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AutoCAD Plugin

Install the LocusBIM palette in AutoCAD (also Civil 3D, Plant 3D, Map 3D) for two-way issue sync directly on your DWG.

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AutoCAD Plugin

The LocusBIM AutoCAD plugin adds a dockable Issues panel inside AutoCAD (and the Civil 3D / Plant 3D / Map 3D vertical products that share the same plugin model). The panel lists every LocusBIM issue linked to the currently-open drawing; double-clicking an issue focuses LocusBIM and scrolls to that issue. AutoCAD never talks to the cloud — the connection is a loopback HTTP API to your local LocusBIM Desktop.

Supported AutoCAD versions

Key / ControlAction
AutoCAD 2020 – 2024.NET Framework 4.8 (net48) build
AutoCAD 2025+.NET 8 Windows Desktop (net8.0-windows) build
Civil 3D / Plant 3D / Map 3DSame plugin model — install once, all verticals see it

Installing

The recommended path is the in-app installer:

  1. Make sure LocusBIM Desktop is running and AutoCAD is closed.
  2. From LocusBIM Desktop, open Help ▸ Install CAD Plugins….
  3. The dialog detects installed AutoCAD versions via the Windows registry and pre-selects the AutoCAD row. Click Install.
  4. LocusBIM drops the bundle into %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\LocusBIM.bundle\ — AutoCAD auto-loads it on next launch.
Tip: Enterprise IT teams pushing the plugin via SCCM / Intune / Group Policy can use the standalone .msi from locusbim.com/downloads instead. The .msi writes to the same %APPDATA% path so the user experience is identical.

Using the Issues panel

Once installed, three commands are available at the AutoCAD command line. They're case-insensitive — type the keyword and press Enter.

Key / ControlAction
LBIM_PANELShow / focus the LocusBIM Issues panel
LBIM_REFRESHRe-query LocusBIM for issues linked to the active drawing
LBIM_HEALTHCheck that LocusBIM Desktop is reachable and the API token is valid

What the panel shows

The panel is a four-column list — ID, Title, Status, Priority. Row backgrounds tint by status (muted green for closed, muted amber for in-progress, neutral for open). Issues are filtered to the active drawing's filename (basename only — so Plan-A1.dwg from any path matches issues tagged with that filename in LocusBIM). The Refresh button at the bottom re-queries.

Tip: Double-clicking an issue row sends a POST to LocusBIM's local API, which focuses the LocusBIM window and scrolls to the issue. If LocusBIM is closed, the click is a no-op — start LocusBIM first.

Create a LocusBIM issue from inside AutoCAD

Click the green + New issue button at the bottom of the Issues panel. A modal opens with fields for Title, Description, Priority (Low / Medium / High / Critical), and Category. If you have an entity selected in the AutoCAD drawing when you open the modal, the issue is auto-linked to that entity by its stable handle — closing and reopening the DWG preserves the link. The active drawing's filename is also auto-attached so the issue surfaces only when you reopen this specific project.

Click Capture screenshot to grab the current viewport as a PNG; the captured size is shown next to the button. Submit posts everything to LocusBIM and the new issue appears in the panel on the next refresh.

Tip: The dialog never sends your DWG file content — only the entity's handle string, the drawing's basename, your typed title / description, and (if captured) the viewport screenshot bytes. Pre-fill is purely a UX convenience; you can edit any field before submitting.

How it talks to LocusBIM

The plugin reads %APPDATA%\com.locusbim.app\cad-api.json on startup to find LocusBIM's loopback HTTP API port + bearer token. Both are minted by LocusBIM on first launch and rotate when LocusBIM is reinstalled. The plugin never reaches outside 127.0.0.1, never sends drawing geometry, and never authenticates with anything beyond the local token.

Troubleshooting

Key / ControlAction
No issues shownVerify the .dwg filename matches the file linked in LocusBIM (basename comparison — capitalisation matters on Windows for some configurations)
"LocusBIM not running"Start LocusBIM Desktop. The panel re-checks the API on every Refresh click — no need to restart AutoCAD
Commands not recognisedThe plugin failed to load. Use the in-app installer's "Open folder" to verify files are in the bundle path; then restart AutoCAD
Port conflict in the health checkLocusBIM picks the first free port in 18900-18905. cad-api.json reflects the current port — close + reopen LocusBIM if it doesn't auto-recover
Related topics
  • Issue TrackingTrack RFIs, clashes, and coordination issues with AI-suggested categories and urgency tags, plus full BCF 2.1 round-trip.
  • Revit PluginExport Revit models as GLB, live-sync to LocusBIM, and surface the issues panel directly inside Revit for two-way coordination.
  • MicroStation PluginInstall the LocusBIM panel in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT Edition for live issue tracking on your DGN files.