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Quickstart

This walkthrough takes you from a fresh CDT account to a working digital twin in roughly 30 minutes. By the end you will have explored the platform on a map, added a building, uploaded an IFC model, and invited a teammate to collaborate.

Before you start​

You need:

  • An account on a CDT instance, with the URL provided by your administrator.
  • A modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari) with WebGL enabled
  • Optional: a sample IFC file. Public test files are available from the buildingSMART sample repository

If you do not have an account yet, your organization's administrator can invite you, or you can create an instance using the Installation guide.

Step 1 — Sign in (≈ 2 minutes)​

Goal: confirm your account works and reach the main interface.

  1. Open your CDT URL in a browser.
  2. Sign in with your email and password, or with Google if your administrator has enabled OAuth.
  3. You will receive a MFA code by email or authenticator app. Enter it to complete sign-in. This step will be skipped using cookies on subsequent visits from the same browser.
  4. CDT opens to the Map Viewer, centred on your organization's default map view.

Result: you see a map filling the viewport, a left sidebar with navigation icons, and a top toolbar with search and tools.

Step 2 — Explore the map (≈ 5 minutes)​

Goal: orient yourself in the spatial environment that anchors all CDT data.

  1. Pan and zoom with mouse drag and scroll wheel. Hold right-click and drag to tilt and rotate the camera in 3D.
  2. Search a location — type a Canadian address or place name in the top-left search bar and select a result.
  3. Toggle a data layer — click the Datasets icon in the bottom toolbar, browse the catalogue, and add a layer (for example, "Statistics Canada — Census tracts"). The layer appears on the map immediately.
  4. Inspect a feature — click any building footprint or layer feature to see its full attribute data in a side panel.

Result: you can navigate the map and read open-data attributes for any feature you click.

For more on the map, see the Map Viewer guide.

Step 3 — Add a building (≈ 5 minutes)​

Goal: create your first asset record in the platform.

  1. Open the Buildings view from the left sidebar.
  2. Click Add Building.
  3. Fill in:
    • Name — for example, Test Building 1
    • Type — pick a category from the dropdown
    • Location — drop a pin on the map, or paste latitude/longitude
  4. Click Save.

Result: the building appears in the buildings list and as a marker on the map. Clicking it opens the Building Details panel.

For full coverage, see Managing Buildings & Sites.

Step 4 — Upload an IFC model (≈ 8 minutes)​

Goal: attach a 3D BIM model to your building and view it in the BIM viewer.

  1. Open the building you just created.
  2. Switch to the Map or BIM viewer.
  3. Use the Add tool in the toolbar to add your IFC file onto the panel, or click Upload and select it. Small files (under 50 MB) finish in under a minute; larger files take longer. You can also use the File section on the app sidebar to manage uploads and see progress.
  4. Once processing is complete, switch to the BIM Viewer from the left sidebar and select your file.
  5. Use left-click + drag to orbit, right-click + drag to pan, and the scroll wheel to zoom. Click any element to see its IFC property sets in the right panel.

Result: your IFC model loads in the browser, navigable in 3D, with full property-set inspection. The platform converts the file to Fragments format on upload, so subsequent loads are fast.

For more, see the BIM Viewer guide.

Step 5 — Add a teammate (≈ 5 minutes)​

Goal: share what you have built with another user in your organization. This step requires the Admin role.

  1. Open Settings → Users from the left sidebar.
  2. Click Add User.
  3. In the Create New User dialog, fill in Name, Email, Role (Viewer / User / Admin), and a Temporary Password to share with them.
  4. Click Create User.

The teammate appears in the users list and can sign in with the temporary password.

Result: another user can now access the building and IFC model you uploaded, scoped to the permissions of their role.

For the full role reference, see Managing roles and permissions.

Verify everything works​

You should now be able to:

  • ✅ Sign in and reach the Map Viewer
  • ✅ Pan, zoom, and search the map
  • ✅ Toggle an open-data layer and click features for attributes
  • ✅ See your new building on the map and in the buildings list
  • ✅ Open your IFC model in the BIM viewer and inspect element properties
  • ✅ See an invited teammate in the members list

If any step did not work as expected, see the Troubleshooting page.

Next steps​

Pick the path that matches what you want to do next:

Need help? Reach out via the contact form or the core repository on GitHub.