Access templates when creating a new project.

Why is it useful?

Many organisations use Bentley Component Center as the central source of approved design content, including project templates, drawing templates, seed files, standards and reusable components. However, users currently need to download templates and store them locally before creating new projects or drawings. This creates a risk that outdated templates may continue to be used after updates have been released, resulting in inconsistencies, reduced compliance with company standards, and additional quality assurance effort.

Providing direct access to approved templates from within integrated design applications would ensure that users always start from the latest published version. This would improve governance, increase standardisation, reduce rework, and strengthen Component Center's role as the single source of truth for design content.

Who would benefit from it?

• Design engineers, technicians and modellers who regularly create new projects, models and drawings.

• CAD and BIM managers responsible for maintaining company standards and templates.

• Organisations operating controlled design environments where compliance and consistency are critical.

• Administrators managing libraries of approved templates within Bentley Component Center.

• Large organisations with multiple offices, disciplines or regions that need to ensure consistent adoption of updated templates.

How should it work?

When a user creates a new project, model or drawing within a Bentley application or integrated software:

1. The application connects directly to Bentley Component Center.

2. The user selects Create from Component Center Template.

3. Approved templates stored within designated Template Libraries are displayed.

4. The latest published version of the selected template is automatically used to create the new file.

5. Superseded or archived templates can be hidden or prevented from use.

6. Template version information can be recorded against the created project or drawing for traceability.

7. Administrators manage templates centrally within Component Center, removing the need for users to maintain local copies.

This would eliminate reliance on downloaded templates stored on local or network drives and ensure all new projects are created using current, approved standards. The result would be improved governance, reduced risk, and a better user experience.