BIM: NativeIFC project creation workflow needs refinement

furgo16 commented 1 month ago

Is there an existing issue for this?

[X] I have searched the existing issues

Problem description

The process to create a native IFC project fees a bit confusing. Some points that contribute to that:

When creating a BIM FreeCAD document, and inserting a NativeIFC project via the BIM_Project command, the user is asked to save twice: once as a FreeCAD project and once as an IFC project. May be related to https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD/issues/14123
If the user has a model saved in two formats at once, which one should they be working on every time they want to modify that model?
When inserting a NativeIFC project via the BIM_Project command, the element in the tree is named _ifcProject. That sounds like a code/internal name and feels like an unfinished product. Could it not be simply named Project?
Original "BIM_Project" command icon replaced with "IFC document" icon, but Arch_Site, Arch_Building, Arch_Level commands retain their original icons and can be used outside of an IFC project.
Uniform IFC icon vs. distinctive FreeCAD icons (https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD/issues/14427)

I understand that the process probably just needs refinement after the BIM/Arch merge, but I think users would appreciate some guidance on the intended workflow. And the benefits of using Native IFC vs just designing in FreeCAD format and then exporting to IFC.

Happy to file a separate issue for each point if it makes sense, but I'd like to understand that workflow to better be able to file them if needed.

Full version info

OS: Ubuntu Core 22 (ubuntu:GNOME/ubuntu)
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.22.0dev.37573 (Git) Snap 1037
Build type: Release
Branch: main
Hash: 91aac05021023c946dc1545f2b13512ccf326550
Python 3.10.12, Qt 5.15.10, Coin 4.0.0, Vtk 7.1.1, OCC 7.7.1
Installed mods: 
  * OpenTheme 2024.5.16
  * OpenTheme.backup1716114997.8759558 2024.5.16 (Disabled)
  * Curves 0.6.36
  * ezydxf
  * ExplodedAssembly
  * BillOfMaterials 0.0.8.2
  * Ondsel-Lens 2024.5.6.01
  * Assembly4 0.50.12

Subproject(s) affected?

BIM/Arch

Anything else?

No response

Code of Conduct

[X] I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

maxwxyz commented 1 month ago

@yorikvanhavre FYI

yorikvanhavre commented 1 month ago

Definitely there are several problems with NativeIFC. The main source of bugs is the NativeIFC document observer that wrongly assumes some choices. I'll work on that ASAP (I'm buried under a mountain of work for the next 2 weeks :/ ).

Basically NativeIFC objects and old Arch objects are different things completely. NativeIFC objects don't get their geometry calculated from parameters, they get their geometry from the IFC file. When working in NativeIFC mode, arch (or any other) are converted to IFC on the fly after they're created. So the same button still creates one or the other, but the object is not the same.

I agree this is confusing and needs some clarification. There is still a LOT of work needed on NativeIFC.

Basically the bottom line is: It should be possible to disable NativeIFC entirely and for people to not care about it. That's something I'd like to have for 1.0. At the moment, the IFC button in the status bar is what controls it, but there are still many bugs, and it might not be enough.

If the user has a model saved in two formats at once, which one should they be working on every time they want to modify that model?

In native IFC mode, the IFC file is the single source of truth. The FreeCAD file is only a container. The idea of the NativeIFC mode is that you don't even need to save FreeCAD files anymore. But as said above, it's still buggy

When inserting a NativeIFC project via the BIM_Project command, the element in the tree is named _ifcProject. That sounds like a code/internal name and feels like an unfinished product. Could it not be simply named Project?

This was to indicate that the object has no name, and received a "generated" name...

More generally, the observer also needs to be fixed because apparently it is not correctly removed when the BIM WB exits.

yorikvanhavre commented 1 week ago

Trying to summarize here what needs to be done:

Locked mode is always off when starting a new file, unless Preferences -> BIM -> NativeIFC -> Lock new files is on. Difficulty: No way to detect accurately when a new file is created (or to distinguish from opening a file)
Locked mode is always on when opening an IFC file
Locked mode does not change when importing an IFC file
What to do when opening a FreeCAD file containing an IFC project?

furgo16 commented 1 week ago

Thanks. I'm not sure if the concept is new, so apologies if the question is obvious: could you expand on what "Locked mode" is?

yorikvanhavre commented 1 week ago

I just added to https://wiki.freecad.org/BIM_Workbench#General_concepts ;)

yorikvanhavre commented 4 days ago

The above commit should fix the remaining warnings, popups, etc. caused by nativeIFC.

There is still a lot of work needed in nativeIFC, but at least now it's out of the way, and people who don't need it will not have to deal with it.

furgo16 commented 4 days ago

Reading https://wiki.freecad.org/BIM_Workbench#Working_with_IFC, a few things:

In Locked mode, how is the IFC file saved? Via the regular Save command?
If you start FreeCAD, switch to the BIM Workbench and load an IFC file... In which mode (locked, unlocked) will be the BIM Workbench in? Or do you need a "container" .FcStd file (which always links to the .ifc file) that needs to be loaded, to be able to autodetect the mode?
The first paragraph on that section ends up with a Read more on [NativeIFC] sentence with an empty link.

yorikvanhavre commented 4 days ago

Yes, I didn't finish writing ;) More to come!

FreeCAD / FreeCAD