SketchUp IFC export is not BIM‑ready

SketchUp Feature Requests
1

I’m extremely disappointed with SketchUp’s IFC export capabilities. Trimble promotes SketchUp as “BIM‑ready” and suitable for professional IFC workflows, but the current IFC exporter does not support even the most basic BIM requirements.

SketchUp cannot export:

  • custom IFC Property Sets (Psets)

  • custom IFC attributes

  • custom IFC entities

  • IFC relationships (IfcRelDefinesByProperties, IfcRelContainedInSpatialStructure)

  • IFC metadata added via Ruby

  • IFC4/IFC4x3 compliant data structures

All of this information is visible inside SketchUp, but the exporter simply drops it.
The resulting IFC file contains only:

  • geometry

  • a proxy class (IfcBuildingElementProxy)

  • GUID

  • geolocation

This is not BIM.
This is not IFC authoring.
This is not suitable for compliance, coordination, or any professional BIM workflow.

If SketchUp is going to be marketed as BIM‑capable, then the IFC exporter must support:

  • writing custom Psets

  • writing custom IFC entities

  • writing IFC relationships

  • writing IFC metadata added via Ruby

  • full IFC4/IFC4x3 support

Right now, SketchUp’s IFC export is not usable for real BIM projects, regulatory compliance, or interoperability with Solibri, BIMcollab, CodeCheck, or any council/certifier workflow.

Trimble, please address this.
Professionals rely on IFC, and SketchUp needs a proper IFC authoring pipeline — not just geometry export.

2

Thanks for sharing your thoughts; however, let me update you regarding our support. We currently support custom IFC Property Sets (Psets), custom IFC attributes, IFC relationships (IfcRelDefinesByProperties, IfcRelContainedInSpatialStructure), an IFC4-compliant data structure, and GUIDs. In 2027, we will also start supporting geolocation through IfcSite lat/long/elevation plus exported CRS metadata. This leaves us with IFC 4x3 (which is not yet ready) and custom IFC Classes (which do not exist, as we have a standard buildingSMART list of IFC Classes, though you can create a component in SketchUp and classify it with any IFC class you want, though I would advise using the ones under IfcProduct).

Although we support these features, I agree that the way to achieve this may not be ideal, as it relies heavily on custom SKC files and manual input alongside non-deterministic IFC classification (which some users value over a deterministic approach, as you can basically classify any object using whichever class you want).

I don’t think we ever market SketchUp as “BIM-ready”. Most of the time, as I like to say, SketchUp can be whatever you want, even BIM. I would even argue that if you are a real BIM expert, you can do BIM with SketchUp​:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

We have many cool cases all over the world where people delivering the necessary data using some dvanced workflows. We are listening to the feedback, and hopefully in the future users will have an easier time managing the things you requested.

Until there, be safe,
Cheers.

3

Thanks for the detailed reply — but I need to clarify the core issue, because it seems we are talking about two different things.

I fully understand that SketchUp can store custom IFC Psets, custom attributes, and IFC relationships internally.
That part works.

The problem is specifically with IFC export.

SketchUp’s IFC exporter does not write these custom Psets, attributes, or relationships into the IFC file.
This is confirmed by:

  • BIMVision

  • Solibri

  • CodeCheck

  • Any IFC viewer

  • Any IFC validator

The exported IFC contains only:

  • geometry

  • IfcBuildingElementProxy

  • GUID

  • geolocation

All custom Psets, custom attributes, and IFC relationships are missing from the exported IFC file.

So while SketchUp may support IFC metadata internally, the exporter does not produce a BIM‑usable IFC file.
This makes SketchUp unsuitable for:

  • rule‑based compliance checking

  • automated code checking

  • council/certifier workflows

  • multi‑element BIM validation

  • any workflow requiring full IFC metadata

This is the gap I’m highlighting.

I appreciate the clarification, but the core issue remains:

SketchUp does not export custom Psets or IFC metadata into the IFC file.

Until the exporter writes full IFC metadata, SketchUp cannot be used as a BIM authoring tool in professional IFC workflows.

Regards,

Les

4

I understand your position, but I am telling you that yes, we do most of what you are saying we don’t do, test the examples below with SketchUp 2026:

IFC File from SketchUp File
SketchUp File

So, I am not sure what is broken in your workflow, if you have a SketchUp model to share I can help solving this issue for you.

Cheers.

5

SketchUp 2027 is around the corner, hang on… !