# How do I use the test grid?

In the IDS editor, switch the table from Rules to Grid to see the same rules with properties down the page and kinds of test across. Tick a test on a property to make or change its rule, tick a column's header to set it on every row shown, and Undo takes any change back.

Updated 1 November 2026

## Use the grid, step by step

1. In the IDS editor, find the **View** switch beside Group by. Choose **Grid**. **Rules** is the first view, and your choice is remembered, like the grouping and the columns.
2. Read the grid. Each row is a property, and each column is a kind of test: **Has a value**, **Yes or No**, **One of**, **Pattern**, **Between**, **Exactly**, **Not allowed** and **Warn only**. At the end of each row, in words, is what its ticks mean, for example "must have a value" or "must not be there".
3. Tick a column on a property to set that test on it. The rule is made or changed at once, and the table in Rules shows it.
4. Tick the box in a column's header to set that test on every row shown. It is partly filled when only some rows have it.
5. For a test that needs a value, **One of**, **Pattern**, **Between** or **Exactly**, a small editor opens on the tick, with the model's values to pick from. Choose Done to make the rule. Cancel, or Escape, changes nothing. The value shows under the tick, and you click it to change it. A header tick asks for the value once, for every row.
6. Choose **Undo**, or press Ctrl Z, to take back the last change. Every change is one step of Undo.

## What the ticks do

- **Has a value** means the property is required. Without it, a test on the value reads "if there": the property is optional, but a value it has must match.
- **One of**, **Pattern**, **Between**, **Exactly** and **Yes or No** are one choice for a row. A new tick moves the old one.
- **Not allowed** clears the row's other ticks and says the property must not be there. **Warn only** goes with any test, and changes nothing else.
- Nothing ticked means no test. Taking off a rule's last tick removes the rule, and Undo brings it back.
- A tick that does not fit is greyed out, and the reason is shown when you point at it: Yes or No needs a Yes or No property, a Yes or No property takes only **Exactly**, and a rule on the set itself takes only **Has a value**.

## What the grid shows

The grid follows Group by: by property set, also when Group by is None, or by IFC class or by **Phase**. The filter and the search apply to it. Rules that are not about a property, such as attributes, materials and classifications, stay in Rules, and a quiet line under the grid says how many. A property with several rules for different elements has one row for each, with the elements in grey.

## Properties the model has and no rule tests

With a model open, each property set has a closed line, for example "4 more of Pset_WallCommon in the model, without a test". Open it to see those properties as grey rows with empty ticks. A tick makes the rule, marked new, for the set's own elements.

## From the keyboard

The grid is one tab stop. The arrow keys move between the ticks, and Space turns one. Choosing rows and the actions of the bar under the table, Copy, Duplicate, Move to group and Delete, work as in Rules ([How do I change several rules at once?](https://ifcchecker.com/help/ids-several-rules/)).

## Keep reading

Next: [How do I start an IDS from a list?](https://ifcchecker.com/help/ids-from-a-list/)

Related:

- [How do I give one test to many properties?](https://ifcchecker.com/help/ids-many-properties/)
- [How do I write and change rules?](https://ifcchecker.com/help/ids-rules/)
- [How do I start an IDS from a list?](https://ifcchecker.com/help/ids-from-a-list/)

[Workflows and help](https://ifcchecker.com/help/) / [The IDS editor](https://ifcchecker.com/help/collections/ids/)