This article will cover the basic setup for Dalux Box. Dalux Box is a common data environment and can be used for file management and sharing between the different people in the project.
In Dalux Box files are managed through a folder structure and user access to each folder can be managed.
Table of contents
Set up a folder structure
User rights
To set up Dalux Box, you must be a project administrator or project planning manager.
The video will show how to:
- Create folders and subfolders
- Edit folders
- Change the entire folder structure
A folder structure is needed for Dalux Box to function as a common data environment. If there is no folder structure in the project, Dalux will ask for one to be made.
To create a folder structure, go to Settings
Box
'Folder structure'
Choose a folder structure between:
- From company standard (if available from the company profile)
- Dalux standards (Based on A104 document management)
- Empty folder structure (if a custom folder structure wants to be created from scratch)
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The folder structure can be overwritten or deleted by following the same process. To delete the folder structure, pick 'Empty folder structure' from the list.
Technical information
Folder structures cannot be deleted if any files are uploaded to the project. The files need to be deleted before the folder structure can be deleted.
Folder permissions
Manage the information flow in your Dalux Box project. Give individual users access to upload, see, or edit files within the project. Permissions will be different from user group to user group as it depends on the role of the user group in the project.
Folder permissions give individual users and groups of users, access to upload, edit, and see files in the project. Each user group has different permissions for which folders they can interact with, which can be displayed if you go to
Settings
Users
Select a user group
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To give a user group permission to read, write, or edit a folder or to edit the permissions of the user group: Open the user group 'Folders' in the Permissions area
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From here permissions in each folder can be set.
- Read files
- Write files
- Edit folder (This allows the user group to edit and delete a folder)
You can view the details of each permission by clicking on the -icon at the top right corner of the folder permissions window.
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If file areas are active, permissions can be set between the different file areas.
Check the boxes for the folders the chosen user group needs access to and click ‘Save’.
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More info
If a user group has access to ‘Files’, they can also see the other file areas in the project.
If a user can read ‘Shared files' they can also read ‘Published files'.
Read more about shared and published files in this article: File Areas.
Permissions to folders can also be seen or edited from the folder structure.
To do so go to
Box
Files
Click the
-icon to the right of a folder
Show permissions:
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File management
There are multiple ways to upload files to Dalux. This article shows how to upload files manually
If you want to learn more about using Dalux Sync to upload files you can read this article: Synchronize files between Dalux Box and your PC with Dalux Sync.
If you are uploading model files, you can either read this article on Upload IFC model files and 2D drawings or check out our section of articles about Dalux plugins.
To start working with files in Dalux Box, go to a folder in the folder structure.
Click Upload or drag and drop the files into the folder area on the right. Before clicking upload you can add additional info to the file:
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When files have been uploaded to a folder, the folder will turn a darker shade to show that it contains files.
When uploading many files to different folders, we recommend using Dalux Sync. This allows you to synchronize Dalux with a folder structure on your local computer. Read more about it here: Dalux Sync.
For managing files, there are several options.
- Download one or more files
- Send files to project participants or a person outside the project (write their email)
- See file versions
- Move files to another folder
- Delete files
- Export files as a list/table in Excel
- Import files from your company
These options are found in the More menu in the toolbar.
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See and edit the file metadata
When a file is opened in Dalux Box, the metadata/information about the file can be seen by clicking the Show metadata/-icon to the right. From this pane, information can be seen about the file. Depending on the type of file, different fields can be edited.
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If needed, a new version of the file can be uploaded. To do so, click More
Upload new version:
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When uploading files to Dalux Box with a file name that is the same as an existing file, Dalux automatically creates a new version of the file while saving the old one.
Link IFC Model Files and 2D Drawings from Box
IFC model files and 2D drawings can be linked to buildings directly from Box. To add the file:
Select the file
More
Add to –
Building
Choose the building
'Next'
'Add':
You can read more about it in this article: Add files to buildings.
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