Introduction
This article will go over the methods available in FME Form for reading in data directly from ProjectWise. Regardless of the chosen method, the first step is to set up a web connection.
Setting Up a Bentley ProjectWise Web Connection
Let’s start by setting up a web connection to ProjectWise. In FME Form, navigate to Utilities, then FME Options, then Web Connections. (In FME 2025.1 and older, this can be found in Tools, then FME Options, then Web Connections).
Click on the "+" icon at the bottom of the window, then click on "Add…". In the pop-up window, select "Bentley ProjectWise" as the Web Service.
Give your connection a name.
Now you can start building out the web connection, starting with the ProjectWise Base URL. This is a link specific to your ProjectWise instance and will typically look something like: https://hostname.domain.com/ws/.
Set the ProjectWise Web API Version to 2.4.
Input your login credentials into the User and Password fields.
Your connection should look like this:
Click OK twice to save your connection and return to the canvas.
To test your new connection, add a Creator and a ProjectWiseWSGConnector to your canvas. Double-click into the ProjectWiseWGSConnector to configure the parameters.
Select "List" as the ProjectWise Action, and select your new web connection as the ProjectWise Account.
In the Project field, click on the ellipsis.
You should now be able to see your ProjectWise projects!
Considerations
1. Your ProjectWise Web API Version shouldn’t be newer than v2.8 in order for the connection to work. To check, enter your ProjectWise base URL into a browser to access the Bentley Web Services Gateway. Click "About" to be taken to the page where you can see your Web API Version.
2. Currently, FME doesn’t support Bentley’s Identity Management Service (IMS) authentication. This may be a new implementation down the line, and you can add your support by upvoting the Idea here!
Connection Methods
Now that your web connection is set up, you can start to work with your ProjectWise data in FME. There are a few options for how to go about this.
Using the ProjectWiseWSGConnector
The first method involves using the ProjectWiseWSGConnector. Start by adding a Creator, then connect a ProjectWiseWSGConnector to it. Double-click the connector to open the parameters. Select your web connection as the ProjectWise Account.
From here, select a ProjectWise Action.
| Action | Task |
| Delete | Delete files and folders. |
| Download | Download a file or folder to an attribute, file, or folder. |
| List | List the item details for the contents of a folder. |
| Upload | Upload a file, folder, or the contents of an attribute. |
The fields seen in the rest of the parameters window will change depending on the Action selected, and all fields are detailed in the ProjectWiseWSGConnector documentation.
Using the DGN Reader
The second method is to use the Bentley MicroStation Design Reader. Either the V8 or V7 reader will work.
From the reader window, click on the dropdown arrow at the end of the Dataset field. Navigate to "Select File from Web," then "Browse Bentley ProjectWise…".
From there, select your web connection and then select the file you’d like to read in.
This reader is specifically designed for DGN files, and as such it has the capability to read in either the whole DGN file or only specific Levels. To read in only a specific Level, be sure to select "Individual Feature Types" as the Workflow Option in the reader.
After clicking OK, the reader will process, and a new window will pop up to let you choose which Levels you’d like to read.