Running QA Checks

Choosing a File Source

Choosing a File Source

The left panel of the Run Check tab has two tabs: Forma Files and Local Files.

Forma Files (default)

Select folders and individual files from your Autodesk Forma project. This is the primary workflow and supports all features including metadata rules, per-folder rule sets, scheduling, and re-runs.

Local Files

Upload files directly from your machine to run quality checks without needing a Forma project. This is ideal for:

• Pre-upload validation -- check files before pushing them to Forma.
• External documents -- validate files received from consultants, subcontractors, or other sources.
• Quick standalone QA -- run a fast check without setting up a Forma project connection.

How local upload works:

• Drag and drop files or click to browse. Multiple files are supported.
• Only PDFs are uploaded to the server (for content extraction). Non-PDF files (DWG, IFC, RVT, DOCX, XLSX, etc.) send only their filename and size -- no file bytes leave your browser.
• Maximum 100 MB per PDF file.
• PDF files are processed in memory and immediately discarded -- nothing is stored on our servers.
• Results are saved to the database and appear in Check History with a "Local" badge.
• The progress dialog is global -- you can navigate to other pages while the check runs and see progress from anywhere.

Rules that are skipped for local files:

Metadata-dependent rules are automatically skipped because Forma custom attributes are not available for uploaded files:

Rule Type	Local Support
Naming Convention	Yes
File Format	Yes
Content Match	Yes (PDFs)
Content Convention	Yes (PDFs)
Content Extraction	Yes (PDFs)
List Validation	Yes (filename / PDF zone sources) — skipped if source is metadata field
Numeric Range	Yes (filename / PDF zone sources) — skipped if source is metadata field
Register Cross-Reference	Yes (filename / PDF zone sources) — skipped if source is metadata field
Segment Consistency	Yes (filename / PDF zone sources) — skipped if either source is metadata field
Required Metadata	Skipped
Allowed Values	Skipped
Freshness	Skipped

Limitations of local file checks:

• Per-folder mode is not available (no folders to assign).
• Scheduling is not available (files are not stored for recurring checks).
• Re-run and re-check are not available (original files are discarded after processing).

Starting a Check

From Forma Files

1. Go to the Run Check tab.
2. Select a hub and project from the selector at the top.
3. In the left panel (Forma Files tab), tick folders from the folder tree. A badge shows the number of selected folders.
4. Toggle Include subfolders at the bottom of the folder panel (on by default).
5. In the right panel, check one or more rule sets. All rules from every selected set are combined for the check. Use the text filter at the top of the rule set panel to search by name when you have many rule sets.
6. Click Run Check.

From Local Files

1. Go to the Run Check tab.
2. Switch to the Local Files tab in the left panel.
3. Drag and drop files or click to browse. Added files appear in a list with their sizes.
4. In the right panel, check one or more rule sets.
5. Click Run Check. Files are uploaded to the server and the check begins.

The divider between the Folders and Rule Set panels is a resizable splitter -- drag it left or right to adjust the panel widths. Your preferred width is saved in the browser and persists between sessions.

Recent Checks

The right side of the Run Check tab shows a Recent Checks panel listing the last 10 check runs. Each entry displays:

• Pass/fail status with a colour indicator.
• A progress bar showing the pass rate.
• The rule set name used.

Click any entry to jump directly to its details in the Check History tab.

Multi-Rule-Set Selection

In single mode (the default), the rule set panel displays all available rule sets as a checklist. You can select any combination:

• Check a rule set to enable it -- all its rules are included in the check.
• Uncheck a rule set to exclude it -- all its rules are removed.
• Expand a rule set by clicking its row to reveal individual rules. Toggle rules on or off with per-rule checkboxes. If you uncheck every rule in a set, the set itself is automatically unchecked.
• Collapse a rule set by clicking the row again to hide its rules.

Rules from all selected sets are merged and evaluated together against each file. If two rule sets contain rules of the same type, both rules are applied independently.

Per-Folder Rule Sets

Toggle the Per folder switch in the rule set panel header to assign different rule sets to different folders.

When enabled:

• Each selected folder appears as a collapsible header. Click a folder to expand or collapse its rule set list.
• Within each folder, check one or more rule sets and optionally select a zone template (the template dropdown appears only if a selected rule set has content rules).
• Expand any rule set within a folder to toggle individual rules on or off for that folder.
• Subfolders inherit their parent folder's assignment.
• All folders must have at least one rule set assigned before the Run Check button is enabled.

This is ideal when your project has discipline-specific naming conventions -- e.g. architectural drawings follow one standard while structural follow another.

Temporarily Disabling Rules

In both single and per-folder modes, expand any rule set to see its individual rules. Use the checkboxes to temporarily disable specific rules for this run only. The rule set itself is not modified -- disabled selections are sent to the server and applied during the check, so disabled rules are genuinely skipped (not just hidden on the client).

The Progress Dialog

The progress dialog is global -- it stays visible as a floating indicator even if you navigate to other pages. Click Run in Background to minimise it to a small button in the bottom-right corner. Click the button to expand it again at any time.

While a check runs, the progress dialog shows:

Element	Description
Phase stepper	Five coloured bars: Files, Metadata, PDFs, Rules, Save. Green = complete, blue (pulsing) = active, grey = pending.
File breakdown	Total files, PDFs, and non-PDF count (appears after file resolution).
Progress bar	Current phase progress with processed/total count and elapsed time.
Time remaining	Estimated seconds remaining based on current rate (appears after 2 seconds).
Live counters	Passed / Failed / Warnings / Skipped cards that update in real time during rule evaluation.
Rule set info	Collapsible section showing the active rule set and its rules, or per-folder mappings.

Cancelling

Click Cancel at any time. The check stops and the run is marked as Cancelled in the history. Files already evaluated retain their results.

Re-Running and Re-Checking

Time Saved Estimate

Each completed check run in the history displays a time saved estimate next to its duration -- for example, "45s (~134min saved)". This shows how long the automated check took versus the estimated time for a manual review of the same files. The calculation assumes 3 minutes per file for manual review plus 20 minutes per batch for report compilation. Over time, the dashboard aggregates these savings into a total hours-saved figure.

Re-Run Entire Check

In the Check History tab, expand a completed check and click Re-run. This creates a new check run with the same folders, rule set, and settings.

Re-Check Individual Files

Click the re-check icon on a specific file result to re-evaluate just that file. Useful after correcting a naming issue or updating metadata.

Re-Check Failed Files Only

Click Re-check failed to re-run the check on only the files that previously failed. Passed and skipped files are not re-checked.

What Happens with Non-PDF Files?

• Metadata-based rules (naming, required metadata, allowed values, format, freshness) apply to all file types.
• List & range rules (List Validation, Numeric Range, Register Cross-Reference, Segment Consistency) apply to all file types when the value source is filename or metadata. They only apply to PDFs when the value source is a PDF zone.
• Content rules (Content Match, Content Convention, Content Extraction) only apply to PDFs.
• If a rule set contains only content rules, non-PDF files are marked as Skipped and do not affect the pass rate.
• If a rule set has both metadata and content rules, non-PDF files are checked against the metadata rules only.

Next Steps

• Understanding Check Results -- interpret pass/fail, violations, and status workflow
• Scheduling Recurring Checks -- automate checks on a cron schedule