IFC Overview summary — buildingSMART technical resources

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=7YQSqjSh" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.iai-tech.org:80/products/ifc-overview","20101119090359","https://web.archive.org/","web","https://web-static.archive.org/_static/", "1290157439"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=p7PEIJWi" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8"/> <meta name="generator" content="Plone - http://plone.org"/>  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"/> <base href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview/ifc-overview-summary"/> <link rel="kss-base-url" href="http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview/ifc-overview-summary"/> <style type="text/css">@import url(https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359cs_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_css/Plone%20Default/base-cachekey0470.css);</style> <style type="text/css" media="all">@import url(https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359cs_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_css/Plone%20Default/survey_results-cachekey1730.css);</style> <style type="text/css" media="all">@import url(https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359cs_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_css/Plone%20Default/ploneCustom-cachekey0494.css);</style> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/jquery-cachekey2839.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/dropdown-cachekey9915.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/ie5fixes-cachekey2375.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/kupunoi18n-cachekey9384.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/resourcebase2-dom-fp-cachekey8633.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/resourcekukit-cachekey9586.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/resourcekukit-devel-cachekey1556.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359js_/http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_javascripts/Plone%20Default/resourcedropdown-menu-cachekey9962.js"> </script> <link rel="kinetic-stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.iai-tech.org/portal_kss/Plone%20Default/at-cachekey2153.kss"/> <title>IFC Overview summary — buildingSMART technical resources</title>   <meta content="General information about IFC, that is independent of the IFC specification releases." name="description"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="home" href="http://www.iai-tech.org" title="Front page"/> <link rel="contents" href="http://www.iai-tech.org/sitemap" title="Site Map"/> <link rel="search" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/search_form" title="Search this site"/>  <meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no"/> </head> <body class="section-products template-document_view" dir="ltr"> <div id="visual-portal-wrapper"> <div id="portal-top"> <div id="portal-header"> <p class="hiddenStructure"> <a accesskey="2" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview#documentContent">Skip to content.</a> | <a accesskey="6" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview#portlet-navigation-tree">Skip to navigation</a> </p> <ul id="portal-siteactions"> <li id="siteaction-accessibility"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/accessibility-info" accesskey="0" title="Accessibility">Accessibility</a></li> <li id="siteaction-contact"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/contact-info" accesskey="9" title="Contact">Contact</a></li> <li id="siteaction-sitemap"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/sitemap" accesskey="3" title="Site Map">Site Map</a></li> </ul> <div id="portal-searchbox"> <form id="searchbox" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/search"> <div class="LSBox"> <label for="searchGadget" class="hiddenStructure">Search Site</label> <input name="SearchableText" type="text" size="18" title="Search Site" accesskey="4" class="inputLabel" id="searchGadget"/> <input class="searchButton" type="submit" value="Search"/> <div class="searchSection"> <input id="searchbox_currentfolder_only" class="noborder" type="checkbox" name="path" value="/plone/products/ifc-overview"/> <label for="searchbox_currentfolder_only" style="cursor: pointer"> only in current section </label> </div> <div class="LSResult" id="LSResult" style=""><div class="LSShadow" id="LSShadow"></div></div> </div> </form> <div id="portal-advanced-search" class="hiddenStructure"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/search_form" accesskey="5"> Advanced Search… </a> </div> </div> <a id="portal-logo" accesskey="1" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/logo.jpg" alt="" title="BuildingSmart Logo" height="74" width="435"/></a> <h5 class="hiddenStructure">Sections</h5> <div id="globalnav-wrapper"> <ul id="portal-globalnav"> <li id="portaltab-events" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/events" class="mainTabContent" title="Events organized or attended by the technical groups of buildingSMART International.">Events</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-news" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/news" class="mainTabContent" title="Site News">News</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-about-us" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/about-us" class="mainTabContent" title="A brief introduction to the IAI Model Support Group (MSG) and its members.">About Us</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-products" class="selected"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products" class="mainTabContent" title="This folder contains all products developed and managed by MSG.">Specifications</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-developers" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/developers" class="mainTabContent" title="Additional material and guidelines on using the products developed by the Modeling Support Group">Developers</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-projects" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/projects" class="mainTabContent" title="">Projects</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-Survey" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/Survey" class="mainTabContent" title="">Surveys</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-downloads" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/downloads" class="mainTabContent" title="In this folder different downloads provided by MSG are published. Examples of such downloads can be alpha and beta releases of the IFC model. In other words, this is the best place to find the latest updated pre release of the IFC model. To get access to the content, you must be a registered user. Please log in or register if not already a member.">Downloads</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-groups" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/groups" class="mainTabContent" title="Container for groups">Groups</a> </li> <li id="portaltab-Members" class="plain"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/Members" class="mainTabContent" title="Container for portal members' home directories">Members</a> </li> </ul> <div class="visualClear" id="post-sections-clear"></div> </div> </div> <div id="portal-personaltools-wrapper"> <h5 class="hiddenStructure">Personal tools</h5> <ul id="portal-personaltools" class="visualInline"> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/login_form">Log in</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/join_form">Register</a> </li> </ul> </div> <div id="portal-breadcrumbs"> <span id="breadcrumbs-you-are-here">You are here:</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/">Home</a> <span class="breadcrumbSeparator"> → </span> <span dir="ltr"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products">Specifications</a> <span class="breadcrumbSeparator"> → </span> </span> <span dir="ltr"> <span>IFC Overview</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="visualClear" id="clear-space-before-wrapper-table"></div> <table id="portal-columns"> <tbody> <tr> <td id="portal-column-one"> <div class="visualPadding"> <div id="portletwrapper-706c6f6e652e6c656674636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a6e617669676174696f6e" class="portletWrapper kssattr-portlethash-706c6f6e652e6c656674636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a6e617669676174696f6e"> <dl class="portlet portletNavigationTree"> <dt class="portletHeader"> <span class="portletTopLeft"></span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/sitemap" class="tile">Navigation</a> <span class="portletTopRight"></span> </dt> <dd class="portletItem lastItem"> <ul class="navTree navTreeLevel0"> <li class="navTreeItem navTreeTopNode"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/" class="" title="The official technical website of buildingSMART International, that contains IFC specifications, information about buildingSMART interoperability programs, IFC certification and other accompanying documentation to support implementation of buildingSMART interoperability specifications."> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/site_icon.gif" height="16" width="16" alt=""/> Home </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/events" class="state-visible navTreeFolderish" title="Events organized or attended by the technical groups of buildingSMART International."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/topic_icon.gif" alt="Collection"/> <span>Events</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/news" class="state-published navTreeFolderish" title="Site News"> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/topic_icon.gif" alt="Collection"/> <span>News</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/mailing-lists" class="state-published" title=""> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/document_icon.gif" alt="Page"/> <span>Mailing Lists</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/about-us" class="state-published navTreeFolderish" title="A brief introduction to the IAI Model Support Group (MSG) and its members."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>About Us</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeItemInPath navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products" class="state-published navTreeItemInPath navTreeFolderish" title="This folder contains all products developed and managed by MSG."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>Specifications</span> </a> </div> <ul class="navTree navTreeLevel1"> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeCurrentNode navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview" class="state-published navTreeCurrentItem navTreeCurrentNode navTreeFolderish" title="General information about IFC, that is independent of the IFC specification releases."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>IFC Overview</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc_specification" class="state-published navTreeFolderish" title=""> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>IFC Specification</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/related-specifications" class="state-published navTreeFolderish" title="Specifications not developed by MSG, but being related to the scope, implementation, and usage of the IFC specification."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>Related Specifications</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/developers" class="state-published navTreeFolderish" title="Additional material and guidelines on using the products developed by the Modeling Support Group"> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>Developers</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/projects" class="state-published navTreeFolderish" title=""> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>Projects</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/Survey" class="state-published navTreeFolderish" title=""> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>Surveys</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/downloads" class="state-visible navTreeFolderish" title="In this folder different downloads provided by MSG are published. Examples of such downloads can be alpha and beta releases of the IFC model. In other words, this is the best place to find the latest updated pre release of the IFC model. To get access to the content, you must be a registered user. Please log in or register if not already a member."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>Downloads</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker navTreeFolderish"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/groups" class="state-visible navTreeFolderish" title="Container for groups"> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Folder"/> <span>Groups</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="navTreeItem visualNoMarker"> <div> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/Members" class="state-visible" title="Container for portal members' home directories"> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/folder_icon.gif" alt="Large Folder"/> <span>Members</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <span class="portletBottomLeft"></span> <span class="portletBottomRight"></span> </dd> </dl> </div> <div id="portletwrapper-706c6f6e652e6c656674636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a6c6162656c5f6c6f675f696e" class="portletWrapper kssattr-portlethash-706c6f6e652e6c656674636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a6c6162656c5f6c6f675f696e"> <dl class="portlet portletLogin"> <dt class="portletHeader"> <span class="portletTopLeft"></span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/login_form" class="tile">Log in</a> <span class="portletTopRight"></span> </dt> <dd class="portletItem odd"> <form action="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/login_form" id="loginform" method="post"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="form.submitted" value="1"/> <input type="hidden" name="came_from" value="http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview"/> <input type="hidden" name="js_enabled" id="js_enabled" value="0"/> <input type="hidden" name="cookies_enabled" id="cookies_enabled" value=""/> <input type="hidden" name="login_name" id="login_name" value=""/> <input type="hidden" name="pwd_empty" id="pwd_empty" value="0"/> </div> <div class="field"> <label for="__ac_name">Login Name</label> <br/> <input type="text" size="10" alt="Login Name" name="__ac_name" value="" id="__ac_name"/> </div> <div class="field"> <label for="__ac_password">Password</label> <br/> <input type="password" size="10" alt="Password" name="__ac_password" id="__ac_password"/> </div> <div class="cookiesMessage portalMessage" style="display:none"> Cookies are not enabled. You must enable cookies before you can log in. </div> <div class="formControls"> <input class="context" type="submit" name="submit" value="Log in" alt="Log in"/> </div> </form> </dd> <dd class="portletItem even"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/mail_password_form" class="tile"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/info_icon.gif" alt="" title="" height="16" width="16"/> Forgot your password? </a> </dd> <dd class="portletItem lastItem"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/join_form" class="tile"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/user.gif" alt="" title="User" height="16" width="16"/> New user? </a> <span class="portletBottomLeft"></span> <span class="portletBottomRight"></span> </dd> </dl> </div>   </div> </td> <td id="portal-column-content"> <div class=""> <div id="region-content" class="documentContent"> <span id="contentTopLeft"></span> <span id="contentTopRight"></span> <a name="documentContent"></a> <dl class="portalMessage info" id="kssPortalMessage" style="display:none"> <dt>Info</dt> <dd></dd> </dl> <div id="viewlet-above-content"></div> <div id="content"> <h1 class="documentFirstHeading"> <span class="" id="parent-fieldname-title"> IFC Overview summary </span> </h1> <div class="documentByLine" id="plone-document-byline"> </div> <p class="documentDescription"> <span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> General information about IFC, that is independent of the IFC specification releases. </span> </p> <div class="" id="parent-fieldname-text"> <hr/> <p> </p> <p><strong>IFC Specification Technology</strong></p> <p>The IFC specification is written using the EXPRESS data definition language, defined as <a class="external-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_10303-11">ISO10303-11</a> by the <a class="external-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.tc184-sc4.org/">ISO TC184/SC4</a> committee. It is the same data definition language as used e.g. in STEP or CIS/2. It has the advantage of being compact and well suited to include data validation rules within the data specification. The IFC exchange file structure (the syntax of the IFC data file with suffix ".ifc") is the so called "STEP physical file" format, defined as <a class="external-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_10303-21">ISO10303-21</a> by the same ISO TC184/SC4 committee. It is an ASCII file format  used to exchange IFC between different applications. </p> <p>In addition to the IFC-EXPRESS specification an ifcXML specification is published as well (since the IFC2x release). The ifcXML spec is provided as an <a class="external-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.w3.org/XML/Schema#dev">XML schema 1.0</a>, as defined by W3C. The ifcXML exchange file structure (the syntax of the IFC data file with suffix ".ifcXML") is the XML document structure. The XML schema is automatically created from the IFC-EXPRESS source using the "XML representation of EXPRESS schemas and data", defined as ISO10303-28 ed. 2. This ensures that both IFC-EXPRESS and ifcXML handle the same data consistently and that the *.ifc and *.ifcXML data files can be converted bi-directionally.</p> <ul><li>For more information on IFC file formats see below.</li></ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>IFC Data File Formats and Icons</strong></p> <p>IFC data files are exchanged between applications using the following formats and should be indicated by the published icons:</p> <table class="plain" width="80%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top">.ifc <br/></td> <td valign="top">IFC data file using the STEP physical file structure according to ISO10303-21. The *.ifc file shall validate according to the IFC-EXPRESS specification. <br/><br/>This is the default IFC exchange format.</td> <td> </td> <td valign="top"><img class="image-inline" src="/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview/IFC_icon_win_64x64.png/image_tile" alt="ifc_icon_64x64"/></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">.ifcXML <br/></td> <td valign="top">IFC data file using the XML document structure. It can be generated directly by the sending application, or from an IFC data file using the conversion following ISO10303-28, the XML representation of EXPRESS schemas and data.<br/><br/>Note: an .ifcXML file is normally 300-400% larger then an .ifc file.<br/></td> <td> </td> <td valign="top"> <img class="image-inline" src="/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview/ifcXML_icon_win_64x64.png/image_tile" alt="ifcXML_icon_64x64"/></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">.ifcZIP <br/></td> <td valign="top">IFC data file using the PKzip 2.04g compression algorithm (compatible with e.g. Windows compressed folders, winzip, zlib, info-zip, etc.). It requires to have a single .ifc or *.ifcXML data file in the main directory of the zip archive.<br/><br/>Note: an .ifcZIP files usually compress an .ifc down by 60-80% and an .ifcXML file by 90-95%. <br/></td> <td> </td> <td valign="top"> <img class="image-inline" src="/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview/ifcZIP_icon_win_64x64.png/image_tile" alt="ifcZIP_icon_64x64"/></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>For more information see also:</em></strong></p> <ul><li><a title="Summary for faq" class="internal-link" href="/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/developers/faq/summary-for-faq">frequently asked questions</a> section <br/></li></ul> <p> </p> </div> <div class="relatedItems"> </div> <div class="visualClear"></div> <div class="documentActions"> <h5 class="hiddenStructure">Document Actions</h5> <ul> <li id="document-action-sendto"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/products/ifc-overview/ifc-overview-summary/sendto_form" title="">Send this</a> </li> <li id="document-action-print"> <a href="javascript:this.print();" title="">Print this</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <span id="contentBottomLeft"></span> <span id="contentBottomRight"></span> </div> </div> </td> <td id="portal-column-two"> <div class="visualPadding"> <div id="portletwrapper-706c6f6e652e7269676874636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a6e657773" class="portletWrapper kssattr-portlethash-706c6f6e652e7269676874636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a6e657773"><dl class="portlet portletNews" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <dt class="portletHeader"> <span class="portletTopLeft"></span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/news" class="tile">News</a> <span class="portletTopRight"></span> </dt> <dd class="portletItem odd"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/groups/msg-members/news/ifc2x4-release-candidate-2-available" class="tile" title="The IFC2x Edition 4 Release Candidate 2 has been published on 02.10.2010. The Release Candidate 2 marks the schema update freeze state for IFC2x4 and is the first major documentation update by switching to a new documentation format. It is again provided for extensive public review and comments. "> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/newsitem_icon.gif" alt="News Item"/> IFC2x4 Release Candidate 2 available <span class="portletItemDetails">Sep 28, 2010</span> </a> </dd> <dd class="portletItem even"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/groups/msg-members/news/new-ifc-certification-2.0-process-started" class="tile" title="The new IFC Certification 2.0 process has started and first software companies subscribed to the new process. The first round is based on the improved IFC2x3 Coordination View Version 2.0."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/newsitem_icon.gif" alt="News Item"/> New "IFC Certification 2.0" process started. <span class="portletItemDetails">May 31, 2010</span> </a> </dd> <dd class="portletItem odd"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/groups/msg-members/news/msg-survey-2009-results-published" class="tile" title=""> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/newsitem_icon.gif" alt="News Item"/> MSG Survey 2009 - Results available <span class="portletItemDetails">Jan 17, 2010</span> </a> </dd> <dd class="portletItem even"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/groups/msg-members/news/ifc2x3-tc1-available" class="tile" title="The IFC2x Edition 3 Technical Corrigendum 1 has been published on 10.07.2007"> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/newsitem_icon.gif" alt="News Item"/> IFC2x3 TC1 available <span class="portletItemDetails">Jul 11, 2007</span> </a> </dd> <dd class="portletItem odd"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/groups/msg-members/news/ifcxml2x3-final-published" class="tile" title="The final ifcXML2x3 release has been published on 20.06.2007."> <img width="16" height="16" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/newsitem_icon.gif" alt="News Item"/> ifcXML2x3 Final Published <span class="portletItemDetails">Jun 25, 2007</span> </a> </dd> <dd class="portletFooter"> <span class="portletBottomLeft"></span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/news"> More news… </a> <span class="portletBottomRight"></span> </dd> </dl> </div> <div id="portletwrapper-706c6f6e652e7269676874636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a63616c656e646172" class="portletWrapper kssattr-portlethash-706c6f6e652e7269676874636f6c756d6e0a636f6e746578740a2f706c6f6e650a63616c656e646172"><dl class="portlet portletCalendar" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <dt class="portletHeader"> <span class="portletTopLeft"></span> <a href="?month:int=10&year:int=2010&orig_query=" rel="nofollow" title="Previous month" id="calendar-previous" class="kssCalendarChange kssattr-year-2010 kssattr-month-10 calendarPrevious">«</a> November 2010 <a href="?month:int=12&year:int=2010&orig_query=" rel="nofollow" title="Next month" id="calendar-next" class="kssCalendarChange kssattr-year-2010 kssattr-month-12 calendarNext">»</a> <span class="portletTopRight"></span> </dt> <dd class="portletItem"> <table class="ploneCalendar" summary="Calendar"> <caption class="hiddenStructure">November</caption> <thead> <tr class="weekdays"><th scope="col">Mo</th><th scope="col">Tu</th><th scope="col">We</th><th scope="col">Th</th><th scope="col">Fr</th><th scope="col">Sa</th><th scope="col">Su</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td> </tr> <tr><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td> </tr> <tr><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>17</td><td>18</td><td class="todaynoevent"><strong>19</strong></td><td>20</td><td>21</td> </tr> <tr><td>22</td><td>23</td><td>24</td><td>25</td><td>26</td><td>27</td><td>28</td> </tr> <tr><td>29</td><td>30</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <span class="portletBottomLeft"></span> <span class="portletBottomRight"></span> </dd> </dl> </div>   </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div class="visualClear" id="clear-space-before-footer"></div> <div id="portal-footer"> <p> This site is the <acronym title="Copyright">©</acronym> 2008-2010 of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.buildingsmart.com/">buildingSMART International</a> </p> <p> For <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/legal">Terms and Conditions</a> associated with use of this web site please refer to the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.iai-tech.org/legal">Legal</a> notice. </p> </div> <div id="portal-colophon"> <div class="colophonWrapper"> <ul> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://plone.org/" title="This site was built using Plone CMS, the Open Source Content Management System. Click for more information."> Powered by Plone</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://validator.w3.org/check/referer" title="This site is valid XHTML."> Valid XHTML</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/check/referer?warning=no&profile=css3&usermedium=all" title="This site was built with valid CSS."> Valid CSS</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.section508.gov/" title="This site conforms to the US Government Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines."> Section 508</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359/http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG1AA-Conformance" title="This site conforms to the W3C-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines."> WCAG</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div></div> <div class="visualClear"></div> </div> <div id="kss-spinner"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20101119090359im_/http://www.iai-tech.org/spinner.gif"/></div> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

IFC Overview summary — buildingSMART technical resources