topic Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them? in Collaboration with other software

Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Aaron Bourgoin — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:59:44 GMT

Ok, I've enabled the IFC2x3 Property Sets in my Tool Settings Scheme. I've got a spanky new tab in my settings dialog boxes with them.

The Graphisoft User Guide refers to them, but I still don't understand how they are really meant to be used. This manual is vastly improved over the first one, but there is more work required here.

Has anyone who knows got a practical example they could share? Like how you would configure a Favorite with this tab enabled to export, say, a wall, a plumbing fixture and a beam (LVL, wood or steel, your choice).

Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:53:06 GMT

You can work a lot slower. Every time I select something IFC tree wants to rebuild, compile, etc.

Suggest only turning on when actively preparing IFC exports.

Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Aaron Bourgoin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:01:48 GMT

Krikey.

Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Karl Ottenstein — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:55:17 GMT

B wrote:
You can work a lot slower. Every time I select something IFC tree wants to rebuild, compile, etc.

Suggest only turning on when actively preparing IFC exports.

I found the same slow behavior while testing last year. I unloaded the IFC add-on just so I had no chance of being slowed down - or having extra IFC data stored in my projects.

Karl

Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Erika Epstein — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:15:03 GMT

You don't have to unload the IFC addon(s), just create a Work Environment that has them turned off in the Tool Setting Dialog Boxes.

Work Environment> Tool Schemes>Tool Setting Dialog Boxes

Just switch work environments when you want to access IFC

Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Aaron Bourgoin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:24:39 GMT

Erika,

Meisterstuck!

Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Karl Ottenstein — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:24:51 GMT

I'll have to check IFC later (dinner time!) ... but for most add-ons there is indeed a difference between making them invisible to the user and unloading them. Many add-ons, merely by being present, run initialization code which stores stuff inside your project file.

That's why when you open the project on someone else's machine where an add-on isn't present, you often (depends on the add-on) get a warning dialog asking if you want to keep the data associated with the so-and-so add-on, or delete it. I'm not convinced that all private data associated with the add-on is truly deleted. Maybe it is. Haven't tested it, and having been burnt a few too many times, I don't believe much until I test it. 😉

If just hiding the interface to IFC eliminates the slow down, then that is great.

Thanks, Erika,
Karl

PS But, still hoping someone will answer Aaron's question.

Re: Property Sets - What Can I Do With Them?

Erika Epstein — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:11:16 GMT

Aaron wrote:
Ok, I've enabled the IFC2x3 Property Sets in my Tool Settings Scheme. I've got a spanky new tab in my settings dialog boxes with them.

The Graphisoft User Guide refers to them, but I still don't understand how they are really meant to be used. This manual is vastly improved over the first one, but there is more work required here.

There is quite a lot of information on this on the Building Smart website
http://www.iai-tech.org

but to me
http://www.iai-tech.org/psd/IFC2x3/final/index.htm#Link0548F7E8
it still is not user-friendly enough to decipher

On the other hand, on the IFC tab many of the properties listed are self-explanatory. Not all are applicable to the building architecture but instead address related disciplines and phases such as Interior Design, Construction and End-user occupation.

A dictionary would be welcome.