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Tools & comparisons · 2026-10-31 · 5 min
An IFC Viewer for Foldable Phones: the Model on One Screen, Its Data on the Other
A viewer built for one screen treats a foldable as a big phone and runs the model straight through the hinge. This one reads the screens your browser reports and gives each a job. Check what it does on your device, then open a sample model.
An IFC Viewer for Foldable Phones: the Model on One Screen, Its Data on the Other — IFC Viewer Online article cover
A foldable phone is the first pocket device with enough glass for a building model and its data at once. But a viewer built for one screen treats it as a big phone: the model runs through the crease and every property you read covers the thing you were looking at. Here the 3D view takes one screen and the spatial tree and properties take the other, with nothing to install.
What it does on your device, right now
- Two screens detected. The model opens on one, its tree and properties on the other.
- One wide touch screen. It opens split in two, and half-folding gives you the real two-screen layout if your browser reports it.
- A phone-sized screen, so you get the normal phone app. If this is the cover screen of a foldable, open the phone and half-fold it.
- A desktop browser, so one screen. Open this page on your foldable to see the difference, or follow the DevTools steps below.
Key takeaways
- Half-fold the phone and the model takes one screen, the tree and properties the other. Nothing sits on the hinge.
- It follows what the browser reports, not a list of phone models, so a new device works if its browser exposes the screens.
- One model, one 3D view: folding resizes it and does not reload anything.
- Files stay on your phone. It all runs in the browser, including validation.
What each way of holding it gives you
| Posture | What you see | Good for |
|---|
| Book (fold upright) | 3D on one side, tree and properties on the other | Walking a floor while checking what each element is |
| Tabletop (fold flat on a surface) | 3D on top, data below | A site table or a meeting: the lower half is where your thumbs are |
| Fully open | One screen; split available from View → Split screen | Looking at the whole model, or showing it to someone |
| Closed (cover screen) | The normal phone app | A quick look, then open the phone without losing your place |
Book posture: two 540 px screens and a 34 px hinge. Emulated in Chrome with the real viewer and the sample model, not photographed on a phone.
Tabletop posture, emulated the same way: the model above the fold, the data under your thumbs.
Three things to try on the sample model
- Tap an element in 3D Its properties appear on the other screen and the tree scrolls to its row, while the model stays fully visible.
- Run the validation The results open over the second screen, not under the model, so the 3D view keeps its full height while you step through the issues.
- Swap the screens If your thumb or the light favours the other side, swap them from the panel header. The choice is remembered, along with which view you prefer.
What we have and have not tested
The layouts were checked in Chromium with emulated segments and a real IFC file: book, tabletop, swapping, and returning to one screen with the same 3D view and selection. We have not yet run them on a physical foldable, so real hinge sizes and posture changes are unverified. That is what the question in the check above is for. The Viewport Segments API[segments] and Device Posture API[posture] are also not everywhere: Safari has neither, so iPhones and iPads get the normal app and, on wide touch screens, the manual split.
An IFC Viewer for Foldable Phones: the Model on One Screen, Its Data on the Other