Construction Viz

Project Management Perfect

Jeff Lydon

Construction Viz Makes Handling Photos and Video Easy

Construction Viz |

The ability to take images and video in the field and store them online is one of the most asked-for features of a construction project management system. Unfortunately, most systems only allow uploading images and videos to folders. Construction Viz, for Microsoft 365, makes it easy to work with photos and video while allowing for metadata tagging, enhanced search, and reporting!

Check out this article to find out how capturing project photos and videos in Construction Viz offers many advantages over competitors in the market.

What's the Difference Between Folders and Metadata?

Most construction project management systems, including OneDrive, provide image and video management within a file explorer structure where you upload files to named folders. This approach makes it simple for the user, but that simplicity comes with tradeoffs in getting that data back out for reporting and search.

With Construction Viz, we leverage metadata to store the files, making them easy to search and retrieve.

How Construction Viz Handles Photos and Video

When a user takes a photo or uploads multiple images or videos out in the field, Construction Viz displays thumbnails in an interactive grid so that the user can add key metadata, such as a title and description, before saving the files. The key is making this step as easy as possible so the end user can quickly, easily, and correctly tag metadata.

Construction Viz provides you with three opportunities to get it right:

1. On upload of the file. Users can edit the photo and video metadata on the upload screen.

2. Once saved in the image grid. Users can edit the image grid and update metadata after saving the photo.

3. From the grid flyout menu. Users can click on a photo and open a flyout menu that displays a larger image's thumbnail and metadata in a form layout for ease of editing.

How Do I Get To My Photos?

You can activate the Construction Viz image uploader in any app. You read that right, not just a daily report or an inspection report. You can access and upload media to any of the other 50+ Construction Viz apps.

All images are available in the app grids, allowing you to sort, group, and filter them using the added metadata. And you can create custom project and personal views using the same metadata so you can easily find what you are looking for.

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How Does SharePoint Factor Into This?

Construction Viz stores metadata with the image in the SharePoint site where it is deployed. Specifically, images are stored in SharePoint document libraries, and the metadata in Construction Viz is displayed as columns. This file storage approach provides the added benefit of being able to leverage SharePoint search, view filtering, Copilot AI, and the ability to archive in place.

Streamline Your Construction Project Management

If you are interested in Microsoft 365 to manage your construction projects, you can request a free one-hour consultation with our professionals at LydonSolutions.com.

If you are looking for a turnkey construction management solution for your Microsoft 365, you can request a demo of Construction Viz here.

Request a Free Demo

Construction Viz Has Now Entered the Microsoft Dataverse!

News |

Our initial tests to deploy Construction Viz to the Dataverse have been successful. Find out how deploying Construction Viz to YOUR Dataverse opens up a whole new world of possibilities!

Construction Viz is an enterprise construction management solution deployed to a client’s Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online. While the code runs in the cloud, all client data remains stored in their SharePoint lists and libraries. It’s a revolutionary approach to deploying a construction management solution, but we are just getting started.

Dataverse, here we come in 2025!

What’s Microsoft Dataverse?

Microsoft Dataverse is a secure cloud-based database in Microsoft 365 and so much more. It began as the Common Data Service for Microsoft Dynamics but is now a pillar for the modern Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Virtual Agents) and Microsoft Project for the Web.

Microsoft Dataverse provides the following:

  • Power Platform Integration. It is the underlying data platform for Microsoft’s Power Platform.
  • Ability to leverage all data technologies. The Dataverse is designed to work with any data type and incorporates all the major categories of data technologies that your organization needs—relational, non-relational, file, image, search, and data lake.
  • Rapid app development. Citizen developers can rapidly develop and deploy applications using Power Apps. The platform abstracts much of the complexity of database design.
  • Simplifies application development. Dataverse reduces development efforts by offering pre-built connectors, data types, and relationships. This simplifies the creation of applications, as developers can leverage existing structures rather than starting from scratch.

How Will Combining Construction Viz and Microsoft Dataverse Benefit You?

Our integration of Construction Viz with Microsoft Dataverse opens up multiple powerful capabilities for our clients, including:

  • Build and integrate your own applications. You will be able to build your own Power Apps using the same data source and integrate applications and data into Construction Viz. For example, you could create an offline daily report in Power Apps and access it in Construction Viz or even update Microsoft Projects through the Construction Viz hub in real time.
  • Integrate with Dynamics. Many construction organizations use Dynamics as their ERP/CRM tool. Construction Viz will extend the capabilities of Dynamics for project-centric applications, and you can share Dynamics data with Construction Viz.
  • Data consolidation. Aggregate all your data into a single location, simplifying security, analytics, and application building.
  • Database-intensive applications. Need something custom on a large scale? Instead of building an SQL Server database, which can take considerable effort, you can quickly spin up a Dataverse environment with all of these considerations already baked in.

Ready to Harness the Full Power of Construction Viz and Microsoft Dataverse?

The integration of Construction Viz with Microsoft Dataverse is more than a game-changer—it’s your opportunity to transform how your organization manages construction projects. From rapid app development to seamless data integration, the possibilities are endless.

Take the next step toward a more efficient, connected, and innovative construction management solution. Contact us today to schedule a free demo and see how Construction Viz with Dataverse can elevate your operations in 2025 and beyond.

Get a Free Demo

Construction Viz Document Control 2.0

Document Control |

Every company, project, and project manager does things differently in construction. Lydon Solutions continuously updates Construction Viz to accommodate our clients' unique business cases and integrate those features into the baseline product.

Document control is one of the cornerstones of Construction Viz, and we have recently made some powerful enhancements at our clients' request that you may find super helpful for your projects.

Check out this article to find out more.

Enhancements to Document Control in Construction Viz

There are several new document control features that we recently released that are unique to Construction Viz that might help you manage project documentation:

Tag files wherever you are

Most users store files in folders because they traditionally use File Explorer or shared drives. Folders are great, but metadata provides another level of document management because it frees you from a rigid nested folder structure.

Construction Viz leverages metadata throughout every application. With this latest update, we now allow users to tag files (including images and video) with metadata through the entire file lifecycle: On the upload file screen, within a form attachment grid, in a file-specific flyout menu, and the form documents view.

So, now there's no excuse not to assign metadata to your files. Your document control team will thank you, and the PMs can rest assured that they can find the files they are looking for.

Finalize document records

There are working files and final files. Working files are updated frequently by one or more team members. Final files are for end-user consumption, such as the final version of the contract in PDF format. You typically want to isolate these two types of files.

With the new finalize feature, you can select working file attachments in a form and click finalize to move them to another finalized file attachment area within the same form. This feature keeps the two file types separate and even allows them to be permission-controlled within the same form. This new component can also be added to any form to provide an additional layer of control at the document level.

Save and view files from another document library

You will likely use multiple related forms on a project but want to share a single file attachment location. For example, let's say you use two forms, like a Bid for the overall bid documents and Tasks for the bid requirement deliverables. Theoretically, you could have many tasks to complete a bid, but you don't want the uploaded associated files to reside in the individual Task forms. You might wish to have task files reside in the Bid form itself.

With this update, you can add the Bid form documents library to every task so that when you upload a file to a task, it is automatically saved to the Bid form, essentially sharing document libraries across forms. This new embedded component can be added to any form.

Simplify Your Construction Project Management

These pretty slick new features will help with your document management workflow, save your projects time and money, and avoid claims. You can find out more about Construction Viz on the features page.

Ready to streamline your construction project workflows? Discover how Construction Viz can revolutionize your project management. Request a free demo today and see the difference it can make for your organization.

Get a Free Demo

Construction Viz PDF Report Wizard 2.0

Construction Viz, Forms, Reporting |

Printing off a construction form such as an RFI and easily including all of the attachments is a great feature of any construction management system. With the latest update to Construction Viz, find out how we take our PDF Report Wizard feature a step further.

Construction Viz includes a PDF Report Wizard feature where users can generate a PDF binder from a form while providing the ability to add its attachments. The easy-to-follow wizard walks the user through selecting which attachments to include, the order in which they print, and providing a name for the generated PDF binder. Construction Viz automatically converts the form and any Microsoft Office attachments and images to PDF and then merges them into a PDF binder upon execution.

The Construction Viz PDF Report Wizard feature is excellent for printing one or more forms and then emailing them off to a contractor or archiving project documents.

What’s New in Construction Viz PDF Report Wizard 2.0

Construction Viz - PDF Report Wizard 2.0 -screenshot 1

In our latest update, we added a new report builder to the settings so you can create custom form reports and set default reports for your instance of Construction Viz. The new form report setting includes the ability to:

  • Create one or more reports for each form app and profile with a custom name.
  • Select which form components to include in a report.
  • Select whether to print components that contain no data.
  • Set a report as the default so it is automatically selected when you click print.
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While Construction Viz utilizes reporting via Power BI for the heavy lifting, the PDF Report Wizard is a simple tool to generate form-specific reports and attachments quickly. This new feature was a requested enhancement that provides even more flexibility to system users.

If you are looking to utilize Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online to manage your projects, check out Construction Viz for an enterprise-scale solution that allows you to get the most out of your investment in Microsoft 365. You can request a demo here. If you need help doing more with Microsoft 365, you can request a free one-hour consultation.

Request a Free Demo

Construction Viz File Manager Part Deux – New Features!

Construction Viz |

Every construction team uses Microsoft 365 SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive differently to store project files. Some use folders, others use columns to tag files, some even use the SharePoint term store, and on rare occasions, they use a combination of all three. While having the choice of how you want to manage your files is ideal, having too many options among systems and approaches leads to inconsistency and challenges in setting up projects, uploading files, organizing file locations, and searching for documents for construction projects.

We designed the Construction Viz File Manager app to be a single location to store files with a familiar user interface that is easy to use, streamlined, and simplified. It keeps users in Construction Viz instead of having to navigate to the underlying SharePoint site. At its core, the Construction Viz File Manager app allows you to use existing document libraries and folders or create new ones to upload files rather than having to navigate into SharePoint. Check out this article to learn more about the key features of the File Manager app.

Making Construction Viz File Manage Even Better

The reception to the File Manager from our clients has been great, and we have taken user feedback to heart with the latest updates.

Here are some of these new features:

  • Rename folders and files – Ability to rename files and folders easily.
  • Move files to other libraries – Move files to different document libraries and folders.
  • Copy files to other libraries - Copy files to different document libraries and folders.
  • Open in Revu – Open files in Bluebeam Revue directly from the menu.
  • Interactive breadcrumbs – Easily navigate to any level of the folder structure. Each folder name is also a hyperlink.
  • Topographic view – View and navigate to all document libraries in the SharePoint site where Construction Viz is implemented.
  • Permission notifications – The File Manager recognizes SharePoint permissions on document libraries and folders and displays a notification if you don’t have access.
  • New icon for recently uploaded files.

These new Construction Viz File Manager features will help project teams get the most out of Microsoft 365 for their construction projects. Instead of building your in-house solutions in Microsoft 365, check out Construction Viz to hit the ground running, knowing that each of your projects works the way you want. You can request a demo of Construction Viz below to learn more.

Request a Free Demo

Construction Viz is Integrated with Microsoft 365

Construction Viz |

So you started using Microsoft 365 to manage your projects, but it might not be going as planned. Perhaps you are storing documents in SharePoint or Teams and even built a couple of Power apps, but now you’re stuck. Instead of investing more time and resources into building custom tools from scratch, check out Construction Viz. Construction Viz is an enterprise construction management platform that is integrated with Microsoft 365 services so you can hit the ground running and ensure that your efforts are not lost unless you want them to be😊.

Lydon Solutions has been delivering IT solutions for the construction industry in Microsoft 365 since it was released in 2011. We know how powerful but also confusing and fraught with pitfalls Microsoft 365 can be. While the tagline is that a citizen developer can build solutions in Microsoft 365, such solutions are often lightweight, serve a niche need, can often quickly become obsolete, and require time and effort to maintain and update. Unfortunately, it can get expensive and take too long to implement this approach without IT developers getting involved.

The reality is that if you need an enterprise solution, you need the right team of IT and construction professionals to deliver the best solution.

Construction Viz Empowers You to Do More with Microsoft 365

Construction Viz can provide all of the features you need to manage your projects and programs without needing to build anything. If you have already set out on your own journey with Microsoft 365, you can still make use of what you have already invested. Construction Viz can connect to any Microsoft 365 service so that you can do things like:

And (drumroll, please) we are in the process of implementing Construction Viz in the Microsoft Dataverse! You heard that right, very soon we will be using the Dataverse as a database in addition to SharePoint. This opens up a wide range of possibilities, such as integrating into Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Business Central, as well as delivering even more complex data-driven solutions where the data remains in your tenant.

If your construction organization has committed to Microsoft 365, doesn’t it make sense to find a solution that is already baked out and does the heavy lifting so you don’t have to?

Why Construction Viz?

Read more about what sets Construction Viz apart from the competition in our new blog series:

This is the last article in the differentiation series for Construction Viz. We want to thank you if you have read through all of the prior articles. While there are many other features and functions that could be compared to competing products, at this point, you should have a pretty good idea of how Construction Viz stands out from the competition. You can request a free demo below to find out more about what Construction Viz can provide. If you are new to Microsoft 365 and need help setting it up or delivering solutions, you can request a free one-hour consultation.

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