Understanding your project

Which set is current, where the specs live, what the geotech said, which RFIs are open. The Nomic agent can build that map for you, from whatever you have put in front of it. This lesson is the setup, then the asking.

Projects​

A project groups files, conversations, and, on Business and Enterprise, people. Start sessions inside the project and the agent has the project's files as standing context. Conversations appear on the project page, and teammates can view the ones shared with the project.

Set a Project Number at creation so it matches your numbering. The Project Number appears in lists, exports, and the API.

Project context​

Uploading a file to Nomic and adding it to a project are different steps. The project's Files page is what the agent sees by default in that project. Use Add files there to upload, move files in from Drive, or link files that should stay where they are. With nothing on that page, only files added to an individual session apply.

Scope deliberately. The current drawing set, the spec book, the geotech report, the addenda, and any standard your team works to are context. The client's whole SharePoint site is noise that makes every question cost more.

Open figure

Where files come from​

Individual plan: upload. Upload → File upload or Folder upload, or drag and drop, into My Uploads. Business and Enterprise: admins connect sources and files sync in.

• Project delivery: Autodesk Forma, Bentley, Trimble ProjectSight, Fieldwire
• File storage: SharePoint, Egnyte
• Communications: Outlook, Gmail

Linked project-delivery projects show a badge in the project list and keep syncing. The Source column in Files shows where a file came from and filters by it.

When the agent misses a file​

Check three things, in this order:

1. Scope. The file or its folder is on the project's Files page, or attached to the session.
2. Permissions. The agent sees only what you can see. Files synced from SharePoint or Egnyte keep source permissions, so a folder restricted to you there is invisible to the agent in your session.
3. Readiness. A file from a connected source can appear in Nomic before the agent can search inside it. A file is ready to search when its Status shows Indexed. If it does not, run Index Document on the file or Index Folder on the folder. A file attached directly to the session works while it finishes.

Rewording the question is the last thing to try.

Asking​

Questions range from specific to broad, and phrasing changes which tools the agent reaches for.

When you know the term, be exact. The agent runs a text search and goes straight to it.

Find every spec section that mentions "warranty" and list the section number, the warranty duration, and the page.

When exploring, go broad. The agent searches by meaning, finds candidate files, then reads for detail.

Walk through how the building handles stormwater from roof drains to the site connection. Which sheets and spec sections are involved, and where do civil and plumbing hand off?

Either way the answer comes back cited, and the citation opens the page, sheet, BIM element, or DWG entity.

BIM and CAD​

IFC models and DWG drawings are queried by structure instead of by reading pixels. Questions such as wall types by thickness and fire rating, doors on Level 3 with no hardware set, frozen layers, or blocks with attributes are answered with element or entity citations that open the viewer with the item selected. Up to ten IFC models load together for version or discipline comparison; up to four DWGs. See BIM Model Intelligence and CAD Drawings.

Counting doors in an IFC model, live, from the October 7 Office Hours:

Common failure: reviewing a set you have not checked​

A drawing review covers whatever is in scope. If half the set is attached, the review covers half the set and reads as complete. Before a milestone review, ask the agent what it can see.

Before we review anything: what is in this project's context? List sheet sets by discipline with counts, spec divisions present, and anything that looks missing.

Compare the counts to what you expect, fix any gap, and then ask for the review.

The agent also takes requests literally and uses its judgment where your intent is missing. Literal reading with judgment works for a lookup. For a milestone review, say exactly what you want.

Next: scoping and running a drawing review.

Next: Reviewing drawings