OpenBuildings™ Designer Help

iTwin Synchronizer

Used to synchronize changes made in a DGN to an iModel on the iModelHub. This tool launches the iTwin Synchronizer desktop application which is a cloud-based design collaboration tool. Project collaboration between team members who are spread out geographically or in different teams and from different disciplines, using varied design applications, is made possible by the iTwin Synchronizer. Team members can synchronize their design changes from a design file to an iModel on the iModelHub using iTwin Synchronizer. This iModel is then available for review to all team members.

You can access this tool from:


  • Ribbon: Drawing > Utilities > iModelHub
  • Ribbon: Modeling > Utilities > iModelHub
Note: You must have the iTwin Synchronizer desktop application installed on your system to be able to use iTwin Synchronizer via OpenBuildings Designer. Click here to download iTwin Synchronizer desktop application.
Note: Installing iTwin Synchronizer is quick and will not cause any disruptions in your installed products or existing data. You will be prompted for any available updates and will be able to update the product with one click.

Common Terminology

  • iModel - An iModel holds information about a single infrastructure asset. iModels may contain physical and functional models, drawings, specifications, analytical models, and so on. for consistency and standardization of data coming from various applications, iModel adheres to schemas defined by BIS.
  • iModelHub - iModelHub acts as a central repository of the most recent data from different sources. As a project advances, changes are recorded, and it becomes very simple to track change sets for the project's lifecycle at any given point of time.
  • iModel Bridges - iModel Bridges exist to transform data from other data formats into iModels. Many iModel Bridges can be associated with a single iModel, and hence the resulting iModel becomes an aggregator of many sources of data. iModel Bridges need to carefully transform the source data to BIS-based data in the iModel and hence each Bridge is written for a specific data source.
  • Synchronization - A Synchronization includes information about the Project, the root directories, master files, iModels and the geographic coordinate system. This information helps detect which bridges are needed and the files assigned to them.
  • Named Version - A Named Version is a milestone that you can define when a desired set of changes are reached. This maybe useful for future workflows and in keeping track of and comparing changes.
  • Team Coordinator - A team coordinator is the project administrator in an organization, who has access to "Product Settings Service > Manage Settings" on the CONNECT portal. The Team Coordinator will set up a project, add team members and assign roles, create iModels on the iModelHub and set-up Synchronizations for the team members to synchronize their changes to. A Team Coordinator can create, edit or delete existing Synchronizations in the iTwin Synchronizer.
  • Team Member - A team member is someone who is added to a project by the team coordinator. Team members will work on designated tasks and will be able to synchronize changes they make to design files to the iModels on the iModelHub. Team members cannot create, edit or delete Synchronizations in the iTwin Synchronizer.
The following RBAC permissions are required for a user to synchronize Design and Reality Modeling data:
  • To Create an iModel Bridge Synchronization:
    • Product Settings > Manage Settings
  • To Publish a DGN to iModelHub:
    • iModelHub > Modify iModel
  • To Publish reality data to ProjectWise ContextShare:
    • ProjectWise ContextShare > Create
  • To Create an iModel on the iModelHub:
    • iModelHub > Create iModel