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Tutorials BimCraft help Getting started

Getting started with BimCraft

What BimCraft does today, how to open your first model, look at it in 3D, change one value and save a copy.

Written for BimCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.

BimCraft is the building-model app of the CadCraft family. In this build it opens, reads and inspects building files, and it edits the data in IFC models. It does not draw or model new elements yet. Think of it as a model viewer and checker that also lets you correct names, tags and property values in an IFC file.

What it opens:

FileWhat you get
IFC (.ifc)The full model in 3D: orbit, storeys, element properties, and editing of names and property values
Project and family files (.rvt, .rfa, .rte, .rft)A file card: the release it was saved in, project information, the preview picture and linked files. No 3D.
DWG and DXFThe drawing in 2D: model space and every sheet, layers, linked drawings, print view, and an equipment schedule for tagged foodservice drawings
A project folderA report of every model in the folder: backups, links, damaged copies, and a suggestion of which file to start with

Everything happens in your browser, on your computer. Nothing is uploaded. See Files BimCraft opens and saves for the details.

Open BimCraft

  1. Open BimCraft in a current browser. Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all work; Browsers, devices and memory lists the differences.
  2. Wait for the empty screen that says "Open a building model."

Open your first model

The quickest way to see what BimCraft does is an IFC file.

  1. Click Choose a file in the middle of the screen.
  2. Pick an .ifc file in Finder / File Explorer / your file manager and confirm.
  3. Wait while the status line at the bottom of the screen says "Starting the IFC engine…", then "Building geometry".

You should see the model in 3D in the middle, a File panel and a Storeys list on the left, and an empty Properties panel on the right. The status line ends with "Opened" and the number of elements.

Offline

The IFC engine loads from the site the first time you open an IFC model, unless BimCraft was saved for offline use. DWG and DXF drawings, project files and folders need nothing extra: their readers are part of the app. If the app bar's button says Offline ready, everything opens offline. If not, IFC models will not open until you reconnect unless one already opened in this tab. See Online and offline.

Online

Going somewhere without a connection? Click Save for offline in the app bar and wait for Offline ready. The saved copy (about 11 MB) includes the IFC engine. See Working offline.

Look around

Mouse

  1. Drag with the left mouse button to orbit around the model.
  2. Scroll the wheel to zoom.
  3. Drag with the right mouse button to pan. On a Mac trackpad, hold ⇧Shift and drag instead.
  4. Press FF or click Fit to see the whole model again.

Touch

  1. Drag with one finger to orbit.
  2. Pinch with two fingers to zoom, and move two fingers together to pan.
  3. Tap Fit to see the whole model again.

Do one real thing: fix a tag

  1. Click a wall, door or any element in the model. It turns blue, and its properties appear on the right.
  2. In the Properties panel, click the value next to Tag.
  3. Type the new tag and press ReturnEnter.
  4. Look at the Changes section that opened on the left: your change is listed with the old and new value.

Save a copy

  1. Click Save as IFC in the Changes section, or press ⌘SCtrl+S.
  2. Find the new file in your downloads folder. It is named after the original with " (edited)" added, for example Clinic (edited).ifc.

Your original file is never changed. Change IFC properties and save an edited copy explains editing in full.

Where to go next