Enterprise Document Management Integration Through Project Center

The Bentley ProjectWise EDMS Connector integrates ProjectWise’s enterprise document management system with Newforma Project Center through the EDMS plugin architecture, enabling engineering and construction teams to access ProjectWise-managed drawings, models, and engineering documents directly within Project Center’s Project Files activity center. This seamless integration eliminates the manual overhead of switching between ProjectWise and Project Center, allowing teams to leverage Project Center’s workflow capabilities—including Submittals, RFIs, Info Exchange, and file sharing—on ProjectWise files while maintaining synchronized check-in/check-out status, redline management, and version control across both platforms.

Managing engineering documents across separate ProjectWise and Project Center environments traditionally requires constant manual file transfers, duplicate version control efforts, and disconnected workflow processes that fragment project collaboration. When critical engineering drawings live in ProjectWise but construction workflows execute in Project Center, teams face context switching overhead as users jump between platforms to locate current revisions, version confusion when ProjectWise updates don’t immediately reflect in Project Center RFIs and Submittals, and workflow inefficiency where document references require manual export and re-upload operations. Engineering teams spend hours checking out files from ProjectWise, downloading them for Project Center workflow attachment, and manually tracking which system holds the authoritative version—creating administrative burden that diverts attention from design quality and coordination.

The ProjectWise EDMS Connector eliminates this disconnect by surfacing ProjectWise files directly within Project Center’s Project Files activity center, where they appear alongside local network files as native Project Center content. The connector leverages Project Center’s EDMS plugin architecture to establish a live connection between ProjectWise and Project Center, automatically indexing ProjectWise files through the Project Center Server to enable full-text search across both document repositories. Users access ProjectWise drawings and models through familiar Project Center interfaces—the Project Files activity center, Supporting Documents tabs, and Add File dialog boxes—without leaving Project Center, while the

connector maintains bidirectional check-in/check-out synchronization so files checked out in Project Center appear locked in ProjectWise and vice versa. This integrated approach enables teams to initiate RFIs and Submittals directly from ProjectWise files, apply Project Center markup tools to engineering documents, and share ProjectWise content through Project Center transmittals—all while maintaining ProjectWise as the authoritative document repository with full audit trails, redline management, and access controls

Benefits

Eliminate Context Switching

Users complete all work within Project Center's familiar interface while the connector seamlessly accesses ProjectWise content behind the scenes.

Maintain Single-Source Document Authority

Project Center accesses ProjectWise as the authoritative repository rather than creating duplicate file copies that diverge over time.

Extend Project Center Construction Administration to Enterprise Document

Submittals, RFIs, and Info Exchange can reference ProjectWise files directly without manual checkout or external file management.

Reduce Administrative Overhead

Automated synchronization eliminates manual file transfer, version reconciliation, and checkout status tracking between systems.

Preserve Audit Trails

ProjectWise maintains complete document history and access controls while Project Center enables efficient construction workflows.

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Features

Eliminate Manual File Transfers

The EDMS plugin architecture surfaces ProjectWise files directly within Project Center's Project Files activity center, eliminating the need to manually check out documents from ProjectWise and upload them to Project Center workflows.

Maintain Synchronized Version Control

The connector establishes bidirectional check-in/check-out synchronization that maintains file locking status across both ProjectWise and Project Center, preventing editing conflicts and version overwrites that plague disconnected document management systems.

Accelerate Information Discovery

The Project Center Server automatically indexes ProjectWise files through the EDMS connector, enabling full-text search across enterprise-managed content alongside local project files from a single Project Center search interface.