Introduction to Property Mapping

What Property Mapping is

Property Mapping tells ClashWise where to find key information about the elements in your Navisworks model. You set it up once per model file, inside the Navisworks plugin, and every ClashWise feature then reads accurate element data from your models.

Design tools store element data in different places. Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Tekla, ArchiCAD, and IFC exports each keep an element's name, ID, category, level, type, and discipline under different Navisworks property categories — and those names can also change with the model's language or your project's naming standards. Property Mapping bridges that gap: for each source model file, you point ClashWise at the exact properties that hold this information.

Why it matters

Accurate property mappings power three core parts of ClashWise:

AI clash naming (Enhance). Descriptive clash titles are built from the real element names, types, levels, and disciplines in your model. If the mappings are incomplete, the Enhance run cannot start.
Clash Matrix creation and matching. The element classes and disciplines used by your clash matrix come from the mapped Category Property and Discipline Property. The values ClashWise reads here must line up with the values used when the matrix was created, or matrix rules will not match your clashes.
Publishing and AI analysis. When you publish clash results to the web, the element information sent with each clash comes from these mappings. Complete, correct mappings mean better AI analysis, filtering, and reporting on the web.

The six mapped fields

For every model file, ClashWise needs six properties mapped. Each one is a pair: the Navisworks property category to look in, and the property within it.

Field	What it identifies	Typical values
Name Property	The element's descriptive name	"W12x26 Beam", "Ø200 Duct"
ID Property	The element's unique identifier from the source application	"123456", "GlobalId" values
Category Property	The element's classification	"Walls", "Structural Framing", "Pipes"
Layer/Level Property	The floor level or CAD layer the element belongs to	"Level 2", "01-HVAC"
Type Property	The specific type within a category	"Basic Wall", "Rectangular Duct 200x100"
Discipline Property	The trade or discipline the element belongs to	"Architecture", "Structure", "Mechanical"

All six fields are required for every model file listed in your document. Two of them show extra guidance in the window itself: the Category Property notes that "The value from the selected property must match the same value types when creating the clash matrix", and the Discipline Property notes that it "Determines which discipline is associated with each element."

How it works

Per model file. Each source model appended to your Navisworks document gets its own mapping, because a Revit model and an IFC export store data differently.
Auto-detected. When you select a model file, ClashWise automatically scans it and suggests the best match for each field. You only step in when a suggestion is blank or wrong.
Saved automatically. Every change is saved as you make it — there is no Save button. Mappings are remembered per model file on your computer, so they persist across sessions and documents.

Who can use it

Property Mapping is part of the ClashWise plugin for Navisworks and is included with every plan — Starter, Pro, and Business — as well as the free trial. You need to be signed in to the plugin to use it.

Where to find it

Property Mapping lives inside the Enhance window: on the ClashWiseAI ribbon tab in Navisworks, go to the Clashes panel, click Enhance (Alt+3), then open the Property Mapping Configuration tab.

For step-by-step setup instructions, see the Configuring Property Mapping article. For common problems and answers, see the Troubleshooting Property Mapping and Property Mapping FAQ articles.