What each list means
Uploaded
The file is in DirtView and is being read and indexed. It is not usable yet. Nobody can search it, and you can’t attach its sections to anything.
Published
The book is live. Sections are searchable, they can be attached to submittals, and Spec Ask can answer against them.
Do it in order
1
Upload the spec book PDF
The whole book, one file.
2
Wait for indexing to finish
It’s reading the book and finding the sections.
3
Review what it found
Check that the section numbers look like your book before you publish.
4
Publish
Now it’s real. Skip this step and everything downstream quietly doesn’t work — that’s the support ticket.
Next
Sections and submittals
Where the 00 20 00 on a submittal comes from.
Ask the specs
Get an answer with the section it came from.