ProjectWise Navigator

Managed Environment Integration

In a managed environment, ProjectWise Navigator enables teams to control and audit the assembly of design and project content by managing file and content access and by managing hyperlinks to content stored in other files.

Some additional capabilities when used as a client to the ProjectWise Integration Server include:

1. Check-in/Check-out transactions for secure work share
2. Audit trail creation for insight into who did what and when
3. Full text and component index for cross-enterprise searching
4. Local Caching Servers for rapid LAN-like content access
5. Automated and scheduled processing for printing and publishing

A Single 2D/3D Design Review Environment

For every creator of 2D/3D design and project content there are many more reviewers each needing to coordinate and review designs and project information from many different sources. ProjectWise Navigator is the first visual collaboration solution to provide a single, immersive environment for reviewing a broad range of 2D/3D data formats.

Key features include the ability to:

1. Review 2D drawings and 3D models concurrently
2. Attach PDF files as a reference to the model
3. Follow links between data files and components
4. Fly through very large models interactively with ease
5. Examine design change using Design History tools

Powerful Graphics Performance

ProjectWise Navigator delivers high-performance graphics and geometry manipulation in a comprehensive, immersive, and easy-to-use review tool. With multi-processor support and the powerful DirectX Graphics platform from Microsoft, ProjectWise Navigator can also open and dynamically manipulate large models.

Other competitive benefits include an ability to:

1. Work with large graphics files
2. Produce photorealistic visualization and animation
3. Serve as a network render farm processing node
4. Visual client to the ProjectWise managed environment

Enrich Project and Design Content

ProjectWise Navigator enables teams to enrich project and design content by adding comments and additional information inside the native file format for full design collaboration and round-trip editing. Original design content can be enriched by adding materials, PDF references, lights, and simple cell geometry when allowed and controlled by digital rights management.

Key benefits include:

1. Direct, native-data enrichment when relevant
2. Controlled access through digital rights management
3. Separate reference files for project and design comments
4. Ability to add project links to documents and components

For added digital rights management, general comments and scribbles can be added to a special redline reference file to safeguard the integrity of the original file.

Analyze Designs and Perform Impact Assessments

ProjectWise Navigator helps teams to examine project design and constructability in a virtual environment. Additional server-side right-to-run (RTR) services provide every ProjectWise Navigator user with the capability to simulate and animate construction schedules and to perform in-depth clash detection on 3D models.

Key functionality includes an ability to:

1. Assess build ability and detect construction clashes
2. Simulate project schedules to perform "what if" scenarios
3. Prototype lighting and the effect of design change on light

Integration with key project scheduling applications is enabled in ProjectWise Navigator through direct (native data format) or indirect (open data format like XML) data import.

Key applications include:

1. Microsoft Project
2. Primavera

Real-time Asset Management

ProjectWise Navigator as a visual collaboration tool can be used to manage assets in real time, regardless of their type or location. This capability is enabled due to a number of the inherent Innovations by MicroStation which enable graphics, geometry, metadata, and other documents to be queried and accessed when connected to the ProjectWise collaboration system of servers.

Specific benefits include an ability to:

1. Create and follow links between components and assets
2. Query where specific assets reside
3. Query if it arrived on site of if it has been erected
4. Access and manipulate remote assets and devices
5. Use the immersive environment for maintenance training

Produce Portable and Intelligent Work Packages

With ProjectWise Navigator’s versatile and open approach to assembling content from many distributed sources it is also well suited as a versatile solution for creating new documents and models in popular immutable and editable file formats.

Some of the supported file formats include:

1. PDF, HPGL/2, JPEG, TIFF
2. DGN, DWG, DXF, IFC
3. Google Earth and Google Warehouse environments

In a managed environment, ProjectWise Navigator can be used to automate and manage the authoring of portable, intelligent, and linked project deliverables. When combined with the ProjectWise Plot Server, new capabilities are also enabled for the creation of linked and bookmarked PDF files including full content level structures.

Specific benefits of the plotting/publishing technologies include an ability to:

1. Trigger publishing and plotting by batch, schedule, or event
2. Create hyperlinked and bookmarked 2D/3D PDF files
3. Distribute PDF files to other connected EDMS systems
4. Integrate Adobe LiveCycle Server for PDF signatures

Stunning Visualization and Animation Platform

ProjectWise Navigator also provides a single production environment for photorealistic rendering and animation, making it the perfect visual companion tool for other popular modeling and drafting tools that lack high quality visualization and animation capabilities such as PowerDraft, SketchUp, AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD.

Key Features include:

1. Photorealistic particle trace rendering
2. Full lighting including ambient, solar, point, and distant lights
3. Material creation, management, and assignment to models
4. Realistic shadow casting including soft shadows
5. Time-based and key-frame animation, and solar studies

High-speed Access to Distributed Content

ProjectWise Navigator benefits from caching servers for improved file access and collaboration across distributed enterprises. Caching Servers enable teams to distribute their project content around the enterprise and yet still access all files at LAN-like speeds for increased efficiency.

Key benefits of Caching Server access include an ability to:

1. Store all frequently accessed files locally for fast access
2. Manage and automate the distribution of cached copies
3. Build in a disaster recovery safeguard for project content

Now reviewing multiple models one after the other from around the globe is no longer a chore which ordinarily requires forward planning.