Spotlight: Simplebim 12, and a dataflow that is not stuck on one laptop
Simplebim 12 ships Base Model dataflows and a Cloud pipeline. What BIM leads should test before a folder is trusted to clean the IFC.
Yesterday’s leftover authoring note was BricsCAD V27. The unused IFC-processing note is Simplebim 12. The releases list now names 12.0 and dates it 19 October 2026. That is the dated desktop ship. The marketing line about cloning expertise is not.
That is not a new authoring tool. Firms already take a consultant IFC, rename properties by hand, merge it, and hope the next revision uses the same names. Simplebim 12 puts a first standardization pass in a ready-made dataflow, then lets one person publish that logic so a folder can run it again.
What actually changed
Base Model is the headline for a BIM lead who already lives in IFC. Version 12 ships Standard ARC, STR, MEP and FIX dataflows, plus Enrich Building Part, Enrich Material, Enrich Custom and Base Model Datakey. The launch note says those steps find information already encoded in the file, standardize the properties and values, and organize the result for a later use case. Apply the matching dataflow to each model before you merge. The original IFC is not rewritten. Simplebim imports, processes, and exports a new file.
Simplebim Cloud is not a CDE. Datacubist calls it an execution engine. The loop is: a new IFC appears in this folder, run this dataflow, write the result there. Connections currently support SharePoint or OneDrive and Dropbox. You still need a Desktop licence to author the dataflow. Cloud is not on the trial. There is no self-register: email sales with the company name, business ID and administrator addresses. A Desktop licence includes an initial token pack. Tokens are used when a dataflow runs. More complex dataflows use more. The public notes do not publish a per-run count.
Publish and Get sit on the Dataflow palette. Sign in with email and password or a Microsoft work account. An account is typically the company. A workspace is typically the project. A pipeline holds one dataflow and runs when files arrive. Publishing to a pipeline replaces whatever it held, including a library dataflow it was pointed at. A dataflow that still points at a local file, and is not behind a named file location, is refused before anything is sent.
Virtualized file locations are why the same dataflow can run on another computer or in the cloud. Settings refer to named places such as This PC, the current model folder or the current project, not a hard-coded path. Before a step runs, the report lists every resolved input file or why it is unusable, and it stops if a file cannot be used. Apply Template now uses those locations. The notes say that breaks backward compatibility.
The rebuilt 3D window is the part you will notice first. Orthogonal view is no longer beta. Clipping planes have handles, including a box cut. Ghost mode colours the selection and ghosts the rest. Simplebim Expert lives in a left-hand flyout, including on the startup screen. It answers how to use Simplebim. It does not run the tools.
What a BIM or VDC lead should do
Do not rewrite the information standard because a folder can now run last month’s clean-up. The rules in our ISO 19650 note still hold: the issued package is named, dated and approved. A processed IFC is a derived file. Keep the source.
If the firm already uses Simplebim, this is worth a side-by-side on one live job. Install 12.0. Run the matching Base Model dataflow on last week’s consultant IFC. Then ask four questions: do the standardized property names match the BEP, or only Simplebim’s template; does the same dataflow run on a second machine after you map file locations, with no leftover C: paths; does a SharePoint drop trigger Cloud and write the result where you pointed it, without a trial seat; and does Publish refuse a dataflow that still reads a local file, as the dialog says.
Do not point Cloud at the working model folder. Point it at the incoming IFC drop and a processed-output folder. Count tokens before you promise every revision will run overnight. Confirm who can publish to a pipeline, because that click replaces the dataflow the project was using.
Start with Datacubist’s 19 October launch note, the Simplebim 12 release notes, and the Cloud access article.
Frequently asked questions
Is Simplebim 12 actually shipping today?
The community launch note is dated Monday 19 October 2026 and was last edited on 20 October. The releases list names Simplebim 12.0 with the date 19.10.2026. The 12 notes list Base Model, Cloud publish from the Dataflow palette, virtualized file locations, and a rebuilt 3D window.
Does Cloud replace the desktop licence?
No. You still build and test a dataflow in Simplebim Desktop. Cloud runs the published pipeline when a new or updated IFC appears in connected storage. Access needs a valid Desktop licence. There is no self-register yet: you email sales with the company name, business ID and administrator addresses. Trial users are locked out.
Will Base Model make every consultant IFC match our information standard?
It standardizes properties and values that are already in the model. It does not invent a fire rating the author never wrote. Run the matching ARC, STR, MEP or FIX dataflow on a live file, export IFC, and compare names and values with the BEP before you tell estimators the folder is clean.
Can the in-app assistant clean the model for us?
No. Simplebim Expert sits in a flyout and answers questions about tools and dataflows. The 12 notes say it does not operate Simplebim or create dataflows. If something is not documented, the launch note says it should say so instead of guessing.