Overview

The Dusty Portal is the central place where teams manage projects, files, and access across office and field workflows. Understanding user roles and project sharing is critical to ensuring the right people can view, edit, and publish layout files without creating confusion or access issues.

This article explains the available user roles, what each role can and cannot do, and how projects are shared across teams. The Dusty team will set up a portal invite initially for each customer's organization.

What You’ll See

You may need this article if:

• A user cannot see a project or file in the Portal
• A user can view a project, but cannot edit or publish files
• A subcontractor or partner needs access to a specific project
• Too many users have edit access, causing confusion

Why This Matters

Portal permissions directly affect file integrity and project coordination. Assigning the correct role:

• Prevents accidental edits or deletions
• Keeps publishing workflows controlled
• Ensures field teams always see the correct, approved files

User Roles in the Dusty Portal

Admin

Admins have full control over the Portal environment.

What Admins Can Do

• Create and manage projects
• Add and remove users
• Assign and change user roles
• View, edit, and publish all files
• Manage project sharing

Typical Users

• Company administrators
• VDC or BIM leadership

Editor

Editors manage project files but do not manage users.

What Editors Can Do

• Upload, edit, and publish files
• Manage layout content within projects
• View all shared projects

What Editors Cannot Do

• Add or remove users
• Change user roles

Typical Users

• VDC team members
• BIM coordinators

Viewer

Viewers have read-only access.

What Viewers Can Do

• View projects and files shared with them
• Download files when permitted

What Viewers Cannot Do

• Edit or publish files
• Upload new content
• Change project settings

Typical Users

• Field operators
• Project managers
• Superintendents

Project Sharing in the Dusty Portal

How Project Sharing Works

Projects are shared explicitly with users. A user will only see projects that have been shared with them or that they created.

Sharing controls:

• Which projects a user can access
• What actions can they take within that project

Sharing a Project

To share a project:

1. Open the project in the Dusty Portal
2. Select the project sharing or access settings
3. Add the user by email address
4. Assign the appropriate role for that user

Changes take effect immediately.

Working With External Partners

When sharing projects with subcontractors, consultants, or partners:

• Assign the lowest role necessary (typically Viewer)
• Avoid Admin access unless explicitly required
• Confirm ownership of file publishing responsibilities

This helps prevent accidental overwrites or conflicting files.

Common Access Issues and Resolutions

User Cannot See a Project

• Confirm the project has been shared with the user
• Confirm the email address matches the user’s Portal login
• Verify the user is logged into the correct company account

User Cannot Edit or Publish

• Check that the user is assigned the Editor or Admin role
• Viewers cannot publish or modify files

Too Many Users Editing Files

• Limit Editor roles to designated file owners
• Use Viewers for read-only access

User already exists when adding them as a Guest User to a Project

• This message appears when the user already exists in the Organization as an Admin or Editor.
  This indicates they already have access to all projects in the Organization and do not need to be added again at the project level.

   

  User already does not exist when inviting them as a Guest Editor / Viewer for a Project

• This message appears when inviting someone as a Guest Editor or Viewer who does not currently exist as a user in the Organization.
• This commonly occurs when:
  • The user belongs to a different Organization, or
  • The user has not yet been added as an Admin or Editor in the Organization
• If the intent is for this user to have access to all projects in the Organization, they must be invited as an Editor at the Organization level.
• If the intent is to limit their access to specific projects only, keep them as a Guest Editor or Viewer.

• If you are unsure which level of access is appropriate, contact your assigned Dusty Implementation Manager or VDC Solutions Specialist before proceeding.

   

Best Practices

• Assign Admins sparingly
• Limit Editors to users responsible for file prep and publishing
• Use Viewers for field and project stakeholders
• Review project access at major project milestones
• Deactivate users no longer involved