Teesside University - Synchro Pro Tutorial Document

1. Firstly turn on Synchro Pro.

2. To import the schedule, go to File > Import > Microsoft Project XML > select the schedule file
> Open > Next > Import > Finish. If your Microsoft Project File is not in XML, it can be
changed via opening the file in Microsoft project > File > Save as > Browse > change ‘Save as
type’ to ‘XML format’ > Save. At which point it can be imported to Synchro Pro.

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3. To import the model, go to File > Import > 3D > select the model > Open > Next > Import >
No assignment > Finish. At this stage you should have both files imported but not linked, if
the schedule is played it will not affect the 3D model.

4. For schedules and models that have been designed with intent of combining on Synchro Pro,
this can be done automatically by opening ‘Assigned Resources’ > ‘Auto Matching’. (If no
items appear in the automatch menu, your files can not be automatched.) After this the
model should be linked to schedule and ‘build’ alongside the schedule. If this does not occur,
or parts of the model do not appear/disappear to the schedule, continue with 5 onwards.

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5. To manually link the 3D objects to the tasks, the objects must be assigned to a resource,
which can then be assigned to a task. To begin open the 3D objects/Resource interface by
opening ‘Configure’ followed by selecting both ‘Resources’ and ‘3D Objects’.

6. To link the objects to resources expand the object group (file) > right click the selected 3D
object > Resources Wizard > Assign to a new resource > Next > Ensure the name is the same
name as the task you want to assign the object to > Next > ‘Add resources underneath, build
tree’ > Finish. For 3D objects that all refer to the same task, after the first object, instead of
‘Assign to a new resource’ use ‘Assign to an existing resource’ > Next > select the resource >
‘Assign to this resource, build tree’ > Finish. Repeat until all objects have been assigned to a
resource.

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7. To link the newly created resources to the schedule select the resource > select in the Gantt
chart the task to be assigned to > right click the selected resource > Assign to selected tasks
> repeat until all resources to be assigned to a task have been assigned to their respective
tasks. Ensure that you are only selecting one resource and one task at a time or the links
may become ‘tangled’.

8. To check that the entire model has been linked to the schedule, play the schedule from
beginning to end. The model should start with either one or zero objects and end with all
present, if this is not the case, or objects spawned in the wrong order, repeat 6 and 7 until
the model spawns correctly. If an incorrect linking has occurred, it can be removed via right
clicking the resource and selecting ‘Unassign from ‘Assigned to’ tasks’.