Edit the IFC Entity Type Rule Library

IFC Converter

IFC entity type rules allow you to define which IFC entity and type (PredefinedType) certain Vertex objects are exported to the IFC file. As a system administrator, you can save the rule in your own customer-specific library.

When you save a model to an IFC file, select the desired entity type rule library and rule in the IFC entity and type mapping section of the Export IFC Model dialog box.

Edit the IFC entity type rule library as follows:

  1. Select IFC | Tools | IFC > IFC entity types. The browser opens.
  2. Select a customer-specific library in the left side browser pane, or create a new customer-specific library as follows:
    1. Right-click to open the context-sensitive menu, and select New Library.
    2. Enter a name for the library, and select OK.
  3. Do either of the following:
    • To edit an existing rule, double-click the rule thumbnail in the right side browser pane.
    • To create a new rule, select New from the right-click menu. Enter the rule name in a text box.
  4. Select IFC version from the list. The available entity types depend on the IFC version.
  5. Do one of the following:
    • Select the row to be edited.
    • Add a new row by clicking Add row.
    • Delete the selected row by clicking Delete row.
  6. Edit or fill in the following fields:
    • Vertex type - The internal object type of Vertex. Select from the list.
    • Default IFC entity – The IFC entity that Vertex uses by default. Read-only, not editable.
    • Default IFC predefined type - The predefined IFC type (PredefinedType) by default. Read-only, not editable.
    • IFC entity -The entity type under which you want to export the Vertex type to the IFC file. Select from the list. The options in the list depend on the selected IFC version.
    • IFC predefined type - The predefined IFC type (PredefinedType) under which you want to export the Vertex type to the IFC file. Select from the list. The options in the list depend on the selected IFC entity.
    • Description for user-defined - A free text field that is available when the IFC predefined type is USERDEFINED. Type a description in the text field.
  7. Confirm by clicking OK.
  8. Close the browser.
Note: You cannot define an entity type rule for the following object types:
    • Grids - Always exported as the IfcGrid entity.
    • Walls - Always exported as the IfcWall entity.
    • Panels and G4 assemblies - Always exported as the IfcElementAssembly entity.
Note: Rules can be overwritten by object-specific definitions.