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Exchange with Other Disciplines

Why Exchange Matters​

Builder's work openings only add value when every discipline (Architecture, Structure, MEP) agrees on them. The Exchange feature moves that agreement (geometry, approval status, comments and snapshots) between models and partners.

Which format you pick depends on what your partner uses.

Prerequisites

Before you export or import, complete one of:

Overview of Exchange Formats​

ExportImport
Exchange diagram with central ConVoid hubHub-and-spoke diagram. ConVoid for Revit on top, External Systems bottom left, ConVoid Manager bottom right, ConVoid as central hub. Export green, Import purple.ConVoid for RevitExternal SystemsConVoid ManagerRVTIFCBCFCCXLSCSV2D PDFRVTIFCBCFCCXLSIFCBCFXLS2D PDFXLSIFCBCFCCBCFFRAGHTMLXLSCSVCCBCFFRAGIFC
FormatGeometryApprovalsCommentsSnapshots
Revit (RVT)✅✅*✅*❌
BCF❌✅✅✅
IFC✅❌❌❌
CC (ConVoid Manager)✅✅✅✅
Excel (XLSX)❌✅✅❌
CSV❌✅❌❌
PDF (2D Plans)✅❌❌❌

* Only preserved when both sides use ConVoid.

Which format should I choose?
  • Partner works with ConVoid: Use CC (ConVoid Manager), Revit + Approval Synchronisation, or Revit + BCF.
  • Partner works with BIM but not ConVoid: Use BCF and IFC (open-BIM standards).
  • Partner does not work with BIM: Use Excel and PDF (2D Plans).
Never import your own discipline

On every import (BCF, CC, Excel, Approval Synchronisation), do not tick your own discipline in the list. Importing your own discipline overwrites the approvals you already made. Always import only from the partner's discipline.

RVT: Revit​

ConVoid Manager Revit Exchange

Share Revit File​

Share the Revit file with your project partner as usual. If you approved the openings with ConVoid, approvals and comments travel inside the file automatically.

Snapshots not included

Snapshots cannot be stored in a Revit file. To exchange snapshots, use BCF or CC.

Synchronize Approvals​

When you receive a Revit file with reviewed openings (for example from Architecture or Structure), use Approval Synchronisation to transfer status and comments in bulk.

  1. Link the external Revit file into your project, as you learned in Link Revit and IFC Files.
  2. Open the conclass ribbon tab and click Void Manager.
  3. Click Exchange → Synchronize Approval. A window appears.
  4. Select the linked Revit model in the top dropdown. A list of approvals per discipline appears.
  5. Tick the discipline you want to import (for example ARC or STR).
  6. Click Import. Approvals and comments are merged into your openings.
Partner must use ConVoid

Approval Synchronisation only works if the partner adopted your openings with Workflow B: Adopt Openings. If the partner copied, re-created or manually placed the openings, the link between your openings and theirs is broken and no approvals can be transferred.

BCF: BIM Collaboration Format​

BCF is the open-BIM standard for issue exchange. It is typically used to exchange approvals with BCF platforms (BIMcollab, BIM Track, Solibri, Stabicad), but also works between ConVoid users, especially for snapshots. ConVoid creates a BCF entry for each opening automatically.

ConVoid Manager BCF Exchange

Coordinate Settings​

Before your first export, set the coordinate base. The same settings apply to BCF, CC and IFC exports.

  1. Open the conclass ribbon tab and click Void Manager.
  2. Click Exchange → Settings.
  3. Select the Coordinate Base and, if needed, include the IFCSITE elevation. Click OK.
  4. Restart the Void Manager. The settings are stored in your Revit project.

Export BCF​

  1. Open the Void Manager and click Exchange → BCF Export.
  2. Save the .bcf or .bcfzip file and send it to your partner.
Add dynamic titles before exporting

Add dynamic titles to each opening before exporting the BCF (for example using parameter values like Level, Shape, Dimensions). This makes issues easier to identify in BIMcollab or other platforms.

Labels exported in wrong language

If your BCF export suddenly shows labels in a wrong language, somebody changed the project language. Go to Void Manager → Profile → Project Language, reselect your language and re-export. The labels must also exist in the target BCF system (BIMcollab, BIM Track), otherwise the status is ignored.

Import BCF​

  1. Open the conclass ribbon tab and click Void Manager.
  2. Click Exchange → BCF Import. A window appears.
  3. Locate the .bcf file you received and click Open. A list of approvals per discipline appears.
  4. Tick the discipline you want to import (for example ARC or STR).
  5. Click Import. Approvals, comments and snapshots are merged into your openings.
BCF import does nothing in Revit?

If the Manager shows the imported status correctly but the openings in Revit keep their old status, the BCF usually maps to labels that do not exist in your project, or the openings were copy-pasted and no longer share an IfcGuid with the BCF issues. Check the label setup first.

IFC: Industry Foundation Classes​

IFC is used to share the geometry of openings (or Provisions for Voids) with disciplines. Combine IFC with BCF for the full workflow.

Process IFC​

ConVoid can process any IFC model to create or adopt openings. Follow Workflow A: Create Openings or Workflow B: Adopt Openings. After creating or adopting, run the approval workflow and share your results via BCF, Excel or other formats.

Export IFC​

Once you have processed the IFC file and created Revit ConVoid Openings, you can export the openings back as IFC. Make sure the Coordinate Settings match the ones used for BCF and CC.

To make sure only the relevant openings are exported, we recommend the following steps:

  1. Open the conclass ribbon tab and click Void Manager.
  2. Switch to a 3D view.
  3. Filter and select the openings you want to export in the table.
  4. Isolate the openings in the 3D view.
  5. Run the IFC Export based only on elements visible in the active view.
Pset definition file required

Without a custom Pset_ProvisionForVoid definition file added to Revit's IFC export settings, the dimensions and properties of your openings will not be exported correctly and will appear wrong in the receiving software.

Set up the Pset file once per project:

  1. Save the following template as a .txt file. Adapt the parameter names on the right side to match the parameter names in your project language if needed. 
    PropertySet:	Pset_ProvisionForVoid	I	IfcBuildingElement
    	Width	Length	Total Width
    	Height	Length	Total Height
    	Depth	Length	Total Depth
    	Length	Length	Total Length
    	Perimeter	Length	Perimeter
    	Lateral Surface	Area	Lateral Surface
    	Sealing	Volume	Sealing
    	Volume	Volume	Volume
    	Occupancy %	Integer	Occupancy %
    	Abbreviation	Text	Abbreviation Type A
    	Orientation	Text	Orientation
    	Opening Type	Text	Opening Type
    	Opening Name	Text	Assembly Code
    	System	Text	System Abbreviation
    	Fire Rating	Text	Fire Rating
    	Host Material	Text	Material of Host
  2. In Revit's IFC export settings, add the file under User Defined Property Sets.
  3. Run the IFC export again.
Include comments in the IFC Export

By default, comments live inside the Void Manager and are not stored on the opening as a readable parameter, so they are not written into the IFC. To export them, add the Chat Log shared parameter to your project as a project parameter for the Generic Models category. The parameter is included in the ConVoid shared parameter file that ships with the ConVoid Families (download here).

Each time you close the Void Manager, ConVoid writes the latest comments of every opening to its Chat Log parameter. After that, the comments travel with the opening into the IFC. In Revit's IFC export settings, make sure Export user-defined property sets is enabled so the parameter is written to the file.

CC: ConVoid Manager​

CC is the native ConVoid format used by the ConVoid Manager (Stand-Alone). It is the only format that carries everything: geometry, approvals, comments and snapshots.

ConVoid Manager BCF Exchange

Export CC​

  1. Make sure the Coordinate Settings are set correctly.
  2. Open the Void Manager and click Exchange → CC Export.
  3. Save the .cc file and send it to your partner.

The export includes all visible models and elements of your active view plus your approvals, snapshots and comments. Other project participants can process the file with the ConVoid Manager Stand-Alone (see Approval with ConVoid Manager Standalone).

Import CC​

  1. Open the conclass ribbon tab and click Void Manager.
  2. Click Exchange → CC Import. A window appears.
  3. Locate the .cc file you received and click Open. A list of approvals per discipline appears.
  4. Tick the discipline you want to import (for example ARC or STR).
  5. Click Import. Approvals, comments and snapshots are merged into your openings.

XLS: Excel​

Use Excel for reporting, project documentation and per-opening change logs. The export takes the current Void Manager table (columns, filters and sort order) and writes it to .xlsx.

ConVoid Manager Excel Exchange

Export Excel​

  1. Set up the table in the Void Manager: show the columns you need via Fields, then filter and sort as desired.
  2. Click Exchange → Excel Export.
  3. Open the .xlsx file and adjust layout, logo and structure as needed.

The export includes all parameters, approvals, comments and the full change log per opening (position, dimensions, oversize, levels, shape, transferred parameters). Other project participants can approve and comment on openings via the Excel file (see Approval with Excel).

Import Excel​

You can import the Excel file with approvals and comments:

  1. Open the conclass ribbon tab and click Void Manager.
  2. Click Exchange → Excel Import. A window appears.
  3. Locate the .xlsx file you received and click Open. A list of approvals per discipline appears.
  4. Tick the discipline you want to import (for example ARC or STR).
  5. Click Import. Approvals and comments are merged into your openings.

CSV​

CSV is a lightweight export for data pipelines, dashboards and schedules where you only need the parameters and status of the openings. Unlike Excel, CSV does not carry comments or change logs.

Export CSV​

  1. Set up the table in the Void Manager: show the columns you need via Fields, then filter and sort as desired.
  2. Click Exchange → CSV Export.
  3. Save the .csv file.

PDF: 2D Plans​

PDF is for plan issue. Use Revit's native Print / Export to PDF with your usual plan sheets. Each sheet contains the openings as drawn, with their tags and dimensions, but no approvals, comments or snapshots.