Using the BIM Navigator

You can import BIM files, such as .ifc and .rvt files to your project and use various tools to modify them.

The BIM Navigator palette groups all tools necessary to import the BIM files and control the visibility of BIM entities in the graphics area.

You can:

• Import BIM files, such as .ifc and .rvt files.
• Control the access to a file. Unlocking the BIM file displays the file content in the graphics area.
• Control the visibility of the entities. You can show or hide entities and categories of entities from the BIM files that you imported in the current drawing.

To access the BIM Navigator palette:

• Do one of the following:
  • On the ribbon, click BIM > Palettes > Navigator.
  • On the menu, click BIM > Navigator.
  • Type BIMNavigator.

The BIM Navigator Palette

The BIM Navigator palette groups the tools necessary to work with the BIM files content.

To display the BIM files in the current drawing and start using them, you must import the files. Once you import the files, the palette contains the following sections:

• BIM Files. Displays the list of BIM files that you imported in the current drawing and informations about the specified file. Unlocking a file displays the content in the graphics area and lists the entities in the Entities section.
• Filters. Displays the filtering tools.
• Entities. Displays contents from each imported BIM file in a tree view grouped according to their category and type. The tree view lets you browse the BIM file entities. Clicking an entity or a category of entities in the tree view selects the entities in the graphics area.
• Drawings. Displays the drawings created from the BIM model grouped according to their type.

BIM Files Category

Displays all files that you imported in the drawing.

File Properties List

Displays all BIM files that you imported in the drawing. These file types are listed:

• .ifc files
• .rvt files
• .rfa files

Right-clicking a file displays the following options:

• Discipline. Lets you associate the BIM model file with the corresponding discipline tag.
• Delete. Deletes the BIM file from the list.
• Unload. Unloads the BIM file
• Reload from. Resets the path to the BIM file.

Imported file properties include the following:

• Model Name: Displays the file name.
• Visibility (Show or Hide): You can display only certain files in the graphics area. The button symbol indicates whether, in the graphics area, the drawing entities are shown or hidden. You can turn each file on or off independently.
  • Visible
  • Hidden
• Locked or Unlocked: You can protect files so the entities from the model cannot be changed. The locked state prevents unintentional modification. If a file is protected, you cannot change, add, or delete entities from the model. Change the status to unlocked if you want to work with entities from the model.
  • Locked
  • Unlocked

General Information

Displays information about the BIM file selected in the list, such as file type and size and the discipline tags. The set of discipline tags varies according to the model.

Filters Category

Filter drop-down list

Displays the list of all available filters. You can rename existing filters or delete unused ones.

Displays a menu with the following options:

• Rename. Renames the specified filter.
• Delete. Deletes the specified filter.

Displays the Data Extraction wizard.

Note: Save your drawing before starting the Data Extraction wizard.

BIM entities

Groups the tools for defining filtering criteria.

Criteria

Lets you specify the selection criteria.

The properties you can apply as selection criteria are: GUID, Name, Description, Predefined Type, Tag, Entity type.

• Adds criteria to the criteria list.
• Deletes criteria from the list.

Relational Operators

Operator	Description	Examples
==	Equal	All Circles with radius=2.54
!=	Unequal	All Circles with radius other than 2.54

Group by

Defines the additional parameters to group by. Add as many parameters as necessary. When you add more than one parameters, BIM entities must meet all.

• Adds the criterion to the criteria list.
• Deletes the criterion from the criteria list.

The properties you can apply as grouping criteria are: Type, Floor, Space, Category.

Sort

Specifies the criteria according to which you want to sort the BIM entities. Additionally, you can specify an ascending or a descending order.

• Asc. Ascending order.
• Desc. Descending order.

The properties you can apply as sorting criteria are: Name, description, Predefined Type, Tag, and Entity Type.

Discard

Lets you end filter editing without saving the changes.

If the filter has changed since it was last saved, a prompt asks whether to save the changes. Click Yes to save the changes or No to discard them.

Save As

Saves the changes to a new filter.

Save

Saves the changes to the active filter.

Entity Category

Displays the entities of each imported BIM file in a tree view grouped according to their category and type.

Toolbar

Use the buttons in the toolbar at the top of the BIM Navigator palette for navigation and selection options:

• Filter drop-down list:
• Hide/Show all entities : Shows or hides all entities from all imported BIM files.
• Expand/Collapse all entities : Expands all categories from all imported BIM files.

Tree View

Displays the entities of each imported BIM file in a tree view grouped according to their category and type.

The sign () in front of a BIM file expands the categories list.

The sign () in front of a BIM file collapses the categories list.

Visibility (Show or Hide): You can display only certain entities or certain categories in the graphics area. The button symbol indicates whether, in the graphics area, the BIM entities are shown or hidden. You can turn each BIM entity on or off independently.

• Visible
• Hidden

Drawings Category

Displays the drawings which you created based on the BIM model and sheets on which you have placed them.

Toolbar

Button	Function
Place on Sheet	Places the specified drawing on the sheet
Refresh All	Refreshes all drawings
Refresh	Refreshes the drawing displayed in the graphics area

Drawings and Sheets List

Displays all drawings that you created from the BIM model in a tree view, grouped according to their type. After placing the drawings on sheets, the corresponding sheets are added under the Sheet branch.

The following drawing types are listed in the tree view:

• Plans
• Sections
• Elevations

The tree view lets you browse the drawings and the sheets. Double-clicking a drawing in the tree view displays the drawing in the graphics area.

The sign () in front of a drawing category expands the drawing list.

The sign () in front of a drawing category collapses the drawing list.

Right-clicking a drawing name displays the following options:

Button	Function
Place on Sheet	Places the currently selected drawing on the sheet
Edit Filter	Displays the Filter List dialog box where you can edit the filter applied to the drawing
Refresh	Refreshes the current drawing
Rename	Renames the current drawing
Open/Close	Opens or closes the selected drawing
Show/Hide Clipping Box	Shows or hides the clipping box in the current drawing
Show/Hide Callouts	Shows or hides the callouts in the current drawing
Split drawing	Splits the current drawing into tile views
Remove all tile views	Removes all tile views
Delete	Deletes the specified drawing

Right-clicking the name of an open drawing displays the following options:

Button	Function
Split drawing	Splits the current drawing into tile views
Delete all tile views	Deletes all tile views

Selection Settings

Lets you control the display of the CallOuts symbols and clipping boxes.