Autodesk Forma and BIM 360 backup, outside Autodesk, in storage your company owns.

What happens to Autodesk Forma and BIM 360 projects when access ends?

Access to an Autodesk Forma or BIM 360 project ends in one of two ways: an account administrator archives or deactivates the project, or the subscription ends. Autodesk's BIM 360 help says only account administrators can activate, deactivate or archive a project, and once a project is inactive or archived, the project admins and members invited to it no longer have access.

Archiving is a project status, not a copy of the data. Autodesk describes it as a way to keep the project list clean, and an account administrator can restore an archived project from the Archived tab. Autodesk's account help says access to cloud documents continues for about 30 days after a subscription ends.

If your company works in another organisation's hub, you do not decide when the project is archived or deactivated. Your copy has to be taken while you still have access.

Does Autodesk have a built-in backup for Autodesk Forma and BIM 360?

Not a full project backup. Autodesk's support article says a project cannot be copied with all its contents, and points to the Autodesk Replication Tool, a technology preview that copies files and models between projects and hubs. Autodesk lists issues, RFIs and permissions as metadata the Replication Tool does not copy, and the copy lands in another Autodesk project, not outside Autodesk.

That leaves issues, RFIs, submittals and transmittals without an independent copy. A scheduled backup into your own storage covers them from the first week of the job, rather than in a scramble when the hub owner archives the project.

• The first SIINC run is a Full backup of every record and file version in the modules you choose
• After that, Sync runs copy only what changed, and records deleted in Autodesk are kept for the term of your plan
• Every run is recorded with its scope, size, warnings and errors

What SIINC backs up from Autodesk Forma and BIM 360

11 modules

Documents and design

Files and models, Custom attributes, Photos

Project management

Issues, RFIs, Submittals, Transmittals, Reviews

Core and assets

Members, Locations, Assets

Browse Autodesk Forma and BIM 360 backups in the Autodesk Portal

The Autodesk Portal gives you nine tabs over every backed-up project, with a folder tree, file previews, single downloads and ZIPs of selected files or folders. It reads from your own storage, so you can find a drawing or an issue without an Autodesk login. Exclusions skip the files, folders and file types you choose during backup, with quick groups for point clouds and archives. When files or records need to go back into Autodesk, SIINC restores them into the same account or a different one.

What you need to connect Autodesk

Application credentials cover Files. Issues, RFIs and the other modules need user authorisation or a service account with the right project permissions. You also need an Amazon S3 bucket or Azure Blob container in your own cloud account.

How SIINC compares to the Autodesk Replication Tool and Bridge

Autodesk's own tools copy files, and SIINC keeps the whole project record. The Autodesk Replication Tool copies files and models between projects and hubs, and Autodesk Bridge shares sheets and files with other projects while the job runs. Both keep the copy inside Autodesk.

Use Bridge to share live sheets with partner projects, and the Replication Tool when only files need to move. Use SIINC when you need issues, RFIs, submittals and reviews kept too, in your own storage, after a subscription lapses or a hub is archived. The side-by-side table is on the SIINC vs Autodesk Replication Tool and Bridge page.

Backing up Autodesk Forma and BIM 360 projects that are already archived

On Enterprise, SIINC can bring Autodesk projects that an account admin has already archived into backup scope. The archived-project feature runs when you start it, or automatically, and works in batches with pause, resume and retry.

That means projects archived before anyone set up a backup can be kept in your own storage alongside your live projects, and found again in the Autodesk Portal.