For our model viewer we only support IFCs.
All file types can be uploaded to our document section.
Note: IFC, Point cloud (e57, las) and GML previews can be loaded in the 3D viewer.
This article contains information about the previewing of the following file formats:
Open - Open 3D - Open 2D - Proprietary - Harmful
Vendor neutral formats
At Catenda we like to work with Open Standards so that everyone can work together regardless of the software they own.
Typically, anybody can participate in their development due to their inherently open nature (Wikipedia)
This means that it is not just one organization controlling what gets developed.
Vendor neutral 3D file formats
Vendor neutral | Extensions | Standard type, Governance | Comments |
Point Cloud documents | e57, las | Open, ASTM, ASPRS | A 3D preview of points with color data in Point clouds can be previewed. |
Point Cloud | e57, las | Open, ASTM, ASPRS | Point clouds can be viewed together with other 3D files in the 3D viewer. |
GML documents | gml (CityGML), city.json (CityJSON), gmlzip (CityGML zip) | Open, IGC | A 3D preview of solids and surfaces in CityGML files can be previewed. |
GML | gml (CityGML), city.json (CityJSON), gmlzip (CityGML zip) | Open, IGC | GML files can be viewed together with other 3D files in the 3D viewer. |
IFC Documents | ifc (any), ifczip (any) | Open, BuildingSMART | IFC files that are uploaded to the documents section will show a preview of the IFC 3D view. If a model is created from the document it will be possible to see information about objects like properties and GUIDs so they can be linked to topics. |
IFC Models | ifc, ifczip | Open, BuildingSMART | See versions below |
In the table below you will find all the versions of IFC that we support.
Version | Documentation | Status | Notes |
IFC 4.3 | Official | Latest official version. | |
IFC 4.2 | Withdrawn | Processed as IFC 4.0 | |
IFC 4.1 | Withdrawn | Processed as IFC 4.0 | |
IFC 4.0 | Official |
| |
IFC 2.3 | Retired | This was the last official version of IFC 2 made in 2005. Now retired but still used by many. | |
IFC 2.2 | Retired |
| |
IFC 2.1 | Retired |
| |
IFC 2.0 | IFC2.0 | Retired |
|
IFC versions
Depending on the status of the IFC version, we support the version in different ways:
Official, Retired - Full support. All official and retired IFC versions are supported.
Withdrawn - Partial support. Models are processed according to the last official version.
Under development - No support. These might still change before being published.
You can find what IFC releases are official here
Official BuildingSMART sample IFC files can be found here
Point clouds
Points in point clouds can be previewed either with color or intensity.
Vendor neutral 2D file formats
Vendor backed 2D formats | Extensions | Standard type, Governance | Comments |
Archival pdf: PDF/A | .pdf | PDF Association | Only the pdf/A format is vendor neutral. |
|
|
| |
BCF Topics | bcfzip | Open |
|
Image Documents | png, | Open, W3C | 360 degree images are displayed as panorama. |
Images in topic descriptions and comments | png, | Open | Add links to public images in the comment of text in a description or comment of a topic. |
Images in topic viewpoints | png, | Open | Images can be attached to the comment of a topic. |
|
|
| |
Open office Documents | odt, ods | Open |
|
|
|
| |
Rich text Documents | xml | Open |
|
Plain text Documents | txt | Open |
|
Vendor neutral multimedia file formats
Vendor backed Multimedia formats | Extensions | Standard type, Governance | Comments |
Xiph multimedia documents | ogg | Open | Video, audio and other multimedia |
|
|
|
Vendor backed file formats
There are a lot of file format standards developed by organizations that are used by many.
It is important for us that it is easy to use Catenda. We therefore do our best to support as many of the most common filetypes that are used.
Vendor backed formats | Extensions | Standard type, Governance | Comments |
|
|
| |
PDF Documents | pdf | Open | Pdf comments will be visible when uploading a pdf. Only the cover page of a PDF portfolio will be displayed. |
PDF Documents | fdf | Proprietary |
|
|
|
| |
Image Documents | bmp, wmf, emf | Proprietary |
|
Image Documents | tif, tiff | Proprietary |
|
Images in topic descriptions and comments | bmp | Proprietary | Add Links to images in topic descriptions or comments. |
|
|
| |
Moving Picture Expert Group multimedia Documents | mp4 | Proprietary | Video, audio and other multimedia |
Web movie | webm | Open | Video, audio and other multimedia |
|
|
| |
Autodesk Documents | dwg, dxf, dwf | Proprietary | Vector graphics will be displayed with cad formats |
Bentley Documents | dgn | Proprietary | Vector graphics will be displayed with cad formats |
|
|
| |
Microsoft documents | doc, xls, ppt, pub | Proprietary |
|
Microsoft Office Open XML | docx, pptx, xlsx, xlsm | Open | If there are macros in the xlsm the content cannot be previewed. |
Report templates | mrt | Proprietary | While the templates are stored using open technologies like XML and JSON, the specific schema, component definitions, and scripting logic are unique to the Stimulsoft ecosystem. |
Harmful file formats
The following formats could be harmful when opened by just doubleclicked them.
These filtypes cannot be uploaded with the single document upload or zip import features.
Harmful formats | Extensions | Comments |
Windows executables | exe |
|
Windows installer packages | msi |
|
Batch scripts | bat |
|
Command scripts | cmd |
|
DOS executables | com |
|
Screensaver executables | scr | Could be harmful if execute as program. |
PowerShell scripts | ps1 | Could be harmful if opened in a script host. |
Windows shortcuts | lnk | Could be harmful when linking to an executable without looking like an executable. |
Java executable files | jar | Could be harmful if Java is installed. |
PHP Scripts | php |
|