IfcDoor and IfcWindow parts

[stefan]

With IFC export, the translator provides the option to split elements into parts.
I'm trying to export a door with its parts, but it remains a single object upon export.
Does this setting also require a specific setup of the GDL code to distinguish between the different parts?

[Laszlo Nagy]

It says it in the Dialog: this setting applies only to elements using Composite Structures or Complex Profiles. So it only works on Walls, Slabs, Roofs, Shells, Columns and Beams.

https://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/user-guide/89325/#XREF_62919_Split_Complex

Of course we can ask the question of why is the IFC tree strcuture there if it does not apply to many IFC Element types. My guess is that theoretically, you could model a Window using a Segmented Column using Complex Profiles, and then you could classify it as a Window, for example, and then the IfcWindow Element Type to be broken down into Parts upon IFC Export.

[agroni]

Hi Stephan,
that would be a good example. But as Laszlo is stating, this is sadly not allowed for windows and doors.
I also tried this with a windows modelled including a sun shading. The problem with the splitting is, where do you define the sub classification or entity for the splitt element. So maybe like with Stairs and Railings, a window needs a sub classification if such elements are used. Currently a window might have a shading (IfcShadingDevice) or a Beam above it (IfcBeam) in the window element itself...
Its like the the IfcBuildingElement (which is ex. a complex wall), when split becomes an IfcBuildingElementPart.