mentions.
3. Open Word, Excel, PDF, Markdown, text and CSV files directly in the browser, edit them and save. See Viewing and editing documents.
4. When a document changes, upload a new version instead of a new file, so the history stays in one place. See Versions.
5. Discuss documents in comments, mention colleagues with @, and resolve threads when they are done. See Sharing, comments and mentions.
6. Process 3D/CAD models (Revit, IFC, DWG and others) for credits to view them in the browser and pin comments to them. See 3D/BIM models and processing credits.
7. If something was deleted by mistake, restore it from the Trash (Кошче) within 30 days. See Trash and restoring.
8. Use search across all folders, Markdown diagrams and AI-created pages, or ask BORO to find and summarize documents. See AI features: search, artifacts, diagrams.

1. The File manager (Файлов мениджър) entry in the project sidebar opens the project's file area.
2. The tabs Files, BoQ documents and Trash switch between ordinary files, the BoQ imports and exports, and deleted items.
3. The Folders (Папки) tree on the left shows the folders you can see; the storage meter sits at its bottom.
4. The search field Search files… (Търси файлове…) searches the current folder or every folder.
5. The buttons New (Нов), Upload folder (Качи папка) and Upload file (Качи файл) add content to the open folder.
6. The file list shows each file's name, version, size and last change; the version chip (here v3) shows how many versions a file has.

Storage and limits at a glance

The storage meter at the bottom of the folder tree shows how much of the company's storage is used. At 90 % it turns red and shows Your storage is almost full (Пространството ви е почти запълнено) with the button Expand storage (Увеличи пространството), which opens Additional storage (Допълнително пространство): extra gigabytes as a monthly subscription that activates immediately. At 100 % new uploads are refused with Storage is full. Free up space or upgrade your plan to upload a new version. Reading and downloading keep working and nothing is deleted automatically. See Subscription, plans and billing.

Pages in this section

• Folders, uploading and navigation — the screen layout, creating folders and new files, uploading files and whole folders, moving, copying, downloading and renaming.
• Viewing and editing documents — quick preview and the in-browser editors for Word, Excel, PDF, Markdown, text and CSV, plus letterheads and BoQ documents.
• Versions — uploading a new version, viewing and downloading old versions, restoring one as current.
• Sharing, comments and mentions — who sees what, sharing with people and partner companies, comments, @mentions and file notifications.
• Trash and restoring — deleting, restoring within 30 days, and deleting forever.
• 3D/BIM models and processing credits — processing Revit, IFC, DWG and other models for credits, the 3D viewer and pins.
• AI features: search, artifacts, diagrams — search in every folder and inside documents, AI-created artifacts, Mermaid diagrams and working with files through BORO.

Common questions

Related

• Credits (BORO, file processing)
• Subscription, plans and billing
• Roles
• Exporting
• BORO — AI assistant