Projects & jobs

A project is a folder for grouping Trimble Access jobs and the files used by those jobs, including control points, road or alignment RXL files, background images or surfaces, and reference files for the project such as site or health and safety information.

A job contains the raw survey data from one or more surveys, and the configuration settings for the job including coordinate system, calibration, and measurement unit settings. Scan data and media images captured during the survey are stored in separate files and linked to the job. A job may also contain control points if you have imported them into the job instead of using a linked file from the project folder.

To start a survey you must have at least one project and one job.

Projects and jobs can be local to the controller or they can reside on the Trimble Connect cloud collaboration platform, from which they can be downloaded to the controller. On the controller, jobs are stored in the appropriate project folder in the Trimble Data folder. For more information on how files and folders are organized on the controller, see Trimble data folders.

When creating a job, you can save the settings as a template and then create subsequent jobs using the template. Jobs in the same project usually have the same settings but this is not essential.

Who creates the project and jobs and how they do this depends on your organization. The options are:

  • Projects and jobs are created in the office using Trimble Sync Manager and sent to the cloud, from which they are downloaded to the controller. Project and job data on the controller can be uploaded to the cloud at any time.

    If required, new jobs can be created locally on the controller and then uploaded to the cloud.

  • Projects are created in the office using Trimble Sync Manager and sent to the cloud, from which they are downloaded to the controller. Jobs are created locally on the controller and uploaded to the cloud. Project and job data on the controller can be uploaded to the cloud at any time.

  • Projects and jobs are created locally on the controller.

    Local projects and jobs can be uploaded to the cloud later, as required.

Creating projects and jobs in the office

Use Trimble Sync Manager to create projects and jobs using data from Trimble Business Center, AutoCAD Civil 3D, 12d Model, Bentley civil software and other survey and civil engineering software. The software sends the projects and jobs to Trimble Connect. For more information refer to the Trimble Sync Manager Help.

Working on cloud projects and jobs on the controller

To work with projects and jobs that reside in the Trimble Connect cloud collaboration platform you must have a current Trimble Access Software Maintenance agreement. To see projects and jobs from the cloud, the controller must be connected to the Internet and you must be signed in using your Trimble ID. The Trimble Connect icon in the title bar is grayed out if you are not signed in. Tap the icon to sign in.

When you are signed in, projects and jobs that reside in the Trimble Connect cloud collaboration platform and assigned to you are shown in the Projects and Jobs screens of the Trimble Access software. You are also notified by email when a job is assigned to you from Trimble Connect.

Downloading or uploading projects and jobs

You can download individual projects and jobs as required. During project download, the <project> folder is created on the controller and any project files are downloaded. Once you have downloaded a project, you can download jobs in the project.

The cloud icons next to the project or job name indicate if there are changes to be uploaded or downloaded:

indicates there are changes in the project or job in the cloud to be downloaded to the controller.

indicates there are changes in the project or job on the controller to be uploaded to the cloud.

indicates the project or job in the cloud is exactly the same as the project or job on the controller.

indicates there are changes in the cloud project or job that conflict with the local project or job and action is needed. See Managing the synchronization of individual files.

When you change the status of a job to In progress or Fieldwork complete, changes to the job are automatically uploaded to the cloud, including local jobs in projects that reside in Trimble Connect.

You can upload data to the cloud at any time, by uploading changes in the job or by uploading changes to all jobs in the project at once. Select the project or job and then tap and select Upload

If a downloaded project shows a locked icon , it indicates you are assigned to the project but you cannot open it because you have not been assigned a Connect Business for Trimble Access subscription. Users without a Connect Business for Trimble Access subscription are able to work with only one project. To request a subscription, contact your project administrator.

Managing the synchronization of individual files

When downloading data to the controller or uploading data to the cloud, you can choose to skip the transfer of individual files, if required. This is especially useful when you have large files, such as a large scan file, that you do not want to transfer from the field. In the Download or Upload screen, tap file name and select Skip this file. The icon next to the file changes to to indicate that action is needed for the file. You can download or upload the file later when you have returned to the office.

If the icon appears next to the project or job it indicates there are changes in the cloud project or job that conflict with the local project or job and action is needed. Select the project or job and select Upload or Download. In the Upload or Download screen, the red icon indicates the file that is in conflict. Tap the file and then select one of the following:

  • Overwrite local file: Changes made to the local file will be lost.
  • Keep local file: Cloud file contents will be overwritten on the next upload.

Occasionally when downloading a project the software will not present the Overwrite local file or Keep local file options and instead shows a message warning that the file contains content from another project and the local file must be removed or renamed before the file can be downloaded. Tap Esc to return to the Projects list and then open File Explorer and navigate to the C:\ProgramData\Trimble\Trimble Access\Trimble Data folder and remove or rename the appropriate file.

Creating local projects

You can create local projects on the controller, as required.

You will need to manually transfer data files that you want to use to the project folder on the controller. See File transfer and Trimble data folders.

You can upload a project you have created on the controller to the cloud later, if required.

Creating local jobs

You can create local jobs on the controller as required.

The process for creating a local job is the same, whether the job is part of a local project or a project that resides in the cloud. As long as a local job is in a cloud project you can upload the local job to the cloud at any time after you have created it. To do this, tap in the details panel and select Upload.

You can create local jobs from:

  • the last used job in the current project
  • a template, including templates you have created from previous jobs
  • a JobXML or DC file in one of these formats:
    • Trimble JobXML
    • SDR33 DC
    • Trimble DC v10.7
    • Trimble DC v10.0
    • SC Exchange

Importing from a JobXML file to a Trimble job file is mainly used to transfer the coordinate system definition and design information. A JobXML file generated from a Trimble job contains all the raw data in the FieldBook section, and "the best" coordinate for each point from the job in the Reductions section. Only the data from the Reductions section is read into the new Trimble job file, raw observations are not imported.