With Smart Properties, you can either map existing properties to a new property or define a new property value for an element based on certain criteria.
📝 Note: To be able to create Smart Properties in BIMcollab Zoom, you need an active license.
Do you want to advance your knowledge about Smart Properties? Go to our BIMcollab Academy and enroll in the BIMcollab Zoom Smart Properties course.
Map value
With the action 'Map value', you can structure data by combining the values of multiple properties in one property. For example, for one element, 'Volume' is defined in base quantities, while for another element, it is under dimensions.
To do so, follow these steps when creating a new Smart Property:
Element type: Select the element type for which you want to map a property to the new Smart Property. If the property should be mapped regardless of the element type to which it is attributed, choose 'Any element'.
Property: Choose a property from the loaded IFC files that you want to add to the new property.
Operator and Value: Further define the property. If the property should be mapped to the new property regardless of its value, choose 'Is defined'.
Action: 'Map value'
If elements should meet multiple requirements before the property is mapped to the Smart Property, choose 'And...' in the Action field. Only select 'Map value' when you have added all criteria.
For example, I only want to combine the properties containing volume information of concrete elements. If the property Material name contains 'Concrete', and the Property NetVolume is defined, then the Property 'NetVolume' should be mapped to the Smart Property.
The 'Output' field becomes a dropdown field if multiple properties are combined in the rule. Choose the property from the string that should be mapped to the Smart Property.
Repeat the steps until all properties for which the values should be added to the Smart Property are added to the set of rules.
⚠️ Attention: If multiple of the mapped properties are present for a single element, the value of the property that is added lowest in the list will be used for the Smart Property.
For a practical example using the 'Map value' action, consult the article Combine values from multiple properties into one Smart Property.
Set Value
With the action 'Set value', you can achieve the following results:
Create a classification system based on existing element attributes present in the IFC file
Simplify values within an existing property
Classification system
When creating a classification system, you can add multiple criteria that an element must meet in order to set a value for the property. For example, when a wall is load-bearing and internal, its classification should be '22.2x Core structure'.
Element type: Select the element type for which you want to set a new value in the Smart Property.
Property, Operator, and Value: Filter out elements with a specific property value.
Action: 'Set value'
If the element should meet multiple criteria, choose 'and...'. Only select 'Set value' when you have added all criteria.Output: This field becomes a text input field. Fill in the new value.
Repeat the steps until all criteria and values are added to the set of rules.
Simplify values
Values in certain properties might not be uniform because they are filled in in different languages, various abbreviations are used, or typos occur. The Smart Properties can help to simplify these values into an unambiguous 'dictionary' of values.
Element type: select the element type for which you want to set a new value in the Smart Property.
Property: Choose the property for which you want to simplify the values.
Operator: 'One of'.
Value: Add all values that you want to combine into the same value, separated by commas.
Action: 'Set value'
Output: This field becomes a text input field. Fill in the new value.
Repeat the steps until all values that you want to simplify are added to the set of rules.
For a practical example using the 'Set value' action, consult the article Create a value dictionary to simplify IFC data with Smart Properties.