IFC Core : Model View Definitions (MVD)

The full IFC schema is intentionally huge (over 1300 entities, roughly 2500 properties, over 750 property sets in IFC4.3). No single software exchange uses all of it. A Model View Definition (MVD) is a standardized, formally documented subset of the IFC schema, scoped to one exchange scenario. The MVD names exactly which entities, attributes, property sets, and geometry types a conforming exporter must produce and a conforming importer must read. This skill covers which MVD to target, how each MVD is declared in the file header, and what geometry each one permits.

Quick Reference

What an MVD is, and is NOT