The answer is inside the model
The duct clearance you need sits behind two walls and a ceiling. With a plain 3D view the only option is to orbit around it, and the screenshot you send shows everything except the thing you were asked about.
BIM viewer tools
Section box and measure in an IFC model, in the browser
Most people open an IFC model to answer one question: what is behind this wall, how wide is that opening, how high is the slab. Fidrel’s viewer lets you cut a section, measure on the geometry, hide what is in the way and save the view as an image, all in the browser with nothing to install. This page walks through those review tools.
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Why model review ends up in screenshots
Measurements nobody can repeat
A dimension read off a screenshot has no points behind it. The next person cannot check it, and the number gets pasted into an email as if it were a dimension from a drawing.
Section plane or section box
The Section tool cuts the model with one plane. Choose from above for a plan cut or from the side or the front for an elevation, slide the cut through the model and flip it to look the other way. The section box is a different cut: it limits the model on all three axes at once, so you can isolate a room or a floor, either with the sliders or around the objects you selected. Only one cut is active at a time, because opening the section plane closes the section box. For plans and elevations to scale, switch the camera to Orthographic, which is a parallel projection without perspective.
BIM & 3D
Measuring on the geometry
A distance takes two clicks, and an area takes as many clicks as it has corners; click the first point again or press Enter to close the shape. The cursor snaps to corners and edges, so you measure between real points of the model. A sloping distance also shows its height difference, and an area shows its perimeter. Distances and areas can be undone or cleared.
How to cut, measure and save a view
Step 1
Open the model and cut it
Open the model in 3D, then use Section for a plane from above, from the side or from the front with a slider and a Flip button, or Section box to limit X, Y and Height. Around selection fits the box to the objects you picked.
Step 2
Measure what you need
Choose Measure and click two points for a distance, or switch to Area and click the corners of the shape. The cursor snaps to corners and edges, and the reading appears in meters.
Step 3
Clear the view and save it
Select objects and use Hide or Isolate, or turn on X-ray to see through. Then open Image, pick Full HD, 4K or 8K, tick Transparent background if you want it, and choose Save PNG.
Hide, isolate and X-ray
Hide takes the selected objects out of the view, Isolate hides everything else, and Show all brings the model back. X-ray makes the model see-through, so you can follow a pipe or a duct through a wall without hiding the wall. These are changes to how you look at the model, not to the model itself.
Saving the view as an image
The image can be saved as a PNG at Full HD, 4K or 8K width, with a transparent background when you want to place it on a drawing sheet or in a report. Measurements and sections are included in the image. If you raise an issue or an NCR from an object, the record carries the view with it, so the next person opens the model with the same camera, selection and section.
What these tools do not do
A measurement is a reading in the viewer, not a quantity for your estimate; quantities come from the Quantities panel. Readings are shown in meters and square meters, not in feet and inches. The viewer shows and checks a model but does not edit it or save a changed IFC file, and native Revit, Archicad or Navisworks files must be exported to IFC first.
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Frequently asked questions
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usOpen the model in 3D and choose Section for a single plane or Section box for a box around the area you care about, then move the sliders until the cut shows what you need.
Yes. A distance takes two points and an area takes the corners of the shape. Fidrel also shows the height difference of a distance and the perimeter of an area.
Yes, the cursor snaps to corners and edges, so you measure between real points of the geometry rather than between points you guessed on the screen.
Full HD, 4K and 8K as a PNG, with an optional transparent background. Measurements and sections that are on screen are included in the image.
The cut applies to everything open in the viewer. Up to twelve models can be open together as a federated model, and the section box then limits all of them at once.
No. Export the model to IFC from your authoring tool and upload it. Fidrel builds the 3D model in your browser, and IFC files up to 512 MB are supported.