Reference File

The Reference File tool allows for adding a file into the model for reference purposes. The file does not contain any objects but can be displayed together with object data in the model.

The referenced files will use TrimBIM-files (.trb), and these can be selected and fetched from Trimble Connect (Project) or from disc (Files)

Reference Files from Projects

Click Projects to enter Trimble Connect and browse the file you want to add as reference into the Quadri model. You may also select from other projects - go to All Projects and select the desired project.

-Click the filename of the desired file - the name will appear in the File name text box. 

-Click Save in order to select the file

Formats in Projects

When selecting files from a project in Trimble Connect, you may select files from a number of formats. In the referencing process, a TrimBIM file version will be generated in the background and referenced into Quadri. So for example if you select a dwg-file in a project - a TrimBIM version of that file will end up in Quadri. 

These formats are supported and tested: TRB, DWG, DGN, IFC, SKP, DXF, RVT and certain LandXML (some entities like AlignmentCurves, BillboardText, SweptDiskSolid, GridLine are not supported for TrimBIM-files in Quadri, and will not be displayed)

Selecting other formats will render an error message, and you have to select another file.

Reference Files from Files

Click Files to enter a standard file chooser and browse the file you want to add as reference into the Quadri model. You may only select TrimBIM-files (.trb)

Settings

You can adjust the coordinates in the imported files so that they match the coordinates system in the model. 

In the Origin of the IFC-model file section, you can specify the coordinates of the origin of the Quadri-model relative to the origin of the IFC-file. The coordinates in the X =, Y= and Z= fields in this section are withdrawn from the object coordinates in the IFC-file when imported.

This illustration shows the concept:

Note: If the IFC-file origin is inside the model, the model origin coordinates (X, Y, Z)  should be given with negative values.

If you click Calculate Origin, then you have three options:

• From CRS: The coordinates are collected from the IfcGeometricRepresentationContext statement in the IFC file.
  The coordinates are in most cases (0,0,0).
  See this page for documentation of IfcGeometricRepresentationContext
  https://ifc43-docs.standards.buildingsmart.org/IFC/RELEASE/IFC4x3/HTML/lexical/IfcGeometricRepresentationContext.htm

• From Bounding Box: The coordinates are calculated as the “lower left corner” (min X-, min Y- and min Z-coordinate) of the bounding box of the objects in the imported IFC file. 

• Site.<name of the IfcSite>: The coordinates are collected from the IfcObjectPlacement relation for the IfcSite. If the imported file contains many IfcSites, then all of them are listed.
  See this page to learn more about ObjectPlacement for IfcSite.
  https://ifc43-docs.standards.buildingsmart.org/IFC/RELEASE/IFC4x3/HTML/lexical/IfcSite.htm

In the Origin in the file should be moved to this coordinate section, you can move the objects in the file using the given coordinate values before importing the file into the model. The coordinates given in this section are added to the object coordinates in the IFC-file when imported.

You have two options for defining the coordinates:

• Move the insertion point by offset: This option does not take into account the coordinates given in the Origin of the IFC model file section, but is only adding the coordinates given in this section to the coordinates in the imported IFC-file.

• Move the insertion point to: This option does take into account the coordinates given in the Origin of the IFC model file section. When choosing this option, the coordinates in the imported IFC file are then first reduced with the coordinate values from the Origin of the IFC model file section and then the coordinates in this section are added to the coordinates in the IFC file before the objects are imported.

Select in plan window:
Before you click this button, a plan drawing of your model must be shown in the geometry pan. When you click the Select in plan window button, the dialog closes and the geometry pane is in “select mode”. Click first on the insertion point you want. The cursor will then get a connected red line. This line indicates the true north. Click once more in the plan view when the red line is in the true north direction. The IFC Reader Settings dialog opens again with the values you selected from the plan view shown in the Origin in the file should be moved to this coordinate section.

True North
As explained in the dialog, here you can specify the angle between north in the IFC file and the real north in degrees. The angle value is given counterclockwise.

You can specify the angle either by clicking in plan view, see explanation of the Select in plan window button above or you can read the value from the imported file by clicking on the Read Value from the IFC-file button. When reading the value from the file, then the value is inserted in the True North control with the OPPOSITE sign of the rotation given in the file. 

Of course you can also insert the angle value manually.

Note: A red droplet-symbol marking the insertion point is shown on any open 3D- or plan-presentation when this dialog is closed: