Create a value dictionary to simplify IFC data with Smart Properties

Create a value dictionary to simplify IFC data with Smart Properties

When adding data to a BIM model, different languages, abbreviations and typos are inevitable. In order to smooth out these differences, Smart Properties help to get a predictable outcome for consistent model validation.

To be able to create and use Smart Properties in BIMcollab Zoom, you need an active Zoom license.

In this example we will create a dictionary for all ways material names can occur in an IFC model, to untangle the data and achieve an unambiguous overview of material names.

Let's first create an overview of all Material names present in the loaded IFC files.
  1. Go to the Lists tab
  2. Create a new List with the name 'Overview material names'
  3. Choose 'Property table' as List type
  4. In the source set, add one line with the following settings: Any element, Material name, Is defined, Add
  5. In the properties, only select the Material name



  6. Save and execute the list
  7. In the List results panel, enable the 'Merge uniform rows' option
This results in a list of all the different Material names present in the loaded IFC files, with one material name per row. The list results can remain displayed while you are creating the new Smart Property, to refer to the correct names in the following steps.
  1. Create a new Smart Property
  2. Add a line with these settings:
    1. Element type : Any element
    2. Property: Material name
    3. Operator: One Of
    4. Value: add all material names which occur in the model and should be combined into a single value, separated by commas.
      For example: wood, Holz, Hout, woods, WD
    5. Action: Set value
    6. Output: Add the new value for the material name which will replace all values added in the 'Value' field. For example 'Wood'
  3. Repeat step 2 until all material names are covered



  4. Save the Smart Property
The new Smart Property will be present for every component for which the property 'Material name' is available. The value is defined by the rules set in the Smart Property.




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