Introduction
Trimble Connect is a cloud-based Common Data Environment (CDE) where teams can collaborate to build custom and public API-based integrations, extensions, and embedded components to extend the capabilities of desktop clients and web application environments.
Key Features
Section titled “Key Features”The core purpose of Trimble Connect being to connect people with project data and workflows across the building lifecycle, key features of the platform include:
- cloud-based common data environment (CDE): a central place to keep and collaborate on project files
- file and document management: create folders, upload and download files
- 3D and BIM model data viewing capabilities
- BCF topics for model-based issue communication
- API-enabled integrations with Trimble products and third-party applications
Use Cases
Section titled “Use Cases”Trimble Connect provides a common data environment (CDE) with primary use cases including (but not limited to):
- project-wide file management and collaboration, including BIM/model viewing and coordination: view and connect 3D model data to construction project workflows
- issue tracking and coordination with BCF: use model-based topics for QA/QC with annotations and collaboration
- change detection across phases: identify design or document changes and evaluate impacts on active work
- field-to-office data flow: integrate field hardware with back-office applications
- cross-platform integration: build applications that interact with Trimble Connect data including files, views, and model information
Product Links
Section titled “Product Links”Develop
Section titled “Develop”The offerings below, grouped by type, enable developers to integrate and extend the capabilities of Trimble Connect in their own applications.
Integrate with Trimble Connect via cloud-based services
Section titled “Integrate with Trimble Connect via cloud-based services”Trimble Connect offers cloud-based HTTP API services, on which details are provided here, enabling applications to communicate directly with Trimble Connect to create or update project data and files.
Example use cases for this kind of integration could be to enable project collaboration workflows involving other applications, field-to-office data integrations, loading project data into BI tools, or automatically transferring drawing and other files into a Trimble Connect project folder upon approval.
Extend the Trimble Connect desktop client or web application
Section titled “Extend the Trimble Connect desktop client or web application”Extensions
Section titled “Extensions”Extensions are applications that can be built to extend a product’s capabilities and also add new functionalities to the product.
When you use an extension, it will be embedded within Trimble Connect as an iframe. An iframe is a HTML element that embeds a webpage within an application. For example, you can build applications to extend Connect for Browser’s 3D viewer capabilities.
Here are directions on how to create an extension.
Embedded Components
Section titled “Embedded Components”Embedded components bring Trimble Connect’s capabilities into your product. For example, you can embed Trimble Connect’s file explorer and the 3D viewer directly into your product.
The difference between an extension and an embedded component is that an extension adds capabilities within Trimble Connect, whereas an embedded component brings Trimble Connect’s capabilities into your product.
Here are directions on how to embed a component.
Application Interactions
Section titled “Application Interactions”The Windows .NET API enables independent applications to interact directly with Trimble Connect for Windows. This differs from an extension or an embedded component in that it neither brings capabilities into Trimble Connect like an extension would, nor brings Trimble Connect directly into the independent application as an embedded component, but allows for the exchange of data between Trimble Connect for Windows and the independent application.
Here are directions on how to interact with TC for Windows.
Common Concepts
Section titled “Common Concepts”The Trimble Connect platform includes a number of different parts interacting together. An overview diagram of the platform artchitecture is available on the Explanation and Concepts page.
Documentation on topics for which details are common across Trimble Connect are provided on the Reference page, including available regions, date formatting, pagination, error codes used in each cloud-based API, and more.
