BCF - The End of Screenshots

Do you remember how many screenshots you took during a BIM project?

Every discussion often begins with a blurry screenshot:

“This beam has a problem.”
A colleague drops a screenshot into the chat.

“Which beam?”
You frown and ask.

“This one!”
Another screenshot arrives.

This time, out of fifty beams, one is circled in red.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, people still aren’t even looking at the same element. Too many screenshots, inconsistent versions, information being passed around again and again—the real issue gets buried in the noise of communication. This scenario plays out almost daily in BIM collaboration.

The industry came up with a better way: stop letting discussions live only in text and screenshots, and anchor them directly to the model itself. That solution is BCF.

What is BCF?

BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) is an international open standard. Its goal is simple: help teams manage data and collaborate efficiently in the context of the model, especially when it comes to tracking, discussing, and resolving issues.

Unlike an ordinary email or chat message, BCF is a model-based communication protocol:

• You can directly mark model elements or locations.
• You can save an exact viewpoint so collaborators can jump straight to the right area.
• You can add comments that include text, images, and links.
• You can classify topics, filter them, and manage their status.

Here’s the key: being able to communicate is not the same as communicating openly and in a standardized way.

Think of it like this: if I send you a message in WhatsApp, you can only read it in WhatsApp. But an email works across Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, Yahoo—you name it. Why? Because email relies on open, standardized protocols: SMTP / IMAP / POP3.

BCF works the same way in the BIM world. It’s the open standard communication protocol that ensures no matter what software team members use, they can still collaborate on the same issue. Even if the project switches tools halfway through, the communication doesn’t get lost. Today, more than a hundred software applications worldwide already support BCF, so finding one that works for you is easy.

How Do You Use BCF?

There are two main ways to use BCF:

1. File-based exchange
   BCF data can be serialized into .bcf files, often packaged with other resources as .bcfzip files and shared between users.
2. API and web-based exchange
   BCF data can also be synchronized in real time across different software platforms using RESTful APIs.

Btw, most of users prefer the API approach. Instead of sending around whole files, only the relevant snippets of information are exchanged, making cross-platform collaboration faster and more immediate. Exporting to file is still possible, but nowadays it’s mainly used for archiving.

A note on the name: the “Format” in BIM Collaboration Format often misleads people into thinking it’s just a file format. In reality, BCF is more accurately described as an international standard and communication protocol.

What’s Inside BCF?

The heart of BCF is the Topic—a BCF file is essentially a collection of topics.

Within a topic, you can record:

• Basic info: ID, title, description, tags
• Type: eg. Issue, Clash, Request, Remark, etc.
• Status: eg. Open, In Progress, Closed, etc.
• Priority: eg. Major, Normal, Minor, etc.
• People involved: author, assignedTo, modifier, due date
• Additional details: current phase, reference link, related document, related topics

Each topic can also include:

• Comments: who said what, and when
• Viewpoints: precise perspectives within the model, along with screenshots
• Visualization settings: which elements are visible or hidden, which need to be selected or highlighted, cutting plane, recolored elements, and whether the view is perspective or orthogonal

This structured information makes collaboration traceable, transparent, and tied directly to the model.

What Can You Do with BCF?

As an international data standard, BCF has a wide range of applications. Common uses include:

• Clash detection reports: automatically generate issues for detected conflicts between model elements and track them until resolved.
• To-do lists: use BCF as a task list for the team, ensuring issues are handled systematically.
• Status and progress tracking: monitor the lifecycle of issues and resolutions with statuses like Open, In Progress, and Closed.
• Issue classification: organize problems by domain—structural, HVAC, electrical—making reviews simpler and responsibilities clearer.
• Accountability: assign tasks to specific project members, ensuring clear responsibility and ownership.

Beyond this, BCF can also support QA/QC reviews, change requests, operations tracking, and more.

To Summarize

• BCF is an open international standard: a model-based communication protocol.
• In BCF, everything revolves around Topics, building a clear bridge for BIM collaboration.
• BCF brings discussions back to the model itself—making communication efficient, transparent, and traceable.

So, in your next project, how many screenshots will you save?

Maybe the end of screenshots is… BCF.

For more details, visit the official buildingSMART BCF page.