Your first model
From your first IFC upload to a result you can understand.
3 min read · 6 sections
From IFC to a reviewable model
Each stage answers a different question. Select a stage to see what it establishes.
Upload
Add your IFC to a project. The original file is retained; the server prepares lightweight geometry and information for the browser.
Before you begin
Have an IFC file ready and sign in to ZEROBiE. If a colleague has already created the project, ask a project owner to add you. Owners and editors can upload files; viewers can inspect the project's existing information.
For a first visit, choose a model you know well. Recognizing a door, wall or floor makes it easier to check that you are looking at the right information.
Give your file a project
Open Projects and choose New project. Enter a useful name, such as the building or work package, and create it. The project opens on Files. If you are joining existing work, open that project instead.
On Files, open Add and choose Add file, or drag the file onto the page. Wait for the upload and conversion to finish. If conversion fails, read the error before retrying; transferring the same invalid file again will not repair its contents.
Upload size and processing
The default upload limit is 5 GiB per file, which is 5,368,709,120 bytes, or about 5.37 GB. It applies to IFC models and other files. A deployment can set a lower limit. A file above the configured limit is refused as too large.
An accepted upload does not guarantee that a complex IFC model can be converted within the server's time and memory limits. File size and model complexity are different: many detailed or repeated shapes can take longer to process. Keep the original file and check the reported result before continuing.
Look around and inspect one element
Open the uploaded model. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom and use the middle mouse button to pan. Fit to view brings the model back into view if you lose your place.
Click a wall or door. The Properties panel shows the information recorded for that element. Try finding the same element in the Elements list, then use Spatial to explore the building's storeys. Double-click an element to focus on it.
Run a check and read one result
Open Assure from the project rail. Choose your model and the project's rule set, then press Run Analysis. When it finishes, read the run's date and revision before the result. Quality Intelligence checks the rule catalogue; IFC Validation checks the file against buildingSMART's published IFC rules.
Open one finding and read the requirement and observation. Use its element view when one is available. If the result says not run, unavailable or not yet linked, read that qualification; none of those means the model passed. A score should be read together with the rules behind it.