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How to get your model uploaded and aligned with your reality capture

Updated over a week ago


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Upload BIM Model

We cannot align your BIM model to a floor plan until you have performed 360 Video captures, download the OpenSpace mobile app now and take your first 360 video capture on the project.

Once 360 Video captures have been uploaded and published on your project, you can upload the model on the project to use BIM Compare.

The Steps:

  1. Log in to your local OpenSpace web server.

  2. Select the project and go to your Project Settings page.

  3. Go to the "Upload BIM" tab

  4. Upload your model!

See below for some tips to prepare your model before uploading to improve usability and performance in the BIM Compare web viewer.

Screenshot_2024-01-05_at_4_17_08_PM.png

Today, only one model file can be uploaded to one OpenSpace Project. If you want to be able to view BIM modeled elements from more than one source file in the OpenSpace BIM Compare feature, then we recommend uploading a single, federated NWD or IFC file that includes everything in your project - the federated model (sometimes called the coordinated model).

A web viewer's performance, such as the BIM viewer side of our BIM Compare feature, is primarily impacted by browser memory management. To get the most out of your browser experience when viewing BIM in OpenSpace, OpenSpace recommends using Chrome. We also recommend keeping your browser up to date, because browser updates can improve browser memory management for a better BIM viewer performance.

Tips for NWD Files:

  1. 3D model files under 1GB in size perform best in the Forge viewer. Graphic complexity is the biggest factor impacting Forge viewer performance, even for relatively small model files.

    1. If your model is having performance issues in the BIM Compare viewer, or if you are experiencing issues uploading a model with large file size, eliminating unnecessary geometry is the best method to improve web viewer performance, as it reduces 3D model file size and complexity. Consider what is important to see in your model in OpenSpace, and remove unnecessary categories and/or elements, especially those that are complex, prior to uploading your model.

  2. Saved Viewpoints in an NWD file are not supported today in the BIM Compare viewer, so we recommend removing them before exporting the NWD file from Navisworks.

  3. The BIM Viewer is built as an integration with Autodesk's Forge Viewer API, so any file type compatible with their Forge Viewer is acceptable (NWD, RVT, FBX, Etc.). Click here for a definitive list of supported file formats from Autodesk's Forge Viewer API.

Please note - if you upload a new model to your OpenSpace project, and if the model coordinate system has not changed, your new model should be aligned as soon as the upload is processed!

Tips for Revit files:

Publish Settings

When you publish a Revit model, the default 3D view and all 2D sheets are published by default. In order to customize what BIM elements appear in the OpenSpace BIM Compare feature, you can use one of two methods:

  1. Customize the Active View Set in RVT files:

    1. Visit the Autodesk publish settings support article, geared toward BIM360 and ACC Build customers, but the same steps can help customize the view settings of the file for OpenSpace. Overview of the steps (read the article for more detailed instructions):

      1. Open the RVT with Revit Desktop.

      2. Go to "Collaborate > Manage Models panel > Publish Settings".

      3. Select your 3D views and other views you want to see in OpenSpace and ensure that they are in the Active view set.

      4. Save the change your RVT file

      5. Re-upload the modified RVT to OpenSpace.

  2. Export to an NWC file:

    1. Note that exporting to an NWC file can also improve the performance of very "heavy" RVT files in a web viewer such as BIM Compare, so if your RVT file is very large you may want to use this method rather than #1 above.

      1. If you upload an RVT file and have not customized the publish settings as shown in #1 above, the Autodesk Viewer will default to the "default 3D" view (typically called "{3D}") in your Revit file. Our upload process does not allow a user to select a specific 3D view other than this view, and it does not allow the user to specify the phasing of a Revit model, so all geometry and all phases within the Revit model shown in the view named {3D} will be uploaded and visible in OpenSpace.

      2. For this method, we suggest creating a 3D view in Revit that only shows the modeled geometries that you want to see in OpenSpace, name this view "OpenSpace Export" or similar, and export that view as an .NWC file to upload to OpenSpace.

        1. In order to use this export method, you will need to download and install the Autodesk Navisworks Add-in for Revit.

      3. The resulting .NWC export will only contain the geometry visible in the "OpensSpace Export" 3D View that you have set up.

      4. For future uploads, in cases where your Revit file has been updated since the initial OpenSpace upload, continue to use the saved "OpenSpace Export" 3D View in Revit to export an updated version of your model that you can then upload to OpenSpace.

Linked Files in a Revit model

Note that linked files in a Revit model, even if it is the central model, still do not exist in the Revit file itself. Therefore, if you upload a Revit model with linked files into OpenSpace, the linked files will not show up in the BIM viewer.

Revit Rooms

Today, OpenSpace does not support importing Rooms from a Revit model. If exporting a Revit file to .NWC to produce a lighter file, we recommend un-checking the "Export room geometry" box in the Navisworks Options Editor (see screenshot below from Autodesk).


If you have any additional questions please reach out to the OpenSpace support team at support@openspace.ai.


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