This article lists all elements and allowed values of a .bcsv file, the file format for BIMcollab Zoom Smart Views. Use it when you write or generate .bcsv files.
💡 Tip: New to .bcsv files? Read Generating Smart Views with .bcsv files first. It explains the structure of the file and how to test it.
About this reference
This reference describes version 5 of the .bcsv file format. You can check the SMARTVIEWSETS block of your file against the XSD file. Download the XSD file.
File header
Every .bcsv file starts with the same file header. The XSD doesn't cover this block.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<bimcollabsmartviewfile>
<version>5</version>
<applicationversion>Win - Version: 4.3 (build 4.3.18.1)</applicationversion>
</bimcollabsmartviewfile>
Element | Purpose |
| Identifies the file as a BIMcollab Smart View file. |
| The version of the file format. Always use |
| The BIMcollab Zoom version that created the file. |
Smart View set
<SMARTVIEWSETS>
<SMARTVIEWSET>
<TITLE>Smart view basics</TITLE>
<DESCRIPTION>Demonstrates the basic usage of smart views.</DESCRIPTION>
<GUID>ce7451f3-00df-4239-afde-738639c67de2</GUID>
<MODIFICATIONDATE>2020-11-10T16:12:57</MODIFICATIONDATE>
<SMARTVIEWS>
<!-- One or more SMARTVIEW elements -->
</SMARTVIEWS>
</SMARTVIEWSET>
</SMARTVIEWSETS>
Element | Purpose | Example |
| Name of the set, shown in the Smart View tree. | Any |
| Description of the set, shown when users edit the set. | Any |
| Unique ID of the set. |
|
| Date and time of the last change. |
|
| Contains all Smart Views in the set. | See Smart View below |
A file can contain several SMARTVIEWSET elements.
Smart View
<SMARTVIEW>
<TITLE>Adding elements</TITLE>
<DESCRIPTION>Adds all walls to the 3D window.</DESCRIPTION>
<CREATOR>[email protected]</CREATOR>
<CREATIONDATE>2019-07-03T10:27:54</CREATIONDATE>
<MODIFIER>[email protected]</MODIFIER>
<MODIFICATIONDATE>2020-11-10T16:12:57</MODIFICATIONDATE>
<GUID>acbc3e24-7e5a-478c-97f8-2cd6f58000b6</GUID>
<RULES>
<!-- One or more RULE elements -->
</RULES>
<INFORMATIONTAKEOFF>
<PROPERTYSETNAME>Summary</PROPERTYSETNAME>
<PROPERTYNAME>Vertex Count</PROPERTYNAME>
<OPERATION>3</OPERATION>
</INFORMATIONTAKEOFF>
</SMARTVIEW>
Element | Purpose | Example |
| Name of the Smart View, shown in the Smart View tree. | Any |
| Description of the Smart View, shown when users edit it. | Any |
| Email address of the person who created the Smart View. | |
| Date and time of creation. |
|
| Email address of the person who last changed the Smart View. | |
| Date and time of the last change. |
|
| Unique ID of the Smart View. |
|
| Contains all rules of the Smart View. | See Rule below |
| Optional. Settings for a listing of property values. | See below |
Information takeoff
The information takeoff lists the values of one property for the elements in the Smart View, and calculates a result.
Element | Purpose | Allowed values |
| The property set of the property to list. | Any property set name in the loaded models |
| The property to list. | Any property name in the loaded models |
| The calculation. |
|
📝 Note: The information takeoff only works when the Smart View has an AutoColor rule (SetAutoColored).
Rule
<RULE>
<IFCTYPE>Wall</IFCTYPE>
<PROPERTY>
<NAME>GUID</NAME>
<PROPERTYSETNAME>Summary</PROPERTYSETNAME>
<TYPE>Summary</TYPE>
<VALUETYPE>StringValue</VALUETYPE>
<UNIT>None</UNIT>
</PROPERTY>
<CONDITION>
<TYPE>Is</TYPE>
<VALUE>2bXUpgcvJoHutIc7vy_Ovl</VALUE>
</CONDITION>
<ACTION>
<TYPE>AddSetColored</TYPE>
<R>255</R>
<G>78</G>
<B>250</B>
</ACTION>
</RULE>
This rule adds the wall with IFC GUID 2bXUpgcvJoHutIc7vy_Ovl to the view, and colors it pink.
Rules are composed of the following fields:
IFCTYPE
The type of elements the rule applies to, for example, Wall. Use Any for all types. See the list of allowed IFC types below.
📝 Note: IFC types use readable names with spaces, such as Air Terminal, not IFC entity names such as IfcAirTerminal.
PROPERTY
Element | Purpose | Allowed values |
| The name of the property to filter on. | Any property name in the loaded models |
| The name of the property set. | Any property set name in the loaded models |
| The group the property belongs to. | None, |
| The type of value. It decides which conditions you can use. |
|
| The unit of the value. | See the list of property units below |
💡 Tip: Property set names and property names must match the model exactly. Check them in the BIMcollab Zoom properties panel.
CONDITION
Element | Purpose |
| The comparison, for example, |
| Only for DoubleValue: |
| The value to compare with. Depends on the value type. |
See the property and condition combinations below.
ACTION
Action type | What it does |
| Adds the matching elements to the view. |
| Removes the matching elements from the view. |
| Removes all other elements from the view. |
| Colors the matching elements. |
| Makes the matching elements transparent. |
| Makes the matching elements opaque. |
| Colors the matching elements automatically, by property value. Needed for information takeoff. |
| Adds the matching elements and colors them. |
| Adds the matching elements and makes them transparent. |
| Combines the rule with another rule. |
For SetColored, AddSetColored, and SetAutoColored, set the color with RGB: whole numbers from 0 to 255 for red, green, and blue.
Property and condition combinations
The value type of the property decides which conditions and values you can use.
Value type | Condition types | Condition value | Condition state |
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| Any text, without quotes | Not used |
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| A number without formatting, for example |
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| Not used |
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| Not used |
⚠️ Attention: Conditions that end in IsDefined or IsNotDefined still need a VALUE element, but it can be empty: <VALUE/>.
Allowed IFC types
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Property units
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