BCF and collaboration
Track BCF issues and cross-team collaboration.
By Julian Bringold ·
Quick answer
A BIM issue is a point to fix flagged on a model, such as a clash between trades or a missing property. BCF, the open buildingSMART format, exchanges these issues between tools without retyping: it points to objects by their GlobalId and keeps the viewpoint. SeveUp App tracks them as issues that can be imported and exported as BCF packages.
A BIM issue is a point to fix reported on a model: a clash between two trades, a missing element, a wrong value. The BCF format lets software exchange these points without re-entering them each time.
SeveUp App imports and exports BCF packages. You can gather issues coming from several tools, review them in one place and produce a list the teams can act on. Issue tracking is a feature that depends on your account's plan.
The BIMcollab and BIMtrack connectors link your account to those platforms; issues are exchanged with them in BCF format. Each connector signs in its own way and has its own limits, which are described in the help pages.
SeveUp App imports and exports issues: it does not replace a tool for creating annotations inside a model. The help center states what you can do in the application and what remains to be done in your coordination software.
This topic is for BIM coordinators and project managers who follow the resolution of issues across several companies.
Definition of a BIM issue and of the BCF format
A BIM issue is a point to fix reported on a model, for example a clash between two trades or a missing property. BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) is the open buildingSMART format used to exchange these points between software without re-entering them. It does not carry the model: it points to its objects by their IFC GlobalId and keeps the viewpoint from which the problem was seen.
The standard comes in two forms. BCF-XML is the file-based exchange, a zipped package that you send, upload or attach to a message, and the version 3.0 documentation is public on GitHub. The BCF API describes the online exchange between two servers; it is developed by the buildingSMART OpenCDE working group.
Two versions are in use on projects, 2.1 and 3.0. Their schemas differ. Before an exchange, check which version each party's software reads, especially when several companies work with different tools.
What a BCF package contains: topics, viewpoints and comments
A BCF package is a zip archive with a .bcfzip or .bcf extension. Each issue has its own folder. The standard calls it a topic: the markup.bcf file describes the topic and its comments, the .bcfv files hold the viewpoints, and PNG or JPEG images serve as snapshots.
The topic holds what a coordinator follows day to day: title, description, type, status, priority, assignee and due date. In BCF 3.0, the allowed values for type, status, priority or assignee are declared in an extensions.xml file at the root of the package.
The viewpoint is the most useful part of the format. It records a camera, perspective or orthogonal, clipping planes and the list of objects involved, identified by their IFC GlobalId. This link by identifier has a direct consequence: if a tool regenerates GlobalIds on every IFC export, issues that are already open no longer find their objects in the new revision.
BCF issues in SeveUp App
The "Issues" page gathers the loaded issues across all boards: the boards of SeveUp root folders and those synchronised from Trimble or Catenda. The "All", "My issues", "Open" and "Overdue" presets sort the list, the "Board" selector narrows it to one board, and the "Search (reference, title)" field also searches the description. "Save this filter" keeps a combination under a name.
In the viewer, the "Issues" tab works with the visual context of the model. "New issue here" creates an issue from the current view, with its camera, selection, section and snapshot. "Go to viewpoint" replays the view of an issue, and "Attach the current view" adds the view to a comment.
Issues synchronised from Trimble or Catenda stay read-only in SeveUp. For Trimble, the reverse direction exists: on a SeveUp board, the "Send to Trimble" setting sends issues to the chosen Trimble project, with their viewpoints and comments. This setting is "Organisation administrators only."
The BIMcollab and BIM Track connectors connect through OAuth from the "Connectors" page, where their card reads "Sync issues and BCF collaboration." Issue tracking is available depending on your account's plan.
Importing and exporting a BCF package, step by step
The help guide manage and track BIM issues shows each screen. Here is the most common round trip between a coordination tool and SeveUp App.
- In your coordination tool, export the issues as a .bcfzip or .bcf package, in version 2.1 or 3.0.
- In SeveUp App, open the relevant model in the viewer, then the "Issues" tab. Check that it is the right model: the issues will be filed in the board of its root folder.
- Click "Import .bcfzip" and choose the file. The "Importing…" message shows while it is processed.
- Read the import report: issues created and updated, viewpoints, comments, snapshots and warnings, including GlobalIds not found in the latest revision.
- Follow the issues from the "Issues" page with the "Open" or "Overdue" presets, and open each one with "Open in the viewer".
- To send the batch back, click "Export .bcfzip (BCF 2.1)" on the "Export" card. The "Export issues" and "Export comments" buttons download these data separately.
Common mistakes in a BCF exchange
The most frequent one concerns identifiers. A BCF issue points to its objects by GlobalId, and if the model was re-exported with new identifiers, the link breaks even when the geometry has not moved. The SeveUp App import report counts these cases as GlobalIds "not found in the latest revision". When the model has no processed data yet, it shows "GlobalIds not checked: the model has no processed data yet." instead of concluding they are missing.
The second trap is the model open at import time. The issues go into the board of its root folder. To create an issue, the model must also sit in a folder; otherwise SeveUp shows "This model is not in any folder: cannot choose the issue board."
The version matters too. SeveUp App reads 2.1 and 3.0 packages, but writes 2.1 only. If a recipient works in 3.0, check that their software also reads 2.1; the export tooltip names Solibri, BIMcollab, Revit and Navisworks as target software.
A viewpoint does not carry everything. When you click "Go to viewpoint", you may see "Viewpoint restored. Not carried by BCF:" followed by what is missing, for example "Plan mode". An issue synchronised from Trimble or Catenda cannot be edited in SeveUp, since it stays read-only there: the fix happens in the source platform.
Going further
The guide manage and track BIM issues covers the "Issues" page, its filters and its exports. To find an issue in its context, the guide explore a model in 3D presents the viewer. Issues often come from a check: the topic IFC quality and audit deals with the health of the file, and the topic BIM requirements and IDS with compliance with the brief. Finally, the topic connectors describes the platforms linked to SeveUp App.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the BCF format?
Which BCF versions does SeveUp App accept?
Where do I import a BCF package?
Can I create an issue in SeveUp App?
Which platforms can issues be exchanged with?
Why does the import report list GlobalIds that were not found?
Is issue tracking open to every account?
Gather your BCF issues in one place
Create an account, open an IFC model in the viewer and import your first .bcfzip package from the "Issues" tab.