The current set problem
Almost every distribution problem on a construction project reduces to one question: is this the current version? The reason it is hard is not that revisions are difficult to publish. It is that the old ways of reaching people do not retract. An emailed set stays in the inbox. A link posted in a group chat keeps working. A printed sheet stays on the wall.
So the current set exists, and so do four superseded ones, and the field has no reliable way to tell which is which. The rework that follows is expensive in a way that is hard to attribute, because nobody logs the hour spent building to a drawing that was replaced last Tuesday.
Anything that helps has to work by pointing people at a place rather than sending them a copy, and it has to be no harder than the thing it replaces. Distribution methods that add steps get bypassed on the first busy day.
Four points where distribution breaks, and what to do at each
During the build
Nobody is certain they are looking at the current set
Drawings reach site by whatever route was quickest at the time: an email from the design team, a link in a WhatsApp group, a set printed three weeks ago and still pinned up in the trailer. When a revision lands, the old routes do not clear themselves.
Keep one folder per package as the place the current files live, and issue links to that folder rather than sending copies. The next person to open the link sees what is in the folder now.
In the field
The people who need the drawings have the least software
A foreman, an inspector, a supplier's fitter and an owner's representative all need to look at drawings and models, and none of them have CAD installed. On site they often have a phone and patchy signal rather than a laptop on the network.
A link that opens in a browser needs no install, no VPN and no account. The same link works on a phone in a trailer as on a laptop in the office.
Across many trades
Everyone gets everything, because filtering is manual
Sending the full set to every subcontractor is faster than assembling package-specific issues, so that is what happens. It also means commercial information travels further than intended.
Scope each link to the files for that package. The structure you already keep in the file tree does the filtering, so the fast path and the correct path are the same path.
At closeout
The record is spread across inboxes
As-builts, equipment models and MEP drawings need to reach the owner and, later, the facilities team and their service contractors. What actually gets handed over is often a hard drive assembled at the last minute.
If the project files already live in one organized structure, handover is an access question rather than an archaeology project.
Where this sits next to Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud
If you already run a common data environment, this is not a replacement for it and you should be suspicious of anyone who tells you otherwise. Those platforms hold the project record, the RFI and submittal workflows, and the approval trail. That is a different job.
What they are structurally poor at is the long tail of people outside the environment. Provisioning a supplier's fabricator, a specialist inspector, or a client's insurer as a project member is disproportionate to the one afternoon of access they need, and often it is not commercially appropriate at all. So those handoffs fall out of the system and land in email, which is exactly where governance disappears.
That gap is the whole of what ShareCAD does. It is deliberately a narrow product: put a file in front of someone outside your organization, with controls on how long and on what terms, without provisioning them as anything.
Questions about CAD file sharing on construction projects
How do subcontractors view drawings without CAD software?
They open a link in a browser. DWG, DGN, NWD, NWC, RVT, IFC, STEP and PDF all render without any CAD application, plugin or account on the recipient's side. On a phone or tablet it works the same way, which matters for site use.
Can I control which subcontractor sees which package?
Yes. A share link covers only the files and folders you select, so each trade package is a separate link scoped to its own contents. You can also lock a link to one email address with a password so a forwarded link does not work for anyone else.
Does this replace Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud or BIM 360?
No, and it is not trying to. Those are project management and common data environments where every participant is provisioned as a member. ShareCAD covers the narrower job of getting files to people outside that environment, including the many parties who will never be given a seat in it. Plenty of contractors run both.
Do field staff need to install an app?
No. There is nothing to install and no account to create. A browser and the link are enough, which is the point when the recipient is a fitter borrowing five minutes between tasks.
How long do drawing links stay live?
You set 1, 30, 90 or 180 days per link. Matching the expiry to the package or the phase means access to superseded drawings ends without anyone having to remember to close it off.
Can I stop drawings being downloaded and passed on?
Turn on view-only and the files open in the browser with no download option. Combined with locking the link to a single email address and password, that keeps a drawing set considerably more contained than an email attachment.
How many people can I send to?
As many as you need. Your subscription covers the people at your company who upload and issue files, currently 2 users on the standard plan and up to 10 on the team plan. Recipients are not users and are never charged, so the size of the supply chain does not change what you pay.
Related
For coordination models going out trade by trade, see sharing Navisworks with subcontractors. For issuing drawing sets as a repeatable process with a covering record, see CAD transmittals. To open a single drawing now, use the DWG viewer or the DGN viewer. For the general case, see secure CAD file sharing.
One Link Per Package, One Place for the Current Set
Give every trade, supplier and inspector browser access to exactly the files they need, for exactly as long as they need them.
From $19.99/month · Teams up to 10 users · Recipients are never charged