With this IFC export manual, the goal is to give the user a guide on how to export the IFC for the right purposes. An IFC file can quickly become heavy and large when you have a lot of information to get out of the model. That is why when exporting an IFC, you need to uncheck unnecessary information. When uploading a model to Catenda, it is not always necessary to have a lot of information and a high level of detail in the model. A little later in this manual we will return to what settings we recommend to make the model a little smaller and a little easier to work with. Here we will go through step by step the most appropriate way to export an IFC from Revit to Catenda.

In this article you will be able to find information about:

Before exporting it is important to make sure that the GUID's of your Revit project are correct.

If the GUID is different from a previous export the objects of newer exports will not be properly linked to the GUIDs in BCF topics.

When you make a new project it will have a unique id.

When Revit is open and you are ready to export, you may want to do the following.

Top left we find "File" tab.

The IFC export menu can be found here:

This is what the Export IFC menu can look like:

File name

Enter the name and location that the exported file will have in the system

Export setup

Choose between the following pre-defined setups:

<In-Session Setup>

IFC 2x3 Coordination View 2.0

IFC 2x3 Coordination View

IFC 2x3 GSA Concept Design BIM 2010

IFC 2x3 Basic FM Handover View

IFC 2x3 Coordination View

IFC 2x3 COBie 2.4 Design Deliverable View

IFC4 Reference View [Architecture]

IFC4 Reference View [Structural]

IFC4 Reference View [BuildingService]

IFC4 Reference View [Unofficial]

IFC4x3

IFC-SG Regulatory Requirements View

When the Catenda Plugin for Revit is used, an extra pre-defined export setup for use with Catenda is added to the list of options.

Click on Modify setup in the export setup part of the export ifc dialogue.

This is where the necessary settings for IFC exports can be changed and custom setups can be created.

This is what the modify setup menu can look like:

This window contains the following tabs:

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We'll take you through the various settings.

IFC version

Selection of IFC version.

Exchange Requirement

These options can change depending on the IFC version that is selected.

IFC 2x3 Coordination View 2.0

Category mapping

Before Revit 2026 this option was available in File -> Export -> Options -> IFC Export Options.

This is what the Manage IFC Export Mapping Settings menu can look like:

File type

IFC type selection.

Phase to export

If you have used the phase tool

in Revit, here you can choose and only

export new or existing structures.

Space boundaries

These are all about how room information can be used further.

a. 1st Level - Ex on use: Quantity withdrawals, management, operation and maintenance (FDVU).

b. 2st Level - Ex on use: Energy analysis, light analysis.

Facility Type

This option is only available for IFC 4x3

Choose between one of the following:

Bridge (IfcBridge)

Building (IfcBuilding)

Marine Facility (IfcMarineFacility)

Railway (IfcRailway)

Road (IfcRoad)

Split Walls, Columns, Ducts by level

Here you can f. Ex dividing walls horizontal if modeled over several floors.

File Header information...
Project Address...
In these you can put information on who has delivered the IFC, project address etc.

Project Origin

Project origin, this we put on Current shared coordinates- Present shared coordinates.

Include Steel Elements

Includes steel components if modeled.

Export linked files as separate IFC's

If you want to include the linked files in the IFC you can check this option to do so.

It is recommended that you export each file separately and import each to their own model.

Export only visible objects visible in view IFC file.

Include Steel elements, filled

Exports 2D plan view elements, filled, regions (scratches).

Export Ceiling Grids

Ceiling grids are 2D elements and thus not displayed in the Catenda 3D viewer.

Exports all Revit Property sets (pset / properties)

Here is an example of a wall exported with this option:

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Typical properties that show in the properties menu are:

Constraints, Cross-Section Definition, Dimensions, Structural, Identity Data, Other

Typical properties that show in the Identification menu are:

IFC Parameters

Export standard IFC properties.

Exports calculated quantities of objects.

Export batch lists

Export one-off Property Set

Classification settings

Here is an example of what classification settings can look like with omniclass.

Name

The name of the classification

Source (Publisher)

The publisher of the classification

Edition

The classification edition

Edition date

The date of the classification

Documentation location

This has to be a valid documentation location

Classification field name

The classification field name is the name of the parameter in your objects that will hold the classification value. This parameter can often be found on the family level.
Edit a family to see its properties

This is what the parameter can look like in the properties

If you have exported your ifc with a classification and imported it as a model to Catenda you will see its classification suggested as a suggested library when creating a new library on the libraries page.
If a value in the property you specified matches with a value in the documentation provided it will be found and can be used to select objects with this value through the classification library you created.

This is about how detailed we have for example. cups or handrails or maybe bicycle wheels. There are 4 different levels of detail.

Extra Low

Low

Medium

High

When high, it gets the most detailed as shown in the picture below.

When exporting IFCs from Revit to be used in Catenda Hub, we recommend not to set the level of detail to high. There will be a lot of details and extra polygons in models when exported with higher level of detail and this is not always necessary and will make the model navigation slower. This is an example of the difference between exporting with the Extra low and High setting.

The appearance of the model will be close to the same, but the number of polygons will decrease drastically and the navigation in Catenda Hub will be a lot faster.

Export parts as building elements

Export parts like standard IFC element.

Allow use of mixed "Solid Model" representation

Select this option to allow mixing of BRep and extrusion geometries for a unit.

Use active view when creating geometry

Select this option to use the active view to generate the geometry. Note that this may have unexpected results if used on a non-3D view.

Use family and type name for reference

Select this option to use the family and type namesfor references.

Use 2D room boundaries for room volume

Select this option to use a simplified approach for calculating room volume (based on extrusion of 2D space boundaries) which is also standard when exporting to IFC 2x2.

Include IFCSite elevation in the site local placement origin

Select this option to include the height from the Z-offset for local position in IfcSite. Remove the option to exclude it.

Store the IFC GUID in an element parameter after export

Select this option to save the generated IFC GUIDs to the project file after export. This will add "IFC GUID" parameters to items and their types and Project information for project, website and building guides.

Export bounding box

Select this option to export "Bounding box" representations. This option remains automatically selected for GSA export.

Keep Tessellated Geometry as Triangulation

If you have complex curved elements or shells and they do not display correctly after the IFC export you can select this option. Keep in mind yo that you might produce a very heavy IFC file.

Use Type name only for IFCType name

Select this option if you want the BAT-ID or the ID of the object to appear as the name of the entity.

Use Visilble Revit name as the IFCEntity name

Select this option if you want the Revit object name to be the name of the entity

Always export faceted floors and roofs as a single IFC enitity

Select this option to combine faces of floors and roofs with multiple faces to a single entity.

Set "Last Modified" user to the Author in Project Information

Select this option if you are the author of the changes in this export

Entities to export

This is what the IFC Entity Selection menu that opens upcan look like:

It is important that your Revit coordinates are synchronized with the other models in your project so that they end up on the same place.

Therefore measure the coordinates in Catenda Hub with a point measure and specify a coordinate base in Revit at a point that is on the same place as the measured point in Catenda Hub.

You can find this option in the Manage tab -> Coordinates -> Specify Coordinate Base.
​Specify Coordinates at Point

Relocates a model and rotates the model to True North by specifying coordinates for North/South, East/West, and Elevation.

In Revit it is often easier to model on 90 degree angles and you don't want to rotate the whole model.
In this case you can rotate True North instead.
You will find the option in the Position dropdown below Coordinates in the Manage tab.
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Project site

Internal

Coordinate base

You can change this setting to make sure your project is oriented towards North

Shared Coordinates - Default

Survey point

Project Base Point

Internal Origin

Project Base Point Oriented in True North

Internal origin Oriented in True North

Override

Here you can override the projected Coordinate System Reference
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This menu is only available when the IFC2x3 COBie 2.4 Design Deliverable View Setup is selected in the left menu.

This menu is only available when the IFC2x3 COBie 2.4 Design Deliverable View Setup is selected in the left menu.
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The IFC Options of a Revit project can be found in:

Here within the IFC options we make the settings for exporting a model to an IFC file. Here you can customize

setup properties for exporting a model to IFC. What was mentioned at the start of this manual is it is not necessary to bring too much information out of the model. Feel free to tick off unnecessarily information before export.

It is possible to view grids in Catenda Hub, and if you have these in your Revit model it is in IFC Options you can set grids to be exported in the IFC. By default these are not exported from Revit.

The colors that are displayed in Catenda are read from the IFC file that is imported.
When the material property of a family is added to the IFC parameters, the color of the material in the material property is added to the IFC and thus displayed in Catenda.

In Revit materials can be found in the material browser:

In the Material browser the setting for color can be found in the graphics tab of the material:
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It is also possible to lock the shading to the render settings.

Surfaces in the Catenda 3D viewer have flat shading without a light source present.
The following values are interpreted by Catenda when displaying the surface in the 3D viewer:

Generic

Transparency

Tint