bViewer by Bury Associates

FREE CHROME EXTENSION

bViewer

by Bury Associates

How often are you sent an IFC model or a laser scan and just want to look at it, without installing heavy BIM or point cloud software? bViewer is a free viewer for architects, engineers, surveyors and contractors. Open IFC models and E57 or LAS point clouds together, then explore, section, measure, check the model against the scan with heat maps, check walls for verticality and floors for flatness, and mark it up, right in Chrome.

What it does

BIM models and point clouds usually need expensive desktop software just to open them. bViewer fixes that. Drag in one or more IFC models and as many point clouds as you like, and they open together in 3D, in their own coordinates. Walk around them, cut sections and clip boxes, click any object to read its properties, and check how closely the model fits the scan - point by point, or at a glance with a colour heat map. Everything runs in your browser, so your models and scans never leave your machine.

When you are done, add comments and measurements, take screen grabs, and export a multi-page PDF report with a title block - ready to share with the rest of the team.

bViewer showing an IFC MEP model over a laser scan point cloud

Download bViewer

Now on the Chrome Web Store. Free to use, and it runs entirely on your own computer - nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Add to Chrome - it's freeOpens bViewer on the Chrome Web Store

Install it in Chrome

A one-time setup that takes less than a minute.

  1. Open bViewer on the Chrome Web Store in Google Chrome.
  2. Click Add to Chrome, then Add extension to confirm.
  3. Pin it for quick access: click the puzzle-piece icon at the top right of Chrome and click the pin next to bViewer.
  4. Click the bViewer icon to open it in a new tab, then drag in an IFC model or an E57 or LAS point cloud to get started.

bViewer updates itself automatically through the Chrome Web Store, so you always have the latest version.

How to use it

Four simple steps: open your files, explore, measure and check, and export.

 

📁1 · Open your files

Click Open, or drag IFC models and E57 or LAS point clouds onto the window - several at once if you like. Large scans are thinned to keep things smooth, and bViewer tells you when it has done so and by how much.

🧭2 · Explore

Orbit, pan and zoom, or double-click to zoom straight in on a spot. Jump to standard views, switch models and clouds on and off, browse the model tree by storey or class, and click any object to read its IFC properties. The ‹ › arrows under the view buttons take you back and forward through every place you have stopped.

📏3 · Measure & check

Measure distances and areas on the model or the scan. Cut sections, clip boxes and storey plans to see inside. Use the ΔModel tool to check how far the model sits from the point cloud, with in and out of tolerance shown in green and red - or colour the whole cloud or model as a heat map.

⬇4 · Export

Add comments and mark-ups, take screen grabs, and export a multi-page PDF report with a title block and sheet numbers. You can also save the whole job, including your views, sections, measurements and comments, and re-open it later to carry on where you left off.

Checking the model against the scan - four ways

Live check

Turn on ΔModel and move the cursor over the point cloud. A ring follows the cursor and shows the distance to the nearest model surface, green when it is within tolerance and red when it is not. A + means the scan is in front of the model face, − that it is behind it.

Labelled checks

Click to drop a labelled check wherever you need one. Set the tolerance (20 mm by default), and choose whether to check against all point clouds or just one. The labels are saved with your job and go into the PDF report.

Check nearest

Where you have loaded lots of scans, Check nearest switches on just the five point clouds nearest the spot you click and turns the rest off, so you check against the closest, best data.

Heat maps

Colour the point cloud, the model faces or both by their distance from the model, from blue (scan behind) through green to red (scan in front), with a colour scale on screen. Check object does the same for a single element.

Handy tools

New in this version

  • ΔPlane - verticality & floor flatness - set a truly vertical plane on a wall from two points, or a level plane on a floor from one, and see every deviation as a heat map with a grid of values in mm.
  • 3-point plane clip - click three points on a ramp, slope or any surface to place a 100 mm clip box at its angle, so only that surface is left to check.
  • Flatness reports - export to PDF (A4 or A3), DXF (2D or 3D) and CSV, with walls laid out flat so they plot in any CAD package.
  • Eye-dome lighting - shades point clouds by depth so edges, corners and surface detail stand out, even on single-colour or intensity scans.
  • Heat maps - colour the point cloud, the IFC model's faces or both by distance from the model, with an on-screen colour scale. Heat maps from different clouds add together on the model.
  • Check object - check one element's faces against the scan, with its mean, RMS, range and % in tolerance.
  • + / − on every check - see at once whether the scan is in front of or behind the model face.
  • Hide not modelled - hide every scan point that is not near the model, such as furniture, people and clutter.
  • Only the labels you can see - labels behind the model are hidden, and the Mark-ups tab switches whole types of label on and off.
  • Point cloud as shown - export what is on screen as one LAS file, in its displayed colours, with hidden and clipped points left out.
  • View history - step back and forward through every place you have stopped, including eye-level spots.

⎇Select & properties

Click any object to highlight it and read its IFC properties, type, storey and quantities. Press I and then click to inspect an object without changing tools.

Selecting and inspecting objects
  1. Choose Select and click any object in the model; it highlights and its properties open in the side panel.
  2. Press I, then click an object to inspect it while you are using another tool.
  3. Use the model tree to find objects by storey or by class, and switch whole classes on and off.
  4. Switch a whole model off and on from the model list - Show All respects the models you have switched off.

✂️Sections

Cut horizontal and vertical sections through the model and the scan together. Drag the grips to move or rotate a section, crop it, or set it from a face, from one point or from two points.

Cutting and adjusting sections
  1. Horizontal face or Vertical face - click a face to cut a section along it.
  2. 1-point horizontal - click a point and a 5 m x 5 m horizontal section is placed round it.
  3. 2-point vertical - the view turns to plan; click two points to draw a vertical section between them.
  4. 2-point perpendicular - click two points along a wall and a section is placed square across it.
  5. Drag the grips to move or rotate a section, or crop it to just the area you need.
  6. Use Slice to show a thin 100 mm band of the model and scan either side of the cut.

📦Clip box & polygon clip

Box in just the part of the building you want to see. Set a clip box from an object, a point, or three points, then drag its faces to resize it. Use 3-point plane to set a thin clip box on any sloping surface. Draw a polygon clip to hide everything inside it, or hold Shift to hide everything outside, point cloud included.

Using clip boxes
  1. Clip box - click an object or a point on the cloud and bViewer boxes the area around it and zooms in.
  2. 3-point clip box - in plan, click two corners along one side and then a point on the opposite side.
  3. 3-point plane - click three points on any surface, flat or sloping, and a 100 mm thick clip box is placed in that plane at its angle.
  4. Drag the box faces to resize it.
  5. Polygon clip - draw a polygon to hide everything inside or crossing it, or hold Shift to hide everything outside. Point cloud points are hidden too.
  6. Click Show All at any time to clear every clip and section.

ΔΔModel - model to scan check

See how closely the model matches the point cloud. Set a tolerance and every check is shown in green or red, with the option to report only those out of tolerance.

Checking the model against the scan
  1. Open the ΔModel tool and set the tolerance (20 mm by default) and range.
  2. Choose All point clouds, or pick one cloud to check against.
  3. Hover to see a live reading, or click to drop a labelled check.
  4. Use Check nearest to switch on just the five point clouds nearest the spot you click.
  5. Checks are listed with your measurements and comments and are included in the PDF report, each with a + or − to show which side of the model face the scan is.

🌡️Heat maps & Check object

See the deviation everywhere at once. Colour the point cloud, the model faces or both by their distance from the model, then check single elements in detail. Points that are not modelled can be hidden.

Making a heat map
  1. In ΔModel, choose the IFC model and the point clouds to compare, and set the search range and tolerance.
  2. Under Heat map, choose Apply to: point cloud and model, point cloud only, or model only. Then click Make heat map.
  3. Blue means the scan is behind the model face, green that it is on it and red that it is in front. Grey means there is no data within the search range. Set the Colour range to suit.
  4. Switch the heat map on and off in Display for each model and cloud. Heat maps from more clouds add together on the model.
  5. Check object - select an element (or click one) to colour its faces from the scan around it, with its mean, RMS and % in tolerance.
  6. Hide not modelled (Model tab) hides scan points that are not near the model until you click Unhide.
  7. A clip box or section limits the heat map to that area, which is quicker on big jobs.

▤ΔPlane - verticality & floor flatness

Check walls for plumb and floors for flatness straight from the scan. Every plane gets its own heat map, a grid of deviation values in mm and its lean or fall, ready to export as a report.

Checking walls and floors
  1. Wall - click two points along the wall, left then right, at about the same height. A truly vertical plane is made through them from the bottom to the top of the scan, and the panel reports how far the wall is out of plumb.
  2. Floor - click a point on the floor. A 10 m x 10 m clip box, 100 mm thick, is placed round it; trim it to the floor you want, then set the plane at the Lowest, Mean or Highest point. The best-fit fall is reported.
  3. 3-point plane clip - for ramps and slopes, click three points to place a 100 mm clip box at the surface's angle, then set the plane.
  4. Set the tolerance (±5 mm by default) and colour range; a + is proud of the plane and a − behind it. Drag the grips on the plane's edges to resize it.
  5. Click Grid for values every 500 mm (or your own interval), green in tolerance and red out. Click a value to delete it, or Restore to bring them back.
  6. Export a PDF report (A4 or A3), a DXF in 2D or 3D, or a CSV of the grid points. Walls are laid out flat (X along the wall, Y level, Z deviation) so they plot in any CAD package; floors stay on the site grid.

🚶Eye level & view history

Look round a room from 1.5 m above the floor and walk through with W A S D. The back and forward arrows return you to exactly where you were - handy in tight spaces.

Walking through and going back
  1. Click the eye level button by the view buttons, then click the floor where you want to stand. Walls and windows are looked straight through to the floor behind.
  2. Walk with W A S D, use Q / E for down and up, look round with the arrow keys or by dragging, and widen the view with Field of view.
  3. Every place you stop for a second or more is kept. Use the ‹ and › arrows under the view buttons (or Alt + ← / →) to step back and forward.
  4. Click Done to return to the view you had before eye level.

📐Measure

Measure distances and areas on the model or straight off the point cloud. All labels can be dragged clear of the view to keep things tidy.

Measuring distances and areas
  1. Open Measure and choose Distance or Area.
  2. Click points on the model or the scan; double-click or press Enter to finish.
  3. Drag any label to move it out of the way.
  4. Every measurement is listed in the side panel and goes into the PDF report.

🎯Align

When models and scans do not quite line up, bring them together. Choose a fixed model and the one to move, then work down the steps - or use Reposition to move a model or cloud by a set amount.

Aligning models and clouds
  1. Open Align and choose the fixed model and the model to move.
  2. Work down the steps in the panel to line the two up.
  3. Or use Reposition to move a model or cloud by a set offset.
  4. Export every model and cloud in its new position - IFC as IFC, point clouds as full-resolution LAS.
  5. Or use File › Export › Point cloud as shown to save every cloud that is on as one LAS file, in the colours you see (for example a heat map), with hidden and clipped points left out.

🎨Display

Colour each model and point cloud to suit. Show clouds in true colour, intensity, grey, height, height bands, normals, a solid colour or as a heat map, and turn on X-ray or edges for the model. Eye-dome lighting makes the shape of a scan easy to read.

Changing colours and display modes
  1. Open Display to set a colour for each model or point cloud from the standard colours.
  2. Choose a cloud mode: RGB, intensity, grey, height, height bands (every 0.5 m), normals, solid or heat map.
  3. Once a heat map has been made, choose Heat map for the IFC model as well to see its faces coloured by distance from the scan.
  4. Eye-dome lighting (EDL), under Point clouds, shades the points by depth so edges and surface detail stand out. Adjust its strength and radius, or untick it to turn it off.
  5. Turn on X-ray to see through the model to the scan, or Edges to outline it.

🏢Storey plans & hide above/below

Jump to a plan of any storey and adjust its top and bottom to suit. Hide everything above or below a level in one click.

Working floor by floor
  1. Pick a storey to see it in plan, then adjust the top and bottom of the range.
  2. Use Hide above or Hide below to clear away the rest of the building at a level you click.
  3. bViewer opens in orthographic view by default - switch to perspective from the Views menu.

💬Mark-ups & comments

Pin comments to any face or corner of the model or scan. Comments, measurements and checks are all listed together, and every label can be dragged into place. Labels behind the model are hidden, so you only see the ones that belong to your view.

Adding comments
  1. Choose Comment, click a face or corner, then click where the text goes and type your note.
  2. Drag the comment label to tidy up the view.
  3. Find all your comments, measurements and checks in the Mark-ups tab.
  4. Under Show on screen, switch all labels, or each type - distances, areas, points, checks in or out of tolerance, comments - on and off. The eye on each entry hides just that one.
  5. Tick Show labels through the model to see every label, even those behind the model.

🖨️Screen grabs & PDF report

Take screen grabs as you go and export them all as one multi-page PDF report, each sheet with your title block, sheet number, comments and measurements.

Creating a PDF report
  1. Set up each view and click Screen grab.
  2. Fill in the project details in Settings once - they appear in the title block on every page.
  3. Choose File › Export › Multi-page PDF; each grab becomes a numbered sheet.

Quick tips

  • Double-click to zoom straight in on a spot.
  • Press I then click to inspect any object.
  • Press Esc to close a pop-up or cancel what you are doing.
  • Alt + ← / → steps back and forward through your views.
  • Click Show All to clear every section and clip in one go.

Please note: results are only as accurate as the model and point cloud you load. Very large scans are thinned for display, so always verify any critical dimension against the full survey data.

bViewer is provided free of charge as an aid for viewing IFC models and point clouds. No liability is accepted for decisions made using this tool.