iModel Browser & Portfolio

Purpose

The iModel Browser provides complete administrative visibility into your Bentley iTwin project containers. Enterprise digital engineering programs rarely consist of a single standalone model; instead, they federate multiple discipline models (Architectural, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Fire Protection, Civils) authored across diverse BIM authoring platforms.

The iModel Browser enables audit teams to inspect federated sub-models, examine spatial bounding extents, confirm connector synchronization status, and lock specific changesets for formal statutory verification.

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Federated Discipline Models

In complex building typologies (such as acute hospitals or multi-span viaducts), digital twins combine multiple specialist design packages. In the NHS Darlington Memorial Hospital (IFC_Hospital) example, the container federates seven distinct discipline models:

Inspecting Model Partitions

Inside the iModel Browser:

1. Navigate to iModel Browser from the main navigation.
2. Select your target iModel container from the grid.
3. The Partitions & Disciplines tab lists each synchronized physical and spatial model partition, including:
   • Model Name & Code: e.g., WRSH_Architectural, WRSH_Mechanical.
   • ECInstanceId: Unique 64-bit hexadecimal identifier in the iModel database.
   • Element Count: Total number of physical and spatial entities contained in that partition.
   • Last Modified: Timestamp of the latest connector ingest.

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Changeset Timeline & Synchronization Locks

Statutory validation and digital assurance require absolute traceability. Compliance checks must never be executed against transient, half-synchronized bridge states.

Changeset Selection & Freezing

• When an iModel is opened, BIM Checker automatically detects the latest available changeset on the Bentley iTwin Hub.
• The active changeset hash (e.g., cs-b8a7f92e...) is displayed in the project header and stamped onto all generated audit records.
• Auditors can freeze evaluation against a specific historical Named Version (e.g., Stage 3 Design Freeze, Tender Issue Revision B) to benchmark improvements across revisions.

-- Query to verify connector ingest status and latest modification timestamp
SELECT 
  ECInstanceId, 
  CodeValue, 
  UserLabel, 
  UrlPath, 
  LastMod 
FROM 
  bis.RepositoryLink 
ORDER BY 
  LastMod DESC, 
  ECInstanceId DESC

[!IMPORTANT] Synchronization Lock Invariant: While an external IFC or Revit bridge connector is actively synchronizing a new changeset (Queued, Running, Executing), publishing audit results to the iModel is automatically disabled in the UI. This prevents file lock contention on Project Share and avoids corrupted changeset trees.