Nothing is placed after merge with IFC Hotlink

Affected version: 21 | Severity: workaround applicable | ID: 229324

Issue:

Merging several files with an IFC file (hotlinked into them) into a new file is not possible. The process will start, but there will be no elements to place.

Cause: 

In case that you link the same IFC file into several documents and after you are trying to merge all of them in one new file, you might have a situation where you can not place any of the elements. It is happening because some of the hotlinks are updated and some of them are not.

This situation usually occurs if you merge files in this order:

  1. Hotlink the IFC into project "A"
  2. Hotlink the same IFC into project "B"
  3. Change and save the IFC file
  4. Update project "A" , but do not update project "B"
  5. Merge the updated  project "A" into a new file --> the process will start but the elements will not appear

Solutions:

You have several options to workaround this issue:

  • update project "A" and "B" before merging them into a new file.
  • do not update any of the projects (neither "A" nor "B") before merging them into a new document. The IFC hotlink can be updated after merging.
  • first merge not updated project "B", then update the hotlinked IFC (in project "C") and after that you will be able to merge project "A".

NOTE:We are planning to fix this issue in upcoming ARCHICAD 21 update.