Model check
Run this before every IFC export. It takes seconds and it catches the one class of problem that is invisible in SketchUp and obvious in a viewer.
Run it
Section titled “Run it”The shield in the header of the Project palette — Check model before IFC export.
What it looks for
Section titled “What it looks for”| Why it matters | |
|---|---|
| Duplicate element identities | two elements claiming to be the same object |
| Missing identities | an element that cannot be tracked at all |
| Duplicate opening identities | windows and doors copied along with their wall |
| Duplicate names within a type | two Wall_005 in one model |
Why duplicates happen
Section titled “Why duplicates happen”Copying. SketchUp’s own copy commands duplicate everything, identity included. Archeform reassigns identities automatically when it sees a copy, but two cases slip past:
- openings inside a copied wall — they live in the wall’s data, not as objects the observer sees
- whole storeys copied with everything in them
Why it matters
Section titled “Why it matters”A viewer keys objects by their identifier. Two elements with the same one collapse into a single object and you lose the other — with no error, anywhere.
Names matter for a different reason: the material layer export matches elements by name, because SketchUp’s exporter discards the identifiers Archeform writes. Two walls with the same name both take the composition of whichever came first.
The report
Section titled “The report”You get a list of what was found, grouped by kind. Confirming fixes it:
- duplicate identities get new ones, with their GlobalId rewritten to match
- duplicate openings are regenerated and their wall rebuilt
- duplicate names move to the next free number in that type’s series
The whole fix is a single undo step.
From the console
Section titled “From the console”SE_BIM::Validation.reportPrints the same findings to the Ruby Console without opening the dialog — handy when you want to check a batch of files.
What it does not check yet
Section titled “What it does not check yet”- missing or invalid GlobalId
- elements outside any storey
- elements with no quantities
These are on the roadmap; today they are not caught, so an element drawn outside a storey will export without complaint and simply sit outside the spatial tree.
Storey levels
Section titled “Storey levels”Two more things are reported, but not fixed automatically:
| Two storeys on the same level | their rooms get the same numbers |
| A storey with no level | its rooms fall back to Zone_001 |
Renumbering a storey would change room numbers that may already be in your drawings and schedules, so the check leaves the decision to you. Set the level in the storey dialog — the pencil in the Project palette.