You connect 12d Synergy and InEight with a CDE integration that moves civil drawings, models and metadata from the design team's 12d Synergy environment into the owner's or principal contractor's InEight environment, and returns responses to 12d Synergy. CDE Sync™ links both platforms through dedicated accounts, maps 12d Synergy attributes to InEight fields and logs every transfer.
Why civil teams deliver into InEight
12d Synergy is widely used by civil designers and surveyors who work in 12d Model, especially on transport, water and resources projects in Australia and New Zealand. InEight is common on major capital programmes, where owners and principal contractors manage document control alongside cost, schedule and construction. Rail, road and mine infrastructure projects regularly combine the two.
Without a connection, design packages are exported from 12d Synergy, renumbered, given InEight's mandatory fields and uploaded, and responses travel back by email. On a programme with frequent design issues across several packages, the effort is considerable and mismatched revisions creep in.
What carries across between 12d Synergy and InEight
CDE Sync™ moves files with their version history and maps 12d Synergy attributes to InEight's fields. Document number, revision, status and discipline arrive in the form InEight expects, and responses can return to a nominated 12d Synergy folder. Every transfer is logged for audit and compliance.
The 12d Synergy and InEight integration pages describe each connector, and CDE Sync for InEight covers InEight in more depth.
How to connect 12d Synergy and InEight, step by step
Agree the exchange: which packages move to InEight and which responses return.
Obtain InEight's numbering, mandatory fields and transmittal requirements from the owner's document control team.
Arrange service accounts for 12d Synergy and InEight with access to the relevant locations.
Connect both platforms in the CDE Sync™ wizard and select folders on each side.
Map 12d Synergy attributes to InEight fields, including status and revision rules.
Run a pilot exchange on one package and check documents and responses on both sides.
Switch on the schedule and extend to further packages.
Supplying design data to construction
On civil programmes, the owner or principal contractor often needs design data as well as drawings, for construction planning, quantity checks and machine guidance. Agreeing which native or exported design files should reach InEight, and where they should sit, lets construction teams pick up the current design without chasing the designer.
Release signals matter here too. If the design team uses a status or release folder in 12d Synergy to mark a package as issued for construction, the sync can follow that signal so only released design reaches InEight. Our article on connecting InEight to other CDEs covers multi-party programmes in more detail.
Day to day, the connection mostly needs attention for exceptions. A deliverable that fails one of InEight's mandatory field rules is reported to the design team's document controller rather than lost, and the fix is made in 12d Synergy so the next run succeeds. The transfer log gives designer and owner a shared account of what was issued and when, which simplifies milestone reconciliations and supports any later questions about the timing of design issues.
Ownership of the connection usually sits with the design team's document controller, because it is set up through a wizard instead of code.
Security for critical infrastructure
Transport, water and resources programmes often fall under the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act. CDE Sync™ streams files directly between 12d Synergy and InEight without storing them, encrypts data in transit and processes it in the Azure region you choose. Utopia Digital holds SOC 2 Type II and Cyber Essentials. See the Security Trust Portal and the global data region map.
12d Synergy, InEight and the Utopiaverse™
A 12d Synergy to InEight connection is part of the Utopiaverse™, the connected record Utopia Digital builds across your platforms. CDE Sync™ keeps both aligned during delivery, CDE Backup™ keeps an independent copy in your own Azure, CDE Migrate™ handles moves onto or off either platform, and CDE Archive™ captures the record at completion. AI Insights searches design and owner content together, with answers that cite the source files. See also How Do I Connect 12d Synergy and ProjectWise? and How Do I Connect Oracle Aconex and InEight?
See 12d Synergy and InEight connected in the monthly live demo, or talk to the team about your programme.
