Archicad Teamwork Migration: Choose the Path, Check Eligibility, and Plan Recovery

Plan an Archicad Teamwork move by identifying the documented migration path first. Graphisoft describes both the Teamwork Multiproject Migration Tool and a release-specific Archicad 29 migration workflow. Their eligibility ranges and procedures are separate; do not combine them into one broader support claim. Neither guide establishes that a particular BIMcloud, project, or migration is ready or will succeed.

Choose the documented path

Confirm the exact product versions and current vendor instructions before planning a maintenance window. The cited pages do not specify every possible upgrade combination or establish behavior for other destination releases.

Check TMMT prerequisites before scheduling

Graphisoft’s TMMT preparation guidance sets several gates. Treat these as a preflight list for the named tool, not as proof that a project is eligible:

• BIMcloud: Use BIMcloud 2027 or later; BIMcloud Basic is excluded. For on-premises systems, Graphisoft requires the Manager and Server components to be on version 2027 or later, servers running, and enough space for both original and migrated projects.
• SaaS authentication: For projects on Archicad 29 or earlier, Graphisoft specifies legacy authentication and disabling Graphisoft ID multi-factor authentication for the migration user. Keep this condition limited to the versions and SaaS path named by the source.
• Operator access: Confirm the required BIMcloud license, parent-folder rights, and project permissions. On-premises Simplified Management deployments have the source’s stated Project Administrator or Server Administrator requirement.
• Installed Archicad builds: Install and license the source versions and updates used by the selected projects and the target version. Each source version must already have connected to the BIMcloud by opening Archicad and a Teamwork project. The source says Archicad 20 and 21 may need their installation folders selected manually; Solo and Start Edition are unsupported.
• Version match: Prepare each project with the same Archicad major version and updates used by that project. The source says a higher major version cannot migrate an older project. It also describes a same-major, higher-update build temporarily updating the original project and restoring it after migration.
• Workstation and downtime: Close all Archicad instances. Provide local cache/log space, a stable internet and BIMcloud connection, and uninterrupted power; Graphisoft warns the process repeatedly opens and closes Archicad and uses substantial CPU, memory, and disk. Arrange for users to leave projects and send their work first: migration disconnects joined users, and unsent progress can be lost.

Verify the current server, license, account, permission, project build, storage, and workstation state with the responsible administrator. The source requirements do not verify any specific deployment.

Follow the Archicad 29 two-stage workflow

The Archicad 29 instructions cover Teamwork projects from versions 17–27. For each project, keep the two stages and matching client versions clear:

1. Install the matching older Archicad version and Archicad 29 on the client, and make sure the operator can add a project to the destination BIMcloud server.
2. In the older Archicad environment, have the other users send their changes and leave the project. Graphisoft warns that unsent changes may be lost.
3. Open the Teamwork project in its source version. Run Teamwork → Project → Migrate Project → Prepare for Migration, then complete preparation. Repeat for each project that needs to move.
4. In Archicad 29, open the migration command and select the prepared projects. A project that is unavailable or shown as disabled cannot be migrated at that time; Graphisoft gives an offline server as one possible reason.
5. Decide whether to migrate the Archicad libraries. If selected, the documented operation replaces currently used libraries with Archicad Library 29 and required migration libraries; otherwise the existing libraries continue.
6. Choose a destination server where the operator is signed in and has permission to add a project, then migrate the selected projects.

These are documented controls, not a guarantee that a selected project will migrate successfully or retain every property.

Account for collaboration history and dependencies

The Archicad 29 guide says the migrated upload includes existing users and their roles. It also explicitly lists the Project Log, Comments, messages, and reservations as deleted during migration. Do not treat the retained users and roles as proof that all permissions, history, or collaboration state carry over. If named records matter to the project, decide how to preserve or record them before migration; the cited source does not describe an export procedure for that history.

Inventory hotlinked modules and drawings that point to older Teamwork projects. Graphisoft says those source projects must also be migrated. When they were on the same server, the host project can locate them after all are migrated; sources on a different server need manual relinking. The guide also says library objects may appear temporarily missing and that another user performing Send and Receive can resolve that condition. Check the actual host project, referenced sources, libraries, and user access after the move.

Choose a final state and recovery option

TMMT presents separate choices after migration:

• Use migrated projects and keep originals. Both sets remain available. This preserves the original projects in the tool’s documented final state, but is not a claim that they contain unsent local work or every dependency.
• Use migrated projects and delete originals and snapshots. This prevents restoration through the tool; Graphisoft says to choose it only when storage is severely limited.
• Restore original projects. This removes the migrated projects and restores originals, but does not rejoin users. Graphisoft says affected users must save unsent changes locally before rejoining.

If only some projects fail, Graphisoft documents either restoring all originals or proceeding with successful migrated projects while keeping originals and retrying failed projects in a later run. A retry or restoration is not guaranteed by that description. Allow additional BIMcloud delete/restore operations to finish before closing the tool or shutting down the computer.

Verify the recipient’s working state

After the chosen path, check the destination project with its intended users and Archicad build. Confirm project identity, access and roles, required libraries, hotlink targets, and the files and collaboration records the team needs. Have recipients open the project and perform the required receive or review operations. Record missing or unresolved items and compare them with the project task’s acceptance criteria; the presence of a migrated project alone is not acceptance evidence.

For general recipient permissions and versioned managed-state checks, see Managed CAD Sharing. For choosing among managed, packaged, and file-based routes, see Reference, Package, or Neutral File?.

Key points

• Keep TMMT’s stated Archicad 20+ eligibility separate from the Archicad 29 guide’s Teamwork 17–27 workflow.
• Plan downtime and user departures around the documented disconnection and unsent-work risks.
• The Archicad 29 guide names collaboration history that is deleted and hotlinked projects that must also be migrated.
• Review finalization choices carefully: deleting originals prevents tool restoration, while restoring originals does not rejoin users.
• Verify the actual destination state with the project team; vendor instructions do not establish project-specific success or acceptance.