BIM viewer

The BIM viewer shows IFC models in 3D: you rotate and zoom the building, hide components, cut the model open, measure distances and angles, compare two model versions and create tickets directly on a component. You can reach it in three places: in the plan details of an IFC plan, in the plan tile on the Tickets page for an IFC plan, and in the Files area when you click an IFC file.

Requirement: Bim module

The BIM viewer is part of the Bim module, which must be enabled for your company. Without the module the app behaves as follows:

• Plans: What counts is the module of the company that created the project. If it is missing, you get the message Bim module is required when you upload an IFC plan. If you open an existing IFC plan, you see Model could not be loaded. Projects that were not created by a company do not support IFC plans.

• Files: Here the module of your own company counts. Without the module, an IFC file is treated like any other file: it does not open in the viewer, you can only download it.

If you do not see the viewer, contact your company admin or upmesh support.

Opening an IFC from Files

Upload an .ifc file in the Files area like any other file. A click on the file opens the viewer in full screen. Use the cross at the top to close it again. With the action Add to Plans you can also turn an IFC file into a plan or a plan version. For this you need the rights to create plans or plan versions.

Opening an IFC as a plan or plan version

In the Plans area you start the upload with the round plus button at the bottom right. The label of the file selection only mentions PDF and image, but IFC files are accepted as well. You upload a new version of an existing plan on the Versions tab. An IFC plan consists of the 3D model; it has no zoom levels like a PDF or image. You see the model in the plan preview, in the plan tile on the Tickets page and in the opened plan version.

Effect on others: An uploaded IFC plan or a new IFC version is visible to all project members with read access to plans. Uploading and downloading plans are tied to the same right, creating plan versions. In the default roles only the project manager has it.

First opening: model is being converted

When you open a model for the first time, the server converts the IFC file into a format for display. During this time the center shows Model is being converted…. The app checks automatically every 5 seconds and waits up to 15 minutes; after that Model could not be loaded appears. For large models the conversion can therefore take a while. If you upload a model as a plan, or to Files with the module, the conversion already starts during the upload, so the first opening is usually instant. The converted model is cached, every further opening is much faster.

Operation and tools

The toolbar consists of icons; the label appears as a tooltip. On smartphones and tablets the toolbar scrolls; on the web the Other tools menu holds entries that no longer fit into the toolbar. Where the toolbar sits (top, left, right or bottom) you set in the settings in the area Plans & BIM. The setting applies to this device only.

Navigation

• Orbit and Walking (First Person): One icon switches between the two modes; the tooltip always names the mode you switch to. A double click on an object makes the camera fly there.

• Zoom in on model shows the whole building, Zoom in on selection jumps to the selected objects and is disabled without a selection.

• Top view, Front view, Side view and Isometric view put the camera in a fixed position.

• Orthogonal projection and Perspective projection: The switch toggles between a distortion-free and a perspective display.

Selecting, isolating and hiding

• A click selects an object; a click on empty space or a second click on the selected object clears the selection. Selected objects are highlighted in green.

• Multi-select: On the web you select several objects by holding the Ctrl key, Esc clears the selection. On touch devices you switch on the Multiple choice tool for this.

• Isolate selection hides everything except the selection. Hide selection hides the selection. Make others transparent shows everything except the selection as an X-ray image. Show all restores the initial state.

Sections

With X-axis intersection, Y-axis intersection and Z-axis section you place a section plane through the center of the model and move it with the control that appears. Every click adds another plane, so you can use several at the same time. Reset intersections removes all planes.

Measuring

Measure distance and Measure angles are two separate modes, only one is active at a time. You set the measuring points by clicking or tapping; the points snap to edges and corners. Nothing is selected while you measure. You remove a single measurement with a right click (web) or a long press (touch) on Remove this measurement. Remove all measurements deletes all measurements and ends the measuring mode.

Model structure

The Model structure icon opens a panel on the left with three tabs:

• Objects: the hierarchy of project, building, floor and component.

• Classes: all components grouped by IFC class, alphabetically.

• Floors: the floors as separate subtrees.

The search field finds hits in the title and in the IFC class and expands them automatically. Arrows expand and collapse nodes, the checkbox switches the visibility of the whole node. A click on the title selects the group and zooms to it.

Properties

As soon as you select an object, the Characteristics panel on the right shows the name, the IFC class and the GUID, followed by the IFC attributes and the property sets with their values. Numbers are shown with their unit, long decimal numbers are shortened, and a tap on the row shows the full value. With a multiple selection you see one block per object; from 25 objects on, the rest is summarized as a number. With the cross you close the panel, it reappears with the next selection.

2D floor map

If the model has floors, the 2D floor map icon is available. It opens a menu with the sizes Off, Small, Medium, Large, Split (2D left, 3D right) and Full. The map shows a floor plan of the current floor; a red arrow marks the position and viewing direction of the camera. A click into the floor plan makes the camera fly to that spot at eye level and switches to walking.

• The floor follows the camera height automatically.

• In the sizes Large, Split and Full you choose a fixed floor with Select floor (Automatically or the floor name). There you also see the ticket markers of the selected floor; a click on one opens the ticket.

• The selected size is stored on this device only, the default is Small.

Comparing two IFC versions

You can lay two IFC versions of the same plan on top of each other and see what has changed. There are three ways:

1. In the plan on the Versions tab tap Compare, then select two versions and tap Compare at the bottom. If you select a third version, it replaces the oldest selection.

2. In an opened, non-active version tap the compare icon Compare to the active version at the top.

3. In the viewer itself via Compare with version. The menu shows the other IFC versions of the plan; the opened version counts as the newer state, the selected one as the older state.

With the first two ways the version with the lower number is the older state. Only IFC versions can be compared with each other. An IFC version cannot be compared with a PDF or image version, in that case This version cannot be compared. appears. You compare versions that are PDF or image files as described in the article Plan details and plan versions in the project.

The legend shows the four groups with the number of components:

• New (green): components that exist only in the newer state.

• Removed (red): components that existed only in the older state.

• Changed (orange): components whose position or extent has changed. The older state is shown as a faint silhouette behind it.

• Unchanged (grey): all other components, shown faintly.

On each row you zoom to the components of the group or show and hide them with the eye. With the cross in the legend (End comparison) you end the comparison; visibility and camera return to the state before.

Important: The comparison identifies components by their IFC GUID. It only detects displacements and size changes. If the shape of a component changes without its outline changing, it is shown as unchanged.

Effect on others: The comparison is only a view on your device. It does not change any data, and nobody else sees it.

Offline use in the app

You can use the BIM viewer in the mobile app (iOS and Android) without internet if the project has been made available offline. This does not exist on the web, where Offline project files are only available in the mobile app. appears.

In the app, tap the cloud icon in the project list to open the Offline deployment dialog. For IFC models the following applies:

• Plans: For each plan the active version is loaded, with model, metadata and preview. Older or inactive versions are not included, so a version comparison usually needs an internet connection.

• Files: With the Files switch turned on, all IFC files from the project files are loaded as well.

• In addition, the app downloads the viewer's program library once. If you open the viewer for the first time without any internet and have not loaded it yet, it does not start.

• Models that have not been converted yet are tried again at the next synchronization.

IFC models can become large and take up the corresponding storage on your device. The estimate in the dialog shows how much space the deployment needs.

Effect on others: The offline deployment applies to your device only.

Creating a ticket on a component

On the Tickets page, the plan tile of an IFC plan shows the BIM viewer. Select a component there and tap Create ticket on component. The icon is disabled without a selection. The ticket is created immediately and the ticket dialog opens; the title is initially No Title. You need the right to create tickets, otherwise You have no permission to perform the action appears. In the default roles the observer does not have this right.

The ticket stores:

• the GUIDs of the selected components,

• the viewpoint: camera, selection, visibility and section planes,

• the name of the component (with several components the first three names, then the number of further ones),

• the position as a marker in the model.

In the ticket, Plan affiliation shows the plan name with Component: name, plus two preview images: the whole model with the component highlighted, and the saved detail view. A click on the preview opens the Tickets page of the plan and restores the saved viewpoint, with camera, selection, visibility and sections. In the model, tickets appear as markers with the ticket number; the color shows the status. A click on a marker opens the ticket. Alternatively you create a ticket with a position only, without a component reference, by long-pressing in the model.

Important effect: If you later change the plan affiliation or the position of the ticket, the component reference and the viewpoint are lost. When you duplicate a ticket, the component reference and the viewpoint are only copied if you tick the option Plan.

Effect on others: The ticket is visible like any other ticket to all project members with read access, including the component reference and marker.

Note: The function only exists in the plan tile on the Tickets page. In the plan preview under Plans and in the viewer from Files the icon is missing.

Saving a BCF viewpoint

If you have opened an IFC file from the Files area, you can save the current view with Save BCF viewpoint in project. For this the app creates a file viewpoint_date_time.bcf.json in the same folder as the IFC file. It contains camera, selection, visibility and section planes. If you later click this file in Files, the associated IFC model opens with exactly this view. The icon does not exist in the plan viewer.

Effect on others: The saved file is a normal project file and is visible to all project members who may read the folder.

What applies to your device only

Selection, hidden components, sections and measurements are not saved and are not visible to others. They are only kept if you save them via a ticket on a component or a BCF viewpoint. The position of the toolbar and the size of the floor map are stored per device.