The Synchronizer functionality under iTwin Services as presented in the Applications sidebar allows the user to synchronize their work to their Sync Model. The Sync Model could be either a local file based repository (*.ism.dgn) or to a Federated Cloud-based repository (iModel). The Sync model contains the layers of change and stores who change what and when.

Figure 1 - Select Synchronizer to Sync your work with the rest of the project team.

Figure 2 - Synchronizer screen; (A)Select Local to synchronize your application changes to a File (B)Select iModel to synchronize to a Federated Cloud Based Digital Twin.

Figure 3 - Synchronizer Main User Interface Overview

Figure 4 - Sync Changes Section

 

Header  clicking the Synchronizer logo in header takes you back to the Synchronizer Screen
(Figure 2).

Sync Location – Displays the location that you are Syncing your changes to. For a file-based sync, this would be the file path to the selected file repository (*.ism.dgn). For an iModel sync, this would be the location of the selected Project/iModel/model. Clicking the link allows you to edit the link location.

Sync Changes Pane – Per Figure 3

A – Change Management Visibility Toggle (click to toggle between show/hide Change management) – this controls whether iTwin Analytical Synchronizer would present itself during change management.

B – Sync Settings side pane – click to edit sync settings. Settings control how and what items would be synchronized. When clicked a settings pane will slide out.

C – Pull Changes – clicking it would initialize a Pull Changes operation. Your current application file would be compared to the incoming model and merged.

D – Push Changes – clicking it would initialize a Push Changes operation. Changes in your application file would be compared to your outgoing model and merged.

Design History List – A flat list of the layers of change in your sync model (as designated by Sync Location) is reflected in Design History List. The listed items differ slightly between a File based Sync and iModel Sync.

• For a File based Sync the Revision Number, Commit Message, Application and user name are displayed.
• For an iModel Sync the Revision Number, Named Changes Flag (click to create a named change), Application and user name are displayed.

 

1       Synchronize to a Local file (ISM Repository)

 

A Local file Sync can be setup to point to a New Blank Repository or and Existing Repository with data.

Click A – New to Create a new blank repository (*.ism.dgn)

Click B – To Select an Existing repository (*.ism.dgn)

Click C to finalize your selection.

Figure 4 - Setup Local Sync Dialogue

 

1.1   To push model data to an ISM repository

To push new model or model updates to a local repository, use the following procedure.

1. Select  iTwin Services .
   
   
   The iTwin Services panel opens.
2. Select Synchronizer.
   
3. Select Local.
   
   
   The Setup Local Sync dialog opens. (see Figure 26)
4. Select the local ISM repository you want to synchronize:

To…	Do the following…
create a new repository for synchronizing	Click New. Select the folder and type a file name for the ISM repository. Click OK.
select an existing repository	Click Select. Navigate to and then select the repository file name. Click OK.

5.Tip: If you have previously synchronized the model with an ISM repository, then the previous repository is already selected.

6. You should now see a status "Ready to establish link".

7. Click Next. The Synchronizer panel opens.

8. (Optional) Click Sync Settings to edit the ISM options.

Here you can change the synchronization settings from their default values (which are set in the Options dialog).

9. Select Push Changes.

The iTwin Analytical Synchronizer application opens.

10. (Optional) Review and accept changes in the iTwin Analytical Synchronizer application as needed.

11. Click OK. The dialog closes and a toast notification displays the summary of the synchronization action.

The ISM repository is created.

To push updates from the STAAD.Pro Physical Modeler model to the repository, simply repeat this process.

 

1.2   To pull model data from an ISM repository

To create a new physical model or to pull changes from an existing ISM repository, use the following procedure.

1. Select iTwin Services
   
   
   The iTwin Services panel opens.
2. Select Synchronizer.
   
3. Select Local.
   
   
   The Setup Local Sync dialog opens.
4. Click Select to navigate to and select the local ISM repository file and then click OK. The file path and name is displayed. You should now see a status "Ready to establish link".
5. Click Next. The Synchronizer panel opens.
6. (Optional) Click Sync Settings to edit the ISM options.
   

Here you can change the synchronization settings from their default values (which are set in the Options dialog).

1. Select Pull Changes.
   
   
   The iTwin Analytical Synchronizer application opens to perform change management.
2. Select the repository data to import:
   1. Select the repository objects.
   2. Accept the selected objects. By default, all model objects are selected already.
   3. Click Preview to review the accepted changes.
   4. Click Update to import the repository data to the physical model.

The iTwin Analytical Synchronizer application closes. A toast notification displays the progress of the synchronization operation.

 

2       Synchronize to an iModel (iTwin)

As part of Bentley’s iTwin Services, iTwin Hub is a cloud service that enables alignment, accountability, and accessibility of infrastructure digital twins. It is the control center for iModels, responsible for coordinating concurrent access as well as maintaining a timeline of change – a record of who-changed-what-and-when.

 

This means the Engineers model (and subsequent changes) can now be part of the wider team. iModels (containing the Engineers model and models from other disciplines) can be viewed and collaborated upon in the web browser. Features include (but not limited to): viewing of model in browser, measurements, issues resolution, clash detection, geolocations, data visualization and version comparison

Figure 5 - Synchronizer sidebar listing the changes committed to iModel from STAAD - Structure. Sample Model Warehouse Structure.

Figure 6 - Display of the Preliminary Named Version of this iModel in iTwinHub

Figure 7 - Changes and Named Versions reflected in iModel Manager

 

iModels are located within a Project. Prior to Synchronizing your changes to an iModel – iModel and Projects must be created beforehand. The Registering of a Project and creation of an iModel occurs in the browser in your CONNECT portal.

 

2.1   Register a Project,

Check with your administrator on whether you have the necessary rights to Register a Project.

Navigate to https://connect.bentley.com/Admin/ProjectRegister and fill in the Project Registration page to register your project. Project Registration page can also be reached via the Register Project button in the Assign Project dialog (Figure 30) in your application

 

Figure 8 - Assign Project Dialogue - Click Register Project and follow the prompts 

2.2   Create an iModel

 

Figure 9 - CONNECT Portal

 

Check with your administrator on whether you have the necessary rights to both Create and Modify an iModel.

In the web browser, navigate to your Project page (located in the header see Figure 9). Select your Project (Figure 10) and click iModel Manager (Figure 11).

Figure 10 - List of Projects accessible in CONNECT Portal

 

Figure 11 - List of services of the selected Project. Click iModel Manager

 

Figure 12 - Under iModel Manager - Click Create iModel and follow prompt

 

2.3   Select your Sync Model via Model Manager

 

Follow the 1 -2 -3 wizard to select your (1)Project, (2)iModel and (3)Model. Your Sync Model is actually a model within an iModel. This setup allows multiple applications utilizing Synchronizer to have their models appear side by side the in same iModel.

Figure 13 - 1-2-3 wizard for Project/iModel/Model selection. Click next progresses to the next step

1 -Select Project Step

A Click the Globe icon to navigate to the Project home page in the browser

B Search to filter project list

C Click Caret to Select the Project and navigate to next step

D Click Next to select the highlighted Project and navigate to next step

2 -Select iModel Step

E Click Caret to Select the iModel and navigate to next step

F Click Next to select the highlighted iModel and navigate to next step

3 -Select Model Step

G Click New to create a new model – dialogue would pop up for you to fill in a Model Name and description.

 

H Click the Globe to navigate to iModel page in the webrowser.

I Edit the currently selected Model

J Delete the selected Model

K Click Next to select the highlighted model to finish off the model selection wizard

For a New blank Sync Model - On successful completion of Selecting the Model – the contents of your application file would be initially pushed.

2.3   Exchange analytical data with the associated iModel:

Refer to Table 1 for Synchronization actions. If Show Change Management is turned on, iTwin Analytical Synchronizer would appear. Click Update within iTwin Analytical Synchronizer and fill in the commit message (a message that describes what’s changed). Optionally tick “Major Change” to promote this changeset as a Named Version

Table 1 - Sync Changes Operation for iModel

To…	Do the following…
(Optional) optionally confirm the objects and properties that constitute the changeset in ITwin Analytical Synchronizer.	Toggle Show/Hide Change Management
(Optional) Modify Sync settings from Default.	Click Sync Settings
send the current Application data to the iModel	Click Push Changes
retrieve the analytical data from the iModel	Click Pull Changes

 

Figure 14 - Sync to iModel Main interface

If necessary, Click the “Synced to” link to reassociate your Sync model.

2.4   Design History, Changes and Named Versions

Design History lists all the layers of change in the current iModel (not just your Sync model). As you progress, there are certain changes that are more significant than others. These are termed Named Versions– these are significant points in the timeline of your iModel.

Named Changes can be created on iModel Manager in the browser or directly in the Change item listed under Design History.

Refer to Figure 15

A -Click dropdown to select between listing all Changes or only Named Versions.

B – Name of the change set, if Design History list is filtered to show Named Versions only, this will show

C – Click the Add Named Version flag to promote your current change set to be a Named Version

D – Date/Time that the change was made

E – The user that made the change

Figure 15 - Design History listing all changes as well as Named Versions

The items shown in Figure 15 are reflected in iModel Manager in the web browser.

Figure 16 - Changes mirror in-product sidebar and visible in iModel Manager. Click View to see a particular Named Version in the Web Browser

Named Versions of the iModel can be viewed in the browser by clicking the View button (Figure 16).

Figure 17 – The specific Named Version of this iModel is visible in the web browser.