FreeFree Community version, examples and workflows open source on GitHub

IFCXLSXDAEIfcExporter.exe

IFC to Excel: every entity and property set as a row, offline

IFC 2x3, 4 and 4.3 models become one row per entity, with the property set name in each column header.

DDC_Converter_IFC_v28052026.zip74 MBWindows 10/11 x64Linux .debno BIM software licence needed2x3 to 4.3: IFC schemas read

XLSXSampleBuilding_ifc.xlsx7,311 × 151
IFC to Excel, real output excerpt: 7 of 7,311 rows and 8 of 151 columns.
Qto_WallBaseQuantities
IDCategoryObjectTypeGlobalIdLengthHeightWidthNetVolume
673IfcWallBasic Wall:Concrete 10"1Z_D8qyun52938MRTkC1gl2.8455.1820.2542.982
1524IfcWallBasic Wall:Concrete 12"1Z_D8qyun52938MRTkC0PH2.88328.5750.30525.034
3637IfcWallBasic Wall:Concrete 24"3U9u71_MH84e7LZnQseDMe3.3155.1820.6110.47
27032IfcWallBasic Wall:Concrete 18"0B2YGPanTBc9mM6oEg4ile3.015.1820.4577.131
27065IfcWallBasic Wall:Concrete 12"0B2YGPanTBc9mM6oEg4jI21.6765.1820.3051.908
27206IfcWallBasic Wall:Concrete 18"0CKTlg9k54kxOjOSxML2Li2.7695.1820.4576.559
32480IfcWallBasic Wall:Concrete 18"1w7cQHNzPBh8U7J90sHO7e2.7945.9310.4576.06
7,304 more rows, 143 more columns in the file
Real converter output from SampleBuilding.ifc (Autodesk Snowdon Towers sample, IFC4). Shown: 7 of 7,311 rows and 8 of 151 columns, values as written by the converter. Header groups show the property set each column comes from.

Click any element, see its full data row

Public IFC samples after conversion. Click an element to read its row: IFC class, GlobalId and every property set as columns.

Rendering of Smiley West, residential block (AC-20-Smiley-West-10-Bldg.ifc) from the DAE geometry written by the converter
In a model viewer 1 element at a time 36 parameters for the selected element
In the DDC output All elements at once Every element and every parameter in one table.

Example row: an outside wall, ID 136626

Name
2OG-A-1-4
Category
IfcWallStandardCase
[BaseQuantities] NetVolume
3.85
[BaseQuantities] Length
7.3
[BaseQuantities] NetSideArea
15.29
ID
136626
Version
IFC4
Project
Smiley West

and 28 more parameters in this row.

Sample: AC-20-Smiley-West-10-Bldg.ifc, Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics (IAI), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), free use with credit, from ifcwiki.org. Attribution.

What you get

One row per IFC entity, property sets as column groups

A column header like [Qto_WallBaseQuantities] NetVolume names the property set and the property, so you can filter by either in Excel or pandas.

Columns of the table above, with real values

Columns of SampleBuilding_ifc.xlsx, with the value from the first row of the excerpt
ColumnExampleWhat it holds
ID673Row ID
CategoryIfcWallIFC class
ObjectTypeBasic Wall:Concrete 10"Type name from the authoring tool
GlobalId1Z_D8qyun52938MRTkC1glIFC GlobalId, kept as a column
[Qto_WallBaseQuantities] Length2.845Qto_WallBaseQuantities: Length
[Qto_WallBaseQuantities] Height5.182Qto_WallBaseQuantities: Height
[Qto_WallBaseQuantities] Width0.254Qto_WallBaseQuantities: Width
[Qto_WallBaseQuantities] NetVolume2.982Qto_WallBaseQuantities: NetVolume

Values from the first row of SampleBuilding_ifc.xlsx.

Output files

  • <name>_ifc.xlsxEntities, attributes and property sets.
  • .daeCollada geometry with matching IDs.

In short

  • XLSX with one row per IFC element and columns for attributes and property sets.
  • DAE (Collada) geometry with matching IDs.
  • IFC GlobalId kept as a column, so every row links back to the model.
IFC to Excel conversion A IFC2x3 / IFC4 / IFC4.3 file is read by IfcExporter.exe on your own computer. It writes: XLSX, entities × properties; DAE, geometry, same IDs. Nothing is uploaded. YOUR COMPUTER OR SERVER, OFFLINE IFC IFC2x3 / IFC4 / IFC4.3 DDC CONVERTER IfcExporter.exe runs locally, no upload XLSX entities × properties DAE geometry, same IDs IFC to Excel conversion A IFC2x3 / IFC4 / IFC4.3 file is read by IfcExporter.exe on your own computer. It writes: XLSX, entities × properties; DAE, geometry, same IDs. Nothing is uploaded. YOUR COMPUTER OR SERVER, OFFLINE IFC IFC2x3 / IFC4 / IFC4.3 DDC CONVERTER IfcExporter.exe runs locally, no upload XLSX entities × properties DAE geometry, same IDs
IFC converter outputs, written next to the source file.

Worked example

What is inside an IFC model, counted in one line of pandas

SampleBuilding.ifc (Autodesk Snowdon Towers sample, IFC4) converts to 7,311 rows. The 8 most frequent IFC classes cover 7,212 of the rows.

Python, pandas
import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_excel("SampleBuilding_ifc.xlsx")
df["Category"].value_counts().head(8)

IfcBeam alone is 5,288 rows. The 290 IfcWall rows each carry Qto_WallBaseQuantities.

Rows by Category in SampleBuilding_ifc.xlsx
CategoryRowsShare
IfcBeam5,28872.3 %
IfcSlab5407.4 %
IfcElementAssembly3805.2 %
IfcWall2904.0 %
IfcColumn2703.7 %
IfcBuildingElementProxy2503.4 %
IfcOpeningElement1391.9 %
IfcGrid550.8 %
All rows7,311100 %

Result of the code on the output file SampleBuilding_ifc.xlsx.

Real output

The output, as it opens

SampleBuilding_ifc.xlsx: IfcWall rows with ObjectType, GlobalId and Qto_WallBaseQuantities
Snowdon Towers sample, filtered to IfcWall.
Bar chart of IfcWall net volume by type from the same file
Net volume by wall type, summed from [Qto_WallBaseQuantities] NetVolume.
pandas script grouping the IFC walls by type and its output
The pandas script behind the chart, run on the file above.

In practice

IFC to Excel, step by step on a real file

One real run of the free Community version on model_190.ifc: the window, the files it writes and the result opened in Excel. Click a step to see it, click the image for full size.

DDC IFC Community window with C:/DDC/IFC-project/model_190.ifc selected, XLSX and DAE ticked, geometry preset Standard, ready to start
Step 1 of 5IFC 2x3, 4 and 4.3 are read directly. XLSX and DAE are ticked by default. model_190.ifc (564 KB, IFC4, from the public GNI BIM Dataset) in the DDC IFC Community app.
DDC IFC Community window after the run: Collada file written, progress 100 percent, Done: 1 file(s) in 00:11
Step 2 of 5This file took 11 seconds. The log ends with the path of the Collada file.
Windows Explorer, C:\DDC\IFC-project: model_190.ifc, model_190_ifc.dae and model_190_ifc.xlsx
Step 3 of 5model_190_ifc.xlsx and model_190_ifc.dae.
model_190_ifc.xlsx in Excel filtered to IfcWall: ID, Name, BuildingStorey, ObjectType and Qto_WallBaseQuantities Height, Length, Width, GrossVolume, NetSideArea, NetVolume
Step 4 of 5The 39 walls with Qto_WallBaseQuantities: height, length, width, gross and net volume. Selected columns shown; the file has 140 rows and 174 columns.
model_190_ifc.dae in the CAD Assistant viewer: the building with stairs and windows in 3D, scene tree nodes named 228, 389, 585, 804 and so on
Step 5 of 5Nodes 389, 585, 804 in 3D are the wall rows 389, 585, 804 in Excel. model_190_ifc.dae in the CAD Assistant viewer.

Sample file: model_190.ifc from the GNI BIM Dataset (Wang et al., CC BY 4.0).

How to convert

Convert from the window, PowerShell or Python

IfcExporter.exe gives the same XLSX and DAE output from the window, PowerShell or Python. Start with the window, then put the command in a batch file, a script or an n8n workflow.

In the window

  1. Install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 (x64) if it is missing.
  2. Unzip the download.
  3. Choose IFC files in the GUI.
  4. Press Start.
PowerShell, in the unzipped folder
# XLSX and DAE next to Model.ifc
> IfcExporter.exe "C:\Projects\Model.ifc"
Python, every file in a folder
import subprocess, pathlib
for f in pathlib.Path(r"C:\Projects").glob("*.ifc"):
    subprocess.run(["IfcExporter.exe", str(f)], check=True)
bash, Ubuntu or Debian, package ddc-ifcconverter, Linux packages: version 18.0
> echo "deb [trusted=yes] https://pkg.datadrivenconstruction.io stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ddc.list
> sudo apt update && sudo apt install ddc-ifcconverter

Folders of files, nightly runs, checks and reports: n8n workflows that call the converters.

Before you download

Formats, versions and options

Supported versions and formats

Input
IFC2x3, IFC4 and IFC4.3, plus the IFC4x1, IFC4x2 and IFC4x4 interim schemas
Not supported
IFC4X3_RC2 (release candidate schema)
Output
XLSX, DAE (Collada)
Platforms
Windows 10/11 64-bit (GUI and CLI), Linux (.deb)

Both directions on one page: IFC converter hub, Revit to IFC and IFC to Excel.

Compatibility and requirements

  • IFC4X3_RC2 (a release candidate schema) is not supported.
  • The converter reads IFC and does not write RVT. Revit can link or open IFC natively.
  • Windows 10/11 64-bit (GUI and CLI) and Linux (.deb).
  • Community licence: personal and research use.

Have an unusual file? Send it to our team.

Reviews

Reviews and a walkthrough

Revit and IFC Converter: The Future of Data Handling in Construction. Plays from youtube-nocookie.com after you click.

Great experience: Until now, I used to open IFC files in Blocknote to check the parameters and their structure. Thanks to the DataDrivenConstruction converter I can check the parameters and see their structure directly in MS Excel in an orderly and SMART way, amazing!

Valerio SpiniSettore RVCS

DataDrivenConstruction products revolutionize data management in construction! Their IFC and RVT to Excel converters enable smooth data analysis and extraction, optimizing project management and documentation. A powerful, user-friendly solution for construction professionals (translated from French)

Nicolas MerotIngénieur BIM, Caeli Ingénierie

Video

More videos on IFC to Excel

Short walkthroughs recorded with the same converters. Videos play from youtube-nocookie.com after you click. All videos on YouTube

Questions

Questions about IFC to Excel

All questions
Which IFC schemas are supported?

IFC2x3, IFC4 and IFC4.3, plus the IFC4x1, IFC4x2 and IFC4x4 interim schemas. The release candidate IFC4X3_RC2 is not supported.

Are property sets and quantities kept?

Yes. Each property becomes a column, with the property set in brackets in the header, for example [Qto_WallBaseQuantities] NetVolume.

Is the GlobalId exported?

Yes, as its own column. IFC GlobalId kept as a column, so every row links back to the model.

IFC to RVT: the better route

The converter does not write RVT files. Revit can link or open IFC natively.

Is this an online converter?

No. It is a download that runs on your Windows or Linux computer, or on your own server. Files are never uploaded, so confidential projects stay on your machine.

Is it free for commercial work?

The Community version is free for personal and research use. Commercial use, processing files for third parties, SaaS or redistribution needs a commercial licence. Request a quote on the licence page.

Related

Other converters, same table shape

Not sure which one? Versions, outputs and command line for every input, side by side.

Compare all converters

Free Community version

Turn your next IFC file into XLSX

Every element with its property sets as a table, and geometry as Collada. Free Community version, runs on your computer.

74 MBWindows 10/11 x64Linux .debruns offline

Licence, team setup or a file that does not convert?

After the conversion

Where your model data goes next

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