What a transmittal is, and why the process matters more than the file
A transmittal is the formal issue of drawings or documents from one party to another, together with the record of that issue. It answers four questions: what was sent, who it went to, when it left, and under what conditions it may be used.
Most teams already do this. What they usually lack is a consistent way of doing it. One project manager zips a folder and emails it, another uses a personal cloud drive, a third posts a link in a chat thread. The drawings arrive, but the terms of the issue exist only in whatever the covering email happened to say, where nothing enforces them.
Where ad hoc issue breaks down
Attachments that never arrive
Drawing sets exceed mail server limits, so they get split, zipped, or dropped onto a personal file service. Each workaround puts project information somewhere nobody controls.
Anyone can forward it
An attachment or an open link works for whoever ends up holding it, so an issue meant for one consultant reaches their whole office and their subcontractors.
Recipients cannot open the files
Contractors, clients, and field teams rarely hold CAD licences. Converting everything to PDF loses the model and creates another version to keep straight.
Access that never expires
A link mailed during design is still live after handover. Superseded drawings stay reachable, and there is no way to withdraw them.
A standard transmittal, in four steps
- 01
Assemble the package
Put the drawings, models, and supporting documents for this issue in one folder. Structure it by project, phase, or discipline so the contents match how the contract is organized.
- 02
Set the terms of the issue
Choose an expiration date, add a password if the content is sensitive, and decide whether recipients may download or view only. The terms travel with the package rather than living in a covering email.
- 03
Send one link
Recipients open the package in a browser. No account, no CAD seat, no plugin, and nothing sitting in an inbox against an attachment limit.
- 04
Let the issue close itself
The expiry you set ends the issue without anyone having to remember. When a revision goes out, send a new link against the new files and let the previous one lapse, so nobody is left guessing which link is current.
Transmittal or submittal?
The two are often used interchangeably and are not the same thing. A transmittal is the act of issuing documents and the record that accompanies it. A submittal is a package sent for review and approval, such as shop drawings or product data, and it carries a response.
Every submittal is issued under a transmittal, but plenty of transmittals are simply an issue: a revised drawing set going to the contractor, a model going to a consultant, a package going to the client for information. ShareCAD handles the issue and the record. It is not an approval workflow tool.
What the recipient actually experiences
They click a link and the drawings open in their browser. DWG, DXF, STEP, IFC, Revit, Navisworks, SolidWorks, STL and more render without a CAD licence, a plugin, or an account. On a phone in the field, the same link works the same way.
That matters because the recipient is usually the person least equipped to deal with a CAD file, and most likely to be the reason a transmittal stalls. See the browser CAD viewer for the full format list, or secure CAD file sharing for how access control works.
Make Every Transmittal Look the Same
One process for issuing drawings, whoever is sending them. Controlled access, a link that works without CAD software, and a record you can point to later.
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