LocusSync Collaboration

LocusSync Collaboration

LocusSync enables real-time collaboration across multiple LocusBIM instances. Changes to markups, issues, comments, and chat messages sync automatically between connected peers, with no manual refresh or file sharing required.

Starting a Session

Open the LocusSync panel from the menu bar and click Start new session. There is no separate "create" step. A room comes into existence the moment the first person joins a unique Room ID, and that person becomes the host. LocusBIM generates the Room ID for you and joins it in one click. All data in the room is shared in real time.

Before starting, you can enter an optional Session Name (e.g. "Mechanical Coordination, Level 3"). It both labels the room for easy identification later and is folded into the generated Room ID. The active session panel shows the friendly name and a Copy Invite button that copies the session name and Room ID to your clipboard, ready to paste into an email or chat.

To join a session someone else started, enter the Room ID they shared under or join an existing session and click Join. Any Room ID works; there is no organization-prefix requirement, it just has to match the one the host shared.

Recent Sessions

The last 8 rooms you joined are listed under Recent Sessions in the Sync panel. Click any entry to rejoin instantly, with no need to re-enter the room ID.

Presence & Follow Mode

Everyone in a session appears in the participant facepile next to the sync status bar, each with a stable colour that stays the same every time they reconnect. On the PDF you see each teammate's live cursor labelled with their name and the tool they currently have selected, so it is always clear who is doing what and where.

Click a participant in the facepile to follow them. Your view rides their page and zoom as they move through the document, which is ideal when someone is walking the room through a set of sheets. Click again (or move your own view) to stop following.

Sharing a Document: Share Page or Share PDF

A teammate who does not have the file open can still collaborate. Use the share controls in the menu bar to put what is on your screen in front of the whole room, the same way you would share a screen, except fully interactive rather than just a picture.

A banner shows what is currently shared and by whom. Click Stop sharing to end it. A shared page closes for everyone, and a shared PDF stays open as a normal document on each participant's machine.

Sharing Limits

Host Controls & Joining

The person who starts a session is its host. If the host leaves, the role passes automatically to another participant so the session keeps running. When starting a session the host can choose how the room behaves:

The host can admit or decline people waiting to join, remove a participant, or hand the host role to someone else. These controls are enforced by the server, so they hold even if someone is running a modified client.

Project Rooms vs Quick Sessions

When you start a session you choose how long it should last:

In a Project room, members you have admitted can rejoin anytime; someone you remove loses access. A new person still needs the Room ID, and an approval room still asks the host before letting them in.

Closing a Room & Expiry

A Project room stays available until the host closes it or it reaches its expiry date. The host can Close room at any time, or set an expiry (up to 90 days, 30 by default). Everyone sees how long is left.

When the host shares a file, they choose what happens to everyone else's copy once the session ends. By default the shared file is removed from members on close, so a document shared for a working session does not stay behind on other people's machines. The host can instead choose Members keep it, either when starting the session or in the confirmation shown when closing the room. If the file is set to be removed, closing the room closes that shared document for each member and deletes their downloaded copy and its markups.

Working Offline

If your connection drops, keep working. Markups, issues, and comments you make are saved on your machine right away, and the sync status bar shows a badge for changes waiting to upload. When the connection returns they are sent to the room automatically. Live cursors are the one thing not queued, since a stale pointer position is not worth replaying.

Khatam in a Session

Khatam, the on-device assistant, can help you keep up with a busy room. Both features are read-only suggestions: they summarize activity and never change the document or the room.

What Syncs

In-Session Chat

Every sync room has a built-in chat panel for quick coordination without leaving the app. Click the Chat toggle in the menu bar (it appears next to the sync status bar whenever you are in a session) to open the panel. Messages from teammates appear on the left in a neutral colour; your own messages appear on the right in the accent colour. The toggle shows an unread badge ("3", "10", up to "99+") when remote messages arrive while the panel is closed.

Pending Changes Indicator

The sync status bar shows a badge when there are local changes waiting to upload, for example markups drawn while offline or comments posted before the connection is ready. The badge clears automatically once everything is synced.

Offline Behaviour

If the connection drops, LocusBIM continues to work normally. Markup, issue, and comment changes are queued locally and sent automatically when the connection returns. If two people change the same thing while disconnected, the most recent edit wins.

Chat is the one exception: chat messages typed while disconnected are not queued (chat is live broadcast only). Wait for the connection indicator to go green before typing time-sensitive messages.