Managing BCF information

BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) allows collaborators to exchange comments between software applications without exchanging the entire BIM model. Issues, proposals, and change requests about a project are “topics” in the BCF file, linked to specific objects in the BIM model. The BCF file only contains comments; it does not modify the model. It can be used to navigate to issues in the model, respond to comments, create snapshots, assign issues, and resolve issues.

An alternative workflow to BCF is to open a direct connection between the Vectorworks file and Solibri Office for interactive real-time metadata exchange and object editing; see IFC data exchange with Solibri.

The Vectorworks program allows BCF files to be created, opened, modified, and saved.

● If exchanging information from a colleague through IFC, import the IFC file into the Vectorworks program, and open the associated .bcfzip file. Navigate to the issues, add or change topics and comments, and save the .bcfzip file to return to your colleague.

● In the Vectorworks program, create or open a model, and export it as an IFC project. Open it in Solibri Office for evaluation and presentation, and save comments, issues, and requests as a .bcfzip file. You or your colleague can then open the model and the .bcfzip file in the Vectorworks program; navigate to the issues, add or change topics and comments, and save the .bcfzip and any changes to the model.

1. Open the Vectorworks file that is associated or will become associated with the BCF file.

For best results, the BIM model in the Vectorworks file should exactly match the version of the model that was used when the BCF file was created. An alert displays if this is not the case.

2.If you are creating a new BCF file associated with the Vectorworks file, and there is an issue, comment, or change request that becomes apparent while reviewing the Vectorworks file, select the related object.

Parameter	Description
New	Creates a new BCF file that is associated with the current Vectorworks file, automatically clearing any displayed BCF information. Save any unsaved changes before clicking New, or they will be lost.
Open	Opens a BCF file related to the project, automatically clearing any displayed BCF information. Select the desired .bcfzip file from the Open BCF dialog box and click Open. If the model in the current Vectorworks file is different from the model the BCF file was created with, an alert displays. When you open a BCF file, certain resources are added to the Vectorworks file. Save any unsaved changes before clicking Open, or they will be lost.
Save	Does one of the following, depending whether the BCF file already exists: ● For a new file, saves the current BCF data as a .bcfzip or .bcf file of the selected Version. Specify the location to save the file; a new, untitled, associated Vectorworks file is automatically created. ● For an existing file, saves any changes.
Close	Closes the current BCF file, automatically clearing any displayed BCF information
Version	Automatically displays the BCF version when opening a BCF file, and specifies the version when saving the BCF file
Topics	Displays the topics; select a topic to view associated comments
Filter Topics	Filters the topics according to the Status; Show Only Active displays topics with a status of Open or Assigned, and Show Only Resolved displays topics with a status of Resolved or Closed
Only show Topics assigned to me	Displays only topics assigned to you. Vectorworks identifies users by Username (the name each person uses to log into the computer).
Only show Topics for selected objects	Displays only topics associated with the current selection in the Vectorworks drawing
Topic List	Lists the topics according to any set filters. Each topic’s date (of creation or modification), title, status, type, priority, and phase displays. The topics are listed in the order of creation. Double-click on a topic to switch the drawing view to the location of the topic. The related objects are selected, and the view is similar to the snapshot. To make it easier to see the selected objects, the classes and layers of unselected objects are hidden. If the view does not show the correct objects, select View > Zoom > Fit to Objects to zoom in on the selected objects. Alternatively, click Fit to Objects from the View bar.
New Topic	Opens the New Topic dialog box, for adding a BCF topic as described in the following section
Edit Topic	Opens the Edit Topic dialog box, to edit the currently selected topic as described in the following section
Snapshot	Displays an image of the objects described in the selected topic; if a comment with an attached snapshot is selected, displays the snapshot. If the snapshot was created in a different software application, it may not exactly match the view in the Vectorworks file.
Set Current Render Mode	Selects the render mode for the drawing, and switches to the drawing view associated with a selected topic
Comments on Selected Topic	All comments associated with the selected topic display; each comment’s date, abbreviated comment text, and author display in the list. The entire comment text for the selected comment displays below the snapshot.
New Comment	Opens the New Comment dialog box, for adding a new comment to the selected topic as described in the following section
Edit Comment	Opens the Edit Comment dialog box, to edit the currently selected topic as described in the following section. Only the author can edit a comment. You cannot edit someone else’s comments.
Delete Comment	Deletes the currently selected comment. Only the author can delete a comment. You cannot delete someone else’s comments.
Comment	Displays the full text of the selected comment

4.After editing or creating BCF topics and comments, save the information. Select the BCF Version, and then click Save.

Creating and editing BCF topics

New topics can be created for the Vectorworks model, and current topics can be edited.

1. From the BCF manager, click New Topic, or select a topic and click Edit Topic.

Parameter	Description
Topic Title	Enter a title for the topic that describes the issue or request
Date	Displays the date that the topic was created or edited
Author	Displays the author’s name; Vectorworks identifies users by Username, which is the name used to log into the computer
Assigned To	Enter the name (or email, etc.) of the person assigned to address the issue or request
Due Date	Specifies the date for the topic to be addressed
Description	Enter a more lengthy description, providing more details than the title if necessary
Status	Select a topic status
Type	Select a topic category
Priority	Rank the topic by selecting a priority
Phase	Indicate the stage of construction for the topic
Labels	Select one or more labels for the topic by clicking in the first column. A check mark in the column indicates that the label will be applied. Click again to deselect the label.
New	Opens the New Label dialog box; enter the name of a custom label to add to the list
Delete	Deletes the currently selected label

2.Add custom items to the status, type, priority, or phase lists by selecting Edit List.

The Edit List dialog box opens. Add a list entry by pressing Enter to go to the next line and typing a new item; the custom entry becomes available for selection from the list.

Creating, editing, and deleting BCF comments

2.Comments that are already associated with the selected topic display in the Comments on Selected Topic area. Select one for editing and click Edit Comment. Create a new comment associated with the topic by clicking New Comment.

Parameter	Description
Snapshot	Displays an attached snapshot of the current drawing view, when one has been saved with the comment
Attach Snapshot	Attaches the drawing view to the comment as a snapshot
Comment	Enter or edit a comment about the topic
Store the selection of elements	For BCF version 2.1 and later, saves the current selection status of objects in the drawing along with the comment

3.If a snapshot was attached to a comment, it displays in the Snapshot area of the BCF Manager when the comment is selected.