Inspectra BIM 0.2.0 – Release notes

Inspectra BIM 0.2.0 — From Viewer to Toolbox

Version 0.2.0 is our biggest update yet — big enough that we bumped the middle number. Where 0.1.x made Inspectra BIM a fast, reliable IFC viewer, 0.2.0 turns it into a working toolbox: four new analysis tools land in the Free edition, covering information requirements, quantities and model hygiene. Here’s what’s new since 0.1.3.

📝 IDS Creator — author information requirements

Write buildingSMART IDS 1.0 files without touching XML:

• Define specifications: which elements a rule applies to (IFC class, predefined type, plus part-of / classification / attribute / property / material filters) and what information they must carry.
• Full requirement facets with cardinality (required / optional / prohibited), property sets, data types, classifications and materials.
• Values support the same * and ? wildcards used across Inspectra, plus enumerated lists — the Creator translates them into standards-compliant XSD restrictions for you.
• Built-in validation explains problems in plain language before you save.

The produced .ids files are fully standards-compliant and open in any IDS-aware tool — not just ours.

✅ IDS Audit — validate models against the rules

The other half of the loop, now in Free: load an .ids file (yours or a client’s), point it at your IFC models and get a branded HTML + Excel validation report — pass/fail per specification, per file, with a filterable results table. Author the rules in IDS Creator, check the delivery with IDS Audit. The complete requirements workflow, end to end, at no cost.

📐 Quantity Takeoff — measure the model

A proper takeoff straight from the geometry:

• Computed quantities: volume, total surface area and footprint area (the solid projected onto the ground plane) — calculated from the actual tessellated geometry, for every element.
• Attribute quantities: pull any quantity your models already carry (e.g. NetVolume), found by name with wildcards.
• Add extra attribute columns to the schedule, and a Count column (1 per element) so pivot tables can sum pieces instantly.
• Output is a clean Excel workbook: per-element Takeoff, per-class Summary, and a Duplicates sheet listing anything excluded.

About that last one: the takeoff automatically detects identical solids standing in exactly the same spot — the classic “pasted twice” mistake — and keeps them out of your sums, so your quantities don’t silently double.

👯 Duplicates Check — find the copies before they cost you

The same duplicate-detection engine as a standalone tool. Run it on any selection of models and Inspectra will:

• find every pair of identical, fully overlapping solids (equal volume + coincident centroid),
• highlight them in the scene (pick your own colour),
• create a saved View for every case, with the rest of the model faded to 90% transparency — flip through the views and each duplicate is impossible to miss.

One “Restore Model Color” click brings the scene back to normal.

🔖 Views — now in Free

Saved views graduate to the Free edition: capture camera, visibility, filters and section state, manage them in the new Views panel, and export/import them as files to share with your team. Duplicates Check plugs straight into it, one view per finding.

Quality of life

• Model pickers across the new tools support filtering by part of the file name — type ARCH, click Check shown, done.
• Tool settings persist between sessions, and takeoff/check configurations are remembered per project setup.

Download Inspectra BIM 0.2.0 from our website — free, as always.

In the lab: the Inspectra Audit module — clash detection with attribute-based selection, review workflows with tags and statuses, coordination reports with per-clash screenshots, and BI-ready data exports. Coming to early access soon.