Setting Up Your First Project
This article walks you through creating a project, uploading a BIM model, and getting oriented in the interface — from zero to your first quantity in the table.
Step 1: Create a project
From the company overview page, click New Project.
Give the project a name — typically the building or contract name.
Optionally, select a template if you've used Sparkel before and want to reuse a structure. For your first project, leave this blank. (See Templates to learn how to save and reuse project structures.)
Click Create.
Step 2: Upload your IFC model
Inside the project, find the BIM Models panel.
Click Add BIM model and navigate to your IFC file.
Sparkel supports the open IFC format (.ifc). If your model is in a proprietary format, export it to IFC first from your BIM authoring tool.
Wait for the upload and processing to complete — this typically takes a few minutes depending on model size.
Reload the page once processing is done. The model will appear in the 3D viewer.
Note: You can upload multiple IFC files to the same project — for example, a separate architectural, structural, and MEP model. They will be shown together in the viewer.
Step 3: Navigate the viewer
Once your model is loaded:
Orbit — left-click and drag
Pan — right-click and drag
Zoom — scroll wheel
Select an element — left-click on it
Select multiple elements — hold Shift and click
Box select — hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and drag a box
Hide selected — right-click → Hide selected
Isolate selected — right-click → Isolate
Show all — right-click → Show all objects
Step 4: Create your first takeoff
In the Orders panel, click New Takeoff.
Give it a name — for example, "Concrete structure" or "Facade — bid package".
Click Create.
You now have an empty takeoff with an empty quantity table. The next step is to create items and start linking elements or drawing shapes.
Step 5: Create your first item and link elements
In the Resources panel at the bottom of the screen, click + New Resource.
Give the item a name and select the unit of measurement (m², m³, m, pcs, etc.).
Click the blue checkmark to save.
Select the item by clicking its row.
In the viewer, select the BIM elements you want to measure.
Click Link selected elements. The quantity updates immediately.
That's your first linked quantity. The item now shows how many elements are linked and the total measured quantity. Click any linked item to see exactly which elements are highlighted in the viewer.
For more advanced linking — including automatically linking elements based on BIM properties — see BIM Linking.
Tips for getting started
Don't worry about model quality upfront. Start by linking what you can trust, and use shapes for anything that needs manual measurement.
Use the AI Copilot if you're unsure where to start — describe what you want to measure and it will suggest the right approach.
Keep your first project simple. One takeoff, one trade. Once you're comfortable with the linking workflow, templates let you scale this across projects without repeating the setup.