In previous versions, when selecting "Update the quantities" and applying the active "Set of measurement rules" on the model, items with a negative quantity value were not taken into account when generating the quantities. As of version 2024.b, Open BIM Quantities can generate items with a negative quantity and use them for indicating deductions or allowances in the bill of quantities, among other functions.
Update history
- Solutions
- Open BIM Quantities
- Update history
Open BIM Quantities
Since version 2023.g, Open BIM Quantities includes a status bar at the bottom of the main window. In addition to displaying contextual information about what is being carried out in the application, the status bar indicated the reference of the active sets of measurement rules. In version 2024.b, the status bar has been improved and now also displays the following information:
- Active filter reference.
- Active certificate reference.
- Reference of the active cost database.
In the help tool for filling in the currency code, within the general parameters of the project, the following references from ISO 4217 have been added:
- EGP. Egyptian pound
- KZT. Tengue
- MYR. Malaysian ringgit
- PHP. Philippine peso
- SAR. Saudi riyal
As of version 2024.b, applications with the "Element selection tool" (this tool was implemented in version 2021.e) have the ability to move the selected model components with the arrow keys on the keyboard. The elements shall be moved on the work plane of the active view in the direction of the arrow key. Whenever the arrow is pressed, the distance that is displaced is constant, so zooming will make it larger or smaller.
Version 2024.b includes the following improvements and corrections to the connection of applications to the BIMserver.center platform:
- After sharing a contribution, there is a delay before it becomes available in the BIMserver.center project. This could result in another application not having immediate access, even if the export was made from the same computer. Now applications can read contributions from the "File directory stored in local cache" before they are accessible in BIMserver.center.
- It is now possible to export a contribution without an internet connection. When this occurs, a confirmation dialogue box will appear to inform users that if the contribution is exported, it cannot be shared in the BIMserver.center project. The contribution can be read in another application as long as it is on the same computer and linked to the same project. However, for the contribution to be available on the platform, users will need to "Share" it again with an internet connection.
- The uploading process has been improved to allow larger files to be included.
- An error that did not allow users to connect to the platform when the "AppData" system folder was not accessible has been fixed.
- An error that showed the user as logged in when the session had already expired has been fixed.
- The warning messages displayed when there is a problem in the communication with BIMserver.center have been improved.
- Now, when creating a new project, the same default fields are used as in the BIMserver.center website.
From the BIMserver.center project information window (displayed by clicking on the project name shown in the project information bar - upper right part of the application window) you can access the project page of the BIMserver.center platform via a link that has been inserted in the text indicating the project name.
Likewise, from the information window about the project contributions ("Contributions" option in the project information window), users can access the page of each contribution in the BIMserver.center platform. These links are inserted in the texts indicating the name of each contribution.
The status information bar of the BIMserver.center project is located at the top right of the window of the programs included in the Open BIM workflow. This bar has been available in the applications since version 2022.e and shows a warning icon when there is a problem with the connection to the project, as well as other things. Now, in version 2024.b, users can obtain more information about the warning by hovering the mouse cursor over the icon.
As of version 2024.b, users can create projects associated with a "BIMserver.center Corporate" account from all CYPE applications included in the Open BIM workflow. To do this, the "Owner" field has been added to the window for creating a new project. This is a drop-down menu that includes, as one of the available options, the logged-in BIMserver.center user name along with the "BIMserver.center Corporate" accounts to which it has access. When selecting the user name as the owner, the project will be associated with this personal account, as was the case in previous versions. On the other hand, if a BIMserver.center Corporate account is selected, the project will be associated with that account.
The "Clear cache" button has been added to the CYPE applications included in the Open BIM workflow in the "Configuration" dialogue box that opens with the following sequence of commands: Select any of the options in the "BIMserver.center" tool group > "Configuration" option in the dialogue box that appears. When clicking on "Clear cache", the following options are displayed:
- Projects
Deletes projects, contributions and documents downloaded from the platform that are in the "File directory stored in local cache". - Sessions
Deletes the data of any active sessions. This action will require applications to be re-authorised to access BIMserver.center. - Log files
Deletes transaction logging from applications with BIMserver.center.
In previous versions, file paths used by applications were limited to a maximum length of 256 characters. This restriction is not specific to CYPE tools but is set by default in the Windows file system. As of version 2024.b, CYPE applications can bypass the restriction and allow the use of an extended path length for a maximum total path length of 10,000 characters. This eliminates the problems caused by the default limit and allows users to work with long access paths.
This improvement is particularly useful when working on projects with a complex directory structure or with long file names. By allowing longer paths, CYPE applications offer greater flexibility in file organisation.
The "Sorting criteria" field has been added to the editing window of an "Item", in a rule of measurement. This way, users can now indicate the order in which the quantity detail lines should be inserted in the item after applying the set of measurement rules to the model.
When editing the "Sorting criteria" field, a list is displayed where users can select properties and quantities of the BIM model components, and also indicate whether they want to sort the value in "Ascending" or "Descending" order. Different sorting criteria can be entered so that when the criterion parameter coincides with several quantity detail lines, the next one in the list will be applied. If no criteria have been specified or if all the criteria match, the same criteria that have been used in previous versions shall be used. This compares the attributes of the quantity detail lines in the following order:
- Number of tags.
- Comment on the detail line.
- Quantity.
- Value of field "A".
- Value of field "B".
- Value of field "C".
- Value of field "D".
- First identifier of the "BIM Model".
As of version 2024.a, users can manage the "Cost databases" and "Mapping files" databases (in applications with a "bill of quantities" tab), and the "Sets of measurement rules" databases (for Open BIM Quantities) in two different locations, which can be toggled via a drop-down menu:
- Database directory
A directory containing the databases is indicated. This makes it easier to use databases shared by several users. This option was used in previous versions. - Project databases
The databases are saved together with the project in the application. When it is compressed from the "File" menu in the application, the databases will be included in the CYP file generated. This way, the project can be shared with the databases used to obtain the bill of quantities.
