In January 2023, Graphisoft began offering a cloud licensing option for Graphisoft products in addition to the original hardware and software key accessibility. The new cloud licensing technology introduces some changes to BIMcloud SaaS regarding user, license, and project management. For detailed information on these changes, please refer to this Support Site article.
This article provides essential guidance for users with legacy BIMcloud SaaS who are going through a transition from software key licensing to cloud licensing. It outlines the steps to relink existing legacy BIMcloud SaaS accounts to new cloud licenses, ensuring users retain their current BIMcloud SaaS domain, data, and settings. You will learn about the relinking process, what to do if your legacy BIMcloud SaaS and new cloud licenses are under different Graphisoft ID accounts, and how to manage licenses post-relinking. This information is crucial for administrators and contract managers.
How to switch to cloud licenses with legacy BIMcloud SaaS?
If your existing BIMcloud SaaS is running with software key licenses, but you have already migrated to cloud licenses, your key-based BIMcloud SaaS licenses will expire at the end of your legacy subscription term. However, if you want to keep your existing BIMcloud SaaS as it is now - with your current domain name, all your data such as Teamwork projects, libraries, files, and all your settings - you can do so by switching its licensing using the Relink BIMcloud SaaS process. This option becomes available after purchasing an Archicad Collaborate or standalone BIMcloud SaaS subscription in the Graphisoft Store.
Alternatively, if you prefer to create a new, empty BIMcloud SaaS instance with default settings and a new domain name, you can set it up directly through the Graphisoft Store interface. In this case, your software key-based BIMcloud SaaS and the newly created cloud-licensed BIMcloud SaaS will operate in parallel until the legacy service term and its grace period end, at which point the software key-based BIMcloud SaaS will be terminated.
Relink BIMcloud SaaS process
To switch your legacy BIMcloud SaaS to cloud licensing, use the Relink BIMcloud SaaS feature in the Graphisoft Store.
Log in with the Administrator or Contract Manager account to the Graphisoft Store.
Go to the Company & BIMcloud menu and select the BIMcloud domain panel
Select the Relink legacy BIMcloud SaaS option.
Follow the on-screen wizard to identify your legacy BIMcloud SaaS and prepare it for the license switch. Read this article to learn how to prepare.
Once the preparation is complete, start the relinking process. It may take up to 20 minutes to finish. When the process is complete, you will receive an email notification, and your BIMcloud SaaS will begin operating with cloud licenses.
Important: The Relink BIMcloud process is available only to the Administrator or Contract Manager of the Graphisoft ID Company, as they hold administrative rights for the cloud licenses.
What to do if your legacy BIMcloud SaaS belongs to a different Graphisoft ID account?
In some cases, your legacy BIMcloud SaaS subscription may have been purchased under a different Graphisoft ID account than the one holding your new cloud licenses. When this happens, the Relink BIMcloud SaaS wizard will not be able to detect your legacy BIMcloud SaaS.
To resolve this, the two Graphisoft ID Company accounts must be merged before you can proceed with the relinking process. Please contact the Graphisoft Support team by submitting a request here, on the Support site, for assistance with merging your accounts.
After the merge is complete, restart the Relink BIMcloud SaaS wizard. Your legacy BIMcloud SaaS will then be recognized, allowing you to complete the relinking process successfully.
After relinking - changes in user and license management
Once the relinking is complete, your BIMcloud SaaS will remain accessible as before, but it will now operate using cloud licenses instead of key-based licenses. From this point on, you will need to manage your cloud licenses through the License Management portal by assigning them to your colleagues.
For more information about the changes introduced with cloud licensing, see the article How to manage users and licenses in BIMcloud SaaS using cloud licensing.
Note: The licensing of your BIMcloud SaaS and Archicad instances is managed independently. You can continue to run Archicad with a software key license while connecting to a cloud-licensed BIMcloud SaaS.
However, Archicad Collaborate cloud licenses must always be assigned together — both the Archicad and BIMcloud SaaS licenses within a Collaborate package must be assigned to the same Graphisoft ID user.
If you have further questions about the Relink BIMcloud SaaS process, refer to the Relinking legacy BIMcloud SaaS FAQ or contact the Graphisoft Support team for assistance.
Related articles
Getting started with Graphisoft cloud licensing
How to manage users and licenses in BIMcloud SaaS using cloud licensing