Importing IFC files

An IFC project, including one that contains multiple buildings or large information sets, can be imported into a Vectorworks file. The units of the imported file are determined by the Vectorworks file. The presentation layers or CAD layers from an imported IFC file are assigned to corresponding Vectorworks classes. Each IFC building story is automatically assigned to its own design layer.

Stories and elements in the IFC file can be filtered during the import, to remove irrelevant objects. Filtering an import can significantly lower the file size, making both the import process and subsequent collaboration more efficient.

Create a reference to the original IFC file, if the original file may change, and you want to keep the imported pages up to date. See IFC references for more information about referencing.

Alternatively, click the file to import and drag it into an open Vectorworks file.

3. Use the top section of the dialog box to select stories and elements to import. All stories and elements are imported by default, but individual stories or IFC elements can be omitted from the import. Choose whether to filter the view by Stories or Elements.

When Stories is selected, a check mark to the left of a story indicates that it is to be imported. To omit one or more whole stories and any associated elements from the import, select the story and click to remove the check mark.

Alternatively, to omit only specific elements on specific stories from the import, click the disclosure arrow to the left of a story name to display the list of IFC elements associated with that story. Select the element(s) to be omitted and click to remove the check mark. The deselected elements are omitted only from that story.

On stories with a combination of selected and deselected elements for import, a dash replaces the check mark.

When Elements is selected, the number of elements displays in parentheses to the right of each object type. A check mark to the left of an item indicates that all the elements of that type will be imported. Select the element(s) to be omitted from the import, and click to remove the check mark. The deselected elements are not imported on any story.

If you deselect some items from the elements list, and return to the stories list, stories that contain deselected elements display a dash rather than a check mark, indicating that some elements are not to be imported.

Parameter	Description
Reference	References the original IFC file (master file), so that the imported IFC objects can be updated when the master file changes.
Absolute path	Stores the absolute file path of the master file. Select this option when the location of the master file will not change in the future, or if the master file is on another volume.
Path relative to current document	Stores the file path of the master file relative to the target Vectorworks file; this option is available only if the master file is on the same volume as the Vectorworks file. Select this option if the target file and the master file may be moved to another volume in the future.
Save referenced cache to disk	Saves copies of the referenced IFC objects in the target Vectorworks file; if deselected, the target file is smaller, and the IFC objects are automatically updated when the target file is opened
Automatically update reference during file open	Updates the IFC objects from the master file each time this target file is opened, if the IFC objects are out of date

IFC references

You can choose to reference an IFC file, instead of importing the objects directly. This allows you to easily update the imported objects when the original file changes. It also prevents the creation of additional classes, layers, and resources.

Create the reference during the import process, or create a new reference from the Organization dialog box. By default, the IFC file is imported as an IFC - Referenced object, which is actually a design layer viewport on one layer. Optionally, you can choose the Layer import setting in the Organization dialog box to import each story as a referenced design layer instead.

If the reference was imported as a design layer viewport, you can edit the viewport as follows (also see Modifying viewports):

● From the Object Info palette, edit the classes and layers shown in the viewport.

● Right-click on the viewport and select the Edit Crop command to edit the viewport crop.

Command	Path
Import IFC	File > Import