# How to view a dotbim .bim file

Source: https://0xr.space/m/how/view-dotbim-bim-file  
Published 2026-10-15, updated 2026-10-20, by ZeroXR, the maker of Model Explorer (https://0xr.space/).

Open 0xr.space, press Open and choose the .bim. Every element is placed where the file puts it, in its own colour, face colours included, and named from its Name or type, so walls, beams and slabs can be selected and pulled apart. Coordinates are read as metres and turned from Z up. It works on a computer, an Android phone and in the Meta Quest browser or app, and the file is read on the device, never uploaded.

Only the geometry is shown: the info and type fields of each element are used for its name and not listed anywhere else, and a mesh used by many elements is drawn once per element. Like any model, the building opens at a viewing size; press Scale, then 1:1 Size, to stand it at full size, which works for anything up to 10 m on its longest side. A larger building stays scaled down to a tabletop model.

## Steps

1. Export the .bim from Blender, Grasshopper, Archicad or your own script.
2. Open 0xr.space on the computer, phone or Quest browser.
3. Press Open and choose the .bim.
4. Explode it into its elements, cut through it with a section plane, or press View in your space.

## Questions

### Are element properties shown?

No. Each element's Name or type labels its part; the other fields are not displayed.

### Is the size right?

Yes, when the file follows dotbim and is in metres. Scale, then 1:1 Size, shows it at full size up to 10 m on its longest side.

### How is it different from opening an IFC?

A dotbim file holds only meshes, colours and names, so it opens quickly. An IFC opens here too, read by web-ifc, but its element data is not kept either.

### Is my file uploaded?

No. It is read on the device, and nothing is sent to a server unless you create a share link yourself.

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