Extended Properties (BETA)

Introduction

Extended properties allow you to add custom information to model objects, helping your teams organize, track, and report on model data in ways that fit their unique workflows, without the need to modify original design files or rely on third-party tools.

The ability to add extended properties can:

• Empower BIM and VDC teams to enrich models with project-specific data.
• Streamline workflows for classification, scheduling, estimating, and progress tracking.
• Enable collaboration across teams by making custom data accessible in the ACC platform.
• Reduce reliance on external add-ins and manual work-arounds.

Some example use cases include tracking installation dates for building components, applying company-specific classification or location codes, and associating model objects with external databases containing information such as part numbers or cost codes.

Getting Started with Extended Properties

What Are Extended Properties?

Extended properties are custom fields that you can add to Model Coordination, define, and append to model objects. These fields can store information such as dates, text, numbers, or codes, and can be used to filter, group, or color objects in your models and views.

Set Up Extended Properties

To use extended properties, you must first set up parameters in Account Admin > Library. These parameters are managed through the Parameters Service. Once set up, you can add them as extended properties to selected model objects, and then set values for the properties.

Permissions and Roles for Extended Properties

• To manage parameters in the account library: Account Administrator or Standards Administrator (learn more).
• To add and manage parameters as extended properties in Model Coordination: Project Admin.
• To set values for extended properties: Project members with Publish markup permission for the file (see details).
• To view values of extended properties: Project members with View permission for the file.

Role	Import/Manage Properties	Add Property Values	View Properties
Account Admin
Project Admin
Power User (Create permission in Docs)
Project member

Supported File Types for Extended Properties

Extended properties are only supported for certain file types, specifically, those that support clash detection and have stable model element IDs. For the latest list, see Supported Files for Clash.

Extended Property Data Sets

When you apply extended properties to a file in Model Coordination, a corresponding data set appears in Docs, one per file, in the same folder as the model file. These data sets have a .extended-properties filename extension, and store property data independently from the source models.

Use Extended Properties in Other Workflows

When extended properties have been added to model objects, and had values set for them, you can use them in the following workflows:

• Object Table: Use extended properties for grouping objects in the table. They can also be applied as object table columns.
• Object filters: Use extended properties as filters when viewing models in the viewer. Both basic and advanced filters in the Model browser panel will include any extended properties applied to the open models.
• Object colors: Use extended properties to apply colors to model objects that have had specific properties assigned to them.
• Save to Docs: If you use extended properties to filter model objects when creating views, and then save a view to Docs, the properties, values, and any filters based on them, are visible (read-only) in the snapshot file in Docs.
• Clash filtering and grouping: Use extended properties for filtering clashes in the viewer, and as an option you can group clashes by.

Learn More

• Parameters in Docs
• Supported Files in Model Coordination
• Folder Permissions in Docs