Sets and Clashes

What Sets and Clashes does

Sets and Clashes is a visual builder for Navisworks search sets and clash tests. You describe the elements you want using property conditions (with AND/OR logic), save the result as a native Navisworks search set, and then create Clash Detective clash tests from your sets — either one test between two sets, or a whole batch of tests across many sets at once.

Everything this tool creates is native Navisworks content: search sets appear in the Navisworks Sets window, and clash tests appear in Clash Detective. Nothing is uploaded to the web. And as always, ClashWise does not run clash detection — after the tests are created, you run them yourself in Clash Detective.

Not the Clash Matrix. This tool prepares Navisworks search sets and clash tests inside your model. It is completely separate from the ClashWise Clash Matrix on the web, which is a rules engine that assigns priorities, statuses, and contacts to clashes you have already published. See the Clash Matrix section of this help center for that feature.

Why you'd use it

Setting up disciplined clash tests by hand is slow: you build selection sets one by one, then pair them up in Clash Detective. Sets and Clashes speeds up the whole "set the table" phase:

Build precise search sets from real model property values, with live match counts.
Explode a property (for example, System Type) into one set per value in a single step.
Check whether your sets overlap before you clash them.
Generate an entire battery of clash tests — every set against every other set — in one dialog.
Save your set definitions as reusable presets and share them with teammates.

Who can use it

You must be signed in to the plugin.
You need a Starter subscription or any plan that includes Clash Management (Pro, Business, or the trial) — plans that include Clash Management also include all Starter tools.
The button is part of the Full Suite edition of the plugin. If you installed the Starter edition, the Sets and Clashes button does not appear on the ribbon — install the Full Suite edition to use it. A Starter subscription is enough; only the installer edition differs.
The button is always visible and clickable in the Full Suite edition; your subscription is checked when you click it, and a message explains if access is blocked.

Where to find it

In Navisworks, open the ClashWiseAI ribbon tab and click Sets and Clashes in the Clashes panel. The Sets and Clashes window opens. It stays open alongside Navisworks while you work (clicking the button again brings it to the front and refreshes it for the active document). The Wise chat assistant can also open this window for you on request.

Building a search set

Enter a Set name:.
Choose the Scope: — Whole model (default) searches everything; Current selection limits the search to what you have selected in Navisworks.
Optionally tick Prune below match. When an item matches, the search stops at that item and does not also include items nested beneath it — useful for grabbing whole assemblies without their individual parts.
Under Match groups (OR between groups):, build your conditions:
- Each group card is headed Match ALL of (AND): — every condition inside a group must be true for an element to match.
- Click Add condition to add a row: pick a Category, a Property, an Operator, and a Value (values are loaded from your actual model). Tick the Aa box to ignore letter case. Remove a condition with ×.
- Click Add OR group to add another group — an element matches the set if it satisfies any group. Use Remove this group to delete one.
Watch the live match count in the toolbar (for example, "148 item(s) match"). Use the refresh icon to re-evaluate and the select-in-model icon to highlight the matching elements in the Navisworks view so you can eyeball the result.
Click Save as Search Set.

The set is created as a native, dynamic search set at the root level of the Navisworks Sets window — you'll see the confirmation "Search set '{name}' created. Find it in Navisworks' Sets window." Because it is a search set (not a fixed list), it re-evaluates automatically as the model changes. If a search set with the same name already exists, you're asked whether to overwrite it; overwriting keeps its original folder and position.

If something is incomplete, the window lists exactly what to fix, for example "• Enter a set name." or "• Group 2 has no complete condition."

Presets — your reusable set library

The pane on the left holds presets: saved set definitions you can reuse across models and sessions. Presets live on your own machine — they are not stored in the model or on the web.

Load a preset (or double-click it) to bring its conditions into the builder; the edit-state label switches from "New search set" to "Editing preset: {name}".
Rename, Duplicate, and Delete manage individual presets (multi-select delete is supported).
Import and Export move presets between machines as files — export a bundle to share your team's standard set definitions.
Create sets materializes the selected presets as native search sets in bulk — pick five presets, click once, get five search sets.
From model… opens the Import search sets from model dialog, which turns the model's existing search sets into presets. Static selection sets (a fixed item list with no conditions) can't be imported and are shown disabled; any unsupported conditions are dropped and reported.
Check overlaps (select two or more presets first) opens the Preset overlap check, which lists preset pairs that share elements (for example, "Ductwork & Mechanical — 37 shared element(s)") with a Select shared in model button to highlight the overlap. Overlapping sets produce duplicate-feeling clash tests, so it's worth a check before batch-creating tests.

Create presets by value

Presets by value… explodes one property into many presets — one per value:

Pick a Category and Property, then click Load values. The Values list fills with every value found in the model (up to 5,000); tick the ones you want.
Choose the Match: style — = (exact) or contains.
Optionally set a Name prefix:, tick "Prefix names with the property name (e.g. "Type - ")", or tick "Combine with the conditions currently in the window" to intersect each value with your current builder conditions. A live "Example: …" line previews the result.
Click Create presets.

The presets are saved to your library. Review or edit them in the list, then select them and use Create sets to make the native search sets.

Creating clash tests

One test between two sets

Click Create clash test from sets… in the toolbar (you need at least two saved search sets):

Pick Selection A: and Selection B: (they must be different sets).
Enter a Test name: — leave it blank for an automatic "{A} vs {B}" name.
Choose the Type: — Hard (default) or Clearance — and the Tolerance (m): (default 0.001).
Click Create.

One Clash Detective test is created, live-linked to the two sets: if the sets' conditions change, the test follows. The test is not run — the confirmation reads "Clash test '{name}' created and linked to the sets. Open Clash Detective to run it."

A batch of tests across many sets

Open the dropdown on Create clash test from sets… and choose Create clash tests across sets… to pair up several sets at once:

Sets to include (each vs each other): — a checklist of your saved sets, all pre-ticked. Every ticked set is paired against every other ticked set.
Also create each set vs itself (self-intersection) — off by default; tick it to also test each set against itself.
On name clash: — Skip existing (default) leaves any test with the same name untouched; Overwrite existing replaces it.
Choose the Test type: (Hard or Clearance) and the Tolerance (m): (default 0.001).
A summary line tells you exactly what you're about to make, for example "10 clash test(s) will be created from 5 set(s)." Click Create.

The result message reports what happened — created, overwritten, skipped, and failed counts — and reminds you to open Clash Detective to run the tests.

What happens next

Open Clash Detective and run your new tests. Once you have results, the rest of the ClashWise workflow takes over: name them with Enhance, organize them with Group Clashes, and publish them to the web with Publish (see the Enhance Clash Titles and Publish, Update & Sync Clash Sets sections).

Tips

Verify visually before saving. The select-in-model button is the fastest way to confirm your conditions caught the right elements — a match count alone can hide surprises.
Use "Presets by value" for discipline breakdowns. Exploding a system or category property into per-value presets, then batch-creating tests across them, replicates hours of manual Clash Detective setup in minutes.
Run the overlap check before a batch. Overlapping sets mean the same element pair can clash in multiple tests, inflating your counts.
Name deliberately. Set and test names flow through to Clash Detective and, after publishing, to the web — clear names now save confusion later.
Export your presets. A shared preset file is an easy way to standardize set definitions across a team.

FAQs

Is this the same thing as the Clash Matrix? No. Sets and Clashes builds Navisworks search sets and clash tests inside your model, before any detection has run. The Clash Matrix is a ClashWise web feature that applies your coordination rules (priority, status, responsible contact) to clashes you have already published. They are unrelated tools.

Does this run the clash tests? No. ClashWise never runs clash detection. The tests are created ready-to-run; you run them in Navisworks Clash Detective.

Are my sets uploaded to ClashWise? No. Search sets, presets, and clash tests created here are local Navisworks content. Only publishing (a separate Clash Management feature) sends clash results to the cloud.

What's the difference between a preset and a search set? A search set lives in your Navisworks file and is visible to anyone who opens it. A preset is your private, reusable definition stored on your machine — a recipe you can apply to any model, share via export, or materialize into search sets on demand.

Can I import my existing Navisworks search sets? Yes — use From model… to convert them into presets. Only search sets (condition-based) can be imported; static selection sets have no conditions to import.

Troubleshooting

"Create at least two search sets first." — clash tests need two saved search sets; save your sets before opening the clash-test dialogs.
The Value dropdown is empty — values load from the current model for the chosen Category and Property; check that the property exists in this model, or type the value manually.
My search set matches 0 items — check the operator and letter case (the Aa checkbox controls case sensitivity), and remember that all conditions inside a group must be true at once; split alternatives into separate OR groups.
The Sets and Clashes button is missing from the ribbon — you have the Starter edition of the plugin installed. Download and install the Full Suite edition from https://clashwise.ai.
A subscription message appears when you click the button — sign in, or check that your account has a Starter (or higher) subscription. If you were offline for an extended period, reconnect to the internet once so your subscription can be re-verified.

Limitations

The values list in Create presets by value shows up to 5,000 distinct values per property.
Static selection sets (fixed item lists) can't be imported as presets.
Presets are per-machine; use export/import to move or share them.
Created clash tests are not run automatically — running and re-running tests always happens in Clash Detective.