Update history​

CYPETEL Wireless

New method for connecting applications to the BIMserver.center platform

The mode of communication between Open BIM applications and the BIMserver.center collaborative work platform has changed. In previous versions, the applications used the "BIMserver.center Sync" tool to upload and download the files of the contributions associated with the project from the platform. This tool was downloaded from the BIMserver.center platform or installed together with the installation of the platform applications if users so desired.

From version 2024.a onwards, applications are now able to work directly with BIMserver.center without an intermediary. That is, without the need for the "BIMserver.center Sync" tool.

This modification will improve the performance and efficiency of Open BIM applications significantly. By removing this dependency, the applications have more autonomy and the waiting times for communication between BIMserver.center Sync and the program have been considerably reduced. The process of downloading contributions has also been optimised, as users no longer need to obtain the entire content of a project from BIMserver.center in order to work, but only the contributions to be read.

The way of authenticating a BIMserver.center user in the applications has also been modified. Now, this process is carried out within the BIMserver.center web platform. To do this, the application with which the user is working will run the user's default browser when the "Login" button is pressed. When the credentials are entered, or after opening the browser if the user is already connected to the platform, an authorisation page will be displayed. This page details the resources the application is requesting access to and two buttons for granting or denying this access.

The authorisation must be carried out for each application. Once access has been granted, it is saved for the next time the program is run and there is no need to perform this process again for that application.

As well as performance improvements, changes have been made to the user interface of the Open BIM applications regarding the connection to BIMserver.center.

  • The "Connect to BIMserver.center" window now includes a "Configuration" button. Clicking it launches a menu from which you can edit the "File directory stored in local cache". This is the path where the files that make up the contributions will be downloaded when working with them from the applications. In previous versions, this location could be selected from the BIMserver.center Sync tool.
  • The appearance of the "Project selection" window has been modified.
  • In the "Select project" list, the "View only my projects" option has been added to show only the projects where the connected BIMserver.center user is the owner. Icons have also been included for the "Type of project" column in order to make it easier to identify them. The detailed data of a project now shows the image of each contribution, the description and the tags.
  • The "Review new contributions" and "Review updated contributions" options have been added to the "Create new project" window.
  • The list for selecting contributions ("Import BIM models") now includes the images of the contributions and the tags. The name of the contribution will be displayed in blue to indicate that the owner is the logged-in user.
  • When sharing a contribution or selecting contributions during the process of linking to a BIMserver.center project, a progress window will appear during the upload or download process.

To work in BIMserver.center with versions of Open BIM applications prior to 2024.a, users must continue to use the BIMserver.center Sync tool. This is still available for download from the platform and was included in the installation packages of the CYPE Open BIM applications prior to 2024.a.

Character set in FIEBDC-3 export (.bc3)

As of version 2023.f, the character set to be used when exporting the bill of quantities in the standard FIEBDC-3 format (.bc3) can be selected from the "Bill of quantities" tab in the applications that have it. For this purpose, the "Character set" field has been included in the export configuration window and has three options:

  • Automatic selection
    The ANSI character set shall be used whenever possible. If the application detects characters that are not compatible with ANSI encoding, the UTF-8 character set shall be used.
  • ANSI
    This is the character set defined for Windows and the default character set used in previous versions. Not all Unicode characters can be represented by this encoding format.
  • UTF-8
    Through this standard encoding format (RFC 3629) all Unicode characters can be represented. However, the current FIEBDC-3 standard specification (3/2020) does not support UFT-8 encoding, so the ANSI character set should be used where possible (Automatic selection).

Thanks to the possibility of exporting and importing the bill of quantities in UTF-8 encoding, applications can now share bills of quantities that include Unicode characters. This establishes a fully multilingual environment for managing the project’s bills of quantities.

In the FIEBDC-3 standard, the character set is specified in the CHARACTER_SET field of the V record.

Mapping to resources

As of version 2023.e, applications with a "Bill of quantities" tab can map their model's elements to an item's resource. For this purpose, in the editing of a mapping file, the "Resource code" option has been added when components are modified in the "Classification" list. By activating this option, users can specify the resource code on which the quantity of the model element will be mapped. This will be added to the breakdown of the concept described by means of the "Concept code" and "Concept reference"  fields.

When the resource indicated in the mapping file is a cost breakdown in the associated cost database, only the unit components of this breakdown shall be assigned to the concept.

“UNTEC method” work section structure

The predefined work section structure "France - UNTEC Method" has been added when creating a new "Set of measurement rules" (Open BIM Quantities) or a "Mapping file" (applications with a "Bill of quantities" tab).

Graphical editing of the reference system of the model

Since version 2022.a, the applications integrated within the Open BIM workflow via the BIMserver.center platform include a tool for managing project reference systems. This option is available from the configuration window that appears when linking or updating a BIMserver.center project via the "Geographic location and reference system" option. As of version 2023.d, the applications now allow users to run a graphical environment where they can visually define a reference system for their model. To do this, the "Geographic location and reference system" window now contains the "Visual editing of the local reference system of the model" option.

From the "Visual editing of the local reference system of the model" window, the origin and orientation of the reference system of the model can be indicated in the workspace with the "Define the reference system of the partial model" tool. Both the axes of the reference system of the model, which we have just entered and the axes of the reference system of the site can be viewed in the workspace. The latter appears with a "Site" tag.

To make it easier to define the reference system, the 3D models corresponding to the BIMserver.center project contributions selected during the linking process are displayed. The management of the visibility and object snaps of these models is carried out from the "Elements read" menu in the left sidebar of the window. The "Views" menu can also be found in the same options bar, from which different types of 2D and 3D views of the model can be generated. These tools can already be found in several CYPE applications. For more information on how they work, please refer to the User’s Manual for the 3D work environment tools available in CYPE applications.

Apart from 3D models, 2D drawings or plans can also be imported from CAD files (".dxf", ".dwg", ".dwf") or images (".jpeg", ".jpg", ".bmp", ".png", ".wmf", ".emf", ".pcx"). These files and object snaps are managed through the "DXF-DWG Template" and "Template object snaps" options accordingly.

Once the editing is complete, the coordinates and orientation of the reference system of the model with respect to the reference system of the site are moved to the corresponding fields in the "Geographic location and reference system" window.

Quantities on the 2D/3D model

As of version 2023.d, all applications with a "Bill of quantities" tab now have a new set of tools that allow users to measure the work area. More specifically, the following options have been added:

  • Measure length
    The distance between points inserted in the work area can be measured. Several segments can be entered and the application will calculate the sum of the lengths of each one.
  • Measure area
    The area of a polygon defined by points inserted in the work area can be measured. Several polygons can be entered and the application will calculate the sum of the areas of each one.
  • Measure angle
    The three-point angle inserted in the work area can be measured. Several angles can be defined and the application will calculate the sum of them.
  • Count the number of objects
    The number of selected 3D model objects can be counted.
  • Measure the area of objects
    The total area of the selected 3D model objects can be measured.
  • Measure the volume of objects
    The total volume of the selected 3D model objects can be measured.

In order to make it easier to measure the quantities of the model, the work area has been modified to incorporate the 3D work environment tools that are already available in other CYPE Open BIM applications:

  • Defining views
    Different types of 2D and 3D views of the model can be generated from the "Views" panel in the sidebar of the work area.
  • Elements read
    The visibility and object snaps of model components can be controlled from the "Elements read" panel in the sidebar of the work area.
  • Inserting components
    When entering a measurement in the work area, the application provides a toolbar to make it easier for users to interact with the environment.

As well as measuring the 3D model, this new set of tools can be used to take measurements on plans or 2D drawings imported from CAD files (".dxf", ".dwg", ".dwf") or images (".jpeg", ".jpg", ".bmp", ".png", ".wmf", ".emf", ".pcx"). These files and the object snaps are managed through the "DXF-DWG Templates" and "Template object snaps" options respectively.

In order to use the measurements in the project's bill of quantities in a simple way, a button with a blue arrow has been added to the editing panel of the detail lines next to the editing window of each variable (A, B, C and D). Clicking it will assign the value of the measurement made on the work area to the variable.

Improved "Zoom" tool

The option to "Zoom" into the 3D model element has been added in the following cases:

  • "Quantities of the BIM model" tab in Open BIM Quantities
    In previous versions, users could frame a component of the IFC model in the 3D view. The same can now be done for the different groups of elements (types, entities, structure, layers and groups).
  • "Bill of quantities" tab in applications
    In previous versions, users could frame the elements used in a quantity detail line of the bill of quantities in the 3D view. The same can now be done for items and work sections.

Font size

The "Font size" option has been added to the general configuration menu of the applications. This tool allows users to increase or decrease the basic size of the font used in the user interface of the programs. Thanks to this implementation, the accessibility of the applications has been improved while also ensuring the correct visibility of the content on devices with different screen resolutions.

To enter a "Basic size" the "Set custom font size" option must be checked. The size users can enter is the application's basic font size. Any other font sizes that may exist in the program's interface will be automatically modified proportionally according to the change in the basic size.

It is important to note that, as this is a common parameter, its modification will affect all installed CYPE tools.

Bill of quantities tab

The "Bill of quantities" tab has been included. Now, users have tools to generate and manage the bill of quantities of the elements that have been entered.

More information in the "Bill of quantities tab" in project phase Open BIM applications.

64-bit Version

As of the 2019.f version, CYPE programs (those downloaded from our website and those downloaded from the BIMserver.center platform) are compiled for 64-bit systems. The 64-bit compilation of CYPE software implies the use of the superior features of 64-bit processors and operating systems compared to those of 32 bits.

Please bear in mind that you must have a 64-bit operating system to be able to work with any 64-bit software.

In any case and as a temporary measure, the 2019.f version is available in 64 and 32 bits on the download area of our webpage. The programs that can be downloaded from the BIMserver.center platform are only available in 64 bits. If you have a 64-bit operating system, you can work with either the 64-bit and 32-bit version of our software, although we strongly recommend that you install the 64-bit CYPE software version.

You can see which operating system is installed on your computer by clicking on "Control panel > System".

Since 64-bit microprocessors began to be massively introduced into personal computers from 2003 and from the Windows XP version, Microsoft already offers the two versions of its operating systems (32 and 64 bits). We understand that almost all our users will have computers with 64-bit processors (x64) and 64-bit operating systems.

It could occur that a user may wish to work with a computer with a 64-bit processor but with a 32-bit operating system. It would be very strange if the computer had a 32-bit processor (x86 - computers over 15 years old). If any of these is your case, we advise you to talk to your hardware or software provider to update your situation as soon as possible. However, you can download the 32-bit version and work with CYPE programs that can be downloaded from our website until your situation is up-to-date.

Emitter information in the 3D viewer of BIMserver.center

As of the 2019.a version, CYPETEL Wireless exports data from the wireless network to the file with “.GLTF” extension, used to show the 3D model in the integrated viewer in BIMserver.center and in its application for mobile phones. Thanks to this new feature, the collaborators of the BIM project can obtain the following information on the emitters that have been selected for the project:

  • Reference of the emitter
  • Type of emitter
  • Installation height
  • Transmission power

3D view of emitter radiation diagrams

The possibility to obtain a 3D view of the radiation diagrams of the emitters. Furthermore, for each receiver, it is possible to see where the radiation diagram of each associated emitter is directed towards.

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