How to Clean Up an IFC Model Before Sharing
Remove clutter, fix common issues, and ensure your model is ready for handover or coordination.
Before you share an IFC model with a client, contractor, or another discipline, it is worth spending a few minutes cleaning it up. A clean model is easier to open, loads faster, and avoids confusing error messages.
Recommended cleanup steps
- Start with a Model Health Check. This scans for common problems like orphaned geometry, duplicate GUIDs, missing storey assignments, and large coordinates. Fix the most critical issues first.
- Run Clean Orphans to remove geometry that is not connected to any element. Orphans are invisible in most viewers but add to file size and can cause errors.
- Use Remove External Links to strip references to files that existed on the original author's computer but are not available to anyone else. These often cause "missing file" pop-ups in viewers.
- If the model contains sensitive data (cost estimates, internal notes, contractor details), use Remove IFC Properties to strip those property sets before sharing.
When to clean
- Before sending to a client for review.
- Before uploading to a common data environment (CDE).
- Before archiving at the end of a project phase.
- Before merging with other discipline models.
A clean model reflects well on your team and prevents hours of troubleshooting by the people who receive it.