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Editing a model's placement

Modifying a model's alignment and rotation.

A good BIM coordination strategy should prevent the need to alter model placement values within Aconex.  If model alignment problems occur, it is best to go back to the creation source and update the correct coordinate system, rather than changing the values in model placement. This will prevent confusion if the model files are used in other viewers.

By default, Revit files added into the Aconex model viewer will use the Shared Coordinate System. Internal Origin is selectable for backward compatibility of some models.

IFC models will use the coordinate values supplied when they were exported from the authoring tool.  When exporting IFC files from Revit make sure you choose to export using the Shared coordinate system. This setting is usually the default setting for an IFC export.

When creating design issues in Navisworks or Revit, the method used to align the models must be the same one used in Aconex models.

Model alignment and viewing problems can occur if:

  • Multiple/federated models don’t share the same coordinate system
  • Design issues created in external tools use a different coordinate system to the one used in Aconex.

To prevent these issues, ensure the same coordinate system is used for all models.

View and edit model placement values

  1. From the viewer tools, click the dropdown and select Model Placement.
  1. Select the model you want to update.
  1. Click the pencil icon to make changes. Note: You'll only see the pencil icon if you have permission to modify the model. 
  2. You'll see your changes live in the viewer. They are temporarily visible unless they are Saved.  You can change the fields back to zero or unload the model and reload it again to clear the placement preview.
  3. Click Save to keep the changes.

Tip!

  • You can view and change the Coordinate System for Revit models. Changing this value could affect existing viewpoints or design issues that have referenced this model.  If the coordinate values are different between these settings, the model may not appear in the intended viewing space.
  • IFC models have no Coordinate System.
  • If the Translation and Rotation fields have values other than zero, this means that the model position has been altered from the values supplied in the model file.

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