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262 | ChaptEr 7 InteroperabIlIty: WorkIng MultIplatforM

Although this method has great potential, the accuracy of the Revit IFC import is highly
dependent on the software used to generate the IFC output. We recommend the use of one of
the free IFC viewers listed previously to inspect IFC data prior to importing into a Revit project.
New to Revit 2015 is the ability to link IFC files within Revit. On the insert tab in the
Link panel is the Link IFC tool. This will allow you to link IFC content directly into your
Revit model.

Viewing the Contents of an IFC Format File

Did you know that an IfC file can be viewed in a text editor such as notepad? Download a sample
file from the book’s companion web page and check it out! right-click an IfC file, select open With,
and choose notepad.

After you’ve reviewed the contents of the IFC file, you can open it in the Revit interface and
integrate it into your coordination process as follows:
1. Click the Application menu and select Open ➢ IFC.

2. Navigate to the c07-Structure.ifc file and click Open.
3. Save the file as a Revit project file (*.rvt).
4. Start a new Revit project using the default template.
You will link the saved RVT file into a blank project to simulate the process for a host
project model.

5. On the Insert tab, select Link Revit from the Link panel.
6. Navigate to the file saved in step 3, and click Open.
If an updated IFC file is received, repeat steps 1 through 3 and overwrite the RVT file created
in step 3. When the host project file is reopened, the linked RVT file containing the imported
IFC content will be updated. An alternative to the method described here is to use a new Revit
add-in called Geometry Gym. The add-in can be downloaded from http://ssi.wikidot
.com, and more information can be found at http://geometrygym.blogspot.com.
After installation, the Geometry Gym panel will be found in the Add-ins tab of the ribbon.
From this panel, click Import IFC and you can select an IFC file to be imported in a way that is
similar to importing a CAD file.

Downloading and Customizing the Open Source IFC Exporter
In addition to offering a basic IFC export command in the default installation of Revit, Autodesk
has been further developing an improved IFC exporter on the website SourceForge.net
(http://sourceforge.net/p/ifcexporter). Anyone can download the source code for
this exporter and contribute to its development. This allows a larger international community to
provide input on the improvement of this important feature.

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