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FreeBIMTools

How it works

Your file goes to your browser, not to a server

Every browser tool on this site follows the same path. There is no upload step, because there is nowhere to upload to.

  1. 1

    You select a BIM file

    Drag an IFC onto the page or pick it with the file chooser. The browser hands the tool a reference to a file already on your disk.

  2. 2

    Your browser loads the BIM engine

    A WebAssembly IFC parser is downloaded once, on the tool page only. Marketing and article pages never load it.

  3. 3

    The model is parsed locally

    Parsing runs in a Web Worker on your own CPU and memory. The interface stays responsive while it works.

  4. 4

    You download the result

    Tables, reports and exports are generated in the browser and saved straight to your downloads folder.

Where your model goes

  1. Your BIM file
  2. Your browser
  3. WebAssembly BIM engine
  4. Result
  5. Download

Where it does not go

FreeBIMTools server

Our servers deliver HTML, CSS, JavaScript and WebAssembly. They do not process BIM models.

Questions

Is my IFC file uploaded to FreeBIMTools?
No. For the browser tools, the file you select is read by your own browser. The model contents are not transmitted to FreeBIMTools servers.
What is WebAssembly?
WebAssembly is a format that lets compiled code run at close to native speed inside a browser. It is how an IFC parser that would normally be a desktop application can run on a web page.
Why does the browser stay responsive on large models?
Parsing and analysis run in a Web Worker, which is a separate thread from the interface. The page can keep drawing and responding while the model is being read.
Does this work offline?
The page itself has to be loaded from the internet. Once the tool and its engine are loaded, the processing of your model happens locally on your machine.

The detail of what the site itself records is on the privacy page.